By an angry (former) customer
As one of the lucky ones to make it through 2009 still employed, this Thanksgiving (like all other major holidays) presented a unique manifestation of the omnipresent dilemma: do I travel home to spend non-billable time with the family (including my seriously ill uncle), or do I stay in the nation’s capital to spend billable time with my ever-mounting pile of work? It didn’t take long to decide that time spent with family over Thanksgiving is worth far more than my billing rate, and I opted to fly home to Oklahoma City. However, as anyone who prefers to stay employed in this economy would do, I booked a ticket months in advance, and paid a substantial premium—$1,173.80, to be exact—to ensure that my husband and I were on a flight that would maximize the time spent with the family while minimizing the time we had to take off from work.
Alas, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
For the trip to Oklahoma City, we selected a flight on United Airlines (flight 609), scheduled to depart Reagan National (the most convenient airport to us by far) at 9:36 am on November 25, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. That flight was scheduled to land in Oklahoma City at 2:14 pm. The beauty of this flight was that it would allow us to get a good night’s sleep, work on the plane, and get to Oklahoma City with plenty of time on Wednesday to see the family, visit my sick uncle, and help with Thanksgiving preparations. A great flight, and we paid a premium for it.
We arrived at the airport with plenty of extra time—knowing that it was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we did not want to risk missing our flight. And all seemed to be going as planned. We grabbed a donut, read the paper, and then boarded the plane.
And there we sat. We were informed that there was an unspecified maintenance issue, but that it would be fixed quickly, and that we would make up time during the flight. We spoke with the flight attendant, explained that our layover in Chicago was only 1 hour and 7 minutes, and asked whether she could do anything to ensure that we did not miss our flight. She replied that we should walk quickly once we got there.
Finally, approximately an hour and a half after the flight was scheduled to depart, the plane took off. We knew we would be cutting it very close. Once we landed and exited the plane, however, we discovered another cause for concern: we had landed at one end of terminal C, and our connecting gate was at the far end of terminal F—as far as possible in the enormous Chicago O’Hare airport. My husband, the faster half of this couple, sprinted ahead in hopes of reaching the gate and holding the plane; I trudged along behind with our bags. We arrived at F4—out of breath, sweaty, and terrified—just in time to wave goodbye to our plane as it pushed off from the gate.
The gate agent told us there was nothing she could do. The flight had left, and all other flights to Oklahoma City were completely full. She would be happy to book us on a flight to Oklahoma City arriving on Thursday evening (of course, after our family’s Thanksgiving dinner).
Of course, that was unacceptable. We asked whether she had checked other airlines. She assured us that she had, and all flights were full. We asked whether she had checked other connecting destinations. She assured us that she had, and all fights were full. We asked whether she could fly us to Tulsa, Wichita, or Dallas so that we could drive. She assured us that she had, and all flights were full. After much haranguing, she finally got us booked on a flight to Dallas leaving in half an hour; accordingly, we raced back across the airport to terminal C. Thankfully, we took off and landed in Dallas in a timely manner.
Once we reached Dallas, we secured ground transportation (We were informed that we would not be reimbursed for the additional expense of transportation because we "chose" to drive from Dallas.) The three-and-a-half hour drive from Dallas to Oklahoma City ended up taking us almost six hours to complete, because we had landed in rush hour traffic and it was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. We finally reached Oklahoma City—approximately 18 hours after we left DC—just in time to collapse, exhausted, into bed.
Although we were tired and frustrated that we had lost a day with our family, we were thankful to have made it home in time for Thanksgiving. And Thanksgiving was wonderful. Understanding that Thanksgiving travel is always difficult, we contemplated not requesting compensation for our botched flight.
Until the trip back.
Like the trip home, we had scheduled our return flight deliberately so that we could spend the morning with our family, but still leave early enough to get back to DC in time to get a bit of work done, get a good night’s sleep, and be ready to work (or, in my husband’s case, take an organic chemistry exam) first thing in the morning. Our flight (United 7005) was scheduled to leave Oklahoma City at 12:38 pm and arrive at Reagan National at 6:51 pm. A great flight, and we paid a premium for it.
