Orbitz moves

Any day now, Orbitz will be moving to a new office building. It old digs in a high-rise along South Wacker Drive in Chicago, just across the street from where I interned at Reuters back in 1990, was pretty impressive to begin with — especially its NASA-like control center where it monitors air traffic.

There are other moves underway at the online travel agency. Orbitz is leveraging its technology to improve the customer experience, a concept I discussed at length with several executives during a recent visit.

There’s also a possible move to a new ownership, as current owner Cendant restructures itself.

But as someone who follows customer service issues, the move that interested me the most involved the company’s actions in the aftermath of its recent fat-finger fare fiasco, which I covered in a column and then blogged about.

Although my conversation with Orbitz CEO Mitch Truwit was off the record, I can say that I asked him directly about the steps Orbitz had taken to make sure its prices were accurate. Although I’m not at liberty to talk about his exact answer, I’m able to disclose that I was satisfied with his response.

There seems to be a lot of optimism within Orbitz that these moves will not only make it a better company, but also improve the travel experience for its customers.

I’ll be curious to see how this turns out.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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