Yesterday afternoon as I sat comfortably at the United Red Carpet Club in Denver sipping on a glass of Cabernet, a gentleman charged up to the bar and threw himself onto the stool. You could feel the anger emanating from his spirit before he opened his mouth. He ordered a drink and then, horror of all horrors, started dialing his cell phone. Unfortunately, his intended target answered the phone. And then things headed south.
“YOU ARE NOT GOING TO F**CKING BELIEVE THIS….. GD UNITED AIRLINES IS SH*T!!!” I would go on, but I think you get the picture. He was a 1K this, and flew all the time, yadda, yadda. Long story short, …and I know you won’t believe this…. his flight had taken a mechanical delay. Apparently, this gentleman was the first person in the world who flies 100,000 miles per year and experiences an occasional flight delay. He could not believe that they did not just pull another airplane to operate his flight….etc, etc. As such, he will never fly United again.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been pretty torqued by any airline from time to time, United included. But I pay an annual fee to belong to the Red Carpet Club just so I don’t have to listen to jerks like this when I’m at the airport. If you’ve got a beef, take it up with the airline and don’t inflict your suffering on those around you. United isn’t perfect. But now that I know that this person won’t be flying United again, I’m going to make sure that I book my next flight with them so I won’t have to see this jerk again.
Oh, I hear you. However, many times the agents are simply providing bad information because that’s what they’ve been given. Not an excuse, but it does happen…. at least based on my experience when working for an airline. I could write a small book on just how poor the information flow is between operations staff and the customer facing staff at most airlines. In regards to my friend at the Red Carpet, based on his rantings, it sounds as if everything he’d been told was true, and he didn’t like it very much. Not that I blame him for being… Read more »
MJ, If he’s only complaining about a mechanical problem, I agree with you. However, I have found that in the past 2-3 years the airline Gate staff continually lies to the public. (Yes, the plane will be here in 20 min, we’ll board you in about 30 min, and you’ll be on your way in 40 min. *Yea right!* ) I understand that airlines will have delays due to weather or mechanical problems. All I ask is that the GA’s give us the truth. Then we can make a decision to switch to another flight/airline or have a nice relaxing… Read more »