Again, we arrived at the airport with plenty of extra time. We had already experienced the horrors of Thanksgiving travel, and we really did not want to miss this flight. We kissed our family goodbye, went through security, and arrived at the gate by 11:00 am.
And there we sat.
Shortly after our flight was scheduled to depart, we were informed that our airplane had had a “small” maintenance issue. Apparently a piece of the wing had sheared off during the previous flight, and it would have to be reattached and patched over with “putty.” As one who spends the majority of her day reading about the legal aspects of various catastrophes, the words “putty” and “airplane wing” used in the same sentence did not give me great comfort. Nevertheless, we were assured that it required only a small fix and that we would be airborne within the hour.
An hour and a half later, we were informed that the maintenance crew had patched the wing, but that the putty was not drying as quickly as expected. They were sure that it would only be a few minutes longer, however, so we should just sit tight.
An hour later, the putty still was not dry. People were starting to get antsy—and hungry. The gate agent informed us that the humidity outside was preventing the putty from drying as quickly as expected, and they did not know when we would be able to take off. Our layover in Chicago this time was a full three hours; however, that window was quickly closing.
Realizing that we were in for another fun trip with United, we asked to be rebooked on a later flight out of Chicago. We were informed that all the flights were full. Again, we implored the gate agent to be creative. There are three airports near D.C., and although Reagan National is by far the most convenient for us (hence our original ticket), at this point we were happy to fly into any of them. Finally, we were booked on a flight from Chicago to Dulles International Airport, departing Chicago at 9:15 pm and landing at Dulles around midnight. We were assured that we would certainly reach Chicago in time for that flight, but we were also informed that the airline would not reimburse the additional cost of travelling from Dulles to D.C. because we were “choosing” to drive.
Given that we would now not be reaching home until well after midnight, I asked again for a meal voucher. I was again refused. So we went and purchased our dinner from the airport restaurants. I then returned to the gate and used my time in the airport to file a complaint on United’s website. Unfortunately, this complaint turned out to be quite premature.
We waited, and we waited some more, receiving periodic updates about the putty that was steadfastly refusing to dry. We watched as several other flights to Chicago came and went. We listened as agents at numerous other gates announced that their flight was oversold and they were looking for several volunteers to give up their seats. Clearly, this was a profitable day for United: it apparently had sold every single seat on these top-dollar Thanksgiving weekend flights—and often to more than one individual!
A little while later, our new best friend—a woman who was six months pregnant, sick, swollen, and tired from sitting in the airport for 8 hours—requested a meal voucher. The gate agent ultimately announced that we were all entitled to a fifteen dollar voucher, but that we should hurry and spend it because the airport restaurants were closing in 20 minutes. By that time we had already eaten, but we went and purchased food just in case—there was no telling how long we would be stuck in that airport.
Finally, at approximately 7:30 pm, we were informed that the putty was dry and that we could board the plane. Of course, we were extremely nervous about getting on an aircraft that had been patched together with putty that had taken an unprecedented amount of time to harden. But we had to get to work/school the next day, and we were assured that we had a good chance of making the last flight out of Chicago that evening. Accordingly we got on the plane, prayed that it would hold together, held our breath in terror at every bump, and finally landed in Chicago.
Our plane landed at O’Hare at 8:50pm. We had informed the gate agent in Oklahoma City, the flight attendant on our plane (Elizabeth Cummings, who was excellent), and the pilots themselves that we had a plane to catch at 9:15. They each assured us that they would do everything they could to get us there in time. But upon landing at O’Hare, we were informed that no gates were available for unloading. We thus sat on the runway in Chicago for half an hour, watching the minutes tick by as the last available flight to D.C. took off without us.
At approximately 9:20, we exited the plane. I asked a gate agent whether there was any chance we could make another flight to D.C. that night, and was directed to the line for “customer service” (apparently the term is used loosely). While my husband sat at the gate and studied for his exam the next day, I stood in line for nearly an hour waiting to speak with a customer service representative.
