I've used Expedia three times now for holidays. On the first occasion it was to book a trip with my male flatmate, Sam, to Budapest. When this was cancelled due to bomb threats at Heathrow, Expedia were really helpful and got 90% of the costs refunded for us. Then I went to Barcelona with my boyfriend Ashley and it was lovely. We're going to Rome next week, and the deals have always been excellent value and well organised. I would recommend them to anyone as reliable, reasonable and consistent. So why am I griping about them?
Well, it's like this. The account is in my name. The email address is mine, the address is mine, the contact name is mine. The primary traveller is me. Ashley is added at the booking stage as an additional, saved traveller, but all the confirmation comes through me. The payment, as far as they're concerned, comes from my credit card. So why in the name of all that is holy in this world do they address all email correspondence to Ashley?! "Dear Mr. G." Mr G.? When I signed up, I did so as Alexandra Roumbas... where is the Mr. G. in that? This isn't just lazy, sexist and stupid, it's inaccurate.
It's unlike me to give this much of a damn about gender differentiation. I don't personally care if I'm a Miss, Ms or Mississippi, but I do care when a business has every detail of mine and still can't be bothered to address me correctly. Call me Alex, by all means (just don't call me Al if you want your lungs intact), but seriously, call me.
