STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

  This is seriously the biggest bunch of BS I've ever heard.  I've heard tons of stories from people who went up to the deadline, but got their passport before the date of their travel.  It isn't fair that they are clearly processing the passports of other people who probably do not have tickets bought for a flight on Friday.

So...is that it?  They weren't able to Fedex your passport to you today, so is there now no chance that you'll get it in time.

HB - I'm really angry and sad on your behalf.  This sucks!

yeah, it definitely isn't going to get here in time. It still hasn't been printed. They think it will be printed tomorrow, but they can't say for sure. And they can't say for sure if it will be shipped overnight or priority -- there's a "request for overnight" but they can't be sure it will be read before it will ship.

The teacher I am going with offered me her frequent flier miles to fly to SF to pick it up, but they said there's no guarantee it wouldn't be shipped before I even got there.

The tour company can't change my flight to a later date. The airline said that if I get someone really nice and am lucky, they might be able to change my flight to a standby Friday night/afternoon, but it's a really slim chance I'd be able to go, because I am not flying out of a huge city.

My only other option is paying for my own one-way ticket, which is about $1200 at this short notice. That is WAY beyond my budget right now. And not to mention, I am still not sure whether my passport will come Friday or Saturday or Monday.

I am just really disappointed right now. And I am frustrated because my trip -- the airline tickets, the hotel rooms, etc -- will be totally wasted. They can't even add the teacher's husband to the itinerary at this late date. It's not an official school trip, so at least they are OK with only one chaperone.

I really wanted to go.

Oh halleybird, I'm so sorry for this mess.  I'm crossing my fingers that it gets to you in time.

~HUGS~

This is terrible! It is so totally inexcusable that they are this incompetent and disorganized! I am so sorry this has happened, and I hope there is some way you can still go on your trip, as unlikely as that may seem now.

 

this makes me so mad for you!!!  that guy who told you not to expediate it needs to be fired!  i'd let them know how much $$ you have already invested into this trip, not to mention time planning, talking to their helpless asses, etc...  i know it's not lady like to curse, but ahhhh THOSE FOCKERS!!!

Ooooooh, this SUCKS!

I know everyone has offered ideas, and it sounds like you have done all you can do, but I'll offer some thoughts anyway. It sounds like you'll have your passport by Monday at the latest, right? Could you plan to join your tour perhaps on the third or fourth day of the trip? That might enable you to do 7-day advance purchase and get a cheap flight to Europe? Also, have you checked last-minute travel sites that could get you anywhere near your tour group? Did you purchase trip insurance? That sometimes will help make up differences in ticket prices for situations like this.

And last but definitely not least, your tour group should be doing more, if you purchased your airline tickets through them, to help you use/trade those tickets to get to your destination. It shouldn't be a matter of flying standby, it should be a matter of paying the change fee to change the departure date on your original ticket (usually $75 or $100 max). If they aren't doing this, they are screwing you, and since you're part of a large school group, I would think you can leverage that. Just be a b**** until they help you, seriously. (That sounds horrible, but I honestly believe tour groups are total scammers and will do anything to screw over their customers - I've had nothing but bad experiences.)

Oh damn, halleybird, this is a great shame. I am so sorry for how things worked out. I'm keeping fingers crossed and positive thoughts that it will somehow turn around at the last minute!

Mara wrote:

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 is there any way you can get the guy you initially dealt w on the phone?? he should personally make it his business to take care of this for you! ugh, i am so so so so sorry. i hope that somehow this works out.

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Seriously!  What complete jerks for not even caring.  Apparently, these people are soul-less.  If I worked there, I would be doing backflips for people to help them out in horrid situations like this.

Thanks so much for your support, you guys! I think what bothers me most is their attitude. One woman, a supervisor, lectured me about "not making travel plans before you have your passport" (which wasn't possible for me -- I applied as soon as I knew was going for sure). And she also said, "Passports are not guaranteed. And you're not the only one who needs one." Again, I realize that, but all I asked is that they follow their own timetable!

By the way, I found out from talking to several CS reps that expediting it from the beginning wouldn't have done any good. They said the apps. are handled by departure date anyway, so it likely wouldn't have gotten any more attention. I guess I should have lied about my departure date.

Re: the airline ticket -- I didn't pay for this trip; it was paid for by the tour company (they pay for 1 chaperone per 6 kids). They purchase huge amounts of airline tickets at extremely discounted rates, so I don't really have any exchange options, other than to hope that there's another flight on the same day that is the same "m2 class fare" as mine. The availability of flights from Phoenix to London on this airline isn't really that good. And again, I can't reschedule my flight until I know when I will have my passport. There's just no way I can afford airfare to London right now, even if it is discounted.

Anyway, I talked to the other teacher I am going with and she promised that if I don't go, we'll plan the same trip next year and I can go then. My husband said he'll take me on a little trip somewhere for our anniversary next week -- Mexico or Vegas or something (hey, at least I could see Paris Las Vegas, right?!?). I am still holding out hope, but I don't think it's very likely.

I am also angry that I have been told 4 separate times that it would be here on time. If I knew it wasn't going to be here, they could have at least gotten another chaperone in my place, but it's too late for that now, too.

PS - detroit: I tried getting the number for the SF office a few days ago. I was told by a supervisor that "we don't even have their number" (yeah right) and "applicants are not allowed to call them, they are busy doing passports" (could have fooled me).