Hello fellow BTF'ers
Thought I'd bring a sense of positivity to the forums and let you know about the great experience I've had over the past few days with Strategic. I was a little dubious about booking them originally but decided to take the plunge on Wednesday night and book them for our last minute trip this August as they were cheaper than AA and PB and thought hey, why not! So I went on at about 7pm while still at work to book and the cheap fares on the dates required were still available so I punched in all of our details and hit submit but it would not accept my booking as I had not inputted passport numbers.
Turns out, that even though the passport number field on the website does not have an asterix against it, it is still compulsory information before they will accept the booking. As I was at work, I did not have passports with me and it was getting late so thought bugger it I will do it on Thursday.
Thursday morning comes and I log on, to find the cheap fares on the way over have gone and were now going to cost me over $400 more. As you can imagine, I was feeling quite sick that I didn't just phone home, get the numbers and do it on the spot. As a last try, I thought I would email Strategic, explain the error and see if they will honour the Wednesday nights prices. I had not expected an email back for a day or two at the earliest.
Within half an hour of sending it, I had the bookings manager of Strategic on my mobile phone, telling me he was happy to honour the prior pricing given the circumstances. I couldn't believe the fantastic and speedy service! As I was out in the car at the time, I said I would phone back with the details etc.
This morning I phoned the call centre and got through the queue within about 3 or 4 minutes, got to speak to an Australian and the booking manager then took my details, charged my card and within half an hour the confirmed booking was on my email, at the lower price!
I thought this service, from the flexibility they've given us, the speed they answered the phones and the fact you don't need to speak to another country to make/change a booking, was well worth a post! J If the flights turn out to be as impressive as the service I've received in the past 48 hours, they've won me as a customer for life.