Leave The Reaming To Us…

Well, the Marine caught the Greyhound yesterday morning. He was supposed to ride to Raleigh, NC to the airport and then was going to catch some Z’s at the USO until his flight to Palm Springs, California left this morning. Long flight as he had a two hour layover in Chicago as well. He’s supposed to check in at Twentynine Palms by midnight tonight. There’s a glitch now. NO UNIFORMS, thanks to Greyhound Lines.

Apparently his bus broke down in Norcross (about 20 minutes after it left the station). When they got another one there the driver would not allow anyone to get their luggage, claiming that it was too dangerous. He said that Greyhound employees had to do it. When my son got to Raleigh he found that his luggage had not come along for the ride and stayed up all night trying to locate it.

He let us know this morning and my wife has spent something like twelve hours on the phone with no results. Some woman finally told her she would put a ‘tracer’ out for it, not that it does the boy any good. Upon checking in at Twentynine Palms he’s going to have to buy new uniforms. He probably had over a thousand dollars in uniforms, knick knacks and irreplaceable stuff from his mom inside the things. It’s a damn good thing that he decided to leave the X-Box 360 here for me to ship to him.

So far their customer service reps have called my wife “baby” “and honey” and some of them have been downright rude to her. As someone in the customer service industry, this is a no-no. If anyone knows the email address for the CEO for Greyhound, Dave Leach, please email or contact me. I have already tried the obvious ones  so maybe one of those will work. Also, Digg and Fark this if you guys have accounts. Thanks!

Currently the wife is discussing with a woman on the phone about his luggage. She says that the best they can do is send his luggage to Palm Springs. They won’t even send a courier to Twenty Nine Palms if/when they find the luggage. No refunds, no delivery. Fuck them. I have emailed about 40 Greyhound employees so far as well as folks from parent company Laidlaw, Inc and hopefully will get an answer tomorrow.

All I can tell you is unless you want to get ass-fucked, DON’T leave the driving to Greyhound.

Here’s the body of the rude-ass email I am sending to everyone with any vested interest in Greyhound I can find.

“The party that was traveling was my son Marine Pvt Christopher Miles. His bus out of Atlanta broke down in Norcross, GA yesterday morning and when they transferred everyone to a new bus they were not allowed to get their luggage. It was shipped back to Atlanta and no one has seen it since. My wife (contact information above) has spoken with at least ten different people who were no help whatsoever including one that was entirely rude. I expect this to be dealt with in a timely and efficient manner. I can understand things being lost but your customer service is clueless, understaffed and filled with people that don’t even have ‘stock’ answers, much less the real ones.

My son checks into the Marine base at Twentynine Palms, California tonight. If they let him check in at all without a uniform, since they are at an undisclosed location, maybe on a bus, he will be forced to purchase a new set of uniforms. which is quite expensive.

I’ve now been told by a gentleman named Jeff in your Raleigh, NC terminal that the next step is to file a claim. That certainly doesn’t help my son who is going to have to purchase well over a thousand dollars in uniforms, a laptop, camera, various odds and ends and keepsakes from his mother. I do not have the time to drive to the nearest bus station which is 40 minutes away in Atlanta, just to help your employees do the job they should have been doing in the first place.

Please contact my wife or myself at the soonest time that you locate my son’s two sea bags and his large clothing bag. I fully expect reimbursement for the expense incurred as a result of not having proper uniform upon showing up at the Marine camp, as well as a refund or an airline voucher, not a greyhound voucher, as we will not be using your service ever again.

Richard Miles
address and company information removed.”

Apparently quite a few people have been having problems with Greyhound. Check out this article from ConsumerAffairs.com (in the extended entry because it is so long)

Greyhound

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:

• Abandoned in the Snow
• Stranded and Forgotten
• Sickened by Smoke
• One Very Sleepy Driver
• Rude, Hostile Employees
• A very long ride from Kansas City to Colby, KS
• Missed connections in the Inland Empire
• New York Tribulations
• The Odyssey of Bus 1888
• One Very Mean Security Guard
• The Missing Tuba

A few of the more recent complaints …

Ron of Mesa AZ (01/18/08)
On a trip from Detroit, MI to Mesa, AZ. January 12 thru 14, 2008, Greyhound lost my bag and refuses to talk with me about it. True my bag did not have a baggage ticket attached, because the driver ordered everyone to put all overhead baggage under the coach. No one had time to fill out a baggage ticket before departure. It did have my name, address and telephone number on my airlines baggage ticket, and a PHX tag. Anyone seeing these would immediately know where the bag was going.

I lost my diabetes medicine and syringes, various important, irreplaceable papers, my Canon A-550 camera, computer connection cables, and all of my toilet articles.

