I have been a www.booking.com user for nearly 15 years. I have made more than 100 bookings through this website and have become a Genius 3 which is the highest level a user can achieve. I find the website well structured and easy to use. But the Customer Service is literally useless. Whenever a problem with my bookings comes to surface, all of my attempts to get in touch with their customer service and get assistance are fruitless. I am asked if I have a problem for a certain booking. I select the booking in the matter but I am addressed to FAQs. There is no chance to chat live with a flesh and bones assistant. There is no chance to talk on the phone with someone working for them. I am literally left alone. I have to manage everything on my own which is ridicolous and unfair. Booking.com, which is the most important website for making bookings, should have a proper customer service but they don't have. They also should have an effective bond with all the hotels and accommodations that surfers can find on their website. Recently I booked a hotel in the city of Zhuhai in China. I tried to put myself in touch with the property a couple of times. But I got no reply. I felt something fishy was going on. Since it wasn't possible for me to personally contact the property as I can't speak Chinese, I asked a Chinese friend of mine to call the property on my behalf. My doubts were well grounded.They said I couldn't be accepted because they forgot to adjust their prices on www.booking.com. They said it was too cheap. Is it my fault if they forgot to change the prices? What would have happened if I hadn't decided to contact them? I would have been rejected during the check-in. I would have been in great troubles. This is why I tried to ask for assistance to Booking.com customer service. But it was impossible. This is not the first time I have problems with my bookings. In the past, I have never had any real assistance from booking.com "customer service". Other aspect that bothers me is the fact that as a Genius 3, I should get big discounts on my bookings. Whenever I make a booking, I can see both the price I should have paid if I hadn't been a Genius 3 and the one I am supposed to pay as a Genius 3. It seems that I can get fabulous discounts. But if I try to make the same booking of the same hotel during the same days through other websites I don't use, I can see that pretty much I am going to spend the same amount of money I spend through www.booking.com
Is booking.com making fun of me? Are they serious? For sure they are not when it comes to assisting their customers when they have to face problems with their bookings.
In the end, I felt it was right of me to share my thoughts about www.booking.com as I feel they should, actually they MUST have what they don't have right now, which is a Customer Service.
Recommendation: If you have problems with your bookings, it is your problem...not a www.booking.com problem.