Greyhound Lines, Inc. - discussed that I would get a refund for the unused portion of this trip from Huntsville, Alabama to Chicago, Illinois

Greyhound Lines, Inc. - discussed that I would get a refund for the unused portion of this trip from Huntsville, Alabama to Chicago, Illinois

Greyhound Lines, Inc.

October 16, 2004 Greyhound Lines, Inc.

Mr. Steve Gorman, CEO

Ms. Robinson

P.O. Box 660689

Dallas, Texas 75266 Re: Reference #911598 Ms. Robinson: Ms. Robinson, I believe we discussed that I would get a refund for the unused portion of this trip from Huntsville, Alabama to Chicago, Illinois. You and I also discussed that I would talk to supervisor Ms. Beverly Parker of the 95th Street, Chicago terminal at 312-408-5999 regarding the portion of the trip from Chicago 95th to Huntsville, Alabama. The results of our discussion did not turn out as we thought. On Saturday, October 16, 2004, my wife and her son (Christopher Coutee-Bouyer) went to the 95th Street Greyhound station and engaged Ms. Parker. Ms. Parker canceled the ticket that was purchased on or about October 13, 2004. Ms. Parker reports that she refunded to my American Express card $68.39, and charged me a $12.07 cancellation fee. In addition, Ms. Parker gave my wife and her son a “free” ticket from Chicago to Huntsville, Alabama; suggesting that she was giving us a “free” ticket back as if nothing happened to me and my family. This appears as if Ms. Parker is doing me a “favor”. My receipts and my American Express card report that I paid $178.00 for this round trip ticket. Ms. Robinson, this was not our agreement. You and I agreed that I would mail you the unused tickets, and that I would receive my refund in 6 to 8 weeks. You did not suggest that I would incur a cancellation fee. In addition, I used approximately 100 minutes on my cell phone, which is at a cost of .45 a minute, talking with you and other representatives of Greyhound Lines, Inc. After thinking about what has happened to my family engaging in the services of Greyhound Lines, Inc., I have determined that this is an outrage. For the written record, this is an account of my son Christopher Coutee-Bouyer’s trip from Huntsville, Alabama to Chicago 95th Street’s terminal: On or about October 13, 2004 at approximately 7:30 pm I purchased, with my American Express card, from Greyhound Lines, Inc. a round trip ticket from Huntsville, Alabama to Chicago, Illinois’ 95th Street terminal from Ms. Stacy Adams. Ms. Adams informed me that the bus would leave Huntsville, AL; stop in Nashville, TN and Paducah, Kentucky; and proceed to Chicago’s 95th Street terminal. My son’s trip took him from Huntsville, to Nashville, to Louisville (where he had to stand up all the way to Chicago), and then to Downtown Chicago’s terminal. On October 14, 2004, my son left Huntsville, Alabama on a Greyhound Lines, Inc. bus at approximately 3:20 pm for Chicago’s 95th Street terminal. On October 14, 2004 at approximately 11:15 pm, after my son had called me from Louisville, I talked to the supervisor of the Louisville terminal Mr. Charlie at phone number 502-561-2801. Mr. Charlie told me that there was no room for my son on the bus going to Chicago. I told Mr. Charlie that if he looked at my son’s ticket he would see that my son should not be in Louisville. Mr. Charlie did not respond to my inquiry as to his viewing my son’s ticket. I tried to call my son on his cell phone to question/assure his safety. I did not get an answer. I called back and spoke to Mr. Charlie who informed me that my son was on the bus. I called my son at numerous times from about 12:00 am to 1:00 am trying to assure that he was on the bus. I did not get an answer. I called Lead Agent Shawn who was from one of Greyhound Lines, Inc.’s call center who gave me the corporate office number of 214-849-8966. I asked for the CEO’s name and address suggesting