Sean of New York NY (01/08/08)
Greyhound luggage workers lost my luggage Feb. 21 at a bus switch at Oklahoma City. I was leaving Las Vegas from attending NBA All Star Weekend with items over $2,000 in my luggage.I  sued the bus company at NYC Smalls Claims Court, and Greyhound is appealing the case.
I’m getting the run around answers from Greyhound management concerning my lost luggage. I’m seeking at least $5,000 of settlement money. I’m waiting for their CEO David Leach to give me an offer.The Dallas News Media knows about our lawsuit. Plus their crooked attorney Laura Mazzari forges fake signatures claiming I cashed a $250 check that I had returned to them.

Reese of Jersey City NJ (01/07/08)
I shipped six package via Greyound package express on December 28, 2007. The packages were shipped from Las Vegas, Nevada to arrive in Newark, New Jersey. The order number is GLI3044475830. I have only received five packages. According to Greyhound reps, I still had one last package to arrive. I only signed for and picked up five packages from this order. However, as of this morning, Greyhound changed their story and are saying that I picked up all bags early last week. I did not pick up all six bags.
This last package was the largest–it was a 4-foot, large, black luggage bag. It contained my clothes, digital camera, iron, work shoes. I demand the bag to be returned to me asap.

Gregory of El Cajon CA (01/01/08)
I was told to shift my seating from seat #4 of my coach by the driver of the Phoenix to LA leg of my trip on 31 December, 2007 because he didn’t like to have people sitting in these seats when he drives. The seating is for elderly and handicapped personnel, and I am a handicapped passenger. I had been sitting in that area since picking up that coach in St. Louis on the 30th at 7:45 PM. When I refused to vacate my seat the driver tossed his travel bag and jacket into the seating behind his, then removed his name tag. He then took over five minutes to adjust his right side mirror inwards until I could see his features in that mirror: Which meant he could see me–not the right side of the coach. This is one paranoid bus driver. I am an injured Gulf War Vet. I felt that once I showed the drivers that I was a disabled Veteran I would have no problems with seating. Man! Was I in for a shock on my return leg to El Cajon, California. If I am not mistaken the Americans with Disabilities Act protects me in regards to where I can sit on buses, planes and trains. Because a driver is paranoid is not reason for me to give up a seat I had sat in for over 1500 miles and all right by three other drivers without incident.
This driver was the embodiment of rudeness. His rationale bordered on fear and intimidation of his passengers. The harm to me was more emotional than physical. The driver made it clear that he was not going to entertain complaints from us as passengers. We were all treated like cargo. To prove his mastery over us the moment we left Sky Harbor Terminal the driver opened his vent window, and shut down the heating system for the entire bus. The outside temperature was 22 degrees F. Three individuals approached the driver as we sped eractically down I-10 West to Quartsite – our first stop. He refused two other passengers’ requests to turn the heat up. When a man asked him just outside of Quartsite, he visably tensed up, and the bus lurched out of control. At least three cars honked at him as the coach continually drifted to the right. The fact that he had adjusted his mirror inward may have been a factor. The other three divers from the St. Louis to the Phoenix legs NEVER adjusted their mirrors, and the ride was even and comfortable. This diver’s ride was rough, jerky and uncomfortable.
His terrible behavior and treatment of passengers continued. Without informing the passengers of a break, he sprinted from the bus, and entered the terminal. We all just sat there wondering if we had a break coming or not! He never made an announcement. We were all too afraid to leave our seat least this fool come out and just rush off into the night! He had us all so on edge. I have the tickets from the east bound and the westbound legs. I can’t believe that a driver would dare demand that a person leave a handicapped seating area because he had issues with people sitting in that area. What is he so afraid of? Why isn’t he undergoing counseling? Why isn’t he retired? Greyhound has lost me as a passenger after that incident. I feel upset. I feel distressed that I had to invoke my rights as a disabled passenger under the ADA just to remain in my seat because that driver has issues over who sat where, and the fact that he had to adjust his mirror so he could focus on my and not the road has my very concerned about the mental health of Greyhound’s drivers.

Lee of Newport News VA (12/19/07)
This is a TRAVEL ALERT concerning Greyhound Bus Lines…… Anyone using Greyhound Bus Lines to travel over the holidays need to be extremely cautious and carry extra money (preferably plastic) to cover Greyhounds mistakes in printing out their tickets. There has been several confirmed incidents in which the tickets customers received only covered travel to the last transfer point rather than to their actual destination. In each case it has fallen on the customer to make other travel arrangements to complete their trip or BUY FROM greyhound
an extra ticket to complete their trip. At times these extra tickets due to being bought on the spot cost as much as the original tickets.

