Online Booking's Dilemma

I always have pretty praises for the airlines on my blogs. I usually talk about my travels and so far, all the airlines have been very accommodating and has this knack on service to their clients. But I guess, there are always exemptions and some loose connections at some point.

My friend booked a flight for someone via www.airphilexpress.com. Confident as usual, since her credit card has not failed her and she's got credit limit more than enough for a plane ticket, she pushed those keys and click those buttons. After a few minutes, the booking was confirmed. Email was received and itinerary is available already at the www.virtuallythere.com for printing and viewing. Due to the status stated (CONFIRMED), she forwarded the e-ticket and considered it a "job-well-done".

On the day of the flight, the person she booked went to the airport for check-in and an amazing surprise made that person's morning not good at all, his ticket was said to be null and void! Thank God there was still available seat for him, so he was asked to buy another ticket for himself. Then he did, paid the new tickets and got checked in.

My friend was embarrassed and she can only imagine the feeling of the person she booked. It was not okay, but she was thankful that the person who was going to board the plane got funds to pay for his ticket and there was an available seat. If she happened to book someone who didn't have funds with him/her, what could have happened? My friend can purchase another ticket, perhaps it would be on another, later flight, but there would be some unnecessary inconveniences.

How could it have been avoided... Hmmm... Perhaps the airline could have informed the person who booked the flight that her confirmed flight was NOT CONFIRMED. (????) :P

When my friend inquired from the airlines via phone, since she booked it online, the personnel from the other line told her, she should call their online hotline/center instead. Hhhmmm.... She made a few calls but did not get satisfied with their answers, so she went to the airport and inquired on the matter. She was told there was a system error, and yes, it happen sometimes. But hey, somebody could have explained it to her over the phone. (???)

Like humans, technology also gives us some headache. But the difference is, we can always get away with it saying, "sorry, it was a system error" and we can get mad at that "system" all we want, but it wouldn't have any reaction at all. Although, clients like us, expect an apology and assistance on matters like that, that's where customer relations come in. :D

I'm not sure if the airline gave enough assistance to my friend or the one she booked, or if they were apologetic enough with what happened, but what was clear to me is that, the airline should have made sure she/they was/were informed earlier to avoid unnecessary inconvenience and perhaps embarrassment. They're supposed to be treated as valued clients (I just thought...). The airline was the one who gave a confirmed e-ticket and if it was not really confirmed, they could have made all the necessary effort to contact the client (which information is included in the form we fill in during booking), which I believed they did not.

Me and a few friends are among those fond of purchasing and transacting online and we've got positive and negative experiences with it. From real to bogus, and from confirmed to denied, pending or system interrupted. Airline dilemma from delayed, transferred, rescheduled, or cancelled flights. There was also a time when credit cards got double charged or the purchased was reverse after a month, thus the ticket became invalid.

But so far, only few of my experiences were not manageable that gave me too much of a headache to handle, since most of the agencies, establishments, airlines, owners or the customer relations officer assigned to me, have been gentle, kind, apologetic and undeniably showing much effort you'd forget to blame them. To add, one of those experiences, I was even grateful, but sadly, it's also with this same airline mentioned here, that my friend had a not so good experience. :|

Perhaps this is what they call an isolated case and what happened to my friend is the collateral damage. But that's never an excuse, not to give back a good service, and service after service, that all clients deserve. Well, next time, let's just always consider the possibilities of a "system error" on online transactions, so give a leeway and maybe a grace period as well. But if you're hesitant, purchased it offline, go to a ticketing office and make sure, THEY confirmed it...  :D