Have you ever had a travel situation that didn’t go according to plan? Yeah, me too. In the past year, an airline that will go unnamed lost my bags. I was excited to be traveling internationally with my cousin, who’s like a sister to me. We’d planned our trip to Portugal for six months. We were to meet in Porto and make our way to our river cruise. That was the plan, anyway. While I made it to Portugal, my bags remained in Tampa. I learned about this somewhat after my 2:30 am landing. I was supposed to take a river cruise along the Douro starting in less than 40 hours, but without a change of clothes and some essentials, my dream trip was about to become a nightmare. I realized I wasn’t on vacation yet — I’d have to negotiate first.
If you ever find yourself shocked out of vacation mode and into negotiator mode, here are some tips for handling the situation as effectively and efficiently as possible… Ask for something specific in return for your inconvenience. In my instance, I proposed receiving airline miles and compensation for my cab ride and any international phone calls I’d have to make to resolve the situation. Find the decision-maker. The first customer service agent I dealt with wasn’t authorized to respond to my proposal. Making sure to be respectful, I asked to speak with a supervisor who could authorize my requests. Be tenacious. In my attempt to escalate my situation, I ran into further resistance. I had to make additional calls to customer service and then send repeat emails. I was careful to make the basis for my request known, and I always asked for a response. Eventually, the airline agreed to award me the miles and reimbursement that I proposed. Even better, my luggage arrived just in time for me to take my river journey! I expressed my gratitude to all concerned, including my cousin, who’d offered to let me wear her clothes. We were both glad that we didn’t have to resort to that.
Don’t be shy about proposing a remedy if things don’t go according to plan
If you’re going on vacation, don’t be shy about proposing a remedy if things don’t go according to plan.
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