Two customers out of Freer Texas were offered reimbursement after the fact by the agents there, but customer support for greyhound itself has been totally useless, time consuming and expensive in these matters. Human Rights USA advices using other forms of transportation whenever possible for the duration of 2007…

IF YOU MUST USE greyhound, check your tickets carefully as soon as they are handed to you. Be EXTRA careful if you have to pick up the actual tickets in route, and carry extra funds to cover GREYHOUNDS ERROR`s…

Lee Woodard Human Rights USA

Sean of Harlem NY (12/18/07)
On Feb 21st, Greyhound luggage workers lost my luggage during a bus switch in Oklahoma City. I boarded a bus from Las Vegas on Feb 20th after attending NBA All Star Weekend. I had over 2,000 dollars of valuable items in my luggage. I returned to NYC angry and frustrated. Greyhound staff members kept giving me runaround answers, so I sued the company at NYC Small Claims Court. The judge never helped my case, plus their attorney, Laura Mazzari, forged fake signatures claiming I cashed a $250 check that I mailed back to them. So I would like to know what can your staff do to help plus can I get others who’s going through the same situation file a class action lawsuit against Greyhound?
I’m going through an emotional distress because the bus company never made a effort to find my lost luggage plus I’m seeking at least 5,000 dollars of settlement money. I deserved to be compensated more than 250 dollars. This is a billion dollar bus company who doesn’t care about a bus rider’s complaints. I already appealed our Nov 8th lawsuit. Mr Leach (the president) has the paperwork knowing our lawsuit in NYC continues.

Georgia of Dawson City OTHER (12/15/07)
I had a terrible experience with Greyhound two years ago.  I had a ticket purchased well in advance to travel from Montreal Quebec to Whitehorse Yukon. My partner and I checked the schedule online in advance and even phoned to check when our bus was to leave. We received two different answers. We went with the information that was given to us by the employee we talked to who was actually working at the actual bus station we were leaving from. This was not correct information and we ended up waiting several hours for the right bus. We asked repeatedly how many hours the trip was and were consistantly told different times. We asked specifically how long our layover in Edmonton Alberta would be (knowing that there was a chance we would be on a shedule that would have us stuck there for two days) and we were repeatedly assured that we would be in Whitehorse in four days.

When we arrived in Edmonton we were told the next bus was leaving two days later. Now we were stuck in an unfamiliar city and we both needed to get home the next day. I phoned a Yukon based airplane company to see if they had any flights leaving from Edmonton, they didn`t. They did, however, have a plane leaving from Vancouver. They gave us an incredible deal. We were able to convince the one competant employee at the station to change our tickets to Vancouver free of charge. So we took a bus a half a day out of our way and arrived in Vancouver the next morning (on the way enduring a bus driver that continuously spoke over the PA system about nothing at all). When we arrived in Vancouver the next morning we had less than two hours to make it to our plane. Our baggage was missing. The customer service representative continuously walked away from me when I asked him what steps to take or where our bags might be. It was humiliating to have to follow him around the station asking how to get our bags back. We were told that our bags were most likely put on a later bus. When I asked if it was common to have people`s bags travelling on a different bus than them I got no response. Apparently it has never occured to Greyhound that people have to catch planes or even that they might not care to hang around a bus station for hours waiting for their bags when they have been travelling for four days. We ended up leaving Vancouver without our belongings and getting on our plane.

We were reunited with our baggage two weeks later after a lot of phone calls and misinformation about where they ended up. Greyhound also does not have Yukon as a province or territitory option on their website, even though thay have travelled here for many years. This has caused problems for me recently as I was not able to put down the correct mailing address when buying tickets online. I received no help from their customer service line, and in fact one of their representatives was quite rude to me. Unfortunatly Canada is a large, spread out and expensive country to travel in and I cannot afford to fly everywhere. If I could I would not hesitate to never give Greyhound one more dollar as long as I live.
My trip took an extra day and cost me and my friend an extra $500.

Lily of Mcallen TX (12/06/07)
My mom is finally on a Greyhound bus! My mom was waiting for a Greyhound bus outside a McDonalds in Benson, AZ, and the bus driver failed to stop. She had already been waiting for the bus for over an hour. When she finally saw the bus coming, she grabbed her bag and waited for it to stop. It didn’t! It didn’t even hit the brakws. I thought the drivers were supposed to make STOPS (literally) and not just swing by. After my sister and I called several Greyhound offices (Wilcox, El Paso, Dallas, Tucson), a bus was sent to pick up my mom in Benson. Even though the customer service reps. were tremendously rude, they still came through and got my mom on the bus four hours later. Let’s hope she gets home safe.
I was concerned about what MIGHT happen to my mom if she DIDN’T get picked up.

