How I Owned Megabus
Previously, I wrote about a particular Megabus adventure to Minneapolis involving a certain bus driver who called himself “Mr.Quincy.” Almost immediately after posting, another story was brewing. Now that I have returned from a FREE January trip to Minneapolis, I shall update the masses on my Megabus excursion.
Soon after I posted the Mr. Quincy piece, Megabus started following me on twitter and direct messaged me. Basically they said they were sorry to hear I had a bad experience and would see that the message I sent to customer service received a response. So whereas I previously would have simply forgotten about the letter Courtney and I wrote to Megabus’ customer service, I was now determined to make sure I received an answer.
A week or so went by and I hadn’t received a response, so I began pestering the twitter account for Megabus. They assured me I’d receive a response soon via email. In the meantime, I decided to ask when Jan. 8th tickets would go on sale (this was mid-November), because Courtney and I were planning to back to Minneapolis to see Chaplin’s Gold Rush performed by the Minnesota Orchestra. The twit-head told me to check back in December, telling me that the $1 they advertise are not mythical. I took them at their word. Silly me.
Checking back for whatever reason in late November, I noticed the tickets had gone on sale. Pissed off consumer took over. I immediately wrote a stern tweet only to be given an apology. An apology for $60 round trip wasn’t good enough after I felt lied to, or so I said.
Time goes by, still no response about the original letter that started this whole crap-box, and I’m starting to forget about my original complaint. But then… I see an interesting tweet from Megabus. They started giving away 100,000 seats FOR FREE starting in January going into mid-March. Immediately I took advantage of this awesome deal by getting tickets for our planned trip to Cleveland in February for my dad’s birthday. After I let that pleasant surprise soak in, I turned back into angry consumer-man as miss customer service FINALLY wrote to me.
Basically the news was that they’re sorry I was upset and took so long to get back to me and would offer me a free ticket for a future trip.
While I admit that I made more of the situation (this whole story is about that) than was necessary, I still maintain that my logic was correct. First of all, why would I want a free ticket to something that I felt was a crappy service? It’s like going to a gun show, getting shot by accident and being given a ticket to another one, only slightly more frustrating. Instead, I lobbied to get our Minneapolis tickets, the ones we were “lied” to about and paid $60 for instead of $1 a piece, for free.
At this point, I had them where I wanted them. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has been a pissed-off-customer that knew if they kept pushing, they’d get something for free. I knew that if I kept pushing, Megabus would have to refund my trip. Again, my logic was correct, but I’m sure Megabus was hoping I’d simply be happy to get a free ticket and think about more important things in life than saving an extra $60.
NOPE!
Onward I pushed. Several angry emails were sent to this poor customer service agent, whom I now can apologize to, and still nothing was resolved. Still, I knew free tickets were in reach. And as someone who shares an attic in order to pay minimal rent, saving $60 is pretty freaking awesome. I was determined! Soon I was threatening to expose Megabus’ illogical ways to my “readers.” Yes, I threatened to turn my readers against Megabus. Whether or not this had an affect with the rep, I don’t know, but I never did tell them that I have about as many readers as any other aspiring writer with their own website. (Hi Mom… Hi girlfriend).
To be fair, as I begin to sound more and more like a greedy little bastard, my logic made sense! First, my letter took a ridiculous amount of time to garner a response, then I was told the wrong date to purchase tickets (resulting in a much higher payment) and now Megabus was GIVING AWAY seats for a Minneapolis trip that I had already paid $60 to. Personally, I was shocked they didn’t just give me the Minneapolis trip for free without the fight. Granted I knew I’d win, but they were giving the seats away anyway… Why not get rid of disgruntled customer by doing the same for him? Instead, they kept me around to ruin their days for a little longer, unless they enjoyed bitching about me to friends, which I’m sure they must’ve. Lord knows I would have if a douchebag like me complained endlessly about something as unimportant as bus tickets.
After another few weeks without a response from either Megabus’ twitter account or the customer service rep, I received an email. Now late December, Megabus had finally decided to give me the Minneapolis seats for free “as a gesture of goodwill.” While it might have been a legitimate “gesture of goodwill,” methinks it made them feel better about giving me the tickets for free, because instead of simply giving into my desires, it was now their decision.
Whatever. I got me some free tickets and saved $60!
I decided to delay reporting this exciting news until after the trip, even though I don’t think they could have actually done anything.
Now that we’re through with this experience, I’d like to thank Megabus for playing and giving us the free trip. Oh, and thanks for putting up with me. I hope the brain damage you undoubtedly received from slamming your head against the wall after our encounters was minimal.
What I found particularly amusing, however, was that if their little twit-head with the twitter account never contacted me, I more than likely would have forgotten about my original customer complaint. Since they did contact me, I made sure to see it through. A big whoops on their part.
I wish I could now report that Megabus is actually great and that I was just being a little prick (I was), but I can’t. When I first started using them over five years ago, hardly anyone used it and rides seemed to be a lot smoother. Now it seems like Megabus almost oversells every trip. It’s not an outdoor concert, Megabus. It’s a bus. You can’t oversell!
One recent trip had a woman carrying a massive bag onto the bus, because the driver didn’t pack very well and there wasn’t anymore space. She then put her bag on the two open seats behind the bus driver, putting his bag on the floor. He, of course, flipped out on the woman. “You have a lot of nerve!” and put her bag elsewhere. This was the second instance we’ve seen a Megabus driver get touchy about someone sitting behind them. THEY’RE OPEN SEATS! PEOPLE NEED TO SIT! Other riders on the bus confirmed that they’ve seen drivers similarly throw a fit over someone sitting behind them.
On our return to Chicago from Cleveland, we ended up waiting for about an hour after the bus was supposed to arrive before it finally did. Everyone then ran outside for the bus, waiting as those who were arriving to Cleveland got off the bus and got their bags. THEN the bus driver informed us he’d have to leave to pick up the driver for our trip from his hotel and would be right back. At this point, Courtney was concerned over her feet literally turning to blocks of ice. The driver took his sweet time, cleaning up the bus and emptying trash. Because THAT couldn’t have been done after letting freezing passengers on. Finally, after the trash was thrown out, he decided to let us on and would drive us to the hotel and they’d switch drivers then. Logic finally won in the end.
Last, but not least, on our recent Minneapolis trip, the bus driver AGAIN got lost. The original Mr. Quincy story involved a bus driver asking passengers where to go (and oh, so much more) and it was happening all over again! This was admittedly far more tame than the previous encounter, but one has to wonder why Megabus doesn’t equip their drivers with directions OR shell out the $100 to get them a freaking GPS. Instead, passengers are forced to yell at the driver, “here…HERE… STOP THE BUS!” as they drive past the bus stop, murmuring in confusion, “Is this it? Huh? Here?”
Suffice it to say, Courtney and I will be driving our car back from Cleveland in February, hopefully ending our Megabus excursions.