I decided to take a package tour with my family to Goa from Bangalore on 5th July on a short notice.
I picked makemytrip for the tour since the package deal sounded a good bargain compared to direct booking of flight and hotel or other travel portals.
I called up the customer service on 4th July and asked for the booking details for 4 days and 3 nights package via kingfisher and stay at Phoenix Resort in Candolim Goa starting 5th July. Since my booking
was at a short notice the CS executive informed that rates quoted in the site and that which would be applicable to me would be different. I would be charged more than what was in the site. I asked him if the to and fro tickets and the stay in hotel were confirmed. He confirrmed the same. So I was quoted a total amount of Rs 25600 /- for to and from from Bangalore to Goa by Kingfisher and then 4 days+ 3 nights stay at Phoenix Inn Resort in Candolim for a couple(spouse and I) and my infant.
I went ahead and gave my credit card details and asked the CS executive to charge my card for this package. He did the same. I did the booking around 3 PM on 4th July, and since my trip was to start on 5th he promised me to send my e-ticketsfor airlines and e-vouchers for hotel reservations by 8:00 PM on 4th july.
Now my trouble starts .:(
I called by 5 PM on 4th to ask if the bookings can be done faster and send me the details by 6 or 7 PM. He said he would do his best. But this did not happen and by 8:00 PM after repeated calls he sends me the e-tickets for Bangalore to Goa(onward only) by Kingfisher. There was no mention/info about hotel voucher or return tickets.
So I called up again and enquired about the same and got info that I will get all the e-docs by 10 AM on 5th July(the day of my travel). On 5th July as until 10:30 AM there was no mail from makemytrip I called up the CS to check on the status. To my dismay since the CS executive who was dealing with my profile was not available I was bounced from 1 department to another(6 hops) until the person informed me that she would get back on the details of hotel reservation and e-ticket for return.
Then until 11:30 AM there was no call back. So I called up this CS person’s cell and enquired about my e-docs. He said he as started working on it and would send me all the details by 12:00 PM. Then when at 1200 hrs nothing turns up in my in-box I called him again(already panic has setin by now) and asked about my tickets. No he gives me a bummer that my return tickets on Kingfisher were not available and only possibility is AirDeccan that would cost around 800 more. Will this be OK?
I told him since my travel was already planned and I cannot backtrack, since it would cost only 800 more and I definitely need to come back to Bangalore on 8th, kindy go ahead and book the same.
So by around I PM I got the e-voucher for hotel reservation which I printed out on the way to Bangalore airport. Phew!
Then I started by trip .
On 6th July morning aroudn 10:00 AM I checked for my return tickets and luckily my in-box had the same. But dissappointingly there was no ticket for my infant. There were 2 tickets for Goa to Bangalore in AirDeccan and no infant ticket. I got furious but held on since my day would get spoiled if I called this guy again.
Later in the evening on 6th July I called this CS executive again and asked why my infant tickets were not booked? He replied that they had missed it while booking my spouse’s and my tickets and then they could not add it. Then when I asked him who will pay for that, he said it would not cost more that 500 Rs and I should do so at Goa airport. Then I also asked him if he has charged my card for the airdeccan tickets and he said yes they have charged Rs 600 and odd per person(remember this per person was not mentioned in my previous call:().
I got really wild and blasted this guy and told him how they have spoilt my vacation. He then gave his manager’s number. He listened to me and said the cost of Airdeccan should be borne by me and infant ticket can be purchased at the airport.
I asked him what is the logic of Airdeccan tickets costing more than Kindfisher airlines? I had taken the offer of 25600/- for the trip on the basis of premium towards Kingfisher experience. But notion of Airdeccan ticket costing more than Kingfisher can only be a joke. of bad taste as well!
Then he said he would look into it and get back.
At the airport during my return I had to shell out RS 1877/-(not 500 or 600 bugs as mentioned by CS executive) and that too added to the cost of trip. Net net I spent 28825 /- as against quoted amount of 25600/- with addition of anxiety, helplessness and not the Kingfisher experience.
Now the big question is will they pay back the excess money I have paid - Rs 3225 /-?
Has anyone faced similar problems earlier? How to go about to get ny refund?
As a summary what do u get from Makemytrip:
1) Their business process is sloppy to say the least. They charge your card first but nothing is guaranteed for you as per the package.
2) They always promise to call you back but never do so. Probably its their business policy.
3) They know the knack of getting you hooked and then extort more money.
4) They break trust at every stage.