Airline Booking Problem

Since arriving at Angra I've been living quite well on the supplies that I brought from Argentina and Ilha Bella (and La Paz).  I still have frozen meat, cheese, eggs, some vegetables, bread, butter, and other perishables.  But that can't last for much longer and I have been wondering how far I would have to travel to get fresh  supplies.

This morning I went for a 15 minute stroll while two videos uploaded to the blog and discovered a small grocery store remarkably close to the marina.  I had a quick survey and found that it could provide just about everything I would need to keep the galley stocked during my stay at Angra.  In the afternoon I returned to the store and purchased oranges, pears, bananas, a mango, onions, a loaf of bread, spaghetti, paper towels, a can of bug spray, 2 cans of beer, and a 1 liter bottle of rum.  The store has many other things that I am interested in, such as eggs, sliced meats, and good cheeses.

The spray is for the tiny mosquitoes that buzz around the cabin at night.  They do not seem to be aggressive and haven't bitten me, but I find them annoying.  The 1-liter bottle of “Montilla” rum I see as part of the Brazil experience.  (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)  The  bottle cost  30 Reals, which equates to about $13.  It could be rot gut for all I know, and I'll find out soon.

On the way back I said hello to the nice man on the first boat on this jetty and told him that I had discovered a small grocery store.  He then gave me directions to a second store that stocks fresher produce.  Then he mentioned the bakery.  Bakery?  I could hardly believe my ears.  I will be seeking that bakery very soon.  The man's name is Ricardo.  He speaks very good English and seems to live on his boat with his wife and two very cute toy dogs.

The rain stopped at mid morning and I brought down the staysail in the afternoon when it was good and dry.  I took it to the grassy areas and folded it neatly then bagged it. 

I forgot to mention that at this morning's internet session I checked my Visa statement and the amount of $1434.94 AUD was debited for my 3 month stay at the Bracui marina.  I make that to be $15.70 Aussie dollars per day (about $16.50 USD), which is just a shade over half of  the $30 USD per day that I had been paying in MdP.  The advantage is even greater when one considers the much better quality and location of this marina.  (“Location” in the scenic sense.  MdP gave me access to repair facilities that I needed so badly.)

In the late afternoon I went to the kiosk and had a couple of beers while enjoying Brazil come back from 10 points behind in the 3rd quarter to beating Spain by 6 or 8 points in Olympics basketball.  Then it was time to attend to the airlines reservation problem.

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Two days ago American Airlines (AA) accepted my Visa card details and sent me a message that my booking had been confirmed.  This morning  I received a “no reply” message from American Airlines stating that the Visa payment had failed and I should contact my bank.  It also stated that if the payment problem was not resolved within 72 hours my booking would be canceled.

I took the Toshiba laptop because I would need its longer battery time and set myself up in a chair just outside of the marina office.  Fortunately the office lights were on so that I was able to see what I was doing.  Brenda had suggested that I telephone my bank rather than rely on their slower secure mail system which made a lot of sense, so I telephoned my bank in Australia via Skype.  The ANZ bank was very helpful.  They checked my accounts and replied that they had no record of rejecting any Visa payments and that my Visa account was in good order.  Their advice was that the problem lay with American Airlines.

The message from AA had referred me to a web site for a phone number which to call to inform them that the problem had been resolved.  I was not allowed to telephone the U.S.A. client services numbers so I tried the suggested Brazil number and the Skype call kept failing.  So I telephoned AA client services in Australia.

I explained the situation and to the guy's credit he took it on.  He asked me for my reservation number and instantly he had my details.  I explained the problem, he went away to speak with his supervisor, and when he returned told me that I would be able to pay for the ticket at the airport.  I said something along the lines of  'Can you understand why I would feel insecure about booking a room in a Rio hotel and presenting my Visa card at the AA counter on the day of the flight when it has been rejected by their web site?'   He went away then came back and told me that my Visa card would be accepted at the airport.

I then quoted from the AA email the statement that if the problem was not resolved within 72 hours the reservation would be canceled.  His reply was to go to the airport and make the payment.  I explained that I was not in Rio, was in Angra, and would not go to Rio for about 3 weeks, at about the time of the flight, and would the reservation still be there?  I finally forced it out of him that if I didn't go to Rio and pay in person within 72 hours the booking would be canceled.

'Fine, I said, I'll have to find another airline.  But first, let's step back and look at how your company handled this.  Do you think that it is acceptable for AA's web site to accept a customer's Visa details and respond with a confirmed booking without informing him that there is a problem with the Visa payment?  And do you think that it is acceptable for two days later to  insinuate that there is a problem with the client's  Visa account and to contact his bank when in fact the problem is on the AA side?'  The guy was not interested in the global systemic view.  (He had an accent and was probably working out of India.)  He thanked me for contacting AA and we said our Goodbyes.

Fortunately I had a wonderful beef stew cooking and a bottle of rum at my disposal at the boat to take the edge off my annoyance.  Nevertheless I did feel aggrieved that in 2012 with all of the sophistication of communication and Web technology this stupidity could happen with the company of the stature of American Airlines.   You would think that of all firms they would have by now mastered the art and science of dealing with international travelers.  For heaven's sake, a hotel in Buenos Aires could deal with my Visa card, not to mention marinas in Argentina and Brazil, so why couldn't the mighty American Airlines? 

Very disappointing.

Overnight I thought about the Visa payment problem and decided to have one last attempt to salvage the booking.  The “0300” number for client services in Brazil had failed with Skype so this morning I tried a more standard-looking number to be used only by people in Sao Paulo.  That worked and after selecting “2” for English I was soon speaking with a Brazilian client services person who turned out to be very helpful. 

I asked her point blank why the Visa payment had failed and she could give me no explanation other than something to do with the Visa card, which I think I had convinced her was not the problem.  She suggested that she cancel the reservation and initiate a new one on my behalf.  I asked her why my Visa card would work through her if it had not worked through the AA web site but she said that it was worth a try. 

She did mention something that might be relevant.  According to the record, I had made my flight booking via the Australian AA web site. Strange.  I had used Google to find the principal AA web site but something in my machine must have resulted it my being connected to the Aussie web site.  There may have been a problem with my booking a return flight fro Rio to the USA from what appeared to be Australia, with my contact telephone number in the U.S.A. 

So the agent canceled the reservation, made another on the same flights for the same days as the original booking,  then took my credit card details over the telephone.  She told me that it would take 3 days for me to receive either a confirmation or another notice of rejection. 

I am fairly confident that the booking will stand now that it has been made from Brazil through an AA agent who understands my situation.


[Happy Ending.  When I connected at the end of the day to upload this blog entry my E-ticket was waiting in my in-box.  It looks I am good to go with AA.]