Greyhound's parent company, Laidlaw Inc., which recently filed for bankruptcy protection, has been struggling for years to make its operations profitable. Judging from the complaints we've received, a good place to start might be training its staff to deal with customers in a polite and professional manner.
Here are just a few of the hair-raising tales from our collection:
Hello, my name is McQuetta, and I have decided to use Greyhound Bus Company to travel home during my Spring break form college. Therefore, I called the 800# and followed the automotive voice to push 1 the state, 1 for Columbus, 5 for Akron, 6 for assistance with disability. After reaching the customer service person, Soroath, I repeated 5 times my departure date and time, and return date and time, then ask if he had a problem with hearing me, he said its a bad connection, and I repeated it again three more times, which at this time became annoying, again he ask me to repeat the return, which was another three time. Then told me to contact Lakefront and gave offered to give me their number, which I already have their number, Because of the many times telling my departure and return times and dates, I ask for his supervisor.
Soroath says, I do not have a supervisor and he does not report to anyone? I surprise at his reply I told him, I find that hard to believe, and if there is a problem within the department is there someone over the department the handle complaints his reply was, he did not answer to anybody, but then after hesitation gave me the number of corporate, (214) 849-8966. I hung-up and called the 800# and this time press 0 and spoke to Marcus and explained the above and he allow me to speak to his supervisor, Carolyn, and she explain that maybe the supervisor was on the phone or not available, but there is a supervisor in that department. She went on to give me the number to call for any disable person to call for accommodations. I told her I have always called the way I explain above and I have that number she suggested to me too.
My problem is I feel that Soroath illustrated poor customer service in representing the Greyhound bus company and wanted to bring this to you attention, in the pass when I am unhappy with your service you have always made right of it and I am confident you will in this situation too. Thank you and know that I enjoy my travel with Greyhound and it upsets me when any employee displays poor service. Thank you for your time and reading my entire message.
My problem is I feel that Soroath illustrated poor customer service in representing the Greyhound bus company and wanted to bring this to you attention, in the pass when I am unhappy with your service you have always made right of it and I am confident you will in this situation too. Thank you and know that I enjoy my travel with Greyhound and it upsets me when any employee displays poor service. Thank you for your time and reading my entire message.
Cathy of Baytown, TX March 11, 2009
every time i travel greyhound they lose at 1 of my bags or at least 1/2 of 1 of my boxes. i have them marked special handling because i have medical issues that limit me. yet i still wind up missing part of my belongings.
this time,I was married on feb. 09 2009 my wedding pictures, some lengerie which was a wedding gift,a few pieces of gold jewelry, and all my clothes are missing. i have had to borrow clothes from my cousin, however my wedding pictures and wedding gifts cant be replaced.the jewelry also was gifts ,which cant be replaced. i never filed a claim before, i just took the loss. but this time i am upset because my wedding pictures and gifts cant be replaced. and yet i have heard nothing.
Chris of Unity, ME March 5, 2009
This occurred on GLI 0277, leaving at 5 PM out of Boston, MA. A passenger smoked in the bathroom before we got to the Worcester, MA stop. I reported him to the driver, pointed out where he was sitting, and stated that I get bad headaches and have problems with asthma. The driver said he thought he smelled something and thanked me for my report, but said nothing to the passenger. The man smoked another cigarette between Worcester and Albany, NY. At Albany, the driver left the bus and the passenger got off. Nothing was ever said regarding his smoking on the bus.
Other than the fact that smoking on a bus is illegal...this caused me to have severe headaches, nausea and some breathing issues. I expect a smoke-free environment on a bus, and to have my health (and safety) endangered by some random idiot is not acceptable to me.
Wanda of Marietta, GA March 4, 2009
I came in to the lafayette greyhound bus station at 4pm on 3-3-09 to purchase a ticket to atlanta goegia. Bernita B was sitting in the back of the station watching a dvd on a portable dvd player. She hollered from behind a fence and said can I help you? I said are you working here? She said yes, what can I do for you? I attended to purchase a ticket for the 4:50. Bus going to atlanta, ga. She told me that I could not buy that ticket now. I wanted one for the 10:45 bus but she said for me to be here an hour before the bus comes.
Well I got here at 9:30 and she told me that the bus is running late and she can not sell me a ticket. I had to wait for the bus to come for me to ask the driver if I could buy my ticket at the next stop. The bus arrived at 11:15pm on 3-3-09. I had to go threw h*ll to get on that bus. PLEASE get this women some customer service training. I finally made it home after 20 hours. Thank you!
Ralph of Hartford, AL February 28, 2009
On Feb. 27, I booked a trip online to get the 7-day advance purchase price, giving my credit card info. I was invited to sign up for the Road Rewards program, which would provide a 10 percent discount for the first booked trip. Greyhound delayed sending the confirmation link to my email so I could not get this 10 percent discount. Then I found out that my trip from Corvalis, Oregon at 2:35 p.m. on Saturday, March 7, would begin when that station is closed, because they will only be open from 7-11 am on Saturdays. So it is up to the driver to let me on the bus and get the ticket issued at the next open station. I live 30 miles from Corvalis.
I called Customer Service and was told that I could have checked the mail the ticket to me option, but all I saw was Will Call Ticket to be picked up something to that effect. Greyhound says it will not mail the ticket to me. They want people on disability to handle their own bags. I rode on Greyhound since 1965. How down the drain they have gone. No wonder America is in a lot of trouble, economically and socially. Why should I have to make a 6 hour round trip odyssey to Corvalis just to get the ticket that Greyhound should have mailed to me. And don't forget, readers, Greyhound actively perpetrated the you missed out on the 10 percent discount, too bad scam on me.
