How to Gripe Effectively While You're Traveling

(CBS)  When you travel, anything and everything can go wrong. It can cost you time, money, and aggravation. And the best way to deal with it is to complain. But what are the best ways to get your voice heard, and get some satisfaction? CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg shared pointers on "The Early Show" Thursday, and he does the same here:

Anyone who travels knows something always goes wrong, and it usually happens in a sequence of bad events. I once counted about 47 different points of abuse awaiting travelers from the moment they buy their ticket until they return home. And I've always said that we define a successful journey by how much we minimize the abuse.

But sometimes, it's unavoidable, draconian, mean-spirited, and it doesn't just inconvenience us, it COSTS us -- in time, money, aggravation, and tension.

And we want to complain. But how? To Whom?

The art of complaining actually starts BEFORE the complaint, When something is in the process of going wrong. We all have been there. And when that happens, you need to seek answers -- immediate answers if at all possible -- from someone at the top.

My overriding mantra is:

WHO:

Never take a "no" from someone who's not empowered to say "yes" in the first place. Talk to the highest level of authority you possibly can. The desk attendant is not likely to be able to do as much as the general manager. Or any supervisor. Be nice, but assertive. Not aggressive. Get first and last names and titles. And if necessary, witnesses to your ordeal.

By the same token, don't aim too high. Don't demand to speak to the CEO of Hilton because your room didn't have the view you requested.

HOW:

Keep a paper trail: times, names, titles, and dates and try to resolve your dispute BEFORE you leave the hotel or airport, cruise ship or rental car counter. You have a better chance of seeing your situation resolved if you deal with people in person.

When corresponding in writing include: name, address, daytime phone number (including area code) and e-mail address, name of the airline or company about which you are complaining, flight/hotel stay date, flight number, origin and destination cities of your trip. Include a copy (not the original) of your airline ticket, itinerary sheet or confirmation e-mail, and any correspondence you have already exchanged with the company. (See sample complaint letter at the bottom of this article)

Carry a camera -- not just to record vacation memories, but to document any rental car dings, dirty hotels, or any other complaints that may arise. Very important -- make sure your camera has a time/date code option. Use it. This is especially important in documenting the condition of your hotel room, your baggage, the interior of your aircraft, the pre-existing dings on your rental car.

As hard as it may be, maintain a pleasant, but firm tone. Remember, this is the person who is going to help you get what you want -- or get you to the person who can. The quickest way to not get what you want, is to immediately alienate the person with whom you are speaking by taking a harsh tone right off the bat.

Make it known that you are dissatisfied, but, if properly accommodated, you will use their services again. Loyalty still counts for something.

Don't exaggerate any wrongdoing, but be clear in what you expect to receive.

If possible, use your clout. Airlines hate to lose business travelers, so if you write a letter of complaint, put in on your company's letterhead. And if you're a frequent flyer, put down your account number.

Copy appropriate people -- the Department of Transportation, the state attorney general for consumer affairs, or other appropriate agencies, as well as consumer watchdogs (that also includes - ME! My website acts as a complaint advocate for travel problems, and has the imaginative title of PeterGreenberg.com!

If it comes to it, file a formal complaint (see resources below).

DISPUTING CHARGES WITH YOUR CREDIT CARD

Never pay cash for travel services. Why? Because you may have legal recourse if you charge your travel purchase and don't receive the goods or services you contracted for. Use your credit card as a weapon when necessary. If a hotel charges you a resort fee but never disclosed that fee when you made your reservation, or when you checked in, go ahead and dispute the charge if the front desk won't take it off your bill.

Under federal fair credit laws, you have the right to contest any charge you do not consider legitimate, and that includes a travel purchase gone awry.

However, there are some caveats to the Fair Credit Billing Act:

Its settlement procedures apply only to disputes about "billing errors," which include:
Unauthorized charges. Federal law limits your responsibility for unauthorized charges to $50
Charges that list the wrong date or amount
Charges for goods and services you didn't accept or weren't delivered as agreed
Math errors
Failure to post payments and other credits, such as returns;
* failure to send bills to your current address -- provided the creditor receives your change of address, in writing, at least 20 days before the billing period ends; and charges for which you ask for an explanation or written proof of purchase along with a claimed error or request for clarification.

To take advantage of the law's consumer protections, you must: write to the creditor at the address given for "billing inquiries," not the address for sending your payments, and include your name, address, account number and a description of the billing error. Send your letter so that it reaches the creditor within 60 days after the first bill containing the error was mailed to you.

Send your letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, so you have proof of what the creditor received. Include copies (not originals) of sales slips or other documents that support your position. Keep a copy of your dispute letter.

The creditor must acknowledge your complaint in writing within 30 days after receiving it, unless the problem has been resolved. The creditor must resolve the dispute within two billing cycles (but not more than 90 days) after receiving your letter.

And speaking of letters, here's where to write, depending on the specific complaint:

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[ugreekmegreek]

Beware
of any actions or comments when using US Air! A US Air flight attendant
tried to have my husband arrested last night accusing him of
threatening her life, because he called her a name. Because
of her false claim US Air and the police interrogated and threatened him like he had put a knife to her throat. They let him go due to no
proof in her accusations of a federal crime.

[uncguy21]

I agree that people do need to know how to complain & complain the right way, WHEN necessary. We work in the hospitality industry and we have seen personally the way customers take shows like this and abuse it. Many customers now are disputing and complaining just to get a refund. It would be nice to see a show on how not to abuse an issue like this. Sometimes, the lies and dishonesty from just trying to get a refund, causes people to actually lose their jobs. I do believe and feel that if you cannot afford to take a vacation, stay home. If there truly is a problem, then complain but don't abuse the power from it.

[camillev]

I recently returned from a trip to China in which I volunteered to teach English to Chinese children for two weeks. Many things went wrong in the initial days of touring, but being an experienced traveler, I coped. However, when we were bused to an undisclosed area and not told where we were, the trip became frightening. The group of 28 teachers and students were taken to a camp/school that was not the agreed upon location and not told where we were. The accommodations were below substandard - wooden planks for bedding, rats, bugs, moldy rusty plumbing and filthy squatty potties. It took my US senator and the embassy to get us out of the situation and three days of "lock down "in a hotel. A trip that was supposed to be a great three week cultural experience was actually one week of disaster.