Another Hard Luck Story

[Osucka]

I know this stuff comes up all the time with people needing money or advice. Personally I didn't want to ever add to it, but, I have nothing else... I'm hoping someone here will have even a shred of advice for me. Please, anything is ok.

Short story long (LOL), I'm studying Japanese Language in Osaka. When I bought my last plane ticket here from the US I didn't yet have my student visa processed so I didn't know my exact return date.
I called up United since I couldn't buy online and explained the situation. I told the lady that I would be here for at least 6 months (comes into play in a minute) but didn't know the return date yet.
She recommended me a ticket and a return date of 90 days and said I could call to have it changed when the date was set.
OK, I bought it, paid, and thought I was all set...
When I did call (yesterday) I was told that the ticket I bought was only good for return within 4 months so if I needed a ticket for return on September 27th I would need to buy an entirely new one. For the low price of only $2290... :eyepop:
Needless to say I didn't see this as my mistake but United places the blame squarely on me for "choosing the wrong ticket for my needs".
I was told I can return on my current ticket and for only about $200 they can push the date back to the 4 month maximum so I would only miss the last 2 months of school. BTW, I paid $4000 for school for 6 months... No thank you.

Anyway, this is what it comes down to and where I need the advice. I know there is no way in hell I'm going to make $2000+ in the next few months. My fiancee and I are currently exploring other options for cheaper tickets for my return trip. The thing is, believing my ticket was already taken care of I have enough money left to eat and pay for the place I'm staying for the rest of my trip with about $200 to spare. Now I find myself in the position of needing a job.

I of course still have my student visa through which I should be able to work up to 20 hours a week. But with having a full 2 months of Japanese under my belt I am in no way qualified for...Uhhh...ANYTHING!

So, does anyone have any recommendations?

Please, I don't troll, and I would ask the same of you. If this thread seems to be too "emo" for you, don't bother telling me. I already know. I just really have no idea where to go from here. I'm desperate.

Just in case - VITALS
29yrs
American
Japanese Fiancee from Osaka (I refuse to get married for a visa though, so please don't suggest it.)
Student visa ends September 27th
Was told my previous plane ticket is worthless unless I return on it so no credit there.
Did NOT go to a 4 year college and get a degree.

[erbiumfiber]

United sucks for so many reasons. This is one of them. Yeah, as I found out myself, buying open-ended or "more than 4 months" airline tickets is unbelievably expensive. When I came here, I just bought a round-trip ticket (was only $550 in 2003 with SARS...) and didn't use the return fare (one-way tickets also being unbelievably expensive).

Have you checked into buying a round-trip ticket for September? Probably still more than the $200 you have left. I know sometimes you can still get tickets for about $500. Try the ticket agencies in Japan (Hit Travel, No. 1 Travel, etc.) or other people who buy advance tickets in bulk. Sure you'll be travelling on a no-name airline but you'll still get home.

As for work, yes, it IS possible to get work if you don't speak Japanese. It usually involves working at a gaijin bar- but even if it's a crap job, it should still pay at least 900 yen an hour in Osaka. Do you have a local English-language magazine? We have Metropolis and Tokyo Notice Board Classifieds here, Japanzine is pretty Kansai-oriented (and bar-oriented for that matter).

Other sucky jobs where you probably need only minimal language skills include office-cleaning (not too bad) and sometimes managing guesthouses. Hey, we've all done sucky jobs just for the money (I was the weekend garbage person for an on-campus coffee house- helped pay for room and board and the hours were flexible).

So, as long as you're willing and able, you can probably find some job that no Japanese person wants. Stick to it until you have the cash for your ticket.

There is also something called the Traveller's Aid Society. I have seen them in US airports but I think they might work internationally. They help people in hardship (read- stranded) situations such as the one you find yourself in. They may be willing to help. http://www.travelersaid.org/

Lastly, have you pursued your credit options? American credit card companies are eager for you to get into debt with one of their cards (use your parent's address or that of a reliable friend). You probably can get at least a $500 credit line.

If all else fails, start a donation fund on this website. I sent cash to send Az home for the March holidays, maybe people will help you out. Set up paypal- I'll send you something...

