Travel Tips

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Every year Americans experience thou­sands of problems with travel arrangements. Travel and recreation are ranked sixth on the US Department of Commerce’s list of the products and services consumers complain about most—up there with other such “top ten” headaches as cars, banks and insurance.

Here’s how to register a meaningful com­plaint in the travel industry—and how to pur­sue it until you get results.

Before you complain:

Ask questions beforehand. Be extremely specific about your wants and needs when making arrangements. Aim: To accommodate special needs and avoid disappointing “mis­matches.”

Example: A couple instructed their travel agent to book them for a cruise they’d seen advertised. Although their cabin was comfort­able and the food delicious, they didn’t have much fun because most of their fellow pas­sengers were retirees. They were expecting a younger, livelier group.

Keep expectations realistic. A certain amount of inconvenience is an unavoidable part of life, whether you are at home or trav­eling. Problem: People may expect their vaca­tions to be perfect. They often complain about hitches that occur while they are travel­ing that they would not attach blame to at home.

Example: A bus tour is held up in traffic due to an accident on the highway. The delay is clearly not the agent’s—nor the carrier’s—fault.

Make sure your complaint is legitimate. Specifically, if a service promised in your con­tract is not delivered, and/or you suffer dam­ages due to some negligence on the part of the party you are complaining against, you have a legitimate complaint.

Example: A bus that was chartered to take a group to a Broadway show is delayed due to a flat tire. The driver grumbles that he has re­peatedly advised the bus company to replace the worn tires. The delay causes the group to miss the entire first act and was clearly caused by the bus company’s failure to provide a reli able vehicle.

If your complaint is minor:

The majority of travel complaints are minor problems that can be easily corrected. Examples: You don’t receive the double room, non-smoking table or aisle seat you reserved.

Best: Complain politely—immediately. In most cases, the personnel in charge will re­solve your problem right away. If necessary, call your travel agent for extra clout.

In the event you are asked to put up with a minor inconvenience, such as taking the win­dow seat or keeping the single room until a double becomes available, avoid becoming angry or rude.

Better: Ask for a concession that will satisfy you—a price reduction, a complimentary bot­tle of wine, a voucher for a future service. You may need to speak to the management to get your request honored.
Don’t expect to collect a refund if you accept the unacceptable. For instance, if the air conditioner in your hotel room is too noisy but you don’t change your room—or your hotel.

Helpful: Inform the management or com­pany representative of problems you encoun­ter as a courtesy—even if you expect no recompense.

Examples: Tell the tour guide that he/she’s talking too quickly … tell the hotel manager that the pool furniture needs cleaning.

Handling serious complaints:

Step one: Collect the names of witnesses and company employees you deal with, copies of contracts, reservations, tickets or re­ceipts, photos and/or witness statements if appropriate, and any other material that can document the incident and any losses.

Step two: Write directly to the president of the firm by name. Your letter should be brief and clearly typed.

Include the following:

Who you are. Include any identification that may add weight to your complaint (you are a steady, old customer, a stockholder, a member of the travel industry, the chairper­son of a travel committee).
An objective description of what hap­pened. Do not whine!

Include: Your asser­tions as to why what happened was their fault, and a description of the damages caused, if any.

What you expect in the way of compen­sation. This can be a refund, reimbursement damages, voucher for future service, etc.

• Wait 30 days. If you receive no reply, foll­ow up with a copy of the letter along with a Date requesting a response. Also send copies of your letter to the Consumer Protection division in the office of the Attorney General of your state (use his/her name), and to any of their governing body responsible for regulat­ing the company or service in question.

Accept the settlement offered if you believe is in good faith. Unless your losses have been great, your complaint is probably not worth the time and expense involved in a lawsuit.

Last recourse: Talk to an attorney to see if your case is worth litigating.