However, it was all too good to be true…things began unraveling the morning before our flight was supposed to leave at 2:30 PM. I was actually at the UM office finishing up a few things before heading to the airport when I got this call from Amy:
Amy: Uh Jen, Viva Macau is going bankrupt or something.
Me: WHAT?!
Amy: Yeah, check it on Google.
Me: …
I quickly checked Google News, and while Viva Macau wasn’t technically going bankrupt, it might as well have been. The Macanese government had abruptly pulled its operating license as of March 26, citing that they needed to repay 200 million MOP in loans and hadn’t been keeping up on fuel payments. All flights were subsequently grounded, with no idea of when they would start again. Susan and I went to the airport anyway, on the off chance that our flight might still take off, but if not, to figure out what to do next.
At the Viva Macau counter, we were met by two officials from the tourism bureau, who took us to a sort of crisis headquarters in the China Hotel across the street. There, we realized that at least we were luckily to be leaving from Macau, rather than stuck in it. We registered our “case” with the tourism/consumer complaint bureau, hoping it would increase our chances of getting a refund since it didn’t seem like Viva had any sense of corporate responsibility. That night, we sadly canceled our reservations for the hostels and the overnight bus trips.
The next morning, Amy, Susan, and I headed for the Viva Macau office in the AIA Tower, just behind the Grand Emperor Hotel. We had heard from some local friends that Viva was giving out refunds there, but apparently, plenty of other people were waiting for the same – we got there before the opening time at 9 AM and there was a already a waiting area set up in the courtyard behind the tower.
There, we waited for another half hour before this guy came out:
The Viva employee is the one in the striped sweatshirtUnfortunately, he was there not to let us into the office, but to hand out numbered slips telling us to come back later. Apparently, there were still lots of people from the previous day that hadn’t been processed, so those were the ones who had first priority. We were annoyed (though not as clearly miffed as the people in the photo above) but took our tickets for an appointment at 1:30 PM. Clearly, this was also some of the biggest news to hit Macau in a while – there were at least 3 video cameras rolling to capture the 20 or so of us waiting in line.
When we came back at 1:30, we were smoothly escorted up to the office, where we filled out a few simple forms and received an apologetic letter stating how sorry Viva was for the inconvenience, but refunds would be processed in the next 2-3 weeks. That being as much as we could do, we went back home and started thinking about where else we could go on such short notice without spending too much money…
:( you go anywhere?
ReplyDeleteSusan and I ended up going to Xiamen for a few days - will be retro-posting about that as soon as I finish dealing with the English Festival this week heh
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