Problem when changing DJ reservation - it didn't work?

[heleno]

Hi folks,

I was in Mackay for 24 hours on 2 Jan, leaving to return to SYD on 3 Jan. As of 11pm 2 Jan, I knew that a 6:40am departure was far too optimistic, so I needed to change my DJ flight time to later in the day.

I first tried online, and met with no success (an error message of some sort suggesting that I call instead). So then I called. And after waiting on hold for a while, I was told that their computer system was being updated and to call back in 15 minutes or so. 10 minutes later, I tried changing it online again. I was happy to find a ~1:30pm flight for the same price, and since I was traveling on a Flexi fare, it let me change to that one for no additional cost. I and a friend saw the revised itinerary on the page online, and I thought I was done.

And then, the next day, I got to the airport at 12:30 or so for my ~1:30pm flight... only to have the agent tell me that "you missed your flight". WHAT? Apparently the rebooking did not "take", and they had no record that I'd even tried to do it. (???????)

I had to purchase a OW ticket from Mackay to SYD at a cost of about $350 in order to get back!

What now? Folks, I am absolutely sure that I saw the revised itinerary on the screen. It was at a hotel computer, so I didn't get a printout, though. I explained all of this to the agent, who checked with her supervisor, and they said that per policy, they couldn't do anything about it.

Do I have any recourse with DJ to get a refund or voucher for my next travel? I'm a bit concerned that there was a glitch because I did the rebooking around a system maintenance time. FWIW, I made the 11pm call in response to my first unsuccessful online attempt, using Virgin Mobile, so there's at least that much of a record that I was contacting the airline at 11pm on 2 Jan for some reason. (Although for all I know my itinerary is still in the browser cache at the hotel, I have no way to get to it...)

I've never had anything like that happen before. Thanks for any hints.

 

[MelUser]

A letter outlining what you have told us together with photocopies of as much as you have together with your friend's name/times/dates etc etc sent to the Customer Servce Department of Virgin Blue in Brisbane requesting a cheque for the amount of money you have "lost".

It will take them at least 28 days to get back to you so don't expect quick resolution.

Please report back to us and tell us how you went.

Good luck.

 

[drron]

After having a real problem with an IB reschedule that was not conveyed to us I now take my camera and take a photo of the screen when using a hotel computer or if no print facility.Too late for this time but possibly a good idea for the future.

 

[Nigelinoz]

Ok I am probably really thick,(Apologies if I am) but I would have thought that DJ would do what Qantas did for me just a few days ago,email the revised itinerary to me,if I had been in your situation I would have wondered why I hadn't received the revised booking details by email.
I was under the impression that that's what all airlines do,but as I said maybe I haven't read your post correctly.

BTW.That's another reason why I keep a webmail account with Yahoo,just so anything like airline itineraries can be stored online and I can access them from any pc and if there is any questions I can usually find a pc with a printer somewhere,especially airline FF lounges.
Also,I hope my post doesn't sound harsh,I completly sympathise with your situation and hope you get something back from DJ.

 

[GoldCoastGuy]

Too late for the OP now, but when I am using a public PC and need some form of receipt/proof, I try to take a photo of the screen.

It may not be the clearest photo though.


Evan :->

Edit: I missed the post 2 posts up ;-p

 

[pauly7]

After having a real problem with an IB reschedule that was not conveyed to us I now take my camera and take a photo of the screen when using a hotel computer or if no print facility.Too late for this time but possibly a good idea for the future.

Thats a great idea.... duly noted.

To the OP - good luck in trying to get your $ back from DJ...

 

[Evan]

I thought all airlines when you made a change atleast had the chance to "mail a friend" your itinerary, can do this to email yourself.
Photo is a good idea, i have done similar before although not for airline bookings.

Good luck ! do you have status with DJ ? i would imagine they will be more keen to keep the regular customer happy than the less regular.

E

 

[heleno]

Thanks to all who suggested the digital camera "printout" approach. I will definitely employ that in the future! Wish I'd thought of it before, but now I know. That's a great idea, because I'm almost never without my camera - and in fact, it was in my tote bag at my feet when I was at that hotel computer. Darn!

I was busy at work this past week getting a product out after three lovely weeks in Oz spending time with friends. So I'm working on my letter this weekend. While I'm not a completely regular customer, I do tend to fly 8-10 segments with DJ a year on my 1-2 trips to Oz each year - it's the only airline I've ever used domestically there - and I've got the booking emails and many of the boarding passes to prove it. So at least I'm predictably loyal. (Consider that I'm a QF FF and due to not having an Oz or NZ address can't be a DJ FF, but STILL choose DJ over QF domestically.) Hopefully they'll see fit to give me the benefit of the doubt.

Regarding, didn't I expect to see an email from them with the schedule change? No, I didn't, because it was made after I'd been told the system was updating, on the day of travel. I'd NORMALLY have expected an email, but given the timing of when I put in the change request, didn't consider it too out of the ordinary that I didn't get one -- it wouldn't be the first computerized ressie system I've seen that didn't notify of late-breaking changes. So what SHOULD have been a red flag, and would have been under other circumstances, wasn't to me at the time. I'd never changed a DJ booking on the day of travel before, so I didn't know exactly what to expect.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[comint]

… do you have status with DJ ? i would imagine they will be more keen to keep the regular customer happy than the less regular.