I wish I had a car. I have a hotel reservation and a plane reservation in Las Vegas. Does Greyhound care? If their representative reads this, they will probably target me for further mistreatment. This is America! And of course Greyhound is too cheap to have American citizen customer service representatives. They outsource the Customer Service calls to foreign countries. 10 for a bag! What was the baggage compartment designed for in the first place? To carry luggage? Then that is what it should do, and be handled by a Greyhound employee. Wake up, Greyhound, you are a shameful disgrace to corporate America. You are one of the lowest of the low. The founding fathers of Greyhound would turn over in their graves.
I am at the mercy of Greyhound. They can leave me stranded in Corvalis. I still have to pay for the hotel room. Greyhound is definitely the weak link in the chain of this very long trip. Greyhound, for not caring, and for taking my credit card payment, but not sending me the ticket.
Lisa of Tacoma, WA February 23, 2009
Greyhound-has a picture of a Greyhound dog on they're buses & uses it as a logo for they're advertising to me that is false advertising they're logo should be slower than a turtle; they should call themselves Slugtrails! I had back surgery 2 1/2wks. prior to this horrible, unpleasant, uncomfortable, stressful, painful, scary, nightmare of a trip. What started out to be a 20 hour trip ended up being ended up being over 40 hrs. with me being stranded in two scary bus stations all night long for two nights. I am disabled, I just had surgery on my hand and back 2 1/2wks. prior two this so called trip.
Employees at the bus depots & bus drivers were extremely rude,lazy not doing their jobs.It was severely uncomfortable, I have several medical problems & am suffering way worse & more since this nighrtmare of a trip.I can't sit & write much longer.
Annette of San Miguel De Allende, OTHER February 15, 2009
On July 24, 2008, I left San Francisco for Seattle on Greyhound. They marked my bag Special Handling because their bus from San Rafael to San Francisco had not shown up and made me miss my bus, necessitating a long wait for another. When I arrived Seattle there was no bag. I filed a claim and received a letter dated Oct. 30, 2008, saying 250 was being sent Under Separate Cover. Nothing has arrived since then and Greyhound does not respond to my emails or letters.
Diane Marie Meyer of Chico, CA February 12, 2009
I use to take the bus 2-3 times a yr, from chico,Ca to Ontario, Oregon. I use to enjoy to enjoy being able to just have peaceful time. I am on SSI for a few things, + one is an anxzity disorder. so mostly I would just sleep. One bus driver is worse then the other. but I have seen the one really mean one leave a man in Baker, Ore. at around 2-3 in the morning. He never gave that man enough time to smoke. I was so freaful of this man leaving me, as he did one time in Ontario-that I just don't get off the bus much.
I know the way my trip go's + how long it is, about 25 hrs. It cost me money to get stuck.More then the ticket buy the time I left the next day. There was No-One for me to call because they had already left town. I had to get some of it from a truck driver at the station. He was there when the driver took off. This man-driver HATES his Job so Much! that it's very Scary! to ride with him. I'd try to ask him a pertanent question + he would just say something very mean back to make me sound stupid.
The man that runs the Bus station Now..in Ontario, said some rude things also to me because I asked the driver why he had to be such a jerk to people? He has No Right to treat people like he does. The other guy wasn't going to let me on the bus because I had it in my purse on my waist waiting in a dark place where the bus was 2 hours late at least + it got a lil fold on it, not even a crease? I told him, I have been robbed on the bus before, but to him I was just poor white trash because I took the bus. Thats how he makes you feel. At that time he was going the other way twords Boise- I was comming home Thank-God....It makes me sad that I can't get up to Idaho or Oregon anymore because I'm afraid to be put off the bus- or have them leave me in some dark, creppy place like Eugene, Oregon. A bus driver tried to make me get off the bus there one night because the girl wrote the ticket up wrong. I'm almost 56 yrs old and disabled. There was no way -it was closed + dark. Drug dealing under where the bus pulls. I could see it. I go all the way to Portland + Wait the 5-6 hrs just so I'm safe at that terminal.
I don't fly, so now I can't go up + help my sister in her new bussiness + farm land. It stinks, the hole thing does!I don't know why this man is like that, I wondered if it was him that Flipped the bus coming East to west from Boise twords Ontario, Oregon.......
Annette of San Miguel De Allende, OTHER February 8, 2009
Left San Francisco Juyly 24, 2008. Greyhound marked my bag Special Handling. Arrived Seattle to find my bag missing. Filed claim, waited the 90 days, got letter dated Oct. 30, 2008, that 250 check being sent under separate cover. As of today, Feb. 8, 2009, I have received no money, no further communications, and no response to numerous email I've sent.
Not only did loss of my bag ruin my trip to Seattle, all these months of waiting for my money to replace my lost suitcase and its contents have caused me great stress.
Sean of Harlem, NY January 10, 2009
On Feb21,2007 Greyhound's baggage workers lost my luggage during a busswitch in Oklahoma City.I boarded a bus from Las Vegas,Nevada attending NBA All Star Weekend on a buisness trip.I had at least 2,000 dollars of clothes,souviners and items that I never will see again.
I am going through a emotional stress,having nighmares about it.I'm suing them in NYC Civil Court over money trade damages.I want your staff to get on Greyhound and ask why haven't they reach a settlement with me.250 dollars ain't cutting it.
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