I gave this company a 4-star rating…
I gave this company a 2-star rating only because of Anna Mitchell and the outstanding customer service she provided. If it were not for Anna, I would have given this company a 0-star rating based on my overall experience. Anna was exceptional. She helped me through an extremely frustrating situation that was caused neither by her nor by me, but by the company’s booking process and policies. She remained calm, patient, respectful, and understanding throughout our conversation. Although she was unable to fix the problem herself, she took the time to clearly explain what had happened and why the situation had become so complicated. I truly appreciate her professionalism. The actual booking experience, however, was extremely disappointing. I booked a flight, but after several hours I still had not received a confirmation number, so I called to find out what was happening. I was then informed that the seat/fare I had booked was no longer available. I asked to cancel the reservation and receive a refund, especially since it had only been a few hours since I made the booking. I was told that I could not receive a refund. Instead, my choices were essentially to pay additional money for a higher-class or more expensive fare, or lose the money I had already paid. I ultimately had to pay considerably more than I normally would have paid for the flight. As a customer, I find this practice extremely unfair and unacceptable. A company should not accept payment for a seat or fare and then, only a few hours later, tell the customer that it is no longer available while refusing to return the customer’s money. If availability changes after payment has already been accepted, the fair business practice would be to provide a full refund or offer a comparable alternative at no additional cost. I am a frequent traveler, and I have never encountered this type of experience before. Because of the company’s handling of this situation, I do not plan to use this service again, and I would not feel comfortable recommending it to my family, friends, or colleagues. Again, the 4 stars are entirely because of Anna Mitchell. She deserves recognition for the way she handled a difficult situation that she did not create. Without her professionalism and excellent customer service, my rating would have been 0 stars. I sincerely hope management recognizes Anna for her outstanding work while also reviewing the booking and refund policies that create these situations for customers.