Wrong name on plane ticket means son won’t be home for Christmas — what now?

“Should passengers read a confirmation email, and verify the the accuracy of a name and other details?”

YES!!!!

Mariana is responsible. Do you wait two weeks to check your bank deposit slip after making a deposit? How about your credit card bill. Do you just pay it without looking at it? Sorry, pay the change fee and learn a lesson on consumer responsibility.

It’s like the perfect storm of a small chain of events that lead to a disaster. It sounds like Travelocity initiated the screwup with their poor English speaking call center and from there you can choose to believe whether or not they had computer issues. Can’t they go into their “sent” email folder and verify if/when the confirmation was sent? It hasn’t been long enough that I buy the excuse of “oh, it was deleted to make room on the server.”

It sounds like she got a poorly trained overseas representative to assist her with her ticket purchase, and the things that normally make for big laughs on an evening sitcom played out in reality. Travelocity should just do the right thing and do what they can to fix the problem.

This speaks volumes about Travelocity’s customer service operation, and indeed, that of most airlines and booking websites. Perhaps the sheer volume of transactions requires more strict adherence to rules and an inability to take into account special circumstances. Also, offshore customer service operators for whom English is 2nd language are often more prone to errors.

I would rather do business with big companies whose customer service is superb. Travelocity should learn something from Netflix, Apple, Publix Supermarkets, Trader Joe’s, all of whom regularly appear in Top 10 customer service lists. We’re held hostage to airline sites, but we do not have to use Travelocity or their competitors. And after reading about this, I won’t.

Why does it matter if she called Travelocity? Maybe her internet connection was down. Maybe she is afraid of giving her credit card info on the web. Maybe she is old fashioned & wants to talk to someone. If they have a call center they should provide good service. And paying $700 for a plane tix they should at least give her the right name.

Perhaps another question is why airlines charge $150 to change a name? That is just another fee to gouge the consumer. They already have the seat paid for, let them use it!

On-line travel agencies, they are such a big help when one needs their assistance with problems, not. Next time use a brick and mortar agency, walk in to the travel agency tell the agent what you need, see what is being done before your eyes, look at your reservation, right there, no email, no excuses, if there is a problem it can be dealt with prior to the ticket being issued. Before on-line travel agencies became the “in thing” people used the real thing, and there is no reason to stop using them. All one hears about on these travel blogs, sites, are the multitude of problems on-line travel agencies bring to those that book with them.

I had a similar situation w/Expedia and British Airways, one
letter in my last name was wrong-I did not notice it for 2 wks
as the print is small and, my bad, I read it but did not look
for errors other than flights and times.
After 6 trying weeks, the help of Chris Elliott in contacting the
airline, Expedia finally had BA put a note on my record about the error. I had 6 international flights, not one agent noticed
anything. But the first thing I did when I noticed this is to buy travel insurance, just in case.
I’D GO TO THE TOP AT BOTH TRAVELOCITY AND THE AIRLINE; They will bounce you back and forth forever.
OR – IF YOU EVER FLY THAT ROUTE – BUY HIM A NEW TICKET FOR A DECENT PRICE AND USE THIS ONE WITHIN THE YEAR.
GOOD LUCK,
L

I made a mistake on Expedia once….noticed it immediately and then phoned, they were able to stop the transaction because it was done within 24 hours.

I think the name change fees are excessive, but these things need to be caught quickly. It appears in the case of expedia for example, within 24 hours is what’s required (don’t quote me on that). They need to review the tape of they have one, but things need to be addressed more quickly.

I’m sorry that her husband recently passed away and we all know it is Christmas coming up, but why are these two issues brought up in this case? Really nothing to do with it.

…and the oh by the way….

It amazes me that there are still people out there that do not HANG UP on a telephone call if they do not understand HOW THE WORDS are being spoken to them.

Why do people still use these trael websites? I have yet to find a flight – in many many searches – for more than $5-10 cheaper than they are on the airlines website other than naking your own price on priceline which left me with a very undesireable layover. In fact, more often I find the prices higher on the travel websites than thorugh the airline directly. Spend the extra few bucks, book throught the airline directly be it online or via telephone and cut out the middleman mess.

with the options you gave us I would have to choose “pay the change fee” . . . BUT . . . that’s only because I see it as the only reasonable way to get her son home for the holidays in time. Arguing and disputing take so long and there’s no guarantee they would produce a satisfactory outcome in time.

Having said that, I was a travel agent for a time back before these online sites even existed. I know how to read the rules and construct itineraries . . . but . . . that’s not your average customer (online or off). Most often I can manage just fine with online sites because of my background. But there have been times when things nearly went awry. For the more experienced of us on this site to blame the passenger (or the mom purchasing the ticket for her son) is to be disingenuous. Quite often the travelers Chris posts about are those who may only travel infrequently and are inexperienced with the process (online . . . and sometimes off). We need to consider their situation and skill set. We also need to be cognizant of the fact that all of us are being pushed in the direction of doing our travel arrangements (and banking, among many others) online. We are told it is the way to go and perhaps it is . . . but . . . it must come with very good customer service or huge problems can arise, as Chris can attest to.

