You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the sign post up ahead, your next stop:Â The Personal Finance Twilight ...
Continue reading Southwest Airlines: Website Horror Stories, Part II
Southwest Airlines: Great Prices, but Beware the Bait and Switch
Before I kick off my little pity party that's doubling today as a do-it-yourself therapy session, let me state for the record that I think Southwest Airlines is still the best-run US domestic airline in the business.
Although I have no loyalty to any airline, I love flying Southwest. A big reason is they are generally tough to beat when it comes to low fares, but what really takes Southwest to the next level are their employees -- I think they're the friendliest in the industry, bar none. And I mean all of them; from the pilots, gate agents and stewardesses flight attendants, to the baggage handlers and cleaning crews.
Okay, I can't vouch for their mechanics, but I'll bet you dollars to donuts that they're just as happy-go-lucky as the rest of Southwest's employees.
Now that I've got that out of the way, it's time to beef. And unless you're the type that's got more money than time I'd advise you to pay close to attention, because what happened to me can easily happen to you too.
As many of you know, I'm speaking at next month's Financial Bloggers Conference in Denver. Although I briefly considered trying to save a few bucks by driving from my Southern California home, in the end I decided it made a lot more sense if the Honeybee and I traveled by air.
Of course, that required me to purchase a couple of plane tickets. So after a little online research, I found the best deal, by far, was being offered by Southwest Airlines.
How good? Well, after entering the pertinent data into their website, Southwest came back with an almost unbelievable deal: two tickets from Southern California to Denver for $104 each, and two tickets for the return leg for $114 apiece. Add it all up and Southwest was offering me two tickets to Denver and back for a grand total of $436!
Are you kidding me?
I thought I had died and gone to heaven, even though all I really did was stumble upon one of Southwest's web-only "Wanna Get Away" specials.
In any case, I was so happy with my good fortune that I did a quick Irish jig (it wasn't much more than 10 seconds) before I hit the "continue" button.
Anyway, the next step was to pay, so I dutifully filled out the requisite info and hit the "purchase" button. And that's when the trouble started, folks.
Instead of seeing a confirmation screen on my monitor that verified I had just scored what was probably the best airfare deal west of the Rockies, I got a message in red letters that started with this word: "Oops!"
The rest of the message essentially noted that Southwest could not complete my purchase for the return leg of our trip. Fine; I understand websites have occasional hiccups. But after being steered back to the flight selection screen for the second time, Southwest had changed the deal they originally offered. While the cost of the tickets for the outbound flight remained the same, the return leg ticket price had magically increased an additional $199. Each.
As a result, the new total fare was $833.20.
What the ... ?
In the blink of an eye, my airfare just increased $398!
I couldn't believe it. This was outrageous!
To paraphrase Weekly World News columnist Ed Anger, now I was madder than a flight attendant stewardess with an armful of overflowing barf bags. I felt like I had just taken four $100 bills and tossed them into the whirring jet engine blades of a Boeing 737.
On the summary page, Southwest did their best to make me feel better by noting that the higher "Anytime" fare they had just foisted upon me had the advantage of "great flexibility." It didn't work.
I didn't want "great flexibility" -- I wanted the "excellent value" they originally offered me with their "Wanna Get Away" fare!
As far as I was concerned, Southwest just pulled a classic bait and switch maneuver, and so I called one of their online customer service representatives to voice my displeasure.
Jordan, bless her heart, tried her level best to explain how there are only a limited number of those special fares available. She suggested there might have been only one "Wanna Get Away" fare available for the return leg, but since there were two tickets requested, it rejected the original offer.
"Then why did Southwest offer me the fare in the first place?" I asked.
"I can't answer that, Mr. Penzo."
Jordan then tried to make me a happy customer by offering me their "Wanna Get Away" fare on the return leg, but only if I was willing to stay another day in Denver. Unfortunately, that was not a viable option for me.
So, after I finished wearing myself out ranting about the terrible financial injustice that had just befallen me, and with the two of us locked in an obvious stalemate, Jordan offered up her condolences.
"I'm really sorry we can't help you, Mr. Penzo."
Jordan's patience was admirable, and her voice was so, well ... disarmingly pleasant. I swear I could almost see her sympathetic smile on the other side of the line.