[Osucka]

Thanks alot! I'll definately check out the travelers aid thing. As for bars, I heard it is fairly easy to work at one but pretty much the only restriction the school gave is I can't work in anything illegal (duh!) and anything relating to bars.
And trust me, I would most definately take a horrible job. I don't care what it is as this is an emergency situation. I just feel more than a little uncomfortable walking in places and saying "So, who here speaks English?"
Lastly, for the donations, I have a link on my homepage where I request from anyone unlucky enough to stumble across it, but I am not a big fan of begging, especially on a site that is not mine so I didn't want to spam.
My page is in my sig if you want to check it out but please don't feel like you have to give anything at all. But if you happened to spread the word to Bill Gates or something it would be much appreciated! ;)

EDIT: BTW, has anyone ever gone by boat such a long distance? Do they even still do that? If so it's probably a much better price than by flying I would think...

[Osucka]

Bah, it turns out the traveller's aid thing is only available overseas in a couple of places, not in Japan. They said you have to show up in person so, that's out. Thanks though, I'll keep looking around and see if I can find any pther alternatives.

[羽之助]

Private eikaiwa is my advice for you. Put up notices to tutor people's kids for 1000 yen per kid per hour - much cheaper than sending them to a juku or whatever and good income for you. My university had a notice board full of parents asking the exchange students to come by. Three nights a week, two kids, two hours, equals an extra $120 in your pocket every week. It could add up to help out your fare. And yeah, someone may want to go back on that very day - contact a travel agency and maybe they'll buy your ticket from you at a reasonable price.

[MNJetter]

If only you had some sort of proof that the lady at United gave you grossly incorrect information that left you stranded....or a lawyer who knew how to access the proof (I'm willing to bet United keeps phone records, especially after 9/11). Something like being completely stranded in another country without any money because of the fault of United Airlines is soooo totally grounds for a whopper of a lawsuit. If some salesman can successfully sue my grandmother for a thousand bucks because she didn't put a "caution: slippery" sign on her icy doorstep and the idiot slipped on it, you're a shoe-in for a decent settlement. I hate relying on that kind of stuff, but when I read the first post on this thread, honestly, my first thought was "this kid should call an attorney."

[Osucka]

You're not the first one to offer the same advice MNJetter. Unfortunately I'm sure that there would "conveniently" be no phone records. I mean, I knew the airlines all wanted to find ways to make more money but I didn't realise they would do it by completely screwing people over...

Hanenosuke, sounds like a decent idea to me. When I mentioned it to my fiancee though she wouldn't stop talking about how it wouldn't work. She said that first of all there is no place to just go and post signs without getting in trouble. Also, that more than likely, I wouldn't hear from anyone for weeks at a time. I don't know if this is so, or if it's her typical over reaction. Alot of times she only looks for ways things can't work (makes our relationship tough sometimes when it feels like she finds every reason it could fail and talks about it to no end!) instead of finding ways to make things work.
Any thoughts on this? (Uhhh, the posting of signs and the resulting contacts, not the pessimistic fiancee thing, LOL)

[羽之助]

Your fiancee sounds like my mom! (ahahahaha)

My city has a weekly English class at one of its public halls (kouminkan) and it gives me $50 a week. They usually ask incoming JETs to do it, but before me and the previous teacher the class was taught by resident foreigners who live here and have children. There might be one in your area; pitch the idea to whomever's in charge.

As for posting signs, does your area of town have any bulletin boards? Mine has them even for the most out-of-the-way places with incredibly old posters on them saying when the garbage will be collected ten years ago and nothing else on a big green board. Find out who's in charge and put up signs.

Any private English schools? When I was on exchange I worked 3 nights a week at a small franchise (one classroom in my city, another city down the train line, and another one in Nagoya) run by an American from Hawaii. The student I took over from was only studying for 6 months and he got on. Depends on how much they need real live speakers, though.

I also know someone from Sri Lanka who spoke next to no Japanese and was hired at a convenience store.

[Pierrot le Fou]

Call up United and just give them utter Hell. Threaten to contact consumer groups, newspapers, and raise a stink about their poor service and horrible attitude towards customer relations. Point out that you bought an expensive ticket with their airlines under the advice of their agent, and they refuse to even swap that with an actual ticket or give credit towards using their airline. If the person on the other end of the line isn't being polite, feel no need to be polite towards them. If they tell you they can't do anything, tell them to put someone on who can.

You are getting flat-out shafted because someone didn't realize that 6 months and 90 days are not equivalent. That is not your fault. Explain this to them. Polite as long as they are, but do not put up with stalling or people claiming that they can't do anything.

[erbiumfiber]

All right, I sent in my $200- it's the same amount I sent Az to help him get home to see his parents and his grandma.

