Customer Disservice

November 16, 2007

in Luggage Stories

On July 10, 2007, my one year old daughter and I were to leave from NYC on US Airways. That flight was supposed to leave at 1.23 pm; boarding was supposed to begin around 12.45 pm. At around 1.30 the gate agent informed us that the aircraft (it was a prop plane) was too hot (it had been sitting on the tarmac) and they would cool it down. This procedure took more than a half hour.

Finally, we were allowed to board and I finally get my daughter to fall asleep as we are leaving the gate. We are going slowly. The pilot brings the plane to a stop, opens the door and looks outside, then tells us that there is a flat tire (my thought is that during that 45 minutes of cooling the plane down, don’t you think that they would have noticed this????). Then we head back to the gate (my daughter has now woken up and is screaming). We are told that maintenance will come to fix the tire. Forty-five minutes later there is nothing being done, and additionally our gate agent has disappeared. Finally after I complain to special services, the agent makes announcements. We are never really told what is going on.

Finally, I am able to be booked onto a flight going to the next town over. The gate agent says that my bag will be rerouted to this flight that will leave at 5.18 pm. At 5.20 pm the gate agent for the new flight informs us that we have a plane but no crew because they are in Norfolk. All I want to do at this point is to return home to my apartment, not more than a half hour from the airport.

My daughter and I are exhausted. The other flight is then canceled, and 15 to 20 people get in line to talk to the gate agent – who then proceeds to disappear. I go back to special services – who has closed off the area! One person is there helping two people. I talk to the guy who says he will help me. Since it took too long, I exit the gate area and go to the main ticketing area at the front of the airport. There they help me by getting me a ticket for 7/11 to Rochester at 12.30 pm.

I then go to find my luggage. It is no where to be found. When I ask for help – one guy does help me, but before doing so sneaks off into the back – to have his dinner!!!!!! There is only one person working – three other people are eating. This guy says he will help, but disappears – he returns 10 or 15 minutes later eating a sandwich! He also finds no record of my bag! He gives me a lost luggage form, which he does not fill out. He does not give me a file number, and in my tired stupor and trying to take care of my screaming daughter (because it is now 8 pm and my daughter has not napped!), I don’t know that this is what I am supposed to do.

I go home to my apartment and to my husband to feed my daughter and put her to bed. I spend $40 on an unnecessary cab. And I do not have my bag. When I call the lost luggage, they can’t help me because I wasn’t given a file number. Now I had the worst day at the airport, with US airways not informing people what is going on, not caring, walking away and having dinner while people needed their help, I had to spend $40 on a cab home, and they lost my luggage.

The next morning when I return to the airport I go to the baggage claim. Fortunately at this time they are able to tell me that my bag was most likely already in my hometown (they explained something about how the bag claim number makes it sure that the bag will get to my destination no matter that I had been delayed). I asked why they weren’t able to answer that last night and simply tell me where my bag was instead of giving me the run around for nearly an hour (and half of that was eating a sandwich in the back room). I was told that the night shift people were all basically new on the job. So that explained the stupidity.

I did though end up emailing pretty much what I wrote above and received a $200 travel voucher from US Airways, but they failed yet again in customer service when I booked my ticket. I was told that they would email me my travel confirmation; it never came. I waited a week and then followed up with phone calls and emails to US Airways customer service and it took nearly another week and a half to receive an email confirmation for my flight. Having flown them again following this incident, I have seen some improvements, but only slightly.

{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }

Jennifer November 3, 2008 at 9:37 am

Why i the hell did you think it was a good idea to fly with a 1 year old? At least wait until the kid is old enough to sit still and entertain herself for a few hours.

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Denim April 2, 2009 at 11:16 am

Wow Jennifer, has anyone ever told you what a c*** you are? Absolutely no sympathy from you, so no sympathy to you. Go f*** yourself.

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AK April 2, 2009 at 11:46 am

Jesus, and I thought the comments on Youtube were bad and full of "e-wanna badasses". Some of the people on here are complete and total careless assholes. My God.

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Wanker April 3, 2009 at 11:54 am

The comments on YouTube are oxford caliber compared to this place, why on earth you'd allow unscreened anonymous comments I don't know. I guess your faith in the denizens of the internet is greater than mine…lol

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Deborah C June 16, 2009 at 7:27 am

I feel so sorry for Jennifer.Her life must be miserable.Poor her,that's so sad.

The poster's story just goes to show that,many times, it's not the parents' fault their kids are screaming. The airline may have forced them to be up,no nap, no food,no NOTHING for hours.

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