I recently booked my trip to India throughOrbitz, a popular internet travel service. I have booked at least a dozen trips on Orbitz over the past decade, so theprocess was comfortable and easy. Orbitzfound me connecting flights to and from New Delhi using a combination ofairlines and I was pleased with the short layover between my domestic and internationalflight segments. I booked my November travel in July and paid with my AmericanExpress card.in August, I received emails from Orbitzadvising of flight changes. Unfortunately, the airlines rearranged their flight schedules which created a problem with myitinerary. My connecting flights, nolonger connected. I called Orbitz and spenta lot of time on the phone attempting to resolve the issue, but because theycould not find an itinerary acceptable to me, Orbitz said I could cancel andthey would provide a full refund. "Expecta credit in 8-10 days, " advised Bella, a supervisor at Orbitz. "Why so long, " I asked?"That's just how long it takes" was herreply. Well, FORTY-ONE DAYS LATERthe $1,653 credit was posted to my American Express Account. For 41 days it felt as if my money washeld hostage and I was forced to fight hard to gain its return. As an Americanconsumer, my expectation was a refund in one day, not forty-one days. I'm not so certain that I would have everreceived a refund had I not persevered. Ispent countless hours on the phone and by email only to be put off or liedto. It was an extremely frustratingexperience, but I did learn a few things. First, I was reminded of the principle -he who holds the money, holds the power. I could grovel all I wanted, but I was powerless. Second, because the airlines were thecause of the problem, I held a false belief that obtaining a credit from a largecorporate enterprise was a given. Ifound out that it's not like taking the defective vacuum back to Sears where youmake an exchange or the clerk asks you a couple questions and in minutes youleave the store with a credit receipt in hand. No, it's more like the Searsstore has relocated to Timbuktu and the clerk tells you over the phone that Eurekain Shanghai will process the refund in 8-10 days or maybe in a couple of weeksor sometime, whenever they get around to it. Third, when calling Orbitz, you speakwith customer service representatives based in the Philippines. But that's only after navigating though thecomputer prompts and waiting endlessly on-hold listening to melodies of static. And although the young Philippino's are pleasant, the combination of a poor phone connection and their accent makes for a real challengingconversation. The cultural differences don'thelp either. I just didn't get the feeling these folks reallyrelated to my problem. They're at best scripted telemarketers and not alwayshonorable.in fairness to Orbitz, my refund didcome from the Chicago office of Air India. However, Orbitz wasn't any help to me and Air India refused to talk tome directly. I was finally able to correspondby email with Archana, an Air India representative. I rank her level of service to what I wouldexpect when visiting Mumbai or buying gas at my local 7-11. So before you book your next trip onOrbitz, take pause and consider. If youencounter any problems with your travel plans you to will have the opportunityto experience third world customer service. David W Cincinnati, Ohio
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