Finally I reached the front of the line. The agent apologized perfunctorily for our trouble, but was “not authorized” to do much to help us. She assured us that all flights to D.C. that night had either departed or were full. She provided a voucher for a nearby hotel (much appreciated, as we were exhausted), booked us on a flight leaving Chicago at 8am (the first two flights that morning were also completely full) and told us to return to the airport by 5:30 the next morning. I asked why we needed to return by 5:30 am for an 8:00 am flight, and she sternly informed me that it was the Monday after Thanksgiving, that all flights were full, that the airport was busy, and that if we missed this flight because we showed up late it would not be United’s fault if we didn’t get home that day.
We reached the hotel around midnight, ate the leftover food from the OKC airport, and set our alarm for 4:30 am. After just over four hours of fitful sleep, we rolled out of bed, trudged to the airport, breezed through security, and waited for 2 and a half hours in the airport while two different United flights left for D.C. Finally, we boarded our own plane (our seats were at the very back next to the lavatory), took off, landed in D.C., returned home, changed out of our two-day-old clothes, and dragged ourselves to work/school. My husband had missed his exam. I had missed a full half day of work.
Exhausted, angry, and in no state to bill clients for my work, I spent the remainder of Monday attempting to contact a United representative. Apparently, however, this is impossible. I spent half an hour navigating United’s automated system, attempting to contact customer service. Finally I pressed random numbers until I reached a human being, who informed me that United had eliminated its customer service department. He corrected himself quickly—United still had a customer service department, but there was no phone number by which customers could reach it. Apparently a survey had been done, and customers preferred to communicate with United by email. I told him that I had already filed a complaint and received no response, and that I in fact preferred to communicate with a customer service representative by phone. He directed me to the United website.
Soon thereafter, I received a polite but unhelpful email from a United representative, Deanne Glorioso, recounting my travel woes and offering a $150 voucher for future travel on United as a “gesture of goodwill.” I did not find this “goodwill” gesture even remotely adequate, and I replied to her email requesting that she contact me directly. I received no response.
After attempting again to reach a customer service representative by phone, and again being directed to the United website, I filled out the online form a second time, requesting that a customer service representative contact me. After several hours without a response, I began searching the internet for additional contact information. I finally found the email address for the customer service manager, Helen Chellin (helen.chellin@united.com), emailed her a brief summary of our trip, and requested that she contact me. I will keep you updated on her response, but I wouldn’t hold your breath in the meantime.
We paid a significant premium for a timely and convenient flight that would get us to Oklahoma City in time for Thanksgiving holiday, maximize the time spent with our family, and minimize the time spent away from our other obligations. We received nowhere near what we paid for. Instead, we spent many exhausting and frustrating hours in the airport or on planes, experienced a harrowing flight in an aircraft that had been patched together with “putty”, incurred substantial additional travel expenses, missed a day of work and an exam, and received shoddy and unapologetic service in the process. Most importantly, we lost valuable days that could have been spent with our family.
On what was supposed to be a quick four-day trip home for Thanksgiving, we spent a total of 43 hours travelling, followed by another approximately 8 hours attempting to get reimbursed. Even if they gave me enough travel vouchers to compensate that amount of lost time at my billing rate ($18,360, if anyone is counting), I would still avoid flying United. A $150 voucher for future travel was, in my view, simply an insult.
I’ll let you know what happens. At a minimum, I’ll post any contact information I discover so that if any of you fail to heed my advice and fly with United, you’ll know what to do afterwards.
As one of the lucky ones to make it through 2009 still employed, this Thanksgiving (like all other major holidays) presented a unique manifestation of the omnipresent dilemma: do I travel home to spend non-billable time with the family (including my seriously ill uncle), or do I stay in the nation’s capital to spend billable time with my ever-mounting pile of work? It didn’t take long to decide that time spent with family over Thanksgiving is worth far more than my billing rate, and I opted to fly home to Oklahoma City. However, as anyone who prefers to stay employed in this economy would do, I booked a ticket months in advance, and paid a substantial premium—$1,173.80, to be exact—to ensure that my husband and I were on a flight that would maximize the time spent with the family while minimizing the time we had to take off from work.
