Abbott Bus Lines, Inc.

From personal experience, Abbott Trailways (that caters to HomeRide) is a huge disappointment. One time I was on there, the right side blind spot mirror on the bus blew off on I-81 and the driver kept going. This may not seem like a big deal to some, but as a person who used to drive buses, its a huge safety risk since that is all you can rely on to tell what's in your blind spot. Another time, I was reading the digital speedometer in the windshield and caught the driver traveling 85 mph down a mountain (Afton area) on I-64 while on the cell phone. And my last terrifying experience was when the bus lost air pressure for the brakes (buzzing noise) and the driver kept going. Zero regard to safety.

Review: I took a trip to NY on the Abbott Trailways Easter weekend. I booked a handicap room for 3 people, was put in a room with only one bed, we were to have tickets to a Broadway Play [redacted], We did get the tickets, but when we entered the theater we were told that we couldn't bring in the wheelchairs. After talking to the man at the door, he said that the tour company did not make arrangements ahead of time for the wheelchairs. I am traveling with another couple with their Special Needs person along with a Special Needs person in a wheelchair, so there were two wheelchairs. We could not see the play that was advertised. That is my main complaint with a request of a refund. I called Abbott several times and talked to [redacted] one of the tour directors, gave her my concerns of the whole trip, after several calls, and she did not offer a refund, I ask her for one, she said that I would have to write a letter to [redacted], manager. This I did with all my concerns, and called him twice last week, asking if he was in the office, and was told that he was and put through to him, but got his voice mail. I left two messages asking him if he got my letter and was he going to send a refund. Never got a reply. I called him this morning and got through, he said that he had not gotten any messages or letter from me and that he had been out of the office for two weeks. But when I called the business , I asked if he was there and was told he was and transferred me to his number, and got voice mail. He Mr. [redacted] told me that I was not going to get a refund, that they delivered services that I paid for. Tried talking to him about the two issues above, but he said I was not going to get a refund. In the letter I ask for a full refund for all 6 of us traveling together, hoping for an offer of some kind of refund. I am enclosing a copy of the letter, with all my concerns. This trip was taken with 6 people including myself. Two were special needs and four able to walk. If you could help me with this situation , I would appreciate your help. I feel like we should at least get a partial refund, because of the room and not being able to see the play. While talking to [redacted] the tour director, she keep telling me that everything was taken care of each time I called her. In my thinking , it was taken care of to their advantage, not ours. I do not have the exact dates that I contacted them by phone. 04-29-2014 [redacted] Dear [redacted]:

I was told by [redacted], that I would have to write you a letter, asking for a full refund from Abbott Tours. I am asking for a full refund from Abbott Tours, for [redacted], and [redacted] for the New York Trip Easter weekend. See reasons below:

New York Trip

Friday: Was supposed to go in to the city after we got to the hotel in NJ, Cancelled due to Mustang special at the empire state building. Called the empire state building and asked about the traffic, the lady laughed at me when I told her the reason we did not come, she said that there is always extreme traffic in the city.

I asked the tour guide if they would be able to take us somewhere else. She told us not to worry that the bus driver said that they would take care of us and we wouldn’t be disappointed. This never happened. When we got to the motel, and went to our room, which I booked a handicap room for 3 people. When we got to the room, there was only one bed. Contacted the guide, and she went with [redacted] and I to the front desk. There we were with our special needs individuals (in wheelchairs) , and the lady at the desk stated that they might find us a room, if the person in the wheel chair could stay by their self. DUH. Then she said that they were booked up, and didn’t have anything else. I asked why they booked a room for three and only one bed. No answer. Then the lady said there was a cot in our room, THERE WAS NOT A COT IN OUR ROOM. One was brought up for us. I told her there were no room for a cot and room for the wheelchair. We asked if they could move some of the furniture out of the room. She said they could move the chair and stool out, and I told her to move the table out also. This was finally done, but hardly any room still for the wheelchair. And even less room in [redacted]’s room because the wheelchair was lots bigger that mine. I checked the hotel web site and they only have one bed in all the handicap rooms. [redacted] became upset and ** picked up on this and she became upset. My question is why was a room booked for three people with only one bed in it. The cot was very uncomfortable; this is not what we asked for when we booked the trip.

I called the Abbott office in Roanoke, and was transferred to a tour organizer. I did not get his name and I am sure no one will admit to saying any of this. I told him about what was going on, and that we would have to walk to a restaurant. I did not get his name. He told me (and I had him on speaker phone so I am not the only one that heard him say that) that to” just order a pizza and stay in the room”. Then he hung up on me.

I placed a call to [redacted], the head of the tour group, when she called me back, I told her all the above. She called the motel and the hostess of our trip, and was told that everything had been worked out. Yes to their satisfaction, not ours. The other people could take taxies to go somewhere; we with wheelchairs could not call a cab. So we were stuck with having to walk. I informed [redacted] of our dissatisfaction at this time. But we were up there with no way to go anywhere and had to accept what we had. I ask her what was said when they booked a room for three people, knowing there was only one bed in it, did the motel tell them this at the time they booked.

