“I am at the end of my rope”

This is a story about down-on-his-luck air traveler who had a bad trip — a very bad trip — and an online agency that came to his rescue.

Here’s Andrew Pelligreeni’s deal: His apartment in Kansas City recently burned down. He wanted to get away from it all, so he spent what little money he had to book a rountrip ticket on AirTran through Expedia to visit a friend.

While he was in Washington, Pelligreen became ill and missed his return flight. Further complicating the issue is the fact that Pelligreeni is deaf and can only communicate through call relay. Oh, and his cell phone was broken.

I told you this was a hard luck case.

Question is, would Expedia and AirTran also see this as a hard luck case — or a tough luck case?

First, let’s let Pelligreeni tell his side. “I hope I don’t sound dramatic or anything,” he told me, “But I am at the end of my rope.”

On the morning of my flight, I was unable to get out of bed. I literally felt so sick that I could not walk.

I did not have an alarm, and the friend I was staying with forgot to wake me up. As I did not have access to a computer, and my cell phone was broken, I did not have access to calling relay.

My friend was gone, so I was stuck. Finally, on Tuesday night, I gained access to a computer, so I immediately called AirTran to explain my absence and ask to be re-accommodated on a flight on Thursday, as I wanted to somehow recover first so I wouldn’t infect other passengers.

They directed me to Expedia. This is where the nightmare began.

The first Expedia representative said he was a no-show for his return flight and that his “case was closed.” Pelligreeni explained his circumstances, but Expedia insisted it couldn’t do anything.

He asked to speak with a supervisor, who agreed to contact AirTran on his behalf. AirTran agreed to allow Pelligreeni to stand by for a flight on Wednesday.

I asked for a manager on duty, and was transferred to Don. Don was very rude and patronizing – he said that there was nothing Expedia would do and that he was unable to make any exceptions for me.

He also said it was my responsibility as an adult to make sure I completed my travels. I re-explained my circumstances, and he grudgingly agreed to call AirTran, who then said that my ticket status was open (different story than what Stacey stated at the beginning), but they wanted a $75 change fee plus the difference (which would cost over $350).

Further appeals to Expedia were fruitless.

Let me tell you this – I’m pretty much nearly broke. This trip wiped me out, and it was a much-needed escape, as my apartment in Kansas City caught fire.

I feel like my life is difficult as it is, and now I have to deal with this.

I want to clarify upon a few things:

a) I’m not trying to play the disability card – I do genuinely feel discriminated against, especially by Peggy and her approach to the relay operator;

b) I realize missing a flight can result in consequences, but based on my circumstances, I feel this is really unfair and I feel stuck in the middle with no reason or logic applied.

I agree with Pelligreeni. Of course he shouldn’t have slept in. He shouldn’t have gotten sick, and his apartment shouldn’t have burned down, which prompted the trip. Airlines like to invoke the “circumstances beyond our control” excuse when they can’t operate a flight. Pelligreeni could well use the same excuse.

I contacted Expedia on his behalf. Yesterday, I heard back from the online travel agency.

After researching his case, Expedia concluded that they did not advocate aggressively enough on behalf of the customer and as a result are refunding his trip and offering him a $100 Electronic Travel Coupon for the site.

Nice work, Expedia. Here’s hoping your customer’s luck changes.

(Photo: Sco tt Ab eman/Flickr Creative Commons)

  • kivrin

    While I have lots of sympathy for Pelligreeni, I also think he dropped the ball somewhat. My dad is deaf as well, and while understanding difficulties with relays, I think he could have done more. When you have a disability, it is imperative that you have a backup plan. Did Pelligreeni not have ANYONE he could call and ask to call AirTran for him? My dad has called me with similar problems. He can’t hear me, but he can talk for several minutes which he knows I eiher answered my phone or it went to voice mail. Also, if he had been able to walk out of the apartment to any local store, most people are kind enough to make a phone call.

    I think Expedia did the right thing, but I also feel Pelligreeni is playing up the pathos.

  • Jennifer Hanuschak

    Sometimes life just hands you a bad card, or in this man’s case, a bad hand. I’m glad everything worked out in the end, but I think Expedia should be embarrassed for the lack of concern for their customers.

  • Cynthia

    @kivrin . . . I am hearing impaired, not deaf, and I’ve encountered similar situations to that of Mr. Pelligreeni. Sometimes there is not someone around, sometimes those who are nearby simply cannot be bothered to help one out (I speak from experience), and sometimes circumstances conspire (eg: sick, unable to get out of bed, no alarm) to complicate matters.

    Mr. Pelligreeni was sick . . . and you expect him to walk to a nearby store or neighbor for assistance with a phone call??? He indicated he could not get out of bed, and what of possibly passing his illness on to another party? Sometimes we need to have a shred of compassion and concern for our fellow humans and not be so rule-bound.

    Sure rules should be followed, but when we become so bound by our rules that compassion is lost we become lesser people. We all need to exercise compassion for ourselves and for others.