that I was going to write a complaint letter. He gave the name of Mr. Steve Gorman, P.O. Box 660689, Dallas, Texas, 75266. He informed me that the corporate office was open from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. On October 15, 2004 I called the corporate number 214-849-8966. I talked to Mr. Waller who took my complaint and gave me complaint #911598. I requested to speak to a supervisor. Mr. Waller put me on hold. I was on hold for approximately 30 minutes. I never spoke to a supervisor. I was disconnected. I called back and spoke to Ms. Robles. I explained the situation again. Ms. Robles suggested my son got on the wrong bus, as if this was my son’s fault. I asked to speak to a supervisor. While I was on hold, I was disconnected. I was on the phone with Robles for approximately 20 minutes. I called back and spoke to Ms. Jennifer and explained the situation. She connected me to Ms. Ford. Ms. Ford connected me to supervisor Paula. Paula informed me that she would have one her employees call me and expedite the issue. Ms. Robinson called me and spoke about the issues presented above. Ms. Robinson informed me that she had spoken to Ms. Beverly Parker of Chicago’s 95th Street terminal. Ms. Robinson said that Ms. Parker would honor the detached ticket for my son to return to Huntsville, Alabama. Regarding the detached ticket: I informed Ms. Robinson that my son gave me 3 detached tickets. They are: Nashville to Paducah, Paducah to Chicago 95th, and Chicago 95th to Huntsville, Alabama (originals of Nashville to Paducah and Paducah to Chicago 95th, and copies of tickets, receipt & itinerary, and will call-customer receipt attached). Ms. Parker confiscated the original Chicago to Huntsville ticket for October 17, 2004. Ms. Parker gave my son another ticket, just like the one he had, that displays Chicago 95th to Huntsville. This ticket reports the bus will leave on October 17, 2004 at 2:25 am like the one my son already had in his possession. The only difference in the two tickets is that the one Ms. Parker gave to my son is “attached” to the “receipt & itinerary”. Before my son and his mother went to Chicago’s 95th Street terminal on October 16, 2004, I told my son to let Ms. Parker examine the tickets for clarity of the conversation that took place between Ms. Robinson and myself. This has been a very trying experience for my family. What was supposed to be a simple trip for my son, who is a freshman student at Alabama A&M, to Chicago and back Huntsville turned out to be a fiasco. No bus attendant, nor any other representative of Greyhound Lines, Inc., took a ticket from my son during his trip from Huntsville to Chicago. Someone detached the tickets but did not take them. I would guess they did not take them because my son was not on the bus he was supposed to be on. I would not have these photocopied tickets if the bus attendant had taken them as Greyhound Lines, Inc. policy dictates. These employees violated the policy of Greyhound Lines, Inc. How does Greyhound Lines, Inc. expect the general public to obey the guidelines when their employees violate them? My son was traveling from Huntsville, Alabama to Chicago and through this chain of events described above we could not locate our son once we heard from him briefly in Louisville, Kentucky. To us, our son was missing. My son reports that he had to stand up on the bus from Louisville to Chicago from approximately 12:00 am to 4:00 am. Therefore, Ms. Robinson I respectfully request relief that will address the mental anguish suffered by my family, the unprofessional character and behavior of the acts complained of and described above, the cancellation fee reversed, written confirmation that $68.39 was put back on my American Express card, and whatever other relief Greyhound Lines, Inc. deems necessary and appropriate. Respectfully submitted,