At this time the bus was parked and was told that it would not be moved.

Sat. we got into the city and were dropped off to eat lunch before going to the play. When we got to the theater, we were told by a man at the theater that we couldn’t come in. This person stated that the tour group did not make arrangements for wheelchairs. And that has to be done ahead of time to be able to accommodate room for wheelchairs and an attendant. We were offered a chance to go to another play. What choice did we have, but when he came back to us, they were able to find another theater for 4 of us, and two could stay and watch [redacted], the one that was scheduled, but not the wheelchairs. This was not acceptable. We needed to stay together. Our individuals had been told that they were going to see [redacted] and now we can’t, this does not go over very well with them, when we promise them something , we are expected to follow through. One individual had seen [redacted] on TV and was looking forward to seeing it. I called [redacted] at the Roanoke office and told her what was going on. She called the tour guide, and was told that everything was taken care of. [redacted] called me back and told me what the guide said. That is when I got really upset. I told her that that wasn’t acceptable, that we needed to stay together, with having special needs people with us we needed to be able for our second person to be able to assist us in case of emergency of any possible seizure or choking or whatever might happen. I told her that we didn’t have any other choice that to just entertain ourselves. So we had over 5 hours alone in NY, which we were able to see more of the city, and shop at different shops, and we had to walk many blocks to get to the empire state building. Toured that and stopped for a snack before loading the bus to go back to the hotel. [redacted] and I were upset again ** picked up on this and she became upset. We were told that we had to be at the pickup place at 7:30 to be on the bus and gone by 8:00 and the bus didn’t get there till almost 8:30. So we had to wait for almost an hour. ???

Other stuff about the trip. Times for eating and bathroom breaks were rushed. Each time we were told to hurry, because we were on a schedule and needed to get back on the road. Some breaks were said to be only 10 mins. , it took that long to get off the bus, the wheelchairs were the last to get off. Most of the time the other people were on their way back to the bus. On Friday after lunch, I was outside waiting on [redacted] and ** to get back from the rest area bathrooms, the driver stated to me that we need to get these people back on the bus so we can get on the road. I told him if he was talking about ** that, he was the last to get off the bus and had to have time to get him on the toilet, and he couldn’t pee on demand, that they would have to wait on him. We couldn’t do it any faster. On Friday we stopped to fuel the bus, and were told that everyone had to get off the bus, that no one was allowed to be on the bus while fueling, but the Sunday coming back we were told that we only had 10 min. to fuel and we DID NOT have to get off the bus while this was being done.

Our tour hostess was helpful on Friday night and was appreciated , she asked me to tell [redacted] that she was helping, ( this occurred several times) and she was helpful to a certain extent, then be began to see that she was not being truthful about everything. Some of our group heard her and one of the drivers make the comment that they were tired of all this and the driver made another comment about wheelchairs. She also was heard saying that the driver was pissed. We are not certain that it was toward us or what they were being told from the office.

We stopped for lunch at [redacted] somewhere around 2pm on Sunday coming home, we then stopped for a fuel stop around 4pm (not certain of the times), then we were told by [redacted] that we would be going on in and not stopping. We were to be back in Wytheville around midnight. I asked her if we were not stopping for supper, that that was a long time to be without food and break, and she said no that we were going on in. After that she came back to me and asked where I would like to stop for supper, I did not appreciate this way of asking me to decide on where we stopped. She suggested a [redacted] and I told her that was ok. When we got off the bus, I asked the bus driver (female) if they were planning on stopping to eat, she told me they were but at a fast food place. The thing is why was on telling us one thing, another telling us something else, and doing different.

I ask you why we were told so many things then turn around and either tells us different or it wasn’t even done. This trip was not a very enjoyable trip, with all the stress.

We have another trip planned for Sept. for [redacted] in Pa., but I asked [redacted] to cancel that trip for my three and refund me the money. (CAN YOU TELL ME WHEN THAT WILL BE DONE)

I went on a trip to Nashville Birthday Bash last year, and had a very good time, no telling us to hurry, no rushing us; everyone was very helpful and nice. That is why I talked [redacted] and her family in to going with us to NY, and after the trip we had I regret doing that to a friend.

I AWAIT YOUR ANSWER. Can you call me [redacted] after you have made your decision on the refund?

Very Sincerely,

Next is the advertisement from their catalog.

New York! New York! Put on your Easter

bonnet and travel with Abbott Trailways for

a weekend of fun and excitement.

1Today is a travel day. After checking into

our New Jersey hotel, we will visit New

York City. There will be time for shopping

and dinner on your own in the Big Apple.

Tonight we will tour the Empire State

Building to see the lights of the city from a

spectacular viewpoint.

2Our day begins with a guided tour of

New York that includes Times Square,

Wall Street and other points of interest. The

afternoon is free for shopping. Today we

will enjoy a broadway play.