  • Dan

    “Nice work, Expedia?” For doing what they should do in the first place? No, their first response said it all, thank you very much. If companies want to be recognized for great customer service, they should be judged based on the first interaction a customer has with them, not after several “escalations” and involvement with a travel ombudsman.

  • Rich

    We’ve heard this a million times before…A company will do the right thing when there’s nothing left to do.

  • Agent One

    Everyone seems to forget that Expedia is not there to help the client,
    they are there to make money! That is the bottom line.

  • MVFlyer

    Once again, under the threat of bad press, a travel company comes through doing the ‘right thing’. Expedia didn’t help Andrew until Chris got involved.

    And Andrew–sorry to hear about your problems–I hope things are looking up now.

  • Ron

    Let’s “take out” the being deaf part. What’s left? A guy who irresponsibly took a trip when he needed all his money to deal with the apartment fire and it’s consequensces. Then travels without an alarm and with a broken cell phone. And then oversleeps and misses his flight and dosen’t contact the airlines for 36 hours.
    Come on, this is an irresponsible jerk who is running a scam.

  • Steve

    Sorry Chris, I have to agree with Ron. In my experience when people continually have bad luck, it can usually be traced to their apathy, and irresponsibility. Not always, but usually.

  • Arizona Road Warrior

    What if Mr. Pelligreeni was able to wake up on time, had access to a computer and his cell phone was working, he still would have missed his flight because he was too sick to travel. He would have been subjected to a change fee and any fare differences. It is my guess that he still would have written to Chris asking him to get a refund for the change fee and any fare differences because he has ‘no’ money.

  • Jesse

    Expedia has competitors and IS a service company…again, why can’t they take the approach Zappos does to their business, maybe they can do better.

    I am in no way saying that it was not Pelligreeni’s fault, technically he is at fault! The cause however is reasonably beyond his control, either the airline or Expedia should have done a better job from the beginning and Pelligreeni would have turned out being a customer for life. After mediation it is a bit different.

  • kivrin

    Ron, I totally agree with you.
    Cynthia, I am not without compassion; unfortunately, companies do not run on compassion.

    I know that it sounds mean, but part of being disabled is learning how to function in the world. One of the reasons that we (US nation) tries to not discriminate is because we legally say they are entitled to the same liberties and freedoms and responsibilities as any other citizen, disabled or not. We make accommodations for disabilities but do not give those people more rights than anyone else. Was Pelligreeni’s issue the direct result of his deafness? No. There is a sequence of causes — some “bad planning” on his part, some accidental issues — but I haven’t seen people advocating that businesses should compensate people for bad planning.

    While I have complete sympathy for the man’s disability, traveling without adequate money, with a broken cell phone, and without any backup plan is irresponsible. If the man had been robbed while on vacation, I might feel differently. However, this man put himself in a bad situation and then expected a company to rescue him.

  • Amy

    Are you serious, Ron?

    There’s a huge difference between being an irresponsible jerk, and being a person with a disability who needs accommodations. An irresponsible jerk can use any phone around to make a call. Not so easy when you can’t hear, and don’t have access to any kind of device to make your call.

    If you live long enough, there’s pretty much a 100% chance you’ll end up with a disability. I hope when it happens to you that people are more compassionate than you’ve been to Andrew.

  • http://nmdfreelance.com Nancy

    Wow, I can’t believe the lack of compassion here on all sides – especially kivrin, who has a father who’s deaf (not hearing impaired, like the OP).

    To expect someone to drag themselves out of a sick bed in order to fly – what if they were sick with, I don’t know, the bubonic plague (extreme, I know, but there are lots and lots of communicable diseases out there, none of which I want)? The OP was SICK and people here want him to drag himself out of bed and start to (basically) panhandle for someone to make a phone call for him. I know if someone who looked ill walked up to me and said, “Hey, can I use your phone or will you make this call for me?” I’d run away. It’s a crazy world we live in. Maybe if Pelligreeni had been in his neighborhood he could get away with it but in a totally foreign area? You’re asking too much.

    As far as him being reamed for even taking the trip – I can understand his doing that. His apartment was uninhabitable. He might have had other things going on in his world we don’t know about and this was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Sometimes in life, you have to escape your world and see a new one, even if it means cashing in pop bottles to do it.

    For pity’s sake, give the guy a break. He just wanted someone to hear him, not give him a tongue lashing.

  • Thal

    I agree with Ron to a certain extent. While I don’t think Mr. Pelligreeni was running a scam, I think he needed to face the consequences of his actions. I’m sorry he became ill, but if it happened to any of us, we’d have to deal with the reality of the situation and pay the difference. And to basically blame his friend for his not getting up on time is inexcusable. He’s a grown up. Perhaps he should have brought an alarm along.

    How much you wanna bet he doesn’t have renter’s insurance to cover his losses from the fire, either?