The Real Value of E-commerce – Is There Any Left? Guest Column by Orlando Burgos For many, buying via the Internet has become a way of life, a blessed event and solution to all problems but is it really all that? In effect, the Internet has isolated the users more than ever by locking them in a sphere of self-reliance and has caused a blockage to the flow of trust between human beings. Some feel a certain assurance of safety from their relationship with their computer. The net offers raw information that has a limited value and that’s OK, but as a commerce tool, I have my doubts as to its true value. I’m sure many will think of me as a heretic that should be committed, but just think about it. E-commerce provides little monetary savings; the issue of convenience and timesavings is so minimal and the chance of dangerous errors is so great that I wonder why anyone would take a chance. So where are the great deals? I tried it once with a simple purchase of DVDs from a renowned source and I needed to return some of the items. They claimed they never received these, “lost in the mail” the e-mail said, as there was never human contact. Results: no credit and, to add salt to the wound, no DVDs either. At a real store, a person would have handled the whole thing, saving me money and time. The suggestion of do-it-yourself style of service and the promise of exaggerated savings has also made a presence in my field, the travel business. Some consumers feel they can book a vacation directly on line for a fraction of the cost that a travel agent would charge and this is as far from reality as anything can get, if compared under equal terms. Not knowing how to plan adequately and safely can rapidly lead to problems that may not be of extreme danger, but that can leave you with a sour taste for the destination, just the same, as you realize you have wasted hard-earned dollars for services lacking the assumed value. On the subject of reliable information, we need to accept that this information on hotels and car rentals and such is actually the personal point of view of the seller, and just what do we think they are going to say? For certain, we must accept that every split-level orange crate of a hotel, even those with roaches the size of a Cadillac, will describe themselves as “luxurious and with the best food,” “the biggest bar located where all the action is,” “nothing but A list clients” and, of course, “the largest swimming pool,” the cars are always the cleanest and safest and yet my personal experiences say different. For instance, in a popular Central American country that we represent, a certain “Superb, Luxurious, The Finest and More ” property never mentions the awful smelling, mosquito-filled swamp right next to the place that can make your stay there a miserable experience. In another country, a nice hotel at the right price jumps at you from the screen; nowhere does it mention that visitors should stay within the confines of its grounds lest they be carted off by the local authorities by mistake, for this particular hotel is smack in the middle of a frequently raided prostitution area. So what makes the difference if dealing with a brick-and-mortar business? In a travel agency, again, a real person can give you guidance for these and many other matters that will keep you from harm’s way and, most of all, can work with you to fulfill all your travel expectations. They can give you exactly what you want and deserve at prices sometimes lower than the net and, if slightly higher, it is because of better properties and better value. An agent can protect your money, an option most times not available once you pay a foreign operator since local laws protect them. Next you may ask, what about all these companies advertised on the radio, some owned by the airlines themselves, such as Orbitz, or like Expedia and Travelocity? As the result of poor management, airlines are scrambling for our tax dollar in the way of grants to survive. I doubt they can do justice to your hard-earned leisure time. It is my personal opinion that all these are quantity and not quality suppliers definitely not geared to personal relationships, but directed to statistics. Most of the people working for these companies have less knowledge of destinations than you do, so how can they possibly be of value? Visiting a foreign land can be one of life’s most wonderful and rewarding experiences and it should be done with the purpose of bringing back terrific, rather than horrific, memories. No machine should ever be allowed to replace the human touch. Orlando Burgos is CEO of Southern Horizons Travel and Tours Inc. in North Hollywood.