MESSAGE CENTER

Sunday, September 17, 2006

.

TSA-Approved Locks

I READ WITH amazement the statement by U.S. Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Amy Von Walter [Coming and Going, Sept. 10]: "I'm not aware of instances where the bags, rather than the locks, were cut." I have had TSA locks cut (albeit during the earlier days of their availability), a difficult-to-find luggage strap either taken or cut and discarded (it disappeared en route), and most recently a duffel bag zipper cut off, thus rendering the bag unlockable.

TSA is definitely aware of all three incidents because I submitted claims and was reimbursed for all three damages/losses. Van Walter undermines TSA credibility if she continues to deny what many travelers have experienced personally.

Susan Jakubiak, Potomac

SECURITY SCREENERS at many foreign airports do not have the TSA passkeys, and it is much easier to cut through the zipper pulls than the steel lock hasp. Please advise your readers that the use of TSA-approved locks abroad is risky.

Henry Gabelnick, Bethesda

EVEN THOUGH I have TSA locks, my zipper pull was cut. I didn't even think to submit a claim. It is irritating to know that the TSA feels it is okay to damage someone else's belongings.

My favorite story was the time I returned from India. The airport there had a plastic wrap machine at the gate, and I figured the best way to ensure the security of my bag's contents was to wrap it. I picked up my luggage at customs in Chicago, and as I dropped it back off to send it the rest of the way to D.C., I asked the TSA staff if it would be okay to leave the plastic wrap on or if they were going to take it off. I mentioned that I would be happy to take it off myself. I got a wishy-washy answer, but I was tired and went to my gate to await departure.

Imagine my surprise when I arrived at DCA and picked up my luggage, which not only wasn't wrapped, but had a slice all the way down the front. The TSA not only irreparably damaged my suitcase but also the clothes in the front pocket. Why couldn't they slice down the zipper where nothing else would be damaged? Why didn't they just tell me to take the wrap off in Chicago?

May the TSA games continue.

Elizabeth Fleming, Oakton

THE FIRST TIME I used my TSA lock, the TSA "ripped" the lock off and pulled the tabs off my new suitcase. I didn't even bother filing a claim since nothing was missing. It's really hard to open my suitcase without the tabs. Now I just use plastic electrical ties. TSA can cut those off if they want. The only problem is that I need to have a pair of scissors or a knife at the end of the journey to get the suitcase open.

Dianne Parlow, Bowie

I USED a TSA-approved lock purchased at a Brookstone store and TSA cut it off with no explanation. Since I had only checked one bag, I still had the second lock of the pair I bought, so I brought it and my receipt back to Brookstone, which guarantees that if TSA cuts off the lock, "bring the cut lock to any Brookstone store and it will be replaced free of charge." This assumes TSA will return the cut lock, which was not the case.

The manager was reluctant to replace the missing lock, but after some perseverance, he did give me a new pair in exchange for the one lock I still had.

Dick Feeney, Ellicott City

Grand Circle Travel

MY HUSBAND and I were awaiting our departure to Peru when we read your item on the loss of the Better Business Bureau rating by Overseas Adventure Travel, a subsidiary of Grand Circle Travel [Coming and Going, Aug. 27]. It caught our attention, as that's the company we were using.

We have just returned from the most wonderful experience we could have hoped for. Not only was our guide an education in her own right, she made sure we saw all aspects of the culture, positive and negative. All tour arrangements were commendable; all visits surpassed our expectations. The fact that we traveled with 14 other delightful folks only added to our enjoyment

Regardless of BBB's current rating, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this company.

Doris Burton, Davidsonville, Md.

YOUR ITEM was no real surprise to us. Let me add Complaint No. 136.

My wife and I booked a Grand Circle trip to Malta for October. When we booked the trip and made the final payment in June, our "Featured Hotel" was listed as the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Sliema, Malta -- a waterfront, four-star hotel rated as Superior First Class. Two weeks ago, in its new brochure, Grand Circle listed the "Featured Hotel" as the Golden Tulip Vivaldi in St. Julian's, Malta -- a four-star hotel rated as First Class and "just a short walk from the rocky public beach . . . air-conditioning available May-September only."

This is the third time that Grand Circle has made hotel changes for trips we've taken. We have had it with its cavalier attitude toward its customers.

Richard M. Patterson, Gaithersburg

WE DON'T THINK the BBB review tells the whole story. We think Grand Circle's problem is growth. It hasn't been able to keep service and quality up with the increased numbers.

We took our first tour with GCT in 1999 -- a river cruise from Vienna to Amsterdam. Superior boat, food and service, experienced program directors, activities scheduling and execution -- all great. Only one complaint, and a troubling one at that: 65 of 135 passengers, and more than half the crew, contracted bronchitis and pneumonia. The purser and staff needed to take more effective disease control actions.

We have now traveled with GCT five times. We took another river cruise last year and found much lower food quality and presentation, inadequate dining room supervision and poor table service. The execution of the activities was marginal; two of the three program directors were rookies with little or no experience.

Ed Fritsch, Williamsburg

GRAND CIRCLE Travel is still grand. We know; we've been on four tours and plan more. The column says the Better Business Bureau, over the last three years, has received "135 complaints" from "about half a million customers" about Grand Circle. That works out to a problem rate of about 0.027 percent -- hardly the "pattern of complaints" you cite. More telling, a 0.027 complaint percentage works out to a 99.97 percent "excellent or good" service rating.

Glenwood Gibbs and Anne Gibbs, Edgewater, Md.

135 COMPLAINTS is a drop in the bucket for Grand Circle Travel, a superb organization that handles impeccably the details for thousands of people each year who travel all over the world. Ask about Grand Circle's repeat business and you will find statistics that most businesses would envy. It would be wonderful if most organizations and businesses did their jobs half as competently and with as much special regard for each individual customer as Grand Circle does.

Stanton E. Samenow, Falls Church

Write us: Washington Post Travel section, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071. Fax: 202-912-3609. E-mail: travel@washpost.com. Provide your full name, town of residence and daytime telephone number. Letters are subject to editing for length and clarity.