September 15, 2008
Back from China - when time = money
I was potentially stranded by two natural events during my return flight from China - the typhoon threatening to hit Taipei, Taiwan; and the hurricane (Ike) threatening Texas. Turns out that Ike was no threat since I wasn’t flying through Houston; however, the typhoon delayed me in Hong Kong (transit city only - just ‘flying through’ as I had no business in HK this trip).
Long story short - EVA Airlines would do nothing for me - not even give me 1 HK dollar for a phone call although they gave me a non-toll-free number to call to rebook since they ‘couldn’t help me’ at the counter (WTF?!!?). [Image: Mary wandering through airport asking "do you speak English?" and finally finding someone who does, who explains why I can't dial the phone number correctly - the number provided included the area code, but since it was a local number, I was dialing too many digits...]
I went to travelers aid and found out that Cathay Pacific had a flight leaving in 2 hrs, directly to San Francisco. After getting a persistent busy signal from EVA, I went to Cathay, whipped out the ol’ AmEx Gold Card, and bought a one-way coach ticket for a whopping $1600+. My reasoning:
- I didn’t have anyplace to stay in Hong Kong, and delays were predicted at 2-3 days. So, that’s 2-3 days at a HK hotel, with attendant food, transportation, etc.
- I had clients to service on Monday, and if I was delayed, would have to cancel or postpone.
- To top it off, it’s the mid-Autumn festival this weekend in China, which means that everyone travels, hotels, transit, etc. are all super-busy (imagine 3 day weekends in the US, to get an idea of airline lines/hotel bookings) so I was concerned that I’d be gouged for a hotel while waiting for the flights to clear (predicted at 1-3 days, I’m guessing 2-3 at a minimum).
Sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet and make something happen - even if it’s not in the original plan.
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john fischer said,
September 15, 2008 @ 9:45 am
Wow Mary. This experience makes me appreciate the service, not always great but mostly better than this, that I receive in the states from our airlines. Sounds like EVA could, at the very least, benefit from some customer service training and at the most a total cleanout of their airport ticket counter “help”.
I’m glad you made it home safely. Hopefully you can claim that additional expense on your taxes so it won’t be a total loss.
Cheryl Antier said,
October 24, 2008 @ 3:40 pm
Having a back-up plan when traveling is always a good idea - especially when you’re out of country! If you ever get stuck while you’re in Europe, you can always call me. If you’re not in France, I can hook you up with a friend, client or colleague over here!
And as John says, that should count as a business expense, right?
I’m enjoying the blog very much and look forward to reading it in the future - you’re giving away some very good advice.
Warmly,
Cheryl