Priceline Supervisor Blew Me Off

[seekingtropics]

Ok, so yesterday I received a call saying that the International flights I book a few months ago for late next month on Mexicana have been cancelled and that I need to contact the airline directly to get a refund. So, I've tried to contact Mexicana and cannot get through. I've called Priceline back and they told me that the flight is still confirmed but that I needed to request a refund, now they say that I need to wait a few days to see when Mexicana sends them an update. I talked to a supervisor at Priceline today and asked him if the flight is not cancelled why someone with Priceline called me to say it was, he told me that because of the situation in Mexico they were giving me a heads up? Mexicana is filing for bankruptcy, he too told me I need to call Mexicana directly so I said I've tried, but cannot reach anyone. I asked him if he could call, he did then said he was not able to speak with anyone, yet pretty much blew me off and told me bye when I was still asking why Priceline was telling me two different things, and why they would give me a heads up and say for a fact one thing and then when I call back say another. This is very unacceptable and unprofessional on the part of Priceline to even call me and tell me this. I have bus tickets to the city it's flying out of and non refundable reservations now I am out money and time and am frustrated. Do I book another flight w/ another carrier now while the prices are still lower or wait until a few days and see if they for sure cancelled the flights? Priceline said Mexicana is not letting them process refunds at this time and will hear from them in a few days. I am very disappointed and will probably not book on Priceline again just because of their unprofessionalism and rude customer service. By telling me they did not give me a definite answer only a "heads up" when they did he was calling me a liar and didn't want to talk to me anymore said he answered my question when he didn't then hung up on me. What can I do? :)

Seems like their internal communication is lacking greatly and they wont go back and listen to previous calls I received ( in case they're recorded), every one I talk to there now tells me the flight is still confirmed :S, supposedly they give the money to the airline directly right away so they wont refund. So confusing!

Should've skipped Priceline, will next time.

[view with a room]

Should've skipped Priceline, will next time.

Yes I am inclined to think skipping Priceline is the better option also. After 30 minutes with "customer service" I was finally transfered to a supervisor (again). The supervisor first explained to me the first supervisor was not a supervisor but just someone receiving calls transferred to a supervisor. The supervisor explained to me he was not empowered to address the issue but he was empowered to hang up on me; and he hung up on me. Oddly enough the issue was related to an airport hotel without shuttle service so the only other option was a $40 taxi ride. An airport hotel should provide shuttle and should not be a $40 taxi ride. Again, oddly enough the hotel is a San Francisco area hotel but south of the airport and south of any type of public transportation. Travel is not the best situaiton for customer service empowered to do nothing more than "sorry" or "I am hunging up on you now".

[thereuare]

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[Gallus50]

BTW - viewwitharoom - If a shuttle is really important to you, you should try HOTWIRE or Travelocity Top Secret hotels. There is always the chance on PL that you won't get a specific amenity. Sorry to rub salt in your wounds, but you made a mistake if you need to be sure.

[relaxing41]

BTW - viewwitharoom - If a shuttle is really important to you, you should try HOTWIRE .... There is always the chance on PL that you won't get a specific amenity. Sorry to rub salt in your wounds, but you made a mistake if you need to be sure.

Sorry your not happy with your priceline experience but I just wanted to second this reply. When I needed a hotel that had transportation included to the airport I simply called hotwire to confirm that the hotel I was planning to purchase indeed had transportation to the airport that I was going to. THey were able to do this despite the fact that by doing so it gave away which hotel it was since no other hotel in the area listed on Hotwire provided transportation to this airport. It made all the difference to me and my family since it made travel much easier and cheaper. I was able to leave my car at this hotel and not pay for parking and rec'd transportation to and from the airport.

I love priceline for most of my hotel stays but when I defintely NEED a certain ammenity; I do not leave it to chance that priceline may have it for me. Even if I felt certain to recieve a certain hotel I would still not use Priceline if that amenity was more important than the room. Too many times Priceline surprised me with a different hotel than I was expecting. . spend the extra money on a different site or do not use the opaque side of Priceline Just to be sure. Personally Ive never had a problem with customer service when dealing with Priceline for hotel rooms but I did have a bad experience for airline tickets. It has not caused me to stop using them but to be more cautious when using them.

Ok now that Ive said that let me kinda answer your question. Do not know which airport you are flying out of but... If it was me I would make back up plans now but instead of paying for it I would just reserve it for the 24 hours that you are allowed and continue to do this on a daily basis until you know for sure whether you need to purchase additional tickets or not.AA is good for this because they will hold your reservation for 24 hours without charging you.. At the same time I would also purchase travel insurance. THis way if you are not reimbursed for your tickets you have a back up method of getting your money back. It will probably make you feel more comfortable knowing that at least these new tickets are covered by insurance assuming you did not purchase insurance for your previous purchase. So if anything else gets in the way of your travel or if for sure they go under before your flight you will still get your money back. I'd Make it a habit that when you purchase airplane tickets to go out of the country that you also purcahse travel insurance. I think Its the best way to cover your purchase and protect your vacation.