We've all seen the traveller with the purple face, arms flailing and loud, whining voice spouting demands and insults. Maybe we've even been that person.
It's easy to go ballistic when your flight is delayed, your confirmed seat vanishes, your luggage goes to Tirana instead of Toronto or your hotel room comes with a nasty smell and faulty plumbing.
But does all that spluttering and muttering aid your cause? Or does the harried front-line worker you are haranguing intentionally move your problem to the bottom of the to-do list?
As a rule of thumb, the squeaky wheel really does get the grease, say frequent travellers and industry spokespeople.
Most often, you can have a travel snafu corrected on the spot if you know how to complain and whom to complain to. And if you don't get immediate relief, there are many avenues for seeking redress once you return home.
"Having a dissatisfied customer is in no one's interest," Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick says. The airline tries to respond to issues as they arise, but priority is given to those with immediate connections. If issues are still unresolved after the trip, he advises travellers to contact customer solutions at Air Canada, customer advocacy at Jazz or special departments that deal with lost luggage and refunds. (The contact details are on the airline's website, .)
Similarly, Air Transat and its tour operator Nolitours urge travellers to complain on the spot, but all complaints made at a later date will be investigated, spokesman Pierre Tessier says.
Keep in mind that travel companies probably won't do anything if you don't complain, and the more forcefully you state your case, the more help or compensation you will receive. Front-line workers, or their supervisors, as well as agents in consumer complaints departments generally have discretion on how to solve a problem. Even in overbooking situations -- where many airline tariffs spell out the compensation, if any, available to those who are bumped -- it's often possible to negotiate a larger amount.
Here, gathered from savvy travellers and industry insiders, are some basic ground rules for effective complaining -- and perhaps a few things the industry don't really want us to know.
On-the-road remedies
First, a don't: Don't lose your temper or resort to physical or verbal abuse. A tipsy British plumber found that out the hard way this summer aboard a Zoom Airlines flight from London to Ottawa. He complained that other passengers had stolen one of his CDs, and hurled abuse at the cabin crew while taking swings from a bottle of vodka he smuggled on board. The airline landed the plane at the nearest airport, put him off and charged him with causing a disturbance.
By contrast, Ken Hamer, a Vancouver consultant and frequent world traveller, was rewarded with more than $11,000 in free airfare after he complained to British Airways about a botched trip. His advice on getting what you want: "Keep cool. Don't get rude or personal. Do not blame the person you are speaking with. Explain what you are dissatisfied with, and why. Suggest alternative solutions that you would find acceptable."
Hamer hit the compensation jackpot during a 2003 trip from Vancouver to Cairo, which he had booked in first class using frequent-flier points. Delays related to a London snowstorm, combined with misinformation given to him by an airline agent, forced him to take a circuitous route and arrive two days late, he says. Then, on changing planes in London on his return, he learned he was being downgraded to business class for the last leg of his trip because no first-class cabin employees were available.
"I spoke with the gate agent for several minutes, and did my best to convey to her my dissatisfaction," he says. The agent talked to a supervisor and the windfall travel voucher was the result.
Another passenger who complained and got her way is Noreen Golfman, a professor of film and English at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Her Air Canada flight from St. John's arrived late in Halifax last month. That meant she missed her connection to Fredericton, where she was to take part in a radio-show taping. She persuaded the airline to send her to her destination by taxi, a 4½-hour, $550 trip.
Golfman says that on arrival in Halifax she was the first person in line at the customer service desk. "I put on my best professional manner and said I had an important taping with the CBC," she says. Her secret for complaining: Marshal as much authority as you can and be polite but forceful.
Complaining immediately does bring results. Hotels have a long tradition of moving guests who aren't happy with their assigned room. Just let the front desk know. Operators of package tours urge travellers to bring problems to the company's on-site destination representative. With airlines, go to the nearest available agent. If you don't get satisfaction, travel companies say, ask to speak to a supervisor or, if necessary, the supervisor's boss.
If that fails, call your travel agent, assuming you booked through one. You will probably be offered assistance, says Christiane Théberge, spokeswoman for the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA). But don't expect help if you book on-line, unless the site provides a phone number for emergency follow-up, she says.
Home -- and unhappy
If you still return home unhappy, complain first to the customer service department of the offending company. Most travel suppliers promise a response whether you state your case by phone, e-mail, fax or letter.
In a typical example, 17-year-old Jason Godfrey sent an e-mail to Via Rail after a disappointing trip from Toronto to Kingston. With Comfort Class sold out, he had paid an extra $94 at the last minute to travel in Via 1. He wrote that he received no meal (Via says it can't guarantee one for last-minute bookings) and was given the cold shoulder by staff because of his age. He phoned a week later when there was no response. Via then offered an apology and a $35 travel voucher.
Hope Smith of Calgary says she waited months for a reply after she complained about damaged baggage to Air Canada's customer solutions department last year. So when she had further issues with the carrier this year she sent e-mails expressing her displeasure directly to Air Canada president and CEO Montie Brewer. She got quick responses and action from assistants in his department. One complaint was related to a Toronto-New York flight where she was told to leave the plane before take-off and was required to wait for a later flight. Her other complaint involved her teenage son, whose paid Air Canada ticket was rejected at the airport because his name was similar to someone suspected of credit-card fraud. She had to buy a second ticket for him. A helpful phone reservation agent later arranged a refund for her. But it was Brewer's office that pitched in to help clear the son's name in the files so he could avoid the same problem on future flights. Smith still isn't happy with the airline, but advises others to take all problems directly to the top.
Still unhappy?
Unresolved issues concerning air travel can be taken to the Canadian Transportation Agency, a federal government watchdog. It dealt with 1,337 complaints last year resulting in compensation for many travellers. Most of the issues involved quality of service, flight disruptions, baggage and ticketing.
Complaints about the land portion of tour packages can be taken to provincial or territorial bodies that deal with consumer complaints. As well, ACTA promises to look into complaints about member companies that violate the association's code of ethics by such actions as providing improper documents or failing to impart accurate information.
Still unsatisfied?
Threatening legal action is a better option than actually taking it because of time and cost involved, Toronto lawyer Heather Segal says. But it's still better to threaten to go to the press, she says. Companies are more worried about publicity than about being sued, she says.
Finally, if you can't get a journalist to take up your cause, you can always tell your story on a blog or on-line chat room. Just don't be too nasty. Both Air Canada and Regent Holidays (now renamed Nolitours) threatened legal action a few years ago in attempts to close down websites critical of their products. In any case, frustrated travellers who resort to complaining on-line have usually given up hope of compensation. They only want revenge.
Snafu solutions
On the spot: State your case politely but forcefully to the nearest airline agent, the
hotel front desk or the on-site tour representative at a
holiday destination. If that's no help, ask for a supervisor. Contact your travel agent if you used one.
After the fact: Phone, write or e-mail the travel supplier's customer service department. E-mail the company president. Take air complaints to the Canadian
Transportation Agency ( ). Make complaints about tours to
provincial or territorial consumer departments (their contact information is listed on the CTA website). Contact the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies ( ) for ethical issues involving its members. If you get no satisfaction, threaten to go to a lawyer or the media. As a last resort, tell your story on a website.
Out of luck: Here are some cases where complaining probably won't bring compensation:
You are denied boarding for a flight and it's your own fault because you arrived late at check-in or security. Check your electronic ticket, the
carrier's website or your
travel agent for the rules on when to be where.
You are denied boarding
because you don't have a passport, visa or other
documents required for your destination. Check what you need with your travel agent or the Foreign Affairs website ( ).