Travel Company Bans Elderly Couple From Booking Trips With Them Again After They Requested A Refund
A team member described the couple as "confused" and said that they would be unable to help them.
Darren Baker, Andrew Angelov / Shutterstock A retired couple’s dream vacation turned into anything but after their plans were foiled, and they wound up losing tens of thousands of dollars. Their situation grew even worse after they contacted the travel agency to request a refund.
It was then that they were given a distressing notice from the company.
The travel company banned the couple from booking trips with them again after they requested a refund for their ruined vacation.
Travel junkies and married couple, 81-year-old Cliff Johnson and 79-year-old Mary, turned to their local Flight Center to book an international tour of a lifetime. The couple from Australia were set to embark on a trip to the U.S., Canada, and Turkey this year.
However, their trips to the States and Canada were canceled abruptly, leaving them hurrying to make alternative arrangements. As a result, they ended up in locations that they did not anticipate nor did not want to travel to.
Photo: Jacob Lund / Shutterstock
When the Johnsons reached out to the travel company, Flight Centre, regarding their dilemma, they were told that they had chosen “non-guaranteed departures” for their tours and thus were “accepting the risk of the tour being canceled by the tour company,” per news.com.au.
However, Mary claims that they were never given this information, and that she and her husband had to pay $26,000 for their trip before they even left Australia. In the end, Mary called the four-month excursion “a very big disappointment.”
Unfortunately, the couple’s struggles were far from over even after they returned home.
For months, they exchanged words with Flight Centre, attempting to get back the copious amount of money they lost. After much debate, Mary says that she and Cliff received an email from the company that “hurt more than anything.”
The message from a senior member of Flight Centre said that the team felt that it would be “best for all parties” involved if the couple used their $1,000 store credit at a different travel company, and added that the team would be “unable to help with any future bookings.”
Photo: fizkes / Shutterstock
The senior member wrote that they would be “more than happy” to assist the Johnsons in finding a different travel company to work with for their future travels.
Mary was stunned by the email, considering that neither she nor Cliff had even set foot into the store since they returned from their trip in August.
Mary believes that they were being discriminated against due to their age, as team members at Flight Centre had allegedly described the couple as 'confused.'
However, shortly after the Johnsons received the unusual email, another senior member reached out to them and discredited the claims of the first message they received. The follow-up message revealed that the Johnsons were welcome to book future trips with the company.
“I’m sorry if there was any confusion on you being able to book in-store with us — we thought that you would prefer to deal with another store but we would love the opportunity to help you with your next booking,” the email read.
The senior member also added that he previously assisted the couple with a trip to New Zealand. However, the Johnsons claim that they have never even been to the country.
Eventually, Brent Novack, the general manager of Flight Centre Australia, confirmed to news.com.au that the company sent a third email to the couple reiterating that they were more than welcome to make future bookings with the company. “We have sincerely apologized on behalf of the staff member who had directed them to book their future travel with another Flight Centre store,” Novak shared.
“This is not our company policy, Flight Centre would only bar people from a store in exceptional circumstances," he continued. "We regret that this communication was made and the hurt that it understandably caused the Johnsons.”
Despite the follow-up email, the Johnsons have obtained the help of Adam Glezer, a customer advocate who assists Australians in legal battles with large companies in the travel industry. Glazer claims that the situation is nothing like he has ever seen before.
“Treating anybody like this, let alone elderly people, is unconscionable,” he said. “They have spent a significant amount of money on a trip and all they wanted was answers.”
Age is no reason to discriminate. Even if the Johnsons happen to be an elderly couple, they should not be discounted from using a company’s services and be subjected to the assumption that they are “confused.”
Referring to elderly individuals as "confused" can perpetuate stereotypes and contribute to negative perceptions about aging. It is essential that customer service industries treat them as they would any other customer who is simply looking to book a memorable experience.
We hope that one day the Johnsons will be able to finally embark on their dream international trip.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.