Many might think this, but I do not believe that status on Virgin Blue delivers (any less or) any more than exactly what it says it will - http://www.velocityrewards.com.au/content/AboutTheProgram/Status/StatusBenefits/index.htm

I certainly don’t fly Virgin Blue with any frequency, and my “Gold” level comes from a complimentary Qantas status match. However, it is evident that many LCC business practices are still standard procedure at Virgin Blue. In my experience, LCC’s seem to view their customers transactionally whereas FSA’s view them holistically.

So generally the LCC sees "issues and problems" as an opportunity to charge a passenger more (i.e. how can we increase value from this transaction), whereas the FSA considers the chance to generate good will and cement an enduring relationship (i.e. how can we increase value holistically).

I think, that at the coal face most DJ staff have become aware that their company now places some sort of priority on customer relationships, but they have either; not been encouraged to or find it very hard to - diverge from their transactional (SOP) ways.

And to NIGELINOZ, I have certainly made the mistake of thinking I have booked something online, only to find out that I hadn’t. It was with Hertz (and quite easy to do, as their confirmation page looks like its confirming the booking, rather than requesting additional confirmation, when you are in a hurry). Anyway I got to their desk in the airport, expecting a car, and received blank looks from the rep at the desk. At this point the rep had a choice – charge me the walk-up rate for a car (and they only had big ones left) or honour the rate that I thought I had booked (and presumably make a note against my name for reference). (BTW they honoured the rate that I thought I had booked.)

So, if heleno was flying Qantas, do I think the outcome may have been different? PROBABLY, even without QFF status.

Anyway, hopefully heleno will extract a more successful outcome from a letter. (Thus causing the same issue to be processed again, by a different set of staff:!

 

[thegurio]

Being on a Flexi i think that up until half hr before you're allowed to change it, not that that helps in your case but might lend some weight...

I would imagine they will come to the party somewhat just, as has been said previously, don't expect anything done quickly.

 

[JohnK]

Ok I am probably really thick,(Apologies if I am) but I would have thought that DJ would do what Qantas did for me just a few days ago,email the revised itinerary to me,if I had been in your situation I would have wondered why I hadn't received the revised booking details by email.

I added checked baggage to an existing DJ booking and I received an updated itinerary. Who knows what happened to the OP? There are many glitches in computer software and this may well be one of them....

 

[crazydave98]

I first tried online, and met with no success (an error message of some sort suggesting that I call instead). So then I called. And after waiting on hold for a while, I was told that their computer system was being updated and to call back in 15 minutes or so. 10 minutes later, I tried changing it online again. I was happy to find a ~1:30pm flight for the same price, and since I was traveling on a Flexi fare, it let me change to that one for no additional cost. I and a friend saw the revised itinerary on the page online, and I thought I was done.

What now? Folks, I am absolutely sure that I saw the revised itinerary on the screen. It was at a hotel computer, so I didn't get a printout, though. I explained all of this to the agent, who checked with her supervisor, and they said that per policy, they couldn't do anything about it.

heleno, I believe that after you "view" the revised itinerary you have to "accept" it - perhaps you may have missed this? I don't know whether you were in a hurry and didn't see it, or whether the resolution on the hotel PC meant the "accept" at the bottom did not display (lower res screens usually have bigger font so stuff at the bottom of the screen may need to be scrolled down to view) or whether it's just plain bad design of the web page. However it is evident that you did all you thought you could and the site should not have been down and the hold time was unacceptable. If you can PM me your details I will see what I can do for you (hopefully a credit and maybe a little something else).

comint, I don't agree with your assertions that Virgin Blue uses issues and problems just to charge guests more - that's Tiger. We are not that short-sighted. We would rather have happy guests that say good things about us to friends, family and colleagues than pissed off guests. But if we changed the flight of everyone who turned up with an excuse for missing a flight we would be out of business. I can regale you with a very long and imaginative list of excuses from people who missed their flights. In this case I personally believe the OP but assure you s/he is in a very tiny minority.

Also, if you turned up to Qantas and told them you had changed a booking and had no proof that you had made or attempted to make the change, I doubt they would ascede on the spot unless you were Gold or Platinum.

I think it is odd that someone who was given comp Velocity Gold says that the airline takes only a transactional viewpoint. For a start if that were true we simply wouldn't have a loyalty program (e.g. Ryanair, Tiger). And you got the comp before we had transacted with you (or at least before we could identify you as a potentially high value guest).

cheers

CrazyDave98

 

[comint]

[my quote highlighting below]

I don't agree with your assertions that Virgin Blue uses issues and problems just to charge guests more - that's Tiger.

I can only speak from my experience (which is not huge, but nonetheless is my experience), which you have responded to here - http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/com...ustralia-mega-trouble-14970-8.html#post202959

Your company’s “New World Carrier” concept appears to adopt some elements from a Full Service Airline, and marry them with other elements of a Low Cost Carrier.

[my quote highlighting below]

I think it is odd that someone who was given comp Velocity Gold says that the airline takes only a transactional viewpoint.

Again, I have not tried to imply “only”, please do not misrepresent my opinion! Just & Only are words at the extreme, and as I have acknowledged, your airline is clearly in-between. With the extremes of my domestic flying experience being Tiger & Qantas, I am merely trying to understand where the lines are drawn at Virgin Blue.