Alas, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
For the trip to Oklahoma City, we selected a flight on United Airlines (flight 609), scheduled to depart Reagan National (the most convenient airport to us by far) at 9:36 am on November 25, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. That flight was scheduled to land in Oklahoma City at 2:14 pm. The beauty of this flight was that it would allow us to get a good night’s sleep, work on the plane, and get to Oklahoma City with plenty of time on Wednesday to see the family, visit my sick uncle, and help with Thanksgiving preparations. A great flight, and we paid a premium for it.
We arrived at the airport with plenty of extra time—knowing that it was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we did not want to risk missing our flight. And all seemed to be going as planned. We grabbed a donut, read the paper, and then boarded the plane.
And there we sat. We were informed that there was an unspecified maintenance issue, but that it would be fixed quickly, and that we would make up time during the flight. We spoke with the flight attendant, explained that our layover in Chicago was only 1 hour and 7 minutes, and asked whether she could do anything to ensure that we did not miss our flight. She replied that we should walk quickly once we got there.
Finally, approximately an hour and a half after the flight was scheduled to depart, the plane took off. We knew we would be cutting it very close. Once we landed and exited the plane, however, we discovered another cause for concern: we had landed at one end of terminal C, and our connecting gate was at the far end of terminal F—as far as possible in the enormous Chicago O’Hare airport. My husband, the faster half of this couple, sprinted ahead in hopes of reaching the gate and holding the plane; I trudged along behind with our bags. We arrived at F4—out of breath, sweaty, and terrified—just in time to wave goodbye to our plane as it pushed off from the gate.
The gate agent told us there was nothing she could do. The flight had left, and all other flights to Oklahoma City were completely full. She would be happy to book us on a flight to Oklahoma City arriving on Thursday evening (of course, after our family’s Thanksgiving dinner).
Of course, that was unacceptable. We asked whether she had checked other airlines. She assured us that she had, and all flights were full. We asked whether she had checked other connecting destinations. She assured us that she had, and all fights were full. We asked whether she could fly us to Tulsa, Wichita, or Dallas so that we could drive. She assured us that she had, and all flights were full. After much haranguing, she finally got us booked on a flight to Dallas leaving in half an hour; accordingly, we raced back across the airport to terminal C. Thankfully, we took off and landed in Dallas in a timely manner.
Once we reached Dallas, we secured ground transportation (We were informed that we would not be reimbursed for the additional expense of transportation because we "chose" to drive from Dallas.) The three-and-a-half hour drive from Dallas to Oklahoma City ended up taking us almost six hours to complete, because we had landed in rush hour traffic and it was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. We finally reached Oklahoma City—approximately 18 hours after we left DC—just in time to collapse, exhausted, into bed.
Although we were tired and frustrated that we had lost a day with our family, we were thankful to have made it home in time for Thanksgiving. And Thanksgiving was wonderful. Understanding that Thanksgiving travel is always difficult, we contemplated not requesting compensation for our botched flight.
Until the trip back.
Like the trip home, we had scheduled our return flight deliberately so that we could spend the morning with our family, but still leave early enough to get back to DC in time to get a bit of work done, get a good night’s sleep, and be ready to work (or, in my husband’s case, take an organic chemistry exam) first thing in the morning. Our flight (United 7005) was scheduled to leave Oklahoma City at 12:38 pm and arrive at Reagan National at 6:51 pm. A great flight, and we paid a premium for it.
Again, we arrived at the airport with plenty of extra time. We had already experienced the horrors of Thanksgiving travel, and we really did not want to miss this flight. We kissed our family goodbye, went through security, and arrived at the gate by 11:00 am.
And there we sat.
Shortly after our flight was scheduled to depart, we were informed that our airplane had had a “small” maintenance issue. Apparently a piece of the wing had sheared off during the previous flight, and it would have to be reattached and patched over with “putty.” As one who spends the majority of her day reading about the legal aspects of various catastrophes, the words “putty” and “airplane wing” used in the same sentence did not give me great comfort. Nevertheless, we were assured that it required only a small fix and that we would be airborne within the hour.
An hour and a half later, we were informed that the maintenance crew had patched the wing, but that the putty was not drying as quickly as expected. They were sure that it would only be a few minutes longer, however, so we should just sit tight.
