ebookers

bendabomb

Not for the first time I am having enormous difficulties contacting ebookers. Last year I booked flights to New Zealand; the flight times were changed (out of the agents control I know) and I got an answerphone message telling me the flights were changed and to phone ebookers for details. My wife had flights to HK booked and needed to phone them to confirm something. Now I have had flight times to Cyprus changed. This time I got an email asking me to call them to check the new flight times. I appreciate them getting in touch to let me know, but I really wish you could get through to them on the phone. 0870 number of course, though there is an alternative on 'say no to 0870'.
I really think their customer service is falling down badly, and I am probably going to start avoiding them unless their price is very much cheaper.
Anyone else having similar problems with them?

applehead_3

I will never ever use ebookers again.

After they failed to inform us about an outgoing flight time change to Malaysia, I tried complaining, but their customer service is abysmal.

Sam_Bee

Can I emphasis that anyone who books with ebookers does at the expense of customer service. They have one of the lowest mark-ups in the industry (about 3-5% which is ridiculously low) and you all go and book with them as a result. However, any problems caused by you or them, you are screwed.

What little customer service they have have is based in India (Delhi to be precise) and is overworked and undertrained.

Consumers in this country have driven air ticket prices down so low, this is what happens - cutbacks have to be made somewhere?

Can I ask if this is not the first time, why did you give them a second chance? How much did you save? £1? £5? £7??

And can I also add if you have a trustworthy travel agent, do treat them like gold-dust as they are rapidly disappearing,

Thus speaks an ex-ebookers employee. Who refuses to book with them, as I know how they work.

Donnie

To be fair, the same thing happened to me. I was not imformed in a timely fashion about a schedule change. I only found out as I was making another booking with the same airline.
Though in my case, after giving them a bit of a lambasting, they credited my account with a £50 voucher against my next flight booking with them.
Since I fly regularly, it was useful compensation.
Would I book with them again? Yes, but with caveats.

bendabomb

Can I ask if this is not the first time, why did you give them a second chance? How much did you save? £1? £5? £7??
Actually saved rather a lot more than that, I can't remember how much but I think it was in the hundreds. Flights to Cyprus seemed to be ridiculously expensive but I found this one cheap flight.

I will not use them for anything critical, but will consider them if timing is not paramount because they do seem to come up with the goods. We fly a lot as a family and getting !!!!!!ed about on flights seems to be the order of the day in the travel business.

Thanks for your tip on trying a proper travel agent. I will do that next time.

Voyager2002

Why am I not surprised by these stories? Well, ebookers belongs to lastminute.com who are famous for their service orientation, or rather lack of it.

I have never seen a flight on ebookers that cost less than the equivalent from Trailfinders, and Trailfinders actually give good service.

Sam_Bee

Voyager2002 wrote:

Why am I not surprised by these stories? Well, ebookers belongs to lastminute.com who are famous for their service orientation, or rather lack of it.

I have never seen a flight on ebookers that cost less than the equivalent from Trailfinders, and Trailfinders actually give good service.

Being a pedant, but ebookers has nothing to do with lastminute - ebookers are owned by Cendant, the largest 'travel provider' in the world (own lots of hotel chains, and people like Travelbag), and I think they are rather embarressed by them.

But both lastminute and ebookers follow the low cost online model of cutting prices by cutting service. Driven by the consumer I may add! Not sure if either have ever made a pennies profit though?