MakeMyTrip.com - part 2

I'd previously talked about my Makemytrip.com experience for domestic travel booking. I was just thinking that their system wasn't showing my bookings coz it wasn't updated right - as it was saying it had charged my card.

The truth was far more interesting. I finally got a person on the phone the next day. It turns out, the message was wrong. My tickets weren't booked at all !

So, I ask about why the message was the opposite. I also mentioned that I was using an international card. She says ' Sir, we now have a new option for an international card when you pick the card type. You can't pick 'visa/mastercard' though it maybe that. Please re-do your booking with the international card option'.

True enough, I went online and chose that option and the booking went through. I was able to see my booking, and even print the e-tickets.

And to my relief, at the airport counter the agent did let me into the airplane - both the to and fro journeys. :)

So, makeMyTrip, thanks for a weekend trip filled with phone calls and unresolved fears, with a Rs. 22,000 hotel booking in place but no airtickets to match that.

MakeMyTrip.com experience

I previously have booked international flights once through MakeMyTrip.com, and the experience was real nice. I got somebody on the phone, she got me a better deal for Lufthansa than the one at the Lufthansa website, the booking was done, the phone service was prompt, and I had no hitches throughout.

Booking a domestic trip to Delhi was a different experience altogether.

Calling them, they say 'for domestic travel, press 1' . And when I do, they say 'please book online at makemytrip.com' and hang up on you. Without a word of apology/explanation or anything.

Well, I thought..and went online. Unlike travelguru, these guys atleast take credit cards that are of international origin.

At the last page of booking after evading the travel insurance potholes, I see the option to sign in, or go without it. I say to myself ' I'll probably be doing this again, so let me create an account'. I look for a link to create an account and continue with my transaction. None.

Then I think 'ok, they expect desis to be smarter ', and started a different browser, created an account, and tried to sign on.

Maybe I was too slow creating an account, but they throw up a 'session expired' message and throw me back to the homepage.

Ok, I login and start the booking all over again. They take my mobile phone number, credit card .. and take me to the final page.

The final page doesn't even say 'your booking was successful'. Instead, the first message I see is

"You have previously attempted to make a booking with similar details. To avoid making a duplicate booking, kindly call our Customer Support team at 1-800-11 8747 (MTNL & BSNL) or 1-800 102 8747 (All Major Operators) and quote your MakeMyTrip Booking ID : FLTXXXXXXXX. Thank you."

I was thinking .. "you guys expired the session on me, don't you know that ? Or can't you know that? "

I go ahead and call them and get through after N tries.

There, I'm asked to enter the last 4 digits of my booking id. I do.

Then the voice says 'you're calling from a different phone than the number you've given us. For security reasons, we must have the number you gave us'.

I take a deep breath, but think 'ok .. security reasons.. good'. And enter my mobile number. The voice says 'sorry ..invalid number, please try again'. I try with the '91' prefix. No use - same error. It even repeats back to me my mobile number I entered (which was correct). In fact, the webpage also shows me the number I entered - correctly.

After N tries, and saying 'does not match', it says connecting to an operator.

This was really trying. But I want to make sure my booking is correct/valid. So I wait. While I wait .. I start keying this blog. This entry has come to an end after 30 minutes. The music on the phone is still on.

I go back to the 'error' page. I read on more.. and it turns out it may not be an error page after all.

I see "You will be able to view the details of your E-Ticket online in your account in the next 30 minutes."

I also see "The amount of Rs. 11468 has been charged to , Bangalore . Mobile number: <> ."

Hm.. I think. Maybe I can hang up after all .. or should I make sure?

The music is still on the phone - Kenny G is repeating the first 2 lines of Breathless - playing with a passion he's never before played. He stops at random points and restarts .. I don't mind that. But I do need to hang up if I don't want to have Kenny G nightmares. So, Makemytrip - you win, you have defeated me.

Part of me is really curious. Maybe I can keep this on speaker phone and really see if they ever answer my call. How long will it be ? 1 hr ? 2 hrs ? 5 hrs ? That would be a cool number to put on the blog. And probably a world record to be on the phone support line of any company.

But I finally hang up.. while the sax is screeching on a particularly passionate high note. Hopefully Kenny G hasn't done any lasting damage to my surviving few grey cells.

Final thoughts:

This is India's top travel portal. They're raking in a lot of money owing to the marketing, and probably good prices.

But can't anybody with deep pockets and a little more customer orientation do a much better job than these jokers? If they did, make my trip would probably pick a more suitable profession like 'make my kabab' or 'make my bread' or something.

Update: The matter didn't end here. Click for part 2

Pakistan enters the WT20 finals..

This is just great. First .. Indian press write about how India gave Pak a drubbing in the opening warmup match.

Then India lose to England (!! ) after just beating them N-0 in their own country a few months ago.

The final thing to brighten my day - the guys that have career choices between jehadi & cricketer enter the finals.

I don't know whether to admire that team, or spit at the highly paid, omnipresent-on-TV Indian team.

Azharuddin gets elected..

Here I was watching this video of Prannoy Roy interviewing Azharuddin. The guy that was most clearly at the forefront of the matchfixing money making scheme, and barred for life from first class cricket. 

First, its another question why he isn't behind bars for his offence of milking crores taking advantage of public trust. But now, here is Prannoy Roy being pally with him, wish him a hearty  'best of luck' for his political future. 

