Clark Howard's Tips

February 27, 2008

Clark recently revealed the customer-no-service problem he's been having with Orbitz.

To recap, Clark had a hotel booked through Orbitz that proved to be a dump. So he checked in and then quickly turned right around and checked out. He then had to contact Orbitz to get his money back. Upon calling them, he went through 7 customer-no-service reps with no resolution. He also sent 2 e-mails and got no response. Then he went on the air to discuss what was going on.

Within 3 hours, he was tracked down at home by an Orbitz mucky-muck who fell all over herself trying to accommodate him because he was a premium member. Clark politely informed her there was nothing she could do to help him. He wouldn't accept a refund because they probably wouldn't have been trying to help him if he were just any John Q. Orbitz customer. The money would have been coming from unclean hands and only because of his status as a nationally syndicated radio host. In short, he values his integrity more than he values his wallet.

Clark did request that Orbitz improve its customer service experience. He and the woman had a pleasant yet tense conversation. The rep revealed that Orbitz out-sources 100% of its customer service overseas. It turns out that most major online travel sites out-source like Orbitz. Maybe that's why they all have customer service problems. He was assured that Orbitz's out-sourced reps are authorized to solve customer problems, but that definitely was not his experience as his call got bounced around all over the world with no solution.

Consumer advice courtesy of