Unbelievably bad customer service-bad experience...
I wish to tell my story about ramada plaza resorts. I decided to call the number from the letter i received just to see what this package was really all about. I knew from past vacation promotions, that when they say something is for free, it really isnt for free. But i thought, if the presentation sounds good and the entry free wasnt too bad, i would go ahead and try it. And i was ramada, so i thought it couldn't be a scam, right? Well, i talked to the first agent, i told her i just wanted to know what the package was and the fees. She proceeded to say she needed my phone number so that she could look up my information and then she would tell me the price.
I gave her that info, she put me on hold, came back online and proceeded to give me her pitch. After all that she then proceeded to tell me that the price for the package was $648. I then proceeded to tell her that i did not have this money and could i call back later when i could cover it. She proceeded to tell me that i could not call back as they only allowed one phone call per family. Well, at that point i wish i had hung up because she tried every trick in the book to get the card when at that time i knew i could not cover that amt because my deposit had not cleared in my account (i was using a debit card). Finally, the manager, his name was steve or dave, came in a negotiated the fee of $349. I checked to see if i had that amt and and i decided to go ahead with this order.
While this order was going through, she told me that i had up to 18 months to schedule dates for the vacations, and that an additional 9.95 would be charged to change them again. Well, that wasnt true.
This agent transferred me to a verifier who went over the exact same thing that the first agent told me, except she told me that they had automatically assigned a date for me and that i only needed to call back to change the date for the low fee of, 9.95! I said to her that is not what the first agent told me, she said i could change it if i did not have the date right away and then if i changed it again i would be charged. Well, the second agent was embarrassed, especially when i became irate. Guess what? The first agent was on the line listening to everything that was said and then had the nerve to try to correct me saying that she did tell me that it would be a charge for changing the date. *At this point I really should have cancelled*But they had all my information and i decided instead that i would complain to their corporate office.
Now, i decided just on a hunch to verify this company and see if they were really affiliated with ramada because i couldnt believe that such a huge company would have such shaky customer service. I found ramada's website find their customer service number and called to verify if this company was legitimate. The agent told me that ramada plaza resorts wasnt directly affiliated with ramada. I asked her what did she mean? She said that there was a particular franchise of the ramada chain of hotels that was promoting this package.in other words, only 1 ramada hotel was using this vacation package and it was not a part of the regular ramada vacation discount pkgs.
Well, that got me to do some more investigating, and that's when i found this site and read the complaints other had posted, some posted only two days ago. That's when i decided to call the company and request a refund.
WEllllll, let me tell you, that that was worse than trying to make the reservation! The first person i talked to asked for my name, asked me to spell it, and even asked for my telephone number. I couldn't understand why because i gave them my reservation number, didn't they have all the information on the screen? Then when i asked for the refund, she tried to sound all sympathetic, she wanted me to explain in detail why i wanted a refund. I told her that i was not happy with the service, and that i no longer wanted this package. At that point, i was livid, i just didnt want to go through the whole process all over again, but she kept pushing me and insisting i give her the whole story. I tried to make it short, only give her the basic story of how i was lied to and manipulated into making this reservation. When that wasnt enough i tried to start from the begining, this time i am yelling. She put me on hold, and i hung up.
I called back again, and this time got another agent. She wanted to me explain everyting. So, i reluctantly told her everything, and by this time i was in no mood to hear a lot of crap. She proceeded to tell me that this was a one time deal promotion and that is why i couldn't call back to place my order and she tried to feed a line about getting a letter from the president of the company stating that i could get a 100% refund from the company if i was unsatisfied with the vacation AFTER I WENT ON THE VACATION. She gave all these wonderful examples about shopping in the mall, and seeing a sale, with the understanding that if you don't take sale right then, there's a good chance that the sale will go BYE, BYE. She told me she would get me beach side hotel rooms, references from happy customers, and vendors
showing that they were a legitimate business. Do you think i was happy after all this "presentation"?
I told her i didnt care if she booked my a vacation on the moon, and had a personal reference from the POPE, i wanted my money back. Finally, she took my name, address, and phone number AGAIN, asked for the last 4 digits on my card and told me she would credit my card back in 7 to 14 business days, then proceeded to push me off the phone.
It just may happen, but i am not holding my breath. I did use the information in this website to call the VP Mr Lambert, and left a message and told them about it. They wanted so badly to know how i got that information. I will be calling my bank to dispute the charge, and i am faxing over a copy of this complaint directly to Mr Lampbert.
I would like to say that this is the last time i am every going to cash in on any promotion dealing with travel. It is just to easy to get a raw deal.
Lareina
mt vernon, New York
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