  

The final icing on the cake is that the guy got elected! 

The guy that initially claimed religious discrimination when the scandal came into the fore. Not long after when he was getting the adulation of the entire country the majority of whom were not the same religion as him. 

The press also joins in getting him elected by showing him going to the mosque with all fellow muslims..and bang! he's elected!! 

How dumb are we, as a public ? 

Mr. Prannoy Roy, why didn't you bring up one word about the utter dishonesty he displayed while colluding with the underworld and match fixing elements? 

 

Maybe we fully deserve whats happening to us in this country?  

McMaster vs BuckMaster

I wonder why no news media outlets used such an inviting, rhyming title for their articles about Craigslist's CEO Jim Buckmaster vs South Carolina's AG McMaster.

In fact, the only reason I'm even commenting on this issue is because I wanted to use this headline. :)
I really have no opinions on this other than that the funny observation on how South Carolina's McMaster is declaring 'victory' like the iraqis did after losing to the US in 2003.



They say he's priming for the governor race. Clearly, he has the most important characteristic - having demonstrated a distinct lack of character.

Garnier And 'Take Care'

What's with Garnier Fructis ads ending in 'take care' ? 

Anybody know? 

Take for example this hair fall fighting shampoo ad. 

It ends with this beautiful girl walking towards you .. and you're thinking

 'oh here she comes..'

 'she is coming here .. '   

*turn and look behind you* 

 'she is coming to ME ..! '  

'Uh Oh..' 

She stands in front of you and raises her chin.. and you're heart and brain( if it can be called that)  are racing ..

 

'is she going to kiss me ?.. ' 

'do I kiss back ..? ' 

 'should I kiss first?..'  

' is my mouth fresh ? ' 

 'WHERE'S THE DAMN GUM?!' .. 

and she says 'Take care' in a sultry sexy voice. 

Now tell me ..what the hell does that mean ? 

Maybe I'm a stupid optimist.. but it gets me everytime. These garnier people are a mean bunch... but hey, what has  shampoo got to do with a girl that almost kisses you? 

 

New training for journalists and politicians

In the light of the shoe throwing incident with Mr. Chidambaram - our venerable home minister who just pronounced Mr. Tytler even more venerable than him - both the govt. and journalism schools seem to have learnt some important lessons. And they are graciously ready to impart this wisdom to the deserving. 

The Paduka school of Journalism today announced an additional course titled 'Effective Shoe Throwing' . 

Mr. B Aata, the Dean of the school said 

"Contrary to popular belief, neither pounding on the keyboard nor writing pages of rubbish contribute to developing your arm muscles. Hence, journalists' throwing skills are typically pretty poor. "

"However, it still doesn't excuse both famous shoe throwing incidents missing the targets entirely.  In the Iraqi case, the credit probably goes to the physical fitness of Mr. George 'cowboy' Bush. Nevertheless, we journalists have become a laughing stock of the world. 

It is a proud day for Indians. Our course is the first of its kind in the world. We are already getting queries from students all over the world especially, the middle east. "

About the course, he said 

"We will have course material on wind dynamics on shoe projectiles. Students will be able to compare and contrast the projectiles of Nikes vs Reeboks vs Cheap chinese makes. They also will be able to predict the projectiles of other desi jhoothas.  

We not only prepare the students in throwing shoes, but we also prepare them to be mentally prepared and not get nervous before the act. 

Focussing equally on practise as on theory, we will invite several eminent 'Guest lecturers' from the political establishment to *wink wink* 'lecture' to our students. "

Mr. Chidambaram's office has not yet returned our calls. They have instead sent us an 'I forgive you'  letter "

He also added 

"For a very nominal fee, we also offer to train the mothers of students in writing the most effective thank you letters. "

Not to be outdone, the Defense Ministry has sent a circular.  They have announced a new chapter to their 'How to not get killed by terrorists or honest citizens' training course they impart to politicians. The chapter - the military influence is obvious here- is titled "Avoiding non-lethal sub-sonic projectiles" . 

Speaking to the press, Mr. J Chaat Urvedi, the director of R&AW said  

"The course is free for all politicians - not just those part of government. To enroll, you just need to have the following prerequisites. 

* Be a public figure that has stalled traffic in atleast 1 major city while bussing audiences to your rally. 

* Have atleast 1 allegation of bribery, nepotism with money amounting to atleast Rs. 50 crore

* Have atleast 1 pending case in the court against you. You will receive priority if the case is criminal in nature. Murder or rape gets even higher priority. " 

He also added  

"This is a fine example of inter-departmental cooperation. The course uses bending and evading tactics that we teach bobcat commandoes. These highly trained personnel are used by our bureaucrats & politicians for household chores & sometimes security. Angry babus and their expensive Italian shoes have caused some personnel downtime in the past" 

To the titter of the press present at the event, he added 

"The course has been customized for politicians who have larger bellies and posteriors, but still need to be agile in these situations"   

Ending the conference he lamented

"It is sad that such eminent and honorable politicians are on the receiving end of shoes, especially the cheap desi/chinese makes worn by these penniless journalists. I did not think I would live to see this day". He was speaking from his 'safe house' apartment in Noida.

 

- Reporting from Bangalore by Very Pagal Patrakar inspired by faking news