I had booked a ticket 6 months in advance from Bangalore to Bhuneshwar for my Holi Vacation.
After comfortably cancelling the ticket saying the flights will not fly in the same route - they provided alternative options that will ensure I will see all india and spend 24 hours+ time extra when the trip should be just couple of hours.
So we booked the train ticket - which is like a lottery system in India in the Diwali and Holi season, through an agent and payed the extra premium. After booking the ticket we went ahead and called the Kingfisher Customer Care for cancelling the ticket.(well the ticket was automatically cancelled when flight got cancelled - I mean to say asking for refund, ).
And then the trouble began.
We had to call them 3 times and for each call we had to wait for half hour time and they kept transferring the call from one department to another. Well they don’t have a mechanism of internal transferring of calls. Which essentially means that any you have to again go trough all the telephone options and wait for half hour( cry in dark y did I book the ticket from kingfisher) and then explain the same ordeal to another person who will sympathize with you will but do nothing and again say you to call to another department this time. So the first department transferred the calls to reservations( not transfers but cuts your call and says you to call again.) and then after calling reservations you have to call to internet booking department and this will take almost 2 hours plus of your time to talk to the rite person. He will again ask your PNR and Ticket No and your story and even some time confirm the "credit card " no from which you had booked. And god forbid if the call gets cut during this course then "again call the customer care and wait for half an hour.
Well at last he convinces you that your refund had been processed and it will be reflected in your account in 5 days. And all these calls that you do don’t ask them about the request no/ service no etc as they don’t bother to provide one. Lest you will save hours of your time explaining your ordeal. They have no tracking mechanism. Not even a mail is sent saying that your ticket was cancelled and we will be refunding it in next 5 working days.
So if you don’t get to see the amount refunded in your account don’t panic you need to double your patience level and again follow the whole of above process again and again this time you will end up with a verbal assurance that they will process the refund in next five days. And eventually that too won’t come and you will again have to try the luck. After 3 months of ordeal I have still not got the money.
These are the people whom I have talked to the last time. I just noted down their names this time as they wont provide any request id and other stuff. Even not the prior call details. They just keep saying that sir we dont have the access. What the heck how can they dont keep track of all the conversations.requests of customers in the electronic age.
PNR No: LSCYGW .
Booking Date: 15th OCtober. 2011
2nd Time Cancellation Date: 28th January 2012
Refund Amount: Rs 2629 Per guest.
Transaction Id - 0900470421791.
Last Called 17th Feb 2012.
Toll Free No: 18602669000: To Connect to it will take anywhere between 15 min to an hour.
Talked to Srivatsa - from - Reservations & Rescheduling Department.
Mohammed Tavrez & Chetan K from Web Booking department
This last guy Chetan K put me on hold for 15 minutes and then cut the call saying "hello hello I am not able to hear you " as if enacting in an hindi movie.