Pardon my Soapbox

Pardon my Soapbox
As I prepare for another trip to Romania and Bulgaria, last years nightmare caused by Orbitz and Lot Polish Airlines is still fresh in my mind. I can halfway forgive Lot Polish, my trip home was nice. The little Nazis at their ticket counter in Newark and the errors and inaccessibility of Orbitz still burn.
It cost me an extra $1800 to get to my destination. USAir was 15 minutes late. The Nazis would not let me on the plane, nor would they help me rebook. Try to call Orbitz sometime. They are a cyberspace illusion. After letters to both airlines, Orbitz and the FAA, Lot Polish agreed to give me back $442 for the segment I did not fly. That’s better than a swift kick between the legs. There’s a catch. They sent the money to Orbitz to refund to me.
This was in September, I am still begging them for the money. They acknowledge having it. They just don’t send it to me. Accept this as a fair warning. Any company dealing in millions of dollars of tickets every day that can’t afford to send out $442 may be on the verge of bankruptcy. What will your Orbitz tickets be worth if this happens?


David Segrest is a REALTOR in Charlotte NC. His website is http://www.segrestrealty.com His email is david@segrestrealty.com

Lot Polish and Orbitz

Why I will never book with either one of these companies again:

In May I taught a CIPS Institute in Romania. I made the serious mistake of booking my ticket with Orbitz. Have you ever tried to communicate with Orbitz other than to buy a ticket?

Orbitz booked me an illegal connection in Newark NJ. I took US Air to Newark from Charlotte. They were 15 minutes late. I went to the Lot Polish check in. They would not let me check in because there was less than an hour before my flight. I had to be in Romania the next morning. The only help they were willing to give me was to "try" to put me on the next days flight. I went back to USAir. Not much help there. They did find me an alternative flight on Continental.

I went back to Lot Polish. They had closed and gone home. I booked on Continental and paid for it myself. When I came back I tried for refunds and complained to the FHA. I stopped the payment on my credit card. The credit card did not understand so they went ahead after a couple of months and reinstated the payment. I paid for 2 tickets. I only flew once. I would strongly advise against booking any ticket with Orbitz.

David Segrest is a REALTOR in Charlotte, NC

David S. Segrest, CIPS, CCIM, TRC, CEA
david@segrestrealty.com
http://www.segrestrealty.com
Serving the world in the Carolinas, Serving the Carolinas in the World

Excuses and Promises

Excuses and Promises

I have not written for a while. I have had a very intense teaching and traveling schedule and a little bit of writer's block. I will write something tomorrow. It will not be about real estate. It will be about travel. I will be saying bad things about Orbitz and Lot Polish Airlines. Don't you love smut?

David Segrest