Louise of Carbondale IL (11/26/07)
My son got on Greyhound to come home because his mother is sick.  He got to St. Louis, MO and waited 6 hours to transfer to the bus to Carbondale, IL.  To make sure he got the right bus, he asked managers and sales clerks.  Two told him the wrong bus and the others told him another bus.  Now after 3 days the wrong bus took my son to Tulsa, OK.  All he has is the clothes on his back, no money, and is very cold.  What is a mother to do?  We are poor people and barely gathered the money to send him for his ticket hom.

I am in great pain over this.  I’ve been up for three days and will stay up until I get my son home.  I think that the company should find my son in Tulsa and buy the ticket for him to get home.

Celeste of Hamden CT (10/16/07)
Greyhound lost 2 suitcases and never apologized. They rarely answer the phone and give the run around when I call to inquire about my luggage. I filed a tracer, and the incompetent worker didn’t have a lost baggage form so I had to call to get one mailed. I sent in all the original receipts, and they sent a letter with no email or phone number saying they don’t have all the info they need. I had all the originals; they are trying to not reimburse me for the luggage. I will file a small claim. but Greyhound owes me at least $2,000 for lost items.

Felix of Columbia Falls MT (08/30/07)
My husband was riding the bus from seattle to lafyette La. when he got into califonia he had a seizure and was taken off the bus. he called home at 9:30 the morning of the 29th of aug. but was never heard from again. you people have no knowlegde of where he is or where he got taken off the bus. nothing at all. that is stupid. you would think that the driver would call this in and report it. but nobody knows anything. i dont know if hes ok where he is, no
thing.

Vanessa of Austin TX (07/11/07)
My husband was traveling from Austin, Tx. to Russeville, Arkansas for a new job. We did arrive at the station at the time the bus was suppose to leave but, it arrived a short while before we did. After we got the tickets the announcer said it was the last call for the bus my husband was riding on and seeing how we had gotten there late we made a mad dash for the door to get loaded on.

One of the drivers told us that we were being told to stand in line behind the exit doors not to get on the bus. We tried to explain to him that the announcer had just told us the bus was leaving but we were rudely told to go back inside. We then sat in horror/anger as we watched our bus pull off and drive away. My husband heading to Dallas, TX for a transfer was then told there was another bus heading the same way and hurry up and get on by a very rude driver.

My husband is diabetic and has to have frequent bathroom breaks, so at one of the rest stops along his journey he told the driver he was going to the rest room at the terminal because there was a line for the one on the bus,and, came out to find the bus gone. Stranded in the middle of nowhere, with no luggage and his cell phone charger on the bus.
Raised my husband blood pressure and made him late for his new job had to stay overnight in a vacant termainal with no luggage,money in wallet with bags, and cellphone charger on bus.

Shanta of Crockett TX (07/10/07)
STRANDED AND NO DRIVER!!!!!!!!!!! We arrived in Jackson, MS at 10:00 P.M. on July 9, 2007 We were supposed to leave there at 10:45 but the driver didn’t show up. Nobody told us what was going on. Instead they just stood and watched us standing in front of the bus waiting. They let us get onto the bus and left it running so that we could rest and get some air.

All of a sudden, I say around 11:30 someone came and told us that the driver was coming at 4:45 that morning. Well, still no driver showed at that time. We left out of Jackson,MS at 10:30 that morning. The employees act like they didn’t know what was going on. Instead of them coming to us letting us know something, we had to go to them. They didn’t have the heart to come apologize for their BAD service or anything.

I say Greyhound sucks and don’t take the bus unless you have to.

Michael of Hannacroix NY (04/15/07)
The bus cleaners helped themselves to over $300 from my wallet, which had fallen onto my seat when disembarking in order for the bus to be serviced. When I protested to staff and driver, police were summoned and told I was drunk.
Much later that day (almost midnight on the 7th), was I bumped from an overbooked bus. The foul-mouthed and abusive baggage handlers refused to remove our luggage
I’ve been wearing the same clothes for 7 days in a row now; and cannot even afford to replace any, since Greyhound was responsible for relieving me of over $375 back in Flagstaff.

Mike of Cordova TN (04/07/07)

I had a remote control airplane shipped Greyhound Express. Even though I was given a tracking number, no one can seem to tell me where or when my package will arrive. I called both the send and receiving stations and was met with indifference and I found out their philosophy is “it gets here when it gets here”. Trying to call 800 numbers was of no use either. Missing airplane worth 400 dollars.