Karma P.

Dear MakeMyTrip,

I would like to personally thank you for ruining my vacation with your poor customer service and general demeanor. Planning a trip with your company was definitely memorable as I now know never to book with your company or even recommend any of my family and friends either.

It all started when I decided to spend 5 days in Goa around New Years Eve. I booked my trip with Samim Khan from the Delhi. The trip total came to 68,000 Rs. Which included flight from Delhi to Goa, 4 nights at Hotel Colva Kinara, and a flight from Goa to Mumbai (Booking ID: IN1412B6S*******). I had requested Hotel Colva Kinara after finding out that other hotels were charging an extra fee for a New Years Eve Party. Samim Khan said this hotel did not have a mandatory party for their guests.

1. I was only able to pay 20,000 Rs. At a time with my debit card and I was going to pay for the trip over several days. Samim Khan insisted that I pay the full amount as soon as possible. In a hurry, we asked if we could pay the remainder (48,000 Rs.) in cash. He gladly agreed and directed us to go to the Mumbai (Andheri) office on Sunday before 6pm. After rushing to get there, we were turned away by the security guard who informed us that the office closes at 5pm on Sundays. I immediately called Samim Khan and he told us that he was unaware of the hours of operation of the office that HE had sent us to for HIS company. We were frustrated that he had made me and my 80 year old grandfather run in order to make it to this office on the other side of town.

2. The following day we went to the Mumbai office right when it had opened up at 10AM. We were now told by the staff at this location that they can only accept 25,000 Rs. Cash at a time. I immediately called Samim Khan and once again, he denied any knowledge of this rule. We ended up paying at the Andheri office and then crossing the city to the Mahim office in order to pay the remainder of the trip.

3. At the Mahim office, Samim Khan tells me that he didn't book the package at the time when I had paid over 50% of the cost and now the direct flight from Delhi to Goa was 6000 Rs more. I calmly requested for another alternative flight that would leave the package cost at 68,000 Rs. He gladly gave us a connecting flight with two separate airlines that stopped in Mumbai for 3 hours. We were reluctant to take this offer as it would waste a full day travelling but we were forced by the circumstances to agree.

4. On December 26,2014, we got on the IndiGo flight at 630AM in Delhi. The pilot and airport were constantly giving us notifications that the poor visibility conditions (57m) was below their required standard (125m). As a result, all the passengers on this flight were seated on the aircraft for OVER 4 HOURS. When the flight finally left at 1030AM, we were relieved to be on our way. Upon arriving at the Mumbai airport, we had missed our connecting flight with Jet Airways at 12:35PM. We were then told by the Jet Airways booth that they were not able to simply put us on the next flight because it was not the same airline. They were asking for 22,000Rs to transfer us to the next flight. As this was unreasonable, I called Samim Khan and asked for a solution. He did not pick up my phone calls. I then asked Jet Airways for a fair solution. They said that they would not charge me a cancellation fee and MakeMyTrip would give me a full refund for that flight if I could find a cheaper flight. Out of desperation, I approached Akshar Travel Agency booth directly across from Jet Airways and they found a SpiceJet flight for 14,000 Rs. I immediately paid for this flight OUT OF POCKET in addition to what I had already paid for the package.

5. Finally, we got on the flight and we arrived in Goa. We get to the hotel and the reception informs us that there is a mandatory hotel party on New Years Eve that all guests must pay for. The hotel party costs 3,500 Rs. Per person. I had already spent 14,000 Rs. Earlier in the day and I was frustrated with travelling. I called Samim Khan again at that moment and he finally picked up. I reminded him that I had requested a hotel with no mandatory party. He "checked" the vouchers and assured me that the hotel did not mention a NYE party. I told him to speak directly to the hotel staff. The hotel staff told him to check the vouchers again as they had clearly put up the information. After about an hour or so, the situation was not resolved. The hotel staff refused to check us into our hotel and MakeMyTrip refused to pay for the hotel party. We didn't want to attend the party at all, we simply wanted to rest after a very hectic travel day. Samim Khan started avoiding my calls and calls from the hotel itself. I am going to assume that he recognized HIS mistake but he refused to ADMIT it and hoped that I would simply pay for it. We spent 3 hours sitting in the hotel lobby waiting for a reply from either party that the hotel would either wave the fee or MakeMyTrip would pay for it. By 11:00pm, I had gotten restless and I called MakeMyTrip customer support. The agent followed the normal protocol of asking for my booking ID. Within 2 minutes of pulling up my file, she said the computers were "down" and she was unable to access my file. I knew this was a lie because she would not have been able to punch in my booking ID if the system was down. She said that she would call me within 1 hour. After spending 3 hours, I refused to wait this extra hour. The hotel manager approached me and I explained my situation. I had explained to him that I did not want to attend the NYE party and nor would I pay for it. We both knew that Samim Khan had not read the vouchers correctly and knowingly he was avoiding our phone calls. He kindly requested his owner to let us check in. The hotel manager was able to convince his boss that we had a very special circumstance and our mandatory party fee should be waived. We ended up getting checked in at 11:30PM.

The remainder of the trip went well without a hitch. But I was bound to get reimbursed for my 14,000Rs and the poor customer service. Sorry, LACK of customer service. After calling Samim Khan and several other customer service agents, I had made 10+ calls and spoke for 2 hours over the span of 5 days. I simply wanted a refund on a flight that delayed due to weather. It was not my fault that the flight had been delayed and it was not my fault that my UNINTELLIGENT agent SAMIM KHAN had booked 2 separate airlines. In addition, I was willing to let the hotel reception experience pass. Samim Khan is lucky that I was patient and I begged the hotel manager to let us stay. If it was someone else, Samim Khan would have gotten an ear full. Due to the lack of customer service, I give this company a NEGATIVE 10 out of 5 rating. I will never book with this company again and I hope Samim Khan one day learns that humans make mistakes and it is how you react to those mistakes that determines your character.

References:
Booking ID: IN1412B6S*******