I booked a package with flight, hotel, and car rental through Orbitz to take myself and my newborn son to see my husband graduate Naval Bootcamp. It would be the first time we have seen each other in months and when I was informed by my husband a little more then a week before my departure that he would be getting an extra day of liberty and I immediately called to modify my trip. It was the worst customer service experience I have ever had. The associate was hard to understand, and obviously had a hard time understanding me because I had to explain what I wanted multiple times. After almost an hour they finally managed to extend my hotel stay 1 day, and change my flight to depart a day later. I was unable to change my car reservation and was told to call the car company directly - when I did they told me only Orbitz could make changes, and then they informed me that since I used my debit card there would be a minimum hold of $350 placed on my card when I picked up my car - something Orbitz did not tell me. Then I saw my bank account. The total charges for the changes I made was $124 but I had $280 in pending fees from Orbitz. Naturally I called back to ask what happened, and was again given nothing but the run around. For example, CSR #1 stated that the difference was due to an airline fee I agree to pay. I debated that I agreed to pay this fee and was told that I would be placed on hold while they pulled up the recording of my previous conversation to research my problem. 20 minutes later CSR #2 states that I was being transferred to a supervisor after they again stated that they would need to "listen to my conversation". I asked how long it would take since the original phone call was so long, and was told that they could simply search they call for the item they were looking for. After 30 more minutes I am finally transferred to a supervisor who tells me that not only can they not guarantee that my phone call was recorded, but that he has no idea why the previous associates said they could. After repeating my situation for what felt like the millionth time, I was told that if I wanted a full refund I would need to wait 7-10 business days to have my possibly recorded phone call sent to them, reviewed, and have a decision made. I was also warned that all associates are trained to advice customers of all fees and that it was unlikely to be overturned. But seeing as 2 employees out of 3 told me something different with just this one call I am not concerned.
Awefull service with very long wait times
Associates who are hard to understand or don't understand you
No understanding or sympathy to my situation (saved up just to see my husband for 16 hours and they want to impose fee after fee on my already expensive trip)
Cannot (or refuse to) modify parts of your already paid for packages
Terms and conditions are vague and do not include company specific information which is vital to travel)
I will never book through Orbitz again. Period. The "ease" of booking online is not worth the hassle that comes with any need for customer service.
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