3This morning before leaving we will

enjoy a boat cruise to the Statue of

Liberty. April 18-20

Price per person

Quad Triple Double Single

$425 $450 $475 $599

Highlights:

• Roundtrip Motorcoach Transportation

• 2 Nights’ Lodging in New Jersey

• Ticket to a Broadway Play

• Guided Tour of New York City

• Boat Cruise to Statue of Liberty

• Admission to Empire State Building

• [redacted]® Breakfast

• Baggage Handling

• Services of a Tour Host

The total Charge for my group that I paid for was $1350.00 but they gave me a discount for paying in full early. I do not remember what that discount was, because I paid for two different trips at the same time.Desired Settlement: I would like to get at least a partial refund if not a full refund.

Business

Response:

Concerning the complaints about our New York Easter Tour.

1 The Theatre had accommodations for wheelchair persons. They did not have seats for the

people traveling with the wheelchair persons. They did have tickets to the play, just not

seated together. Please note that the Theatre called other Theatres and found seats to

accommodate the group but they did not want to separate.

2 There were restaurants close to the hotel. We do not provide transportation to restaurants

for meals that are not included in our itirierary.

3 The hotel knew that there were three people in the room. For handicap room the hotel only

has a King bed in the handicap room. They did everything they could to accommodate them.

The hotel received this information 30 days prior to arrival date.

4 Please note our pick up for this tour was Christiansburg, VA. We traveled an extra 168 miles

to accommodate this group therefore we feel no refund wiil be given.

Please be advised that we do not belong to the Revdex.com so we are answering this

letter as a courteous. We will provide no more correspondence regarding this letter.

Tour Manager

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

I guess it is down to the word of two people that were with me or the word from Abbott.

When we walked in the theater, we were met at the door, and told that we could not come in with the wheelchairs. They did not have a place to put wheelchairs, the gentleman stated that the tour company did not provide them with the information that there would be wheelchair s. He looked at our tickets and the were for the second floor, and they did not have elevators. I ask, how do you get handicap people that can't walk to the second floor with no elevator. The theater did call around for accommodations , and found one that could take two wheelchair s, and two people. We had six people in our group, and did not wish to be separated . The thing is WE SCHEDULED A TRIP WITH THEM FOR SIX PEOPLE IN OUR GROUP.

As for the room, we booked two handicap rooms, with three people in each room. WE DID NOT BOOK WITH THEM TO SLEEP ON A COT THAT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO SLEEP ON. There was no cot in the room when we got there, and after talking to the desk, a cot was placed in each room. Does not sound like that was prearranged.

And the arrangements for dinner the night of arrival , we were able to walk to get something to eat.

I still feel that the tour group did not provide me with what we paid for, and feel that we were discriminated against, because of the handicap people in wheelchair s.

Mr. [redacted] was very unpleasant to me when I talked to him on the phone. He stated that " You got what you paid for and would not get a refund from them for anything. ".

If you have any recommendation as to what to do now, I would appreciate guidance.

Regards,

Review: We contracted with Abbott Bus for a student trip. When the bus arrived to pick up students, one of the headlights was out, the bus floor was dirty and one of the windows was loose from its casing. We notified the driver, and he assured us it was fine and he would fix it soon. Later in the day, the large side window fell out in the middle of the interstate and only the actions of adults on the bus averted a terrible accident. In spite of 99 degree heat, we continued on with our trip and did not receive a new bus until the next morning. It was hot, uncomfortable, and I was worried about the safety of students on a bus with a huge window missing. My subsequent calls and emails to the company have gone unanswered. I feel that there should be acknowledgement of lack of safety inspection on their part and a partial financial recompense to the college who contracted the bus. We were uncomfortable and nervous until the new bus arrived. They have not responded in any way to emails and phone calls. Their lack of responsibility and concern for safety and their poor customer service leaves much to be desired. I believe that we are due a partial refund due to our discomfort and the fact that this was totally avoidable had a proper inspection taken place. The separation of the window from the casement was visible to the naked eye and we alerted the driver to the problem, not once, but twice!Desired Settlement: Partial financial refund due to our discomfort and the work performed by adults on the bus. They grabbed the window as it fell out, managed to hold it until we got off the road, and then loaded it back on the bus. All while the driver remained in his seat! The company needs to acknowledge that they "dropped the safety ball" here and that the results could have been disastrous.

Business

Response:

We at Abbott Bus Lines Inc strive to provide the public with safe reliable service frompoint (A) to point (B) and return. We do maintain our buses not only to please the publicbut to be Department of Defense and Department of Transportation qualified. This in noway excuses the problems experienced [redacted]'s trip. I apologize for the lateresponse of our company on this matter. This information was just turned over to me lastweek. We've been experiencing some tum over in our office in the past couple months. Ido understand that our driver didn't seem to handle the situation properly. Windows areheld securely by rubber gaskets, this is the first one I have know in the past 19 years tohave fallen out. Continuing to the destination was better than setting roadside waiting ona replacement.We charge for a completed trip, we have no way to price inconvenience experienced byunexpected problems.We should have responded to this customer much sooner, I will do this myself,however; we will not be able to offer them a refund.Respectfully submitted,[redacted]Customer Service Manager[redacted]###-###-####