I was trying to book a 4 star hotel for our Hawaii vacation and after working on this for some time - I was persistent and only wanted 4 star hotel. Without realizing before too late somehow the star rating got changed to a 3 star (without my noticing or intending) and of course was accepted at a 4 star price.
The accidental flick on the mouse without notice and hitting the wrong button and I am unmercifully committed to something I never intended to buy - an unsuitable hotel for our dream family vacation to Hawaii! Now we are forced to stay in this spe hotel I would never have selected. The real kicker is this - In their 3 star rating description they say Hilton, Hyatt, Sheraton "or other independent comparable hotels".
The hotel they put us in isn't in the same category at all. When I went to check out the hotel on various review sites. One of the first sites came up avertizing this hotel for Gay vacationers! Totally unsuitable for my FAMILY/children. I pleaded with them at priceline, as did my husband (to 2 different supervisors) to at least let me add more money for a different hotel - I wasn't even asking for a refund but to add more money for them to get me a more suitable hotel and he gave the standard answer they've been trained to give.
I'm sorry, but regardless if a company state -"no changes or refunds" - the fact remains that in the real world nothing is pat and without exception. Life is changes and refunds and mistakes and corrections. Their attitude and refusal to listen to individual cases is a recipe to self destruct a business. What happened to listening to the customer and making the customer happy?
Making changes when mistakes happen (which they will no matter what your rules or terms clearly state) is what American business success is all about. The long term end result is happy repeat customers thus making happy wealthy businesses that continue to thrive. Then the result is everyone is happy.
If Walmart had treated their customers with this unbending, no exception policy they would be going out of business like Kmart and like priceline will eventually unless they listen to the American public. If your customers aren't satisfied it doesn't matter how much of our money you keep and don't refund, the fact is that pretty soon the well will run dry because I believe most people are like me and once burned, NEVER AGAIN.
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