An hour later, the putty still was not dry. People were starting to get antsy—and hungry. The gate agent informed us that the humidity outside was preventing the putty from drying as quickly as expected, and they did not know when we would be able to take off. Our layover in Chicago this time was a full three hours; however, that window was quickly closing.
Realizing that we were in for another fun trip with United, we asked to be rebooked on a later flight out of Chicago. We were informed that all the flights were full. Again, we implored the gate agent to be creative. There are three airports near D.C., and although Reagan National is by far the most convenient for us (hence our original ticket), at this point we were happy to fly into any of them. Finally, we were booked on a flight from Chicago to Dulles International Airport, departing Chicago at 9:15 pm and landing at Dulles around midnight. We were assured that we would certainly reach Chicago in time for that flight, but we were also informed that the airline would not reimburse the additional cost of travelling from Dulles to D.C. because we were “choosing” to drive.
Given that we would now not be reaching home until well after midnight, I asked again for a meal voucher. I was again refused. So we went and purchased our dinner from the airport restaurants. I then returned to the gate and used my time in the airport to file a complaint on United’s website. Unfortunately, this complaint turned out to be quite premature.
We waited, and we waited some more, receiving periodic updates about the putty that was steadfastly refusing to dry. We watched as several other flights to Chicago came and went. We listened as agents at numerous other gates announced that their flight was oversold and they were looking for several volunteers to give up their seats. Clearly, this was a profitable day for United: it apparently had sold every single seat on these top-dollar Thanksgiving weekend flights—and often to more than one individual!
A little while later, our new best friend—a woman who was six months pregnant, sick, swollen, and tired from sitting in the airport for 8 hours—requested a meal voucher. The gate agent ultimately announced that we were all entitled to a fifteen dollar voucher, but that we should hurry and spend it because the airport restaurants were closing in 20 minutes. By that time we had already eaten, but we went and purchased food just in case—there was no telling how long we would be stuck in that airport.
Finally, at approximately 7:30 pm, we were informed that the putty was dry and that we could board the plane. Of course, we were extremely nervous about getting on an aircraft that had been patched together with putty that had taken an unprecedented amount of time to harden. But we had to get to work/school the next day, and we were assured that we had a good chance of making the last flight out of Chicago that evening. Accordingly we got on the plane, prayed that it would hold together, held our breath in terror at every bump, and finally landed in Chicago.
Our plane landed at O’Hare at 8:50pm. We had informed the gate agent in Oklahoma City, the flight attendant on our plane (Elizabeth Cummings, who was excellent), and the pilots themselves that we had a plane to catch at 9:15. They each assured us that they would do everything they could to get us there in time. But upon landing at O’Hare, we were informed that no gates were available for unloading. We thus sat on the runway in Chicago for half an hour, watching the minutes tick by as the last available flight to D.C. took off without us.
At approximately 9:20, we exited the plane. I asked a gate agent whether there was any chance we could make another flight to D.C. that night, and was directed to the line for “customer service” (apparently the term is used loosely). While my husband sat at the gate and studied for his exam the next day, I stood in line for nearly an hour waiting to speak with a customer service representative.
Finally I reached the front of the line. The agent apologized perfunctorily for our trouble, but was “not authorized” to do much to help us. She assured us that all flights to D.C. that night had either departed or were full. She provided a voucher for a nearby hotel (much appreciated, as we were exhausted), booked us on a flight leaving Chicago at 8am (the first two flights that morning were also completely full) and told us to return to the airport by 5:30 the next morning. I asked why we needed to return by 5:30 am for an 8:00 am flight, and she sternly informed me that it was the Monday after Thanksgiving, that all flights were full, that the airport was busy, and that if we missed this flight because we showed up late it would not be United’s fault if we didn’t get home that day.
We reached the hotel around midnight, ate the leftover food from the OKC airport, and set our alarm for 4:30 am. After just over four hours of fitful sleep, we rolled out of bed, trudged to the airport, breezed through security, and waited for 2 and a half hours in the airport while two different United flights left for D.C. Finally, we boarded our own plane (our seats were at the very back next to the lavatory), took off, landed in D.C., returned home, changed out of our two-day-old clothes, and dragged ourselves to work/school. My husband had missed his exam. I had missed a full half day of work.
