I had booked a Greyhound express ticket for 5:25 PM going to Houston. I get to the Austin Greyhound station at 4:30 PM, well ahead of my departure time. I stand in line around 5:15, confident I would be able to get on the bus, because my ticket, as the Greyhound express website says is "guaranteed." The bus is late 15 minutes, and when it finally gets here, I find out that there are no more seats available since they had overbooked the bus.
I am initially told that they would try to get another bus for the 20 or so people that were unable to board, but soon realize that I would have to wait for the next bus at 8 PM. So, I wait the 2 1/2 hours for the next bus to Houston to come. When it finally comes, I notice it was not a Greyhound express bus, which is what I paid for. But since I just wanted to go home, I didn't mind. So, right as I am about to board, an Austin Greyhound employee announces over the intercom that our tickets needed to be changed because it was a different company that was operating this new bus. So, I am led inside to the desk where they change my ticket. While they're changing it, however, this next bus gets full, as the bus driver ignores the greyhound employee's plea to stop the boarding to allow the 5:25 PM travelers to board first. I am told that I would have to wait until the 10 PM bus now.
When I asked the woman why she didn't change our tickets before the bus got here, so that we would have been able to board. She scoffs at me and says that "it would have been silly to change everyone when we didn't know how many seats there were." When I note that this doesn't make sense, since our tickets would have had to been changed eventually, so that we can board a later bus, she ignores me and walks off.
While I am waiting for the 10 PM bus, I go to the desk, where I ask the employee sitting there, about potentially getting reimbursed/refunded for my troubles. Instead of trying to make amends or apologizing for the inconvenience, he condescendingly lectures me about how the seats are "first-come, first-serve", even though that is contrary to what their website says. ("We don't oversell our schedules, so this boarding pass will guarantee you a seat on your ticketed schedule.")
Finally, at 10 PM, by pure luck, the bus that arrives is empty and I am able to board. My final arrival time is 1 AM, exactly 4 1/2 hours later than my original scheduled arrival time of 8 PM.
In conclusion, I would just like to say that I was very frustrated not only because I didn't get what I paid for (an on-time, guaranteed seat on a bus), but also, because of the unprofessional manner and attitude displayed by the Greyhound employees in the Austin station for trying to make up for mistakes that were made on their part. I can say with confidence that is last time I will ever ride the Greyhound.
Edit: They gave me a full refund, and a $100 credit for my troubles. read more