My 14-year-old daughter was participating in the Tanzsommer 2000 Dance Festival in Innsbruck, Austria as part of the David Sanders Dance Dynamics Company. We were scheduled to stay at the St. Johann Hotel from 6/27/00-6/30/00, the Hotel Central Innsbruck from 7/1/00-7/4/00, and the Munich Hotel on 7/5/00. This tour was organized by "Tanzsommer Austria" of Houston. The coordinator was Mr. Bryant Jensen.
On 5/6/00, my 68 year-old father, who resides in Florida, was stricken with lymphoma. He suffered a seizure and it was discovered that the cancer had spread to his brain. He underwent emergency brain surgery. I flew down to Florida to be with him on 5/10/00.
The surgery went well, however there was follow-up chemo and radiation treatments. It was highly recommended by his doctors that I be there for him during these debilitating treatments, which were scheduled to begin in June.
I contacted Bryant Jensen on 5/15/00 and advised him that my daughter and I would not be able to travel to Austria as planned and we were wondering if there was anything he could do to provide a refund of some sort. He basically was not interested in the least about my predicament, and he was unwilling to provide me with the trip itinerary so that maybe, I could contact the hotels myself. I eventually got it from a friend who was also going on the trip.
I was in tears, pleading with this man for his understanding, and what does he do? He tells me to have a "nice day" and hangs up the phone on me! You must understand that we were just told by my father's doctors that they projected his remaining life span to be 6 months. I realize from a legal standpoint, I probably do not have any recourse; I just cannot believe how uncaring and rude this man was, and how unwilling he was to even provide whatever help he could.
I tell you, during the initial selling stage, he was the nicest person you'd ever want to meet. Fortunately, the airline was more understanding; they refunded my deposit. Bottom line: I fully paid for the trip in good faith, so I guess tough luck on me, even though I felt he had time to do something for us.
Financially, my daughter and I lost $3,190.00.
0 comments