I along with my wife and kids was visiting my extended family in india and wanted to go for a week long vacation to goa and near by pilgrimage centers (Gokarna, murudeshwar, sringeri, udupi). We made the assumption that this would involve extensive planning and availing the help of a travel agent would be the most pragmatic option. A local travel agent acted as a liaison to yatra.com and helped us craft a package. Little did we know that this was an exceptionally poor decision that would cost (From comfort, cost and safety perspective) us dearly.
Here are the details of our nightmare (Booking ref yh3554828):
1. We flew from hyd to mangalore on day 1. On the very first day of the vacation, the driver refused to follow the itinerary and take us to sringeri. While the reason he cited was that it was far away for a day trip, the real reason was that he was tired as he drove nearly 250km to get to mangalore airport. I complained to the transportation contact as well as yatra and this process took nearly hour and a half.in the end, i gave up.
2. The vehicle provided to us was dilapidated with a seat regularly becoming unhinged and falling on to the floor (Image attached). A/c was functioning at a bare minimum level.
3. On day 3, our nightmare got much worse. We reached gokarna for the night and the driver (Assigned by yatra) did not know how to get to gokarna international beach resort (Booked by yatra). I spent the next hour mediating between the driver and the hotel staff. The hotel staff informed us that the hotel is inaccessible by car and that all 9 o[censored]s (Included 2 senior citizens 87 and 71 yrs old as well as a 5 yr old kid) need to walk at least 1km with our luggage to reach the hotel. They advised us that they booked rooms in another hotel for us. We declined their offer and asked them for route guidance to the driver. Over the next 30 mins, the driver took us through a winding, hilly road (At times jeopardizing our safety) as the directions were intentionally bad. After everyone in our party was enervated and fearful, we gave up and went to the other hotel, the hotel staff recommended. We very quickly realized that it was a low cost budget motel (Images attached) and spoke to yatra and gokarna international resort to accommodate us there. This hotel had cobwebs, old, worn structures and bedsheets with stains. Neither parties helped us a bit. The cost between the hotel rates was significant and we have not received a refund in the difference of fares so far. A day later, we realized that the beach resort was full before we got there and they downgraded us to a low cost motel and didn't give the driver proper directions to get there precisely they didn't have any rooms for us.
4. Once we reached goa for our 2 day stay there, we were originally informed that we would visit north goa on day 1 and south goa on day 2. However, during the middle of day 1, we were abruptly informed that we were to visit north and south goa on day 1 and that there was no sight seeing on day 2. This did not make any sense to me as our check out of the hotel on day 2 was at 11 am and our flight back to hyd was at 11pm! I called yatra numerous times and got no support at all. The only agent i spoke to advised to 'manage the situation' on our own. Eventually, i called up the drivers myself and offered them the daily rate for the vehicle for day 2.
Overall, we had a terrible experience with yatra.com. The cost charged was exorbitant relative to the transportation and hotels provided. Effectively, we were charged the price of 4 star, 5 star hotels and were provided 1 or 2 star ones. Barring one agent, the rest of the customer service was callous and unresponsive. More importantly, there were constant problems, surprises and issues that made it difficult to enjoy our vacation. If we had indeed planned and booked our own reservations, it would have cost 40% less and we would have direct access to the transportation company, hotels etc. Yatra as an intermediary added no value and in fact reduced our influence. And we would have avoided the stress and tribulations we encountered during this trip. The drivers indeed attested to us the fact that only first time vacationers go with yatra and they never repeat this mistake again.
I would never, ever advise any vacationer to ever fall for yatra's marketing pitch given my exceptionally terrible experience.
Oct 11, 2017
Complaint marked as Resolved
Yatra Online / YatraTrip.in customer support has been notified about the posted complaint.
Aug 22, 2017
Updated by Mahesh Vannavada I just want to add that the only time Yatra.com personnel were super responsive initially when I was scheduled to make the payment. That was the first and last time they responded to my requests with celerity and clarity.
Verified Support
Aug 22, 2017
Yatra Online / YatraTrip.in Customer Care's response Dear Mahesh,
Greetings from Yatra.com!
We have received your query & would respond to you at the earliest. Request your patience in the interim. For any assistance you can call us on[protected] /[protected]. For holidays please call on [protected].
Best Regards,
Yatra Care
Verified Support
Sep 06, 2017
Yatra Online / YatraTrip.in Customer Care's response Dear Mahesh,
Greeting from Yatra.com!
We regret the inconvenience cause to you, our team was in contact with you through mails and as we care for our customer and as a gesture of care happy to offer you a e-cash of INR 4000.00 from our side. Kindly share your acceptance for the same.
Best Regards,
Yatra Care
Verified Support
Sep 07, 2017
Yatra Online / YatraTrip.in Customer Care's response Dear Mahesh,
Please accept our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience caused to you. This is definitely not the level of service we endeavor to provide to our customer. Please be assured that we are taking the necessary steps to ensure that such instances, though rare already, do not recur. As per our records, our team was in contact with you through mails and as we care for our customer and as a gesture of care happy to offer you a e-cash of INR 4000.00 from our side. Kindly share your acceptance for the same. We are changing the status to resolve.
Best Regards
Yatra Care.
my registered mil id-nishanth.[protected]@gmail.com
mobile no-[protected]
trabsaction id--IGABWJSRH4
We are having this checked with our concern team and would update you with the details. Kind request for your patience in the interim.
Regards,
Yatra Care!
We thank you for your patience. As we checked and confirmed that aforesaid transaction could not go through successfully. The amount will be auto reversed by your bank. This may take 2-5 working days. We request you to check with your respective bank related to the credit of this amount.
We hope that above information will suffice the purpose. Should you require any further assistance, please call us on 955 5800 800 alternatively write on [email protected].
Best Regards,
Yatra Care!