Fred N Greyhound Lines, Inc. Response On October 22, 2004 I, Fred Nance Jr., received a letter from Greyhound Lines, Inc. stating as follows: Thank you for taking time to notify us about the inconvenience you experienced while using our services. We regret that you had an unpleasant experience while using our service. We are never satisfied when a customer expresses a complaint or displeasure over the way he or she is treated. At Greyhound Lines, Inc., we strive to achieve a high standard of customer satisfaction and we rely on customers like you to make us aware of areas that need to be addressed. Please be assured the circumstances you have reported are being taken seriously, and being addressed. We make every effort to provide seating for each passenger. However, since many of our terminals are privately owned and operated, the tickets sold by these terminals are not reflected in our computer system. Therefore, we are unable to determine the exact number of passengers on each schedule, and as a result, overloads do occur sometimes. For standing passengers, our policy states that we meet state regulations, and most states only prohibit the obstruction of a driver’s forward and side view by passengers. We hope you will not let this incident deter you from using our services, and we trust you will give us another opportunity to prove that we can be the most reliable and economical form of transportation to meet you needs. Sincerely, Ms. Robles

Customer Assistance Group My, Fred Nance Jr., Reply: Greyhound Lines, Inc. has globally addressed my issues. If they attempted to address my issues as for this incident, they would have to see the fault in their system. They have not offered any type restitution for the inadequate and irresponsible service rendered in my case. In the 3rd paragraph, Ms. Robles suggests that because Greyhound Lines, Inc. has chosen to allow privately owned and operated terminals to exist that their customers should suffer inadequate and irresponsible service. Do you know that a statement like this could lead to an entity suggesting they would not be liable for any and all incidents that might arise that leads to litigation or civil suit? Do you know that a statement like this would absolve Greyhound Lines, Inc. from any set of circumstances that might come from a terrorist attack? This is not a safe mode of transportation in any circumstance. Ms. Robles states that the tickets sold by these terminals are not in their computer. My question for an entity that professes to provide optimal service, “how can Greyhound Lines, Inc. sell tickets to any destination not knowing how or when the customer will reach their desired point?” If the tickets sold by private entities using the name of Greyhound Lines, Inc. are not in their computers, terrorism can flourish. Whatever may happen cannot be traced. In times such as these we need to feel secure. I know that anyone reading this writing can think of many more things that could happen if one cannot trace a ticket or passenger. What was Greyhound Lines, Inc. thinking when they developed a computer system that does not know when tickets are sold and where passengers are at a given time? We, as a society, need to rethink this mode of travel. What kind of company is this? They sell tickets to customers telling them that they are looking on a computer to see the times, dates, etc. for departures and arrivals of buses. Yet, Ms. Robles states that they cannot tell from their computers how many people are on a particular schedule. This is a ridiculous statement. I had a computer-generated ticket. Where is the data going? Ms. Robles suggests my reported circumstances are being addressed. Does this mean it is being investigated? Does this mean we can feel safe and secure? Ms. Robles says nothing about the money I spent thinking my son was in good hands. I am submitting this complaint to www.complaints.com for review by the nation. I would hope that whoever reads this, inform as many people as possible to the operation of Greyhound Lines, Inc. The only way to effectively make change in a situation like this is to alert any and all people who may use Greyhound Lines, Inc. People are looking for safe and secure travel in these times of terrorist attacks. When we send our children traveling by himself or herself or use an operating system such as Greyhound Lines, Inc., we want to think that we can believe we are safe and secure in the service being provided. You cannot believe in the service being provided by Greyhound Lines, Inc. All you have to do is ask yourself if you want your children to have an experience as illustrated from my original writing above. You, the society at large, make the choice. Cheapest is not always best. There is no security or assurances that you will arrive or depart from a Greyhound Lines, Inc. terminal as suggested by the tickets you purchase. Can you believe that my son got on buses where they did not even take his ticket to see if he was on the correct bus? Can you believe that you could possibly get on a bus in Louisville, Kentucky and stand up all the way to Chicago, Illinois? Can you imagine that? Would you want that experience? The answer provided by Greyhound Lines, Inc. does nothing to prevent this from happening again. Why does Greyhound Lines, Inc. allow a terminal, using their name, to sell tickets to passengers for a bus trip not knowing if their will be seating for the passengers? What comes to mind of a company that sells an abundance of tickets for travel not knowing if seating is available? Selling tickets like this will have people laying over in cities not knowing when they will depart or arrive at their destination. People need to know whom they are dealing with. I am still waiting on an intelligent answer to my complaint. Doesn’t it disgust you when people talk down to you? Or talk or write to you as if you were an imbecile? Don’t you just hate people who speak or write to you as if they can tell you anything? I will alert the readers of www.complaints.com to any further correspondence or results from or to Greyhound Lines, Inc.

