For those who want a taste of the types of things that drives tour operators batty:
This is an email I sent to a client. I’ll call him Chris:
Just an update. I quit Bokun today. They still say they are going to bill me for your refund to the tour I was never paid for. Completely disjointed customer service where multiple layers of management get involved in turn and each new person fails to read what the issues are. They just give a stock answer that has nothing to do with your problem so you have to go back at each layer two or three times to get to the next level. So I am done with them. They SAY they are issuing you the refund. I hope they do.
Good luck.
Richard
The background is that I used Bokun – which provides marketing and management sites for tour operators to use. They also have a payment system called Bokun Pay that certain accounts MUST use for payment. Bokun and Bokun Pay are based in the United Kingdom. They are part of the Trip Advisor umbrella.
The problem is I received a booking through the Bokun system that required payment through the Bokun Pay system. The issue is I can’t take Bokun Pay. I cancelled the tour. Then the fun began.
Weeks later I start getting messages from Chris the guy who booked the tour. He was having trouble getting his refund. It turns out that Bokun Pay was insisting that the refund be approved by the tour operator. The issue? I didn’t have an account with Bokun Pay so I had no means to authorize a refund.
Catch 22.
Finally after countless appeals to Bokun to get involved Bokun Pay very grudgingly agreed to refund Chris his money on the tour he never took because the tour had been cancelled. The upshot? Bokun Pay was going to charge me for the refund.
The refund for the tour that never happened and that I never was paid for because I didn’t have an account with Bokun Pay.
So after days and days and countless hours on the telephone and online customer service chat I learned several lessons:
- Be much more careful of online systems that promise you more business and ease of service.
- Avoid Bokun at all costs
- Run and hide anytime Bokun Pay is mentioned.
- That simply because something is owned by Trip Advisor does not mean it is good to work with.
Travel safe friends.
The Vagabond Horizon 