All airlines suck but United has a special sucking that only US Airways can begin to match. Their worst route is Boston to Washington and back. When I was trying to get home to Washington, the flight was delayed about 6 hours and then at 2 in the morning, after keeping us trapped on the plane for a couple of hours they said the crew was "timed out" and left us in the middle of a closed airport in Richmond. The rep said there was nothing they could do- I suggested that they bus us up to DC (Dulles) and she said, "It's not like Washington, we don't have buses like that." I pointed out that Richmond was the capital of our great Commonwealth (VA) and that it was possible that there was a charter bus for hire.

After saying we would have to wait unil morning and then go standby to Washington, they relented and sent some buses (some people had already gotten together to split cab fare...). I got to the airport (Dulles) at 7:30 in the morning on a Monday morning, having to go to work.

There is no way United will admit it is at fault in this transaction. There's no proof and they are already one of the lowest-ranked airlines in things like on-time service and customer service and so are immune to any threats. Didn't they just come out of bankruptcy? Or maybe they're still in bankruptcy. You can see why. Because they just plain SUCK.

Now you have learned- order your tickets on-line where you can read all the fine print- and if you can't get the dates, put in approximate dates and check the fares. The ticket agents just want you to buy SOMETHING and they'll say anything. Remember, some airlines and hotels use PRISONERS as booking agents. Seriously. With your credit cards. Think these people really care about your well-being?

I fly ANA. But when I fly to Seattle to visit my father, it's a code-share flight with United and we use their equipment and personnel. You're lucky if you can even get a frickin' glass of water from these people. And they don't know a single word of Japanese and are not patient with the people who don't speak English.

OK enough ranting. Please buy a ticket on some other airline. Good luck!

[MNJetter]

All right, I sent in my $200- it's the same amount I sent Az to help him get home to see his parents and his grandma.

:eyepop: Holy cow, Erbium, you are an extremely generous person. Kudos.

[Osucka]

Erbium - Please read your private message ASAP.

As for the rest of you, I'll comment when I can think straight again...

[Osucka]

Actually it's official that erbium is the most generous person I have even had the pleasure of "knowing".

OK, and onto the rest of you. Pierrot, I did my best to talk with multiple people, including even going so far as to fall back on the "let me talk to your boss" --he'll tell you the same thing I am -- "OK, let me talk to your bosses boss!" Sigh. Really I would have rather just been sent a computer error email saying my ticket was cancelled for no reason in particular and don't bother calling. It would have been better than having to hear about it being my fault and to have to fight their evasiveness over the phone.
Anyway, my fiancee and I are still in progress on lower cost flights (Holy crap! Who knew United charged so much more than they have to! (Obviously not me huh...)) and we have found some that may be as low as $800 or so in US dollars. That means that I'm 1/4 of the way to my goal right now which is just amazing to me!

[Hatsumomo]

1.) I agree with Pierrot le Fou's advice: Give them hell. They'll do something, if for nothing other than to get you to shut up. If you get a lot of hemming and hawing, request to see a higher-up.

2.) Check out STATravel and StudentUniverse for cheap tickets. It caters mainly to students, so you might find something there.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. I've got to change my own ticket home because I apparently need to attend some commencement ceremony the day after the original return date on my ticket.

Funny how when something screws up, if it's the customer's fault, business will fall over themselves to give anything to the customer, but when it's the fault of the employee, the customer gets a figurative "screw you."

[Osucka]

1.) I agree with Pierrot le Fou's advice: Give them hell. They'll do something, if for nothing other than to get you to shut up. If you get a lot of hemming and hawing, request to see a higher-up.

2.) Check out STATravel and StudentUniverse for cheap tickets. It caters mainly to students, so you might find something there.

Giving them hell didn't do anything except make them try to get me off the phone faster. I think Erbium was right when she said "There's no proof and they are already one of the lowest-ranked airlines in things like on-time service and customer service and so are immune to any threats. ".

Hmmm, it seems like I have to be under 27 to actually be considered a student and be able to get those discounts.... Ya, I'm old, 29. I wish I would have decided to try this many years ago. I probably would have absorbed the language a little faster as well!

Lastly, someone else gave me $30, but they didn't say where they were from, so if it was here (probably since this is the only place I have a message posted) then THANK YOU! :clap:

[Pierrot le Fou]

Someone at the airline has the ability to make decisions regarding your ticket. Your job is to get them on the phone and have them change it. Getting them on the phone should be simple -- if the person you're talking to states they can't do it, you tell them to put you on with someone that can. If the last person in the chain says they can't, you tell them that they most certainly can, or that their service is absolutely piss-poor because they can't even properly forward your call to a customer service representative who can deal with your situation.