Fred L. N

South Holland, Illinois 60473

Fred L. N

Click this link to e-mail the above consumer: Email User Consumer

Comment On This

Greyhound is awful and so is Amtrak. They are the worst form of travel in the world.Keep all your luggage near you if you can. Thieves ride on these trans. and can steal all of your things at anytime!!!

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Write to the Federal Highway Administration who regulates interstate buses. Greyhound has consistently overbooked buses and has little regard for their riders.

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Monday, May 12, 2008

The story of how Greyhound Lines, Inc. ruined my 7 month backpacking trip and the hell I went through because of Greyhound corporate policies.

After booking my ticket online, I arrived at the Shreveport Bus station where I at the misfortune of having Gloria, an older lady who apparently has been working at this bus station for a number of years and has gained the reputation of �she�s just mean.� Usually I write down my confirmation numbers for things, however, I didn�t find the Greyhound ticket confirmation number among all the other numbers I wrote down for my trip to Panama. Gloria, who apparently didn�t want to provide any assistance which would take her away from being able to watch her Television show or do anything that required thought wasn�t able to find my ticket information. I�m sure it�s because she didn�t know how to utilize the computer system. Then it was a 15-minute wait on the Greyhound 800 number before I was able to reach a live person to provide assistance. I was finally able to obtain my confirmation number (2969150101) and returned to the then extremely long waiting line at the ticket counter. It seems that Dorothy and Gloria were more involved in having a conversation about personal things and watching the television then assisting customers, and Dorothy kept going back to the other office and didn�t help with the long line of customers. Almost everyone in line was complaining about the bad service. I was finally able to reach the counter after a 20-minute wait and obtain my ticket. I�m not sure what the form was that I signed, but I believed it was the confirmation signature for my ticket purchase.

The time came to board the bus, so again I waited in line. I set my large backpack in the line for the baggage handler to load it on the bus. I waited to watch to make sure it was actually loaded on the bus, which it was along with a number of other bags. Thirteen hours later I arrived in Atlanta, the first stop that required a change of buses and where I was to claim my large backpack so I could check it on the next bus. However, my backpack had been taken off the bus that I was on some where along the trip. I complained at the ticket counter, they sent me to a man in customer service and he sent me to check with a man in the baggage department. My backpack wasn�t to be found. Not one of the employees of Greyhound were concerned that my backpack had been taken off the bus and informed me that I couldn�t file a complaint until I reached my destination. While I was complaining to the baggage handler he proceeded to inform me of Greyhound�s policy about baggage, that they would often remove bags from a bus to make room for their express package deliveries, or other bags and then put the removed bags on another bus which would arrive at a different time than the bus I was on.

On Tuesday, May 13th, I arrived in Orlando, Florida, and wasn�t surprised that my backpack wasn�t there. I complained at the ticket counter and was finally able to get a complaint form, but according to the form it was to be completed by a Greyhound employee and not the customer. I completed the form and handed it to the lady at the ticket counter who just threw it on the counter. The only employee that even tried to provide service was George in Orlando. No one at Greyhound was able to inform me when my backpack would arrive and because I was supposed to be catching a flight early the next morning for Panama I couldn�t wait. Well, this and the fact that while on the bus someone stole my wallet and the bus driver (Cleveland Brown) wouldn�t stop to allow me to file a police report and if he would have stopped then I would have been able to recover my wallet from one of the three people who stole it on the bus. Thus I had to call my family collect to get them to buy a return ticket (Conf. # 3009511701to Shreveport while I awaited my lost backpack and reorder all of the missing items from my wallet. I left Orlando on Greyhound at 8:50 pm that same evening very frustrated, upset, and distraught over the lack of customer service by Greyhound. I could have continued with my trip had my backpack arrived with me, but since I didn�t know when it would arrive I had to return to Louisiana. I arrived Wednesday, May 14th, in Shreveport over an hour late.