"I am too, Jordan."
We then wished each other well and said goodbye.
What a nice young lady! I thought to myself as I hung up the phone.
And as I sat there, resigned to my inglorious fate, I suddenly realized that, for some strange reason, I wasn't really mad anymore.
Mildly irritated; yes. But angry? Nah.
Photo Credit: Kevin Coles ...
Continue reading Southwest Airlines: Great Prices, but Beware the Bait and Switch
Mac Users See Pricier Hotels When Using Orbitz … So?
I've known for a long time that online travel agencies aren't created equal, partly because I've conducted experiments that compared Expedia, Orbitz, Hotwire, Priceline, Kayak and Travelocity prices.
Now comes news that Mac users who visit online ...
Continue reading Mac Users See Pricier Hotels When Using Orbitz … So?
Why Frequent Flier Programs Aren’t Worth It (for Most People)
I recently received an urgent email from US Airways imploring me to join their frequent flier program. The friendly prod occurred not too long after I purchased four round trip tickets to Hawaii for this year's family summer vacation.
The ...
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Why the Dirty Details Matter When Planning Your Vacation
Sometimes things aren't always what they seem. Especially upon first glance.
This past summer I was examining my Marriott rewards account when I noticed that I had finally -- finally! -- accrued enough points to score a 6-night stay on Maui at ...
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Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? Guess this Room Service Bill.
As I mentioned here the other day, I recently spent a fun weekend at one of those fancy pancy resort hotels in Scottsdale, Arizona.
You know the kind. This place has every amenity a Kardashian girl could ever want including a spa, the obligatory ...
Continue reading Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? Guess this Room Service Bill.
Dear Diary: What I Did On My Summer Vacation
My family and I just got back from a whirlwind two-week vacation to the East Coast to see the Honeybee's family in Connecticut and do some sightseeing. We also managed to set aside a little time to visit some of my tax money in our nation's ...
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Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline and Others: What’s the Best Travel Search Engine?
I can't believe I'm saying this, but our annual summer vacation is right around the corner. Weren't we in the throes of a Little Ice Age just last month?
Ah, well.
I'd like to say we were going back to Maui, but unfortunately I drew the short ...
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Should Low-Income Drivers Receive Subsidies to Use Toll Express Lanes?
Every day on my way home from work I zip by tens of thousands of people behind the wheels of cars stuck in hopelessly gridlocked traffic because they didn't want to pay the toll (usually between $2 and $10, depending on the direction and time of day) for the open express lanes.
For me, the money spent every day for the right to avoid 10 miles of traffic hell is money well-spent. I currently spend about $1000 each year for the privilege of driving unimpeded and, truth be told, I would gladly spend double that if I had to.
Those express toll lanes are a beautiful thing - without them I would not be able to endure my daily 38 mile commute and I would most likely be forced to leave my employer of many years to take a much lower paying job closer to home.
Not everybody thinks they are a good deal.
In fact, a lot of people argue that paid toll lanes are inherently unfair to low-income drivers. They wonder why those who make less money should have to endure a hellish commute while others who can afford to pay for it get to whiz by in relative comfort.
A joint study conducted in 2008 by UCLA and USC actually seems to disprove that line of thought.
According to the study, pay-as-you-go transportation options like toll express lanes are actually fairer to all income levels than paying for road improvements such as additional express lanes through sales taxes alone.
While the study found that toll express lanes are disproportionately used by middle- and upper-middle-income households, it also found that those same drivers would have ended up paying less each year if the lanes would have been funded via their sales taxes.
What troubles me is the study authors' suggestion that policymakers worried about low-income peak-period commuters could provide discounted subsidy pricing based on income levels, or provide travel credits to lower-income commuters.
Of course, such a suggestion poses another problem.
Since the only way to keep the express lanes flowing smoothly is to raise the prices during times of peak use, the implementation of subsidies would result in other drivers being priced out of the lanes in favor of the subsidized lower-income drivers. How fair is that?
As usual, when it comes to subsidies and hand-outs there is no free lunch.
Somebody is always going to have to pay. ...
Continue reading Should Low-Income Drivers Receive Subsidies to Use Toll Express Lanes?
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