I am hearing impaired and the offshore call centers are a HUGE problem for me. The heavily accented English and rote procedures have stymied me time and again. The only things that has saved me have been my knowledge of travel and my tenacity but as I said . . . that’s not the typical customer these days.

Those of us who know how to do these things and how the system (should) works need to be more forgiving and less arrogant. This modern world of ours is losing touch with the ability to be compassionate and helpful. [steps off soapbox]

She CALLED Travelocity to book a ticket? Why? Can she explain that one first? Travelocity is an online ticket booker – not a telephone ticket agency. . . .

Is this a situation where an elderly woman screwed up a computerized reservation again and now wants some help? I’m tired of dealing with the computer illiterate and cleaning up their messes because they do not want to give $25 to a real travel agent to book their ticket.

Look – this one is pretty simple –

1. Pull the call – what was the woman asking for. If she was asking for a ticket in her son’s name – then Travelocity screwed up –

2. As for the $700 fare – stupid is as stupid does. she bought a refundable ticket perhaps? What is the fare class? Is it refundable? Is this just a tempest in a teapot?

3. If the phone call is not archived, then we simply present copies of his ID with a Nebraska address and her id with a Philly area address – and show that someone messed up because SHE would not be flying from NE to PHL since she already lives in Philly area. . . .

BEFORE I did any of it I would first find out why she CALLED Travelocity – if it was because she was ‘afraid’ of using the computer to book a ticket or simply not competent using a computer – well that explains everything – including why she did not check her email for 2 weeks because the elderly computer users RARELY check email regularly – they think in terms of snail mail for confirmation of important ‘papers.’

Chris =- you need to start some critical examination [as in gentle cross examination] to get some explanations before posting this stuff. . ..

Since the name was caught 4 weeks prior to travel, she should be allowed to change for free. Whose fault is this? The airlines for making such ridiculous rules! I understand charging for name changes up to 1 or 2 weeks before the flight due to matching names with the TSA no-fly list. But 4 weeks?
I agree with PP’s who lament a $700 ticket. I would think at that price it might even be a refundable ticket. In which case she should refund and start over.

>>Damon says she called Travelocity on Nov. 2 to buy a ticket for her son to fly from Philadelphia to Nebraska…

Mistake #1. Letting someone at one of these consolidation sites enter your information. If you don’t have a computer or the skills to fill out an online form get a travel agent.

>>Maybe she is old fashioned & wants to talk to someone.

Mistake #2. Assuming that self-serve sites like this provide service. I mean really, come on.

>>Does anyone actually ever THINK before sending you these problems?

You have to ask this?

This is CLEARLY Travelocity’s fault. The OP makes her case when she points out that she wouldn’t book a ticket for herself to fly from Philly, when she’s in Nebraska. It’s obvious the English-challenged agent made the error.

Keep fighting them. Try first to escalate up through Travelocity, requesting all records, including recordings. Then if that doesn’t work, buy another ticket for your son, and dispute the charge on your credit card. Don’t give up.

These ridiculous rules have no purpose other than to rip people off. It’s a scam. What possible reason can there be for an airline to refuse to fix an OBVIOUS error, or to charge HUNDREDS of dollars to do so? There is one reason only: to squeeze undeserved money out of people. It certainly doesn’t cost the airline any money to make the name change – it’s a simple computer change. The airlines should be willing to fix errors that cost them nothing…and Travelocity should man-up and do the right thing if the airline won’t bend, and take care of it themselves.

This is the cost of doing business when you outsource to foreign countries.

@Christopher, please do tell us the outcome here. If Travelocity doesn’t do the right thing, I will make a point of spreading the word about their bad service and lack of business ethics.

Im surprised american airlines charges 100 to change the name on the flight. TSA does not allow ANY name changes for security measures so it was out of american airlines hands. I recently made an error with a name and had to pay a change fee to completely cancel the ticket and book it again for a whole new reservation.

I work as a reservations agent for a major legacy US airline. I’m based in the USA. I can tell you that from an airline’s point of view, we hate these types of situations and we can never understand why, in most cases, someone would book with a company like Travelocity instead of just booking with the airline directly and avoiding a middleman (and avoiding extra charges in some cases).

Now, this isn’t to say that the OP did anything wrong in this case or didn’t have a good reason to pick up the phone and call Travelocity for a booking. But I can tell you that I receive plenty of calls from customers who booked through a travel agency, made a mistake (whether the mistake was made by the customer or by the agency) and ask us to fix it. This could include something like an incorrect name or booking the incorrect date or flight time. As much as we’d like to help the customer in many cases, we simply can’t do so. If a travel agency issued the ticket incorrectly, they have to be the ones to fix it.

