About Holidaying Online

After many MANY months of futile hopes and plans, Dumpieus aka Princess Lilliput and I finally have our next holiday mapped out. Asia's shopping mecca. The Pearl of the Orient. Ding dong Hong Kong. Here we come!

RAVE OF THE DAY...

Online reservation systems.

Since we waited till the 11th hour to make our bookings, all the damn flights were full, that is, all the flights that didn't cost us an arm and a leg were full. So unless we were willing (Which we weren't!) to fork out a whopping $490 each (Plus another freaking $98 for tax!) for a bloody SQ ticket, I figured our holiday dreams had fallen through yet again.

Then... (The dude upstairs apparently heard my muttered threats pleas!) A travel agent finally called me back with the information that Valuair had seats available for the dates we wanted. At a "mere" $254 per ticket. *cough cough* Compared that to the exorbitant Singapore Airlines price tag, and I was more than happy to take whatever handout was being given. So I made a reservation and promised to confirm my booking within 24 hours.

4 hours before deadline, I decided, on a lark, to double check ticket prices on the Valuair website. Lo and behold... I realized that if I booked and paid for my tickets online, PL and I would save a neat $50 each. Bravo, April, bravo! I wasted no time in cancelling my previous booking and getting my new, cheaper e-tickets issued. Which was done, boxed and wrapped within 15 minutes.

Online reservation systems kick ass!

RANT OF THE DAY...

Online reservation systems.

Buoyed by my previous success, I proceeded to look up and reserve our preferred hotel via an online reservation system as well. Imagine how impressed I was when I received an email within 30 seconds of filling up all my credit details and clicking the site's {CONFIRM} button. That feeling faded a little as I read the mail's contents...

Dear April,

Thank you for your reservation at asiarooms.com. Please find following your contact and reservation details. If something is wrong contact us as soon as possible in order to correct it. To contact us, please use the contact us link on your status page or on the asiarooms.com website or call us by phone.

During the reservation process you will be informed by email on your reservation status. At any moment you can check also your reservation status directly online by following this link: Check Status.

Your current status is - Credit card verification under process.

Your Reservation Number : XXXXXX.

This reservation is not confirmed. We will revert with the final status by email.

Kind Regards
Reservation Dept.

Ok. Maybe I was expecting a little too much. After all, simply because the internet is pretty much a real-time medium, doesn't mean that everything has to be done instantaneously, right? *rolls eyes* My spirits lifted about 15 minutes later when I got another email from AsiaRooms.com. "Yay!" I thought. "That settles it!" Uh huh... Riiiiiight.

Dear April,

Thank you for your reservation at AsiaRooms.com.

Booking Reference: XXXXXX.

We are pleased to inform you that your credit card has been successfully verified for the total amout of XXX.XX USD.

Your reservation is under process: We will now send the reservation to the hotel and you will receive a feedback for your final status within 24 hours. Nethertheless, during high season / busy period, the status may be delayed depending on the hotel's situation.

This total amount will be charged only after your reservation is confirmed.

By clicking here you can check anytime the status of your booking.

Should there be any further information or assistance you're require, please feel free to contact us anytime.

Kind Regards
Reservation Dept.

At first, I was like, what the?!?!?! Then I made myself take a deep breath. It was ok, I could wait 24 hours. That didn't mean I was gonna sit on my laurels though... So I sent them a very politely-worded "chaser", requesting that they revert as soon as possible, as my flights were already booked and as such, I needed to firm up my accommodation plans as well.

No reply.

By the way, what is up with the crappy English on the auto-reponse email?!
1) "... you will receive a feedback for your final status..."
2) "By clicking here you can check anytime the status of your booking..."

Sheeeeeeeeeeesh! Aaaaaaanyway... Tick tock tick tock...

24 hours later. I alternate between checking my email and refreshing the {BOOKING STATUS} page online. Nothing. No change. My booking hasn't been confirmed and I can't make another booking until I know for a fact that my credit card won't be charged with this 1! Fuck! I send them another email, not so nicely-worded this time.

Tick tock tick tock...

It's been 36 hours and counting. Still nothing! Christ on a crutch. They have another 12 hours. If I don't hear from the damn Reservations Department by lunch tomorrow, these incompetent mofos are gonna get a really nasty cancellation phone call. Especially since their fucking customer service hotlines for Asiapac are in Bangkok and Hong Kong (Which probably explains the email's sucky English!), meaning I'll need to pay goddamn IDD charges to settle this.

Grrrrrr...

Online reservation systems deserve a kick in the ass!