Editor’s Note: The following may be a long rant, but the resolution is short and sweet.

Dear Petergreenberg.com,

Here’s my story…and it’s not for the weak. In a nutshell, the customer service structure of Hotels.com is abhorrent.

It makes setting up a phone line with Verizon feel like a day at the spa.

It’s been the most unbelievable series of events.

My mother booked our family a trip to Italy for the month of May through Hotels.com. Through a live agent, she selected our hotels in Rome. The [agent] then offered to find her great fares for the flights, so my mother agreed to have her book these as well. She booked the five of us on Continental direct to Rome to arrive on May 11 to coincide with the dates of our hotel. (Or so we thought).

After several days, my mother still had not received the confirmation for our flights. She rang them and they finally sent them over. (They don’t recognize this phone call as ever happening in subsequent calls). Satisfied that she had the itinerary, she filed it away as she was planning for a big trip to Nevis just a few days away.

Upon returning, we discussed extending our trip to Italy a few days by leaving the states three days before the rest of the family. She waited a few days and then we decided to go for it. It was while she was reviewing this itinerary that we discovered the flights had been booked for a month prior to the hotels — the same dates, but in APRIL.

And so begins the nightmare.

Friday, March 30

We discover that we’ve just entered the twilight zone…

At 8 p.m. on Friday, March 30, we called the 800 number listed on our itinerary. We waited on hold until we could speak to a customer service agent. We explained the issue to him. He explained to me that he could not see our hotel bookings as we had called the air reservations number. He gave me another number for the “packages” customer service people. I didn’t want to hang up with him as I had a sense that this was going to be an ordeal, so instead, I had my mother ring the “packages” number [from] a cell phone; so now we had two lines going to two separate call centers for Hotels.com.

I asked him to get me a supervisor. I was put on hold for at least 15 minutes, and then an entirely new agent came on the line as if I was a new caller. She wasn’t a supervisor, just the same type of representative that I had just spoken to. I explained my predicament and she told me that I could cancel my flights, but that I would only be credited on Continental as the ticket was non-refundable, and each ticketed passenger would have to take a $200 penalty from Continental for canceling. I explained again that this error was committed by Hotels.com and not by us; thus, they needed to take the hit. We were not going to be responsible for their mistake. She couldn’t help me, so she put me on hold for a customer service supervisor.

This frightened me as, simultaneously on the cell phone, we had the packages people on the other line — same story when we explained our problem: she told us we would have to speak to a supervisor. The woman, “Sunday,” told us that there were 12 people in front of us and that it would most likely take about an hour and a half. (At this point I had to start thinking about the minutes this call was going to cost on my cell phone).

We decided to wait. I asked the rep to keep checking in with me. She did in the beginning and then the hold line was just the classic music on loop, and the now laughable customer service motto. After a very long hold (probably half an hour) the phone line was disconnected!!

I dialed the packages line back — at the same time, I’m also still waiting on hold for the customer service supervisor in the airfare department. After a 30-minute wait, I got a new customer service representative. This part of the story is when I moved from anger to delirium. The woman on the line told me that she couldn’t talk to me as Sunday (the original customer service rep on this line that had hung up on me) was still on the line with me. I had to repeat the story about seven times to explain that, in fact, I was talking to this woman on the same line that I had been talking to Sunday, so it was IMPOSSIBLE that Sunday was on the line with me. Again, she repeated herself over and over again. “Ma’am you’re still on the line with Sunday.” In tears I spoke to her as an adult might speak to a child to explain to her that Sunday had disconnected from me. I closed my cellular phone and opened it again to redial Sunday, but got her instead, so it was impossible that I was still on the line with Sunday.

This conversation was really only a diversion from the real need to get back in the call queue, as I had lost my slot with Sunday. From a customer service standpoint, there was no way to jump a line by priority. Someone along the way told me how many supervisors there were on duty, and it was under 10. It seemed like a ridiculous number. Anyway, this woman couldn’t tell me how long the wait would be to be with a supervisor. This wait lasted for probably 45 minutes before we just gave up as it was already after to 10 pm.

