I live much of my life online and for good reason. It's part of my job but more importantly, it allows me to accomplish things on my schedule. No driving around looking for goods, no store hours, massive amounts of research at my finger tips. In general, I don't want to deal with people, it's much more effective to find the information I need and complete tasks on my own than trying to describe to someone what I want. I shop, book travel, bank, buy tickets for shows and music, and communicate on my computer. I do it at home, at work, in cafes, in airports. The internet is open 24/7, I don't have to worry about making time during the day or being on the road, it's the same world no matter where I am or what time it is.
Planning for this trip, I naturally started online. While it was clear that I was going to buy guide books, they're not online and I do want something to toss into a bag, I did research which books were likely to target a traveler like me and purchased them on Amazon. (Note: Karen Brown's site offers itineraries in PDF form for about $3.95 a piece and they were very useful.) I studied sites where I had reward points to figure out what I could reward myself with in France and easily planned and booked hotels and airfare. What is weird is where it started to break down.
Many hotels sites take reservations but the process is ended by a call or a fax. Other hotels not only don't take reservations online, they only take them by phone. The language school I'm attending advertises online, has an extensive web site and allows you to sign up online. I filled out the forms and they responded by sending me large paper packages that contained exactly the information I accessed online. And even though I submitted my information online, it turns out I have to fax a form to them (I have no idea where the form is, I still need to figure that bit out).
The US companies are not immune either. In February, I filled out the forms at Europe by Car to lease a car. When I didn't hear from them, I tried again. Still nothing, so I wrote an email. They answered a couple of days later saying that the forms were only for leasing. I replied that was what I wanted. I finally had to call to find out that they hadn't received either of my submissions, didn't seem to think this was a problem and that it was too late to arrange for the car. I ended up having to pay a rush fee, overnight written forms and suffer angst over not getting the car I wanted (I really, really wanted a convertible for that drive from Nice to Monaco - see first post). At this point it looks like it's going to be ok but what a lot of time and energy for something that should have been taken care of (for less expense to the business too).
Three hotels and a French travel site were very good however. Michel Bras (their customer service has been impeccable and I'm expecting the experience will be too) the Windsor in Nice, the Villa St. Maxime, and the France Hotel Reservation site all let me live the online lifestyle. They followed up with very nice confirmation emails and in one case, a call when the price changed.
Here's what I take from this. What I'm looking forward to experiencing in France - small, independently owned businesses, a slower lifestyle, a sharper focus on the moment - is exactly why these people don't have a virtual presence. They're too busy with their real presence. The other thing I take from this is that the idea of existing online and what that means only goes so far. Many small businesses probably think that putting up the web site is the end, when in fact it is just the beginning. It takes knowledge and energy to ensure that a web channel is working and that it is as important a customer service experience as any other part of the business. When I think about it, I actually don't know how these small businesses would ever possess enough knowledge or energy to run what is effectively a completely different, and for anyone who has worked with computers knows, very tempermental business. Maybe there's a business opportunity there...
One other funny note, there was one hotel that I wanted to book who didn't have any online access so I called them. They only took reservations by phone from 9 - noon. That would be 3 am for me. Luckily my friend Christophe translated the phone message for me or I'd probably still be calling. I ended up booking one I could get online.
The good news is now have my lodging taken care of for all of April and the last week and two random days in May and I plan on winging it for the rest. Even better news is that my sister Penny is going to join me for a week and it will make the trip so much more enjoyable. She's also studying French so we can charmingly butcher it together.
Eight days to go and still so much to do. How does one pack for two months anyway?
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