I'll Never Shop There Again©
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Rotten Apple – the vacation from HellBy Michael – South NJ Winter 1996 The following story is what I consider to be one of my most horrible buying experiences I’ve ever encountered. Not only was to loss of money significant, the importance of the event only served to amplify the negativity. In the winter of 1996, my wife and I decided to take a trip to Cancun, Mexico. We had been married a little over a year and in many ways, this trip would serve as our dream honeymoon. We couldn’t afford to go anywhere elaborate at the time of our wedding so we opted to defer our vacation until we could “do it right”. When it came to planning the vacation, we spared little expense. At a cost of approximately $4,000, we chose an Apple Vacation through our travel agent. We upgraded our hotel to one of the nicest in town and looked forward to a week of fun and relaxation in the sun. What we ended up with was quite different. The frustration occurred shortly after we arrived in Mexico and my wife couldn’t find her luggage. After what seemed like an eternity we were informed that her luggage would be delivered to the hotel later on that day. When we arrived to the shuttle bus, we were greeted by a busload of angry tourists who had their vacation hung up by a young couple waiting for their bags. Not a fun start. Once we arrived at the hotel, my wife and I immediately went to the Apple representatives on site and explained the situation. They told us this happens all the time and that the bag would shortly arrive. We checked into our hotel and began the process of trying to enjoy our vacation. Due to poor luggage planning on our part, all of my wife’s clothes (and I mean all if you know what I mean) where packed in one bag. As a result, she only had the clothes on her back, and a few sweat clothes I had packed. After a few hours, we still did not hear anything and decided to visit the Apple representatives again. At this time, there where new people – and they had no idea we had a problem. So we had to explain our situation all over again. A second time we were told that there would be no problem – we would receive our luggage the next morning. When morning came and there was no luggage, we again visited our Apple representatives. This time they remembered us and our story but did not have any idea where our luggage was. They told us to come back later in the day. This situation went on for days. In the meantime, we were desperately trying to find clothes for my wife which is not a very easy thing to do in a resort town like Cancun. To add insult to injury, the weather was terrible – cold and rainy which made the whole situation worse since neither of us had packed clothes for that type of weather. We couldn’t even just sit by the pool and read. At this point, the Apple reps were actively avoiding us. In an attempt to salvage this vacation that was turning into a nightmare my wife and I decided to go on a scuba diving trip – again sponsored by Apple. During the preparation phase the guide was asking people some medical history questions. My wife indicated she had a slight heart issue a few years earlier at which point the guide told her she could not dive. Fair enough, I would rather be safe than sorry and have something go wrong while were fifty feet under water. When we went back inside the store to get our money back, the attendant told me that they would gladly refund my wife’s fee – but not mine. After all, there was nothing wrong with me so I should go dive. When I explained that I wanted to dive with my wife they said flatly – “No refunds.” So after storming out of the store I go back to the Apple representatives at the hotel and explain the situation. They call the merchant and discuss the whole thing. When they hang up they inform me that the merchant was within his rights to withhold my money. I told them they were insane and that I would never use their company again. They seemed nonplussed by this and started assisting someone else. Needless to say, they didn’t have an update on my luggage. Desperate at this point I decided to call the credit card company back in the States and explain the situation to them. Fortunately I used a credit card to complete the scuba transaction. Upon hearing the story they immediately refunded my money and alerted the merchant as such. They told me it was against the law (apparently even Mexican law) to accept money for a service that was not rendered. Feeling somewhat empowered now, I phoned the travel agent back in New Jersey who put the trip together and explained everything that had happened. She apologized profusely and immediately got in touch with the airline company to track down our luggage. We were five days into the trip and I had given up all hope of ever finding the luggage again. Our travel agent gave us frequent updates regarding our luggage. Within 24 hours they had been able to locate it in Cabo San Luca – the opposite coast of Mexico. Since it was too late to get it to us in Cancun, she assured me it would be waiting for us back in the states. Finally, upon landing in Philadelphia, a representative from the airline was waiting for us to present our bag. As soon as I was settled I drafted a letter similar to this one and sent it to the president of Apple Vacations. I received a reply from his assistant stating that Apple is not responsible for the airline carriers it uses; nor for the merchants at the host country. I found this odd since no where in the glossy literature does it mention that Apple is not responsible for these third parties. I’m sure if pressed they would direct me to the small print; but the overall theme of the literature is that it is an Apple Vacation. Not a vacation comprised of Airline A; Scuba company B; and Hotel C. I find that it is somewhat disingenuous to market a package vacation plan; and then hide behind the third parties if someone lodges a complaint. Apple, not surprisingly, disagreed. From their standpoint, they did everything they could for me. There was no offer of a discount on another vacation; reimbursement for this vacation; or anything of that sort. Nor was their an adequate explanation as to why their representatives were clueless and my travel agent was able to do more in a day from back home – in another country – over a thousand miles away. The letter was basically an acknowledgement that they had heard my request – and decided not to do anything about it. As a result of my little escapade I will never, ever, ever, EVER go on another Apple Vacation. In addition, I will go out of my way to relay my story to associates who are contemplating taking an Apple Vacation. To this day, 10 years later, I still seethe when I even see their ad in the paper. I find it inexcusable that they did nothing to rectify my situation and resent the fact that I had to take matters into my own hands for resolution. My wife and I have since had many other enjoyable vacations and look forward to many more. One positive that came of this whole situation – we now always divide up our clothes in separate bags whenever we go away! I am hopeful that entire sets of luggage would not be lost. But one never knows………
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