Now generally, I am a patient person. My job requires it. I have a natural inborn tendency to be patient. (and understanding too!)I have developed a huge amount of patience over the years, having had to deal with my child, my parents, my co-workers, and that annoying "please hold for the next available operator" that drones on and on and on. When I arrived at Logan,(12 noon) my patience was still intact, fully charged and ready to be challenged. I've had experience with flying and knew very well what a test of one's patience could be ahead of me. ~snicker~
Airline agent: "Hello, where are you flying to today?"
Silly me: "Tampa"
Airline agent: "Oh no".
Silly me: "Huh?"
Airline agent: "That flight was cancelled. Let me see what I can do for you. Oh yes, here we go; I can get you on a flight to Cleveland, then Chicago, with a stop in BumfreakingEgypt, then after a 3 hour layover we might get lucky and strap you to the wing of Flight 308 and get you to Atlanta by next Tuesday."
Silly me: "Huh?"
Airline agent: "Of course, if you want to get to Tampa we could just put you on a flight that leaves three and a half hours later than your original flight with two stops, arriving in Tampa at midnight."
Silly me: "Are you kidding me? I paid for a DIRECT flight! I'm suppose to be toes deep in white beach sand by 6pm tonight! I only get four days off! You're kidding me, right?"
Airline agent: "No ma'am. I'm sorry for the inconvienence."
So there I am, sitting patiently waiting for a flight that leaves at 5:30ish to Cleveland. At 5:10 the airline agent at the desk makes this announcement:
"DUE TO AN FAA REQUIRED INSPECTION OF THIS AIRPLANE OUR DEPARTURE TIME WILL BE DELAYED BY ONE HOUR." Of course this messed up the connection in Cleveland so I get up to go speak to the agent. I am directed to the auto-kiosk thing-a-ma-jiggy, scan my ticket and VOILA! I am now booked on a direct Boston to Atlanta flight leaving in..... wait for it..... another hour and a half! But that's really okay because once I get into Atlanta I only have to wait three more hours for the flight to Tampa!
Time to pull up the bootstraps, push in the bottom lip, wipe the tears off, and belly up to the bar!
Welcome to my world... I deal with this kinda crap 170+ days a year... It's even MORE fun when they don't speak english, or immediately 'lose' their english as soon as you ask a question they don't want to answer. That'll piss ya off!!!
ReplyDeleteYou must have the patience of Job! I'm not sure I could hold my temper for that many days a year! Of course the only reason I didn't blow a gasket was the mental picture of me being escorted away by airport security... thus bringing an end to any chance of a vacation.... ~sigh~ They really do have you by the crystal balls as soon as you walk into the joint... doesn't matter what reservations you have... they will do whatever they like with you.... amazing.. any other business that might do that wouldn't last a week. I was kinda wondering why if a flight is cancelled, they don't bring out another plane to take it's place? Don't they have any extra ones?
ReplyDeleteFlying is NO fun at all any longer. Us geezers remember a time when it was still unusual, semi-romantic, and ALL the stews (don't beat me! I can't help it!) were lovely, friendly, and still knew what "service" meant.
ReplyDeleteNowadays if you leave on schedule and your baggage arrives in the same state at roughly the same time as you do it's counted as "success."
{sigh}
Buck- I remember seeing the want ads for stewardess jobs - there were actual "physical" requirements... no wonder you didn't mind "flying the friendly skies"!
ReplyDeleteHammer- I won't say they "all" do, only because I haven't tried Jet Blue or Southwest Air yet.... and to be fair, Delta just sent me a $100 voucher for my next flight with them... (yes, I sent an email of discontent). Hmmm. Next flight? What do you think folks? Would you try them again or not?
FF- There are no spares anymore, unless you are at a hub, and then it's actually somebody else flight...
ReplyDeleteThe way I handle it is to have 800 numbers programmed into my phone. I don't even deal with "customer" service. I call the 800 and get them to handle it. I also pay for club membership with the two airlines I fly the most. Those have paid for themselves in free food and rooms every year.
Next flight? What do you think folks? Would you try them again or not?
ReplyDeleteIt depends, of course. But a $100 voucher is a powerful incentive!
FWIW: I've flown Jet Blue and was pleasantly surprised. They're good. Or they were, then.