And agencies do have the ability to void tickets and issue new ones. Sure, in some cases, it’s going to result in a debit memo being issued to them, but if they made a mistake, then they have to pay. In this case, if the events occurred as described by the OP (which I fully believe they did), then Travelocity absolutely have to be the ones to fix it, whether or not it costs them money. And this is a perfect example of why to avoid booking through these companies in the first place. They’re going to be of no assistance when something goes wrong and the airline isn’t going to be able to help either since the airline didn’t issue the ticket.

Personally I believe names on tickets should be able to be changed free of charge online if you have your confirmation number.

You are buying a seat…does it really matter who is the one flying.

As for her….

Hey guys…MANY MANY PEOPLE in the country rarely fly so they have no clue on how it works. I vetting this is something her late husband did always…book all their travel plans online…bo he is gone..she has no clue how the thing works….WHICH IS WHY SHE CALLED IN TH FIRST PLACE.

The person she talked to made all the mistakes.

One time I was traveling for work so I didnt have a computer next to me. I needed to change my flight so the agent booked it incorrectly for a different day. I didnt have access to an online site to even verify the info.

The person used travelocity because that was the site her late husband likely used so she say the emails but didnt know how it was booked. She was looking for the best fare so its easier to go through consolidators to find the best fare. She saw this on travelocity…and had problems…so she likely called.

If I had some problems with their reservation system on something I was booking I would call too.

@Joe Farrell ” I’m tired of dealing with the computer illiterate and cleaning up their messes because they do not want to give $25 to a real travel agent to book their ticket.”

And here I thought you were just a commenter on the site here. I had no idea you were really Christopher in disguise!

Please, as someone just said, it doesn’t matter that they booked the ticket through the agent. In fact, that pretty much blows your whole theory out of the water being that she DIDN’T use the computer.

I don’t doubt she was talking to some guy in India who couldn’t speak English. Travelocity owes her a refund or a ticket change.

You know, once upon a time, you had to call, go in person, or use a TA to purchase an airline ticket. Such things are still possible to do today, and one can still do them correctly over the phone.

If you’re going to be in the business of selling travel products, you should be prepared to do it correctly no matter what methods you use.

As for pricing, I’m sure there are plenty of experienced people on here who realize that prices can start to fluctuate widely right about 2 to 3 weeks prior to departure, which would be about now. At the beginning of November, you pay more for the “certainty” of having a seat. This close to the holidays, airlines are trying to fill seats are are adjusting fares appropriately.

one other thing, about this whole name-change-fee business. i think it’s ludicrous. as an airline employee, and the roomie of another, many of y’all know i usually fall on the side of the airline, because i see firsthand the mistakes customers make and then try to blame on everyone else.
however, correcting a simple, obvious spelling or entry error should NOT cost the passenger $150!
approx 5 years ago, i was traveling with a friend who’d recently gotten married. she’d booked the ticket under her married name, Susie Jones. however, her passport had the name correction/update page on there as Susie Miller Jones. United Airlines charged her $150 to make the correction. I and my roomie knew that all it takes is a few keystrokes and perhaps one phone call to get that corrected, and we were flabbergasted.

The same thing happened to another friend, who’d transposed a few letters in their name due to poor typing skills. are you telling me that “Stevne Pierce” should pay $150 to correct that to “Steven Pierce”?! Sadly, many airlines do require the customer to pay that.

thank goodness mine doesn’t, or else i’d have a big problem (and i’d probably not have a job). I love it when my customers show me where they’d mistyped, and they’re scared they won’t be able to fly, and i get to say, “Hold on,” make a few quick keystrokes, and then, “Here ya go, you’re all set!” The relief on their faces is pricelessly sweet.

Long story short, correcting an obvious spelling error or mistyping of a name (Pete to Peter or Cindy to Cynthia, as per someone’s ID, for example) should not be a revenue stream for these companies.

Why would anyone book an airline ticket on the phone??

Let the real “enemy” be known to be AMERICAN AIRLINES. $250 + fare difference for a simple name change??? Are you kidding me? Most of the airline industry really deserves every bit of the bad publicity and hell they get.

I too once called Travelocity to book a ticket. This was for a cruise and there were some issues that weren’t clear on their site. I spent over an hour on the phone with the agent making sure that I got it right. I then had to spend large numbers of hours talking to Travelocity again over the next bunch of months fixing what they’d screwed up. Every time I thought it was fixed it would end up wrong again somehow.

Eventually, I had a successful cruise, but I even had to have the cruiseline contact travelocity about the room credit I was supposed to recieve. This was when I was actually on the cruise.

Frustrating.