The fine art of complaining

How to fix your trip

By Christopher Elliott | Tribune Media Services

May 13, 2007

Your airline lost your luggage. Your car rental company ran out of sedans and handed you the keys to a gas-guzzling van. Your hotel can't find your reservation, and you're homeless on vacation. What now?

I've been mediating travel disputes my entire career, and I know what to do. I'm National Geographic Traveler's ombudsman, and I write the Travel Troubleshooter column every week ( www.csr.elliott.org). When vacations head south, I get the call.

Over the years, I've developed a few insider tricks for fixing a derailed trip: whom to write, what to say and where to go when no one listens. But if I had to distill everything into one simple rule, it would be: The sooner you speak up, the better your chances of getting what you deserve.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here are my strategies for making things right when they have gone wrong:

Don't wait

Instead of writing a letter or calling when you get home, mention your problem before you check out, deplane or disembark. The person behind the counter frequently is empowered to fix the problem on the spot. Leave without saying something, and you'll have to deal with an outsourced call center where operators have 50 ways (or more) to say "no."

Keep meticulous records

Take snapshots of the bedbug-ridden hotel room or the rental car with a chipped windshield. Channel Perry Mason. Keep all e-mails, brochures, tickets and receipts. In extreme cases, I've even seen travelers print screen shots of their reservation to prove they made it.

Take a deep breath

Stay calm. Even though you may feel like ranting about your trip, resist the temptation. You're going to need to stay focused to get what you want from the company. A levelheaded letter is far more likely to get results than a threat.

Talk is cheap

For immediate gratification, there's nothing like chewing someone out by phone. In fact, the phone can be problematic because no usable paper trail is created. (Many companies record call-center conversations, but you won't have access.) Do everything in writing.

Write tight and polite

The most effective e-mails and letters are very short—no more than one page, or about 500 words. They include all details necessary to track your reservation, such as confirmation numbers and travel dates. They're polite, dispassionate and free of spelling errors. There's a real person on the other end reading the e-mail or letter, so something as seemingly insignificant as bad grammar can determine whether your complaint is taken seriously.

Start at the bottom

If you're already back from vacation and need to contact a travel company, go through channels. Give the system a chance to work. Start by contacting the company through its customer service department. The point of this exercise is to collect evidence that you gave the company an opportunity to make things right. That could be important if the company tries to blow you off and you need to go to court.

Cite the rules

Your complaint has the best chance of getting a fair shake if you can convince the company that it broke the law or didn't follow its own rules. Airlines have what is called a contract of carriage: the legal agreement between you and the company. Cruise lines have ticket contracts. Car-rental companies have rental agreements, and hotels are subject to state lodging laws. You can ask the company for a copy of the contract or find it on its Web site.

Tell them what you want—nicely

I'll say it again: Be extra nice. The two most common mistakes people make with a written grievance are being vague about the compensation they expect and being unpleasant. Also, make sure you're asking appropriate compensation. I've never seen an airline offer a First-Class, round-trip ticket because flight attendants ran out of chicken entrees.

Copy all the right people

Yes, customer service representatives review the list of everyone you copied on an e-mail or letter. When they see you've shared a grievance with a few other folks, it will give the complaint more weight. The people to copy depend on the type of grievance (see box). Just think of it as the exclamation point at the end of your letter.

Press 'send' or mail

E-mail is an acceptable way to file a grievance. A few things to keep in mind: If you use a Web-based form, keep a copy (don't just type directly into the form and hit "send" because you won't have a copy). Make sure your subject line describes the grievance. "Flight 123 query from passenger Jones" is preferable to "I'LL NEVER FLY ON YOUR AIRLINE AGAIN." If you need a return receipt, snail mail still works best.

Be patient

The typical grievance takes six to eight weeks to resolve. Yes, six to eight weeks. A lot of them are faster, but many routinely test the eight-week limit. There's no excuse for dragging things out, of course, but patience is a must when dealing with travel companies.

Turned down?

Get it in writing. Don't accept no for an answer by phone. Ask the company to put it into an e-mail or letter. That way, you have something to add to your file. I hope you won't be rejected, but if you are, you want cold, hard proof that the company gave you a thumbs-down. No worries; you're not out of options.

Appeal your case to a higher authority

Did you get a form letter politely asking you to take a hike? It's not over. Every travel company has a vice president of customer service or a manager in charge of dealing with passengers or guests. That's who needs to hear from you next. These executives go to great lengths to keep their names and contact information from becoming public, but a quick online search will reveal the contact person. I list many of them on my Web site ( www.csr.elliott.org).

Take another deep breath

Don't overreact. Simply enclose copies of all of the correspondence with a cover letter to the vice president, politely asking the company to reconsider its decision. Copy the same group of people. Be pleasant, non-threatening, but firm.

Take extreme measures

If the company still says no, you should consider the "Hail Mary," a respectful but insistent letter "overnighted" directly to the chief executive officer along with the disappointing string of no's you've received. This is a little-known loophole in the system. Something FedExed to the top exec has an excellent chance of being read by that person. Another last-ditch option: Consider disputing the credit card charge.

Go to court

Most travel-related issues would be handled by a small-claims court, which doesn't require that you hire a lawyer. Travel companies like going to court about as much as the average person, so filing a complaint may be enough to get them to see things your way.

Know when to cut your losses

Sometimes, the cost of pursuing a complaint, in both time and money, outweighs the benefits. Going after a travel company for nothing more than an apology may not be the most productive thing to do. Pick your battles.

Troubleshooting a trip isn't difficult. With the right information, a positive attitude, realistic expectations and, above all, patience, you can resolve 99 percent of all travel grievances. The other 1 percent? That's my department.