Don't get surly, just be direct, and be as polite as they are. And it will take time, and suck, but at least you will have REALLY tried. erbium may be right that United is the world's crappiest airline, but you should try anyway because that's a lot of cash.

[MNJetter]

Where are you trying to get a plane ticket back to in the States? And would you be able to fly out of a different airport than Osaka?

Sometimes it makes a huge difference in price. If you don't have qualms about taking some extra travel hours in exchange for saving money, it might be slightly cheaper to fly into/out of a different airport and take the Greyhound or a different airline or a train to wherever it is you're trying to get to.

[Osucka]

Someone at the airline has the ability to make decisions regarding your ticket. Your job is to get them on the phone and have them change it. Getting them on the phone should be simple -- if the person you're talking to states they can't do it, you tell them to put you on with someone that can. If the last person in the chain says they can't, you tell them that they most certainly can, or that their service is absolutely piss-poor because they can't even properly forward your call to a customer service representative who can deal with your situation.

Don't get surly, just be direct, and be as polite as they are. And it will take time, and suck, but at least you will have REALLY tried. erbium may be right that United is the world's crappiest airline, but you should try anyway because that's a lot of cash.

It's not that they said they COULD not make a decision, just that everyone I talked with said they WOULD not. Even when I did get to the higher ups (seems like a call center, I doubt they are more than glorified paper pushers there anyway) they claimed it was my fault for purchasing the wrong ticket. I was told that if I had stated I needed to be there for at least 6 months I would have been advised to purchase the correct ticket. In any case, they say I would have paid this amount then so I may as well pay it now... Fishy...:liar:

[Osucka]

Where are you trying to get a plane ticket back to in the States? And would you be able to fly out of a different airport than Osaka?

Sometimes it makes a huge difference in price. If you don't have qualms about taking some extra travel hours in exchange for saving money, it might be slightly cheaper to fly into/out of a different airport and take the Greyhound or a different airline or a train to wherever it is you're trying to get to.

I need to get back to Fort Wayne, Indiana but normally I just fly to Chicago as it saves a few hundred dollars and I can usually beg a ride from a friend or something.

I most definately do not have issues with other modes of transportation or slower forms of transportation in order to lower the cost enough to make it. You may have noticed I even asked about boats earlier in the thread... My fiancee says that she has never heard of anyone going by boat from Japan to the US though so it seems pretty unlikely. Plus I'd probably be seasick. :yuck:

The bus angle is something I didn't think about. I may see if I can fly into the coast for much less and catch a bus. Thanks for the idea!!!

[MNJetter]

Yeah, Greyhound buses take a while to get places, but they can save you a lot of money. If you reserve your ticket ahead of time, it can be cheaper than gas would cost you if you drove yourself!

But, I'm not sure how much cheaper you'd be able to get air tickets, so that it would actually save you money to take the bus. It's another option, anyway.

......why in heaven's name are the one-way tickets actually generally more expensive than the round-trip ones?? That makes no sense mathematically. Is there some hidden agenda to keep people from moving too far from their original home? I looked up an example flight, from Kansai to Detroit on Sept. 27.....one-way was $2230, but if you stick a return ticket on it, it becomes $900. wtf?

[Osucka]

......why in heaven's name are the one-way tickets actually generally more expensive than the round-trip ones?? That makes no sense mathematically. Is there some hidden agenda to keep people from moving too far from their original home? I looked up an example flight, from Kansai to Detroit on Sept. 27.....one-way was $2230, but if you stick a return ticket on it, it becomes $900. wtf?

I'm the last person who should answer that. I consider it one of the great mysteries of the universe. I tried asking about a one way when I bought the ticket I'm currently on since I didn't know the return date, but it was more expensive than the RT as well...
Not that it didn't actually turn out to be only one way.
HOLD ON! :boggled: Did I just find the silver lining to this situation??? :knockout:

[Osucka]

So I went ahead and filled out an online application for Nova based on someone`s recommendation. Apparently they will respond within two weeks, but is there anyone here that could tell me - do you think it`s possible I would be able to work there? Of course on the student visa I can work up to 20 hours, but would they even consider me for a position even though I have to leave at the end of September?

[Osucka]

Come on, please... Anyone?

I can't imagine that out of all the people here no one knows anything about Nova. I really just want to know if there is any kind of thing I could do to help myself out in the job area.