Exhausted, angry, and in no state to bill clients for my work, I spent the remainder of Monday attempting to contact a United representative. Apparently, however, this is impossible. I spent half an hour navigating United’s automated system, attempting to contact customer service. Finally I pressed random numbers until I reached a human being, who informed me that United had eliminated its customer service department. He corrected himself quickly—United still had a customer service department, but there was no phone number by which customers could reach it. Apparently a survey had been done, and customers preferred to communicate with United by email. I told him that I had already filed a complaint and received no response, and that I in fact preferred to communicate with a customer service representative by phone. He directed me to the United website.
Soon thereafter, I received a polite but unhelpful email from a United representative, Deanne Glorioso, recounting my travel woes and offering a $150 voucher for future travel on United as a “gesture of goodwill.” I did not find this “goodwill” gesture even remotely adequate, and I replied to her email requesting that she contact me directly. I received no response.
After attempting again to reach a customer service representative by phone, and again being directed to the United website, I filled out the online form a second time, requesting that a customer service representative contact me. After several hours without a response, I began searching the internet for additional contact information. I finally found the email address for the customer service manager, Helen Chellin (helen.chellin@united.com), emailed her a brief summary of our trip, and requested that she contact me. I will keep you updated on her response, but I wouldn’t hold your breath in the meantime.
We paid a significant premium for a timely and convenient flight that would get us to Oklahoma City in time for Thanksgiving holiday, maximize the time spent with our family, and minimize the time spent away from our other obligations. We received nowhere near what we paid for. Instead, we spent many exhausting and frustrating hours in the airport or on planes, experienced a harrowing flight in an aircraft that had been patched together with “putty”, incurred substantial additional travel expenses, missed a day of work and an exam, and received shoddy and unapologetic service in the process. Most importantly, we lost valuable days that could have been spent with our family.
On what was supposed to be a quick four-day trip home for Thanksgiving, we spent a total of 43 hours travelling, followed by another approximately 8 hours attempting to get reimbursed. Even if they gave me enough travel vouchers to compensate that amount of lost time at my billing rate ($18,360, if anyone is counting), I would still avoid flying United. A $150 voucher for future travel was, in my view, simply an insult.
I’ll let you know what happens. At a minimum, I’ll post any contact information I discover so that if any of you fail to heed my advice and fly with United, you’ll know what to do afterwards.
7 comments:
This is OUTRAGEOUS!!!! I will never, never again fly United Airlines, even when my law firm is paying for the flight!
That is an awful travel experience, compounded by unconscionably bad customer service. If you cannot depend on United to get you where you need to be on time, why pay a premium to fly with them? I will avoid flying United in the future.
That is terrible!
My firm gives United a lot of business because we fly out of Los Angeles. I will make sure that every single one of our attorneys and clients (who are paying for business class seats) hears this story and avoids United.
We've all had bad airline experiences, but this one takes the cake. I especially like how you
"chose" to drive to OKC from
Dallas. No wonder the airlines are in such trouble! Too bad train travel is no longer practical...
This is unbelievable! It is by far the worst United story I have heard, and I have heard some awful stories about United.
Reading your story made me recall my boyfriend's own miserable travel saga from September. For job interview purposes he had to travel to three different cities over four days, and each trip practically depended on him successfully completing the trip before. Needless to say, when he was hours delayed on the second leg of his trip (on Southwest Airlines) due to a "mechanical failure" on his plane, his entire week was thrown out of wack. On top of that, he experienced additional plane delays (on American Airlines) later on in the week.
All told, he was forced to reschedule his second and third interviews, take additional time off of work, buy additional, last-minute plane tickets at exorbitant cost, and book motel rooms he hadn't needed before. He had absolutely no control over the situation, and the entire ordeal was extremely stressful and draining, not to mention costly. I'm not sure he ever tried to recoup his expenses from the airlines; I think the last thing he wanted to do was deal with customer service. So good for you for refusing to settle for a measly $150 voucher!
Post a Comment