Originally Posted by
Keyser
they stopped this a while back....now you have to go to the office to complete a redemption booking....
i have been told by ai before that my booking would expire on a certain date, only to find out that it expired well before that....sometimes as early as a couple of hours after it was made....
yaatri, i completely sympathize with the op here since i have dealt with stuff like this a number of times....
last year i had to go to the ai office to book an international redemption ticket for my wife & mother....i go there at 11am & am made to fill out some forms & then wait....at 12:30pm they break for lunch & i am told to come back at 2pm....
i get back at 2pm & have to wait another 30 minutes before the staff gets back....then they process the forms but their card machine is not working....first they try to blame it on me saying that my card doesn't work....then i gave them all my cards one by one to try & even got them to talk to my bank to verify that there was nothing wrong with my cards....
they finally give up about an hour later & tell me to get cash....since i am not carrying inr 50k with me, i go out looking for an atm & it takes me about 30 minutes before i get back....by this time its a little after 4pm & the agent i was dealing with is no longer at her desk....i have to wait another 15-20 minutes before she comes back....then she tells me it getting late & i should come back the following day....at this point i lose my cool & ask for a manager....i am told they left for the day....i make a big scene, take down all their names & start throwing around some big names of people i am going to complain to & all of a sudden a manager appears & makes sure my ticket is issued right away....
i have heard countless stories of people being treated this way by ai....there have been other instances when i have reached the ai office at 4:30pm (half an hour before they close) only to find out that most of the people have left for the day....i agree with you that they are not the only ones who do this but ai is among the worst in this regard....
Originally Posted by
AJLondon
My experience at the AI office (the ones in Delhi near Safdarjung Airport and Jor Bagh IIRC) has been exactly the same as Keyser.
Totally sympathies with the OP. The AI office operation is a shambles to say the least.
What you describe is very common in India. It's not right, but it happens all the time, not just at AI. It's not AI specific problem, but is endemic to India.
If the reservation expired before the expiry time given by AI, it's AI's fault. But the OP has not said so. The OP did not do some of the things they should have in order avoid suffering this fate. Sympathising with the OP doesn't do much. You can't change India. What you can do is take steps to overcome common practices in Indian offices. In OP's case, they had planned to make the payment in cash. More ash was needed because a fresh itinerary had to be created. Arrive in plenty of time before the expiry of your reservation. Know when your reservation expires. These are common sense precautions that one must take. I can assure you that taking precautionary measures, such as those I suggest, will do more for the OP than empathy.