Hopefully this will lift your spirits a little in the midst of doom and gloom...
I had reserved a rental car with Avis to pick up at 5:30 PM last Saturday at ITH. The counter closes at 5 PM but they will stay later if you make a reservation.
I arrived from PHL right on time on US4144 but there was no one at the Avis desk. I called Avis, and they said my reservation indicates I would pick up the car at 4:55 PM. The idiot agent who took my reservation over the phone heard "5:30 PM on US4144", said "Yes, they will wait for you" but lied about the whole thing and entered 4:55 PM in the system.
I had no hotel reservation because the Ithaca hotels were either sold out or horribly expensive ($159/night at the Comfort Inn!) Last weekend was Family Weekend at Cornell. My plan was to drive the rental car somewhere else such as Elmira or Binghamton and stay someplace reasonable.
If I had known about this, I would have bought a ticket to ELM or BGM, but too late for that.
I asked someone at the ITH ticket counter if I could leave ITH today rather than tomorrow, but it would have cost hundreds of dollars because I wouldn't have a Saturday night stay. I was willing to pay $100 to chuck the ITH visit but not $500.
I was resigned to spending the night in the airport, but after telling the agent what was going on, she offered to look for hotels for me. There are four hotels advertised in baggage claim, but she had a longer list at her desk.
She asked me if I had a place to stay and even offered to give me a ride there! Truly outstanding employees who don't deserve to hit the unemployment line.
She did find a hotel that was less than $100/night and she reserved a taxi for me. The $95/night motel was a p.o.s. ex-Econo Lodge, and the taxi was $15 each way owing to the distance (can't do much about that), but her efforts saved me from sleeping in the airport and probably getting booted out on to the cold street when it closes after the last flight.
Hang in there, everyone!!!
I had reserved a rental car with Avis to pick up at 5:30 PM last Saturday at ITH. The counter closes at 5 PM but they will stay later if you make a reservation.
I arrived from PHL right on time on US4144 but there was no one at the Avis desk. I called Avis, and they said my reservation indicates I would pick up the car at 4:55 PM. The idiot agent who took my reservation over the phone heard "5:30 PM on US4144", said "Yes, they will wait for you" but lied about the whole thing and entered 4:55 PM in the system.
I had no hotel reservation because the Ithaca hotels were either sold out or horribly expensive ($159/night at the Comfort Inn!) Last weekend was Family Weekend at Cornell. My plan was to drive the rental car somewhere else such as Elmira or Binghamton and stay someplace reasonable.
If I had known about this, I would have bought a ticket to ELM or BGM, but too late for that.
I asked someone at the ITH ticket counter if I could leave ITH today rather than tomorrow, but it would have cost hundreds of dollars because I wouldn't have a Saturday night stay. I was willing to pay $100 to chuck the ITH visit but not $500.
I was resigned to spending the night in the airport, but after telling the agent what was going on, she offered to look for hotels for me. There are four hotels advertised in baggage claim, but she had a longer list at her desk.
She asked me if I had a place to stay and even offered to give me a ride there! Truly outstanding employees who don't deserve to hit the unemployment line.
She did find a hotel that was less than $100/night and she reserved a taxi for me. The $95/night motel was a p.o.s. ex-Econo Lodge, and the taxi was $15 each way owing to the distance (can't do much about that), but her efforts saved me from sleeping in the airport and probably getting booted out on to the cold street when it closes after the last flight.
Hang in there, everyone!!!