And really here’s when it just goes bonkers…

As I’m holding for a supervisor on the airfare reservations, I get disconnected again. Literally, this comes about 45 minutes after I started holding.

I called back, waited, and then got someone. Told the story again. You can just imagine telling the story over and over again as it just keeps snowballing. At this point, the woman tells me that it’s really the packages people that I need to speak to and not to worry; she could get me on the line with someone. Wait and wait, I then get transferred to a man who tells me that he’s been told I want to book a package. Here’s where I begin to just lose it. I told him, that no, in fact I’ve been tossed around, hung up on, etc. for over two hours, and no, I didn’t want to book a package, but in fact I wanted someone to fix my account. He was angry with me for asking him to do anything outside of his scope of work.

Here’s where I begin to understand that getting mad at these customer service reps is like getting mad at a magic 8 ball. They only have about 5 things they can do for you.

Okay, so this guy transfers me to the customer service agent in the packages division. I explained our situation, which now has become a five-minute story. I give her my itinerary and she tells me that she can only see our flight details and that she has no access to our hotels information. I then try to discern what a “package” is, because it’s obviously not when you book through their agent a package of air and hotels. They must have some alternate definition.

She literally repeats the same thing over and over again… we can cancel you and you will receive a $800+ credit for a Continental fare to be used by March 8, 2008, but you will have to pay a $200 per person fee for the flight. I try to explain that we will not be paying for the mistake that the Hotels.com booking agent made — and there would be this awkward pause and then she would repeat herself. Again, I asked for a supervisor.

Okay, now things get a bit hazy at it’s getting to be about 11:30pm (somewhere in this story, I was hung up on again, but now it’s fuzzy). I think it was that Tiara hung up on me and I had to call back; yes that was it. I called; another wait, and then a new woman put me on hold to get me a supervisor. At this point, somewhere around 1:30 in the morning, I remember hanging up.

The woman called me back (she was the only person who gave me the option of hanging up and waiting for her to call me back with the supervisor) to let me know a rep would call me when they got a supervisor.

That never happened.

Saturday, March 31 — 7 a.m.

The saga begins again with my mother calling them at 7 a.m. The woman she spoke to almost refunded us, and then told her she’d have to wait for a supervisor, but the supervisors were not in until 11 a.m.

Later in the day, she called and was told it would be a two-hour wait for a supervisor; she waited and waited. Finally someone came back on hours later and notified her that the supervisors were leaving for the day and that she would have to call back the next day!!!!

During the day we also called Continental; they couldn’t help us. We also began researching airfare. The flights with the correct dates that we wanted were nearly $400 more per person.

I also emailed the publicist Maureen Carrig, who was out of the office, and then emailed the entire press office.

And in the evening after my mother was told that the supervisors were going home… I emailed you in utter frustration and hopes of help!

Sunday, April 1

My mother spoke to a rep, who told her that she was going to have a customer service supervisor ring her before 5 p.m. that day. If there was a problem, she would call my mother to notify her. No one called her (although they claim that they called, but there was no answer, which is ridiculous because we have voicemail, and they didn’t leave a message — AND she left her cell phone number with them).

Thursday, April 5

Ed. note: After the situation is explained, PeterGreenberg.com called the publicist Maureen Carrig, who asked for the customer’s name and itinerary numbers]

Friday, April 6
I spoke to someone in corporate headquarters. They are paying for all of our tickets!!!

…BUT the guy wouldn’t admit that we were getting special treatment. He claims that the reason he was talking to me was because I had emailed the press office. BULL!!!

It’s because you guys did. It seems a bit odd that 30 minutes after you left me a message that you talked to the publicist, someone from HQ wanted to talk to me.

BUT, I thank you very much for getting us the attention!! I’m a hero in the eyes of my mother now. So thanks!

I will still be sharing my story, as it really is appalling and the not-so savvy traveler would never know to contact a press office, etc…

I will NEVER be booking with Hotels.com or any other Expedia property. They are a sham!!

-Alex C.

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