Don't Just Complain About Bad Airline or Cruise Line Service -- FIGHT BACK!
Jan 22 '00
You finally made it home! After being bumped from a flight, sleeping in an airport, suffering through a mechanical problem that left you in the plane on the runway for 4 hours, of course you missed a connection, and finally you lost the contract because you missed your meeting in Atlanta. What do you do?
If you're like most Americans, you take it on the chin, maybe yell at a customer service rep who already heard the same story 5 times this morning, or you just mumble "I'm never flying with THOSE S.O.B.s again!" (Maybe you even write an epinion about it.)
There's more you can do! The least you should do is to complain to the government and the airline, in the hopes that you can prevent others from suffering the same fate (unlikely), or maybe at least getting an apology and a $50 certificate good for future flights (yeah right, like you really want to fly with those bums again...)
But wait! Now there's an internet site featuring a former lawyer who will be your advocate! Even though you may not have time to burn the midnight oil writing nasty letters to corporate headquarters or to make nasty phone calls to customer service demanding a refund, there is a guy who does have the time, and who knows who to call, and who knows how to be nasty. And he can be on your side! (For a small fee).
Complain!
In my epinion titled "Some Airlines Suck, Some are Great..." under "Flying Comfortably" I mentioned the U.S. Government's web site for airline consumers (www.dot.gov/airconsumer) which tracks consumer complaints and which allows you to file complaints against an airline. Doing this helps people spot trends among airlines in the area of customer service, and can help government regulators identify problem airlines, but unfortunately, it doesn't do a lot to get you any refunds or apologies from the miscreants in the airline business.
There are other web sites, such as www.passengerrights.com that also allow you to file complaints online. The advantage of sites like PassengerRights.com is that in addition to sending the complaint to the government, the complaint goes to the airlines too. That can sometimes earn you an apology, and with many of the airlines, at least a packet of coupons good on future trips. Still small potatoes, but we're making some progress.
Fight Back!
The big gun in fighting back when you've been mistreated by someone in the travel industry is to get an advocate to help you fight back. Don't just whine about crappy service...ask for a refund! Don't just moan...demand!
That's where the advocate comes in, and that's when you go to David Jarashow's web site TravelProblems.com. Jarashow will help you file complaints and demand redress from airlines or cruise lines. Online forms let you tell your story to Jarashow and his staff. They'll get back to you about your options and what it will cost. For matters involving $200 or less, there is a flat fee of $25 -- pretty darn reasonable when vengeance is in the air!
For more involved cases, there may be a commission, but tell TravelProblems.com about the situation, and they'll tell you what they want in terms of a fee to go to bat for you. In many cases, even if you have to pay them 20%, you will still be money ahead over what you could do on your own, and of course it's nice to have someone else do the dirty work and handle all the writing and faxing and such.
So if you've got a horror story of your own, either about an airline or cruise line, don't just whimper and lie down! Get up and fight! Get on over to TravelProblems.com and tell it to someone who's willing to stick it to the airlines for a change!
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