Thursday was spent filing a complaint online through the Greyhound online system and trying to reach a live person with Greyhound to find my lost backpack. After a 30-minute wait on the Greyhound 800 number I was given another number to call (214-849-6246 the Package Department). I called and spoke with a woman who provided me a Customer ID number (1377828) so I could always use that number to talk to anyone at Greyhound. She wasn�t able to inform me where my backpack was located so I insisted upon her providing me a number to talk to a supervisor. She gave me 214-849-8218, which is only a recorded message where you can leave a voice message. I left a message and waited for a return phone call. Friday I was even more upset so my sister suggested I call one number up or down from the other number, which I did and was able to reach an operator (she refused to give me her name and said that her name didn�t matter, but I spoke to her at 4:42 pm) and she, like all the other employees of Greyhound, didn�t know what customer service was and refused to help me. She just transferred me back to the voice message system. I called back and asked her to connect with me a live person, I didn�t care whom, but someone who could help me. I finally reached Mrs. Jimmerson in the Executive Offices. Mrs. Jimmerson was reluctant to provide me with her name. I gave her my customer ID number, she looked it up and said that my backpack had arrived in Orlando on May 15th (that�s one whole day after I had arrived and it arrived after I would have caught my flight, the same flight I had to cancel because Greyhound lost my backpack.). I informed her that there was no legitimate reason that my backpack should have been taken off of the bus that I was traveling upon and that my luggage should always be on the same bus I was on. She then stated that it was Greyhound�s policy not to consider luggage lost for 24 to 48 hours after it was reported missing. According to the official Greyhound Package department after they receive a complaint they have 30 days to send you a letter in the mail with your Customer ID number before you would be allowed to contact Greyhound, and I informed Mrs. Jimmerson that that time frame was unacceptable. She said that she would have my bag put on the next bus to Shreveport, but that they would not deliver it to the address where I was waiting. I requested a refund of the two tickets and she told me that Greyhound would not refund for lost baggage. I informed her that if Greyhound was responsible for me not being able to take my 7 month backpacking trip then they were responsible for refunding the ticket prices.

Thus, after several days of calling the Shreveport bus station my backpack arrived today, Thursday, May 22, 2008. Upon my arrival at the Shreveport bus station I didn�t find anyone at the ticket counter. I called out for someone and Dorothy peeked her head around a door and said that I would have to wait 30 minutes because she was on her lunch break. I told her that was unacceptable, especially after everything else I had been through with Greyhound. I could see my backpack sitting just past the counter. I walked around the building looking for a door to go get my backpack, but they were all locked. I returned to the ticket counter and told Dorothy that I supposed I would have to crawl over the counter to get my backpack, and she said she would call the police and have me arrested, I told her to go ahead that I was sure that the media would just love to hear all of this horrible tale, which she was now making worse by refusing to provide any level of service. Angrily she approached the counter and took my baggage claim ticket (DM869597), returned through a side door and threw my backpack on the floor some ways away from where I was standing and then disappeared again. I checked the backpack to make sure everything was still in it and left.

To date I am out the following funds because of Greyhound�s baggage policies, the fact that they lost my backpack, and were responsible for me not being able to make my flight connections:

First Bus Ticket: $68.00

Second Bus Ticket: $168.00

Airline Ticket: $420.00 (non-refundable)

Change of Airline Ticket: $75.00 (cost to put ticket on hold)

It seems that any company that isn�t capable of responsibly handling people�s baggage, and from my research there are many such stories, then they shouldn�t be allowed to operate. It is time that Greyhound was held accountable for the number of people�s lives they have hurt because of their corporate policies.

Therefore I hope you will consider assisting me in a Call to Action against Greyhound. You can read more on the website I�ve created to bring together all of the people affected by Greyhound. Part of the website is to provide a comprehensive listing of other bus services that people can take so no one ever has to take a Greyhound bus again. Either we get Greyhound to change their policies or we run them out of business.

Visit http://greyhoundbus.spruz.com/ to learn more about how you can help hold Greyhound accountable for the numerous lives they have harmed.