In January of 2010 I flew to Dijon, France and in July of 2010 I flew to Istanbul, Turkey – both via United flights.
When dealing with United you find that you are not allowed to talk to a person in customer service only email them (they prefer through a web form but you can find the email address if you poke around). You then will get an auto-reply telling you that it takes 5 days to respond but due to an overwhelming backlog it will take probably 10 business days.
Let’s take a moment and reflect on this – the customer service for United is SO backed up that it takes 10 days to answer a customer service call? I feel terrible for that one guy who has to answer all of the emails (I bet he answers all the phones too).
The France Trip:
I was flying back from Paris and when I sat in my seat on the plane I noticed some moisture dripping from above.
Not only was the ceiling leaking – but it was dripping onto my shoulder and arm.
I buzzed for help and the guy came buy and touched the ceiling where the water was coming down. Sniffed it and said – its just water. And then walked away before I could complain further.
I beeped again – and they ignored it and just shut it off. I tried again – and they ignored it and shut if off.
When they came by with custom forms for the flight I told the lady that I was being dripped on and she said that it was only condensation and it should stop soon.
Stop soon? I have been slowly dripped on for 20 minutes!
When I said my shoulder was all wet – she patronizingly tapped my arm, laughed, and said “Bad Plane”.
So I sat there and got wetter and wetter. It dripped on me for over 30 minutes.
Not only that but no one cared.
I then sat there wet for at least another 30 minutes as my could wet shoulder dried.
So much for sleeping on the plane or even relaxing knowing that liquid could at any moment come back down on me.
This is NOT acceptable.
No one should to sit on a transcontinental flight being dripped on and then told that being dripped on is acceptable.
It is NOT.
I demanded a response from United and got the following:
“Thank you for contacting us. I apologize for the discomfort you experienced on your flight from Paris to Washington, Dulles, when condensation was dripping on you. What you experienced does not measure up to our quality standards for cabin maintenance, and I have given your comments to our cabin maintenance team to help us ensure your next travel experience with us is comfortable and enjoyable. I am sorry for the less than courteous response from our flight attendant, which resulted in further disappointment with our service.
Please accept the included electronic travel certificate as our gesture of goodwill. I hope you will give us another opportunity to serve you better.”
They gave me a $250 voucher that was only good on a domestic flight.
I asked them why wouldn’t they give me a voucher that was good on a flight like the one I was on – I really don’t ever fly domestically. The reply was that this was just a gesture of goodwill not a form of compensation.
So why would I fly with them to Turkey?
Well technically I didn’t. I booked via Travelocity (which was an adventure in itself -see previous post) and they booked me with Turkish Airways (which was a great flight) but the Cleveland to Chicago part was a United flight (still the one booking though).
Upon checking in on my flight to Istanbul I was told that I would have to pay $50 for my second bag. I told the lady at the desk that I booked with Travelocity and their customer service called United to verify that
as I was flying Turkish Airways from Chicago to Istanbul on the same itinerary (the bags checked all the way through) I could check 2 bags for free.
I really did call several times to verify this because of my previous bad experiences with the domestic side of international travel.
She rudely told me that it didn’t matter what Travelocity said or customer service said that I had to pay $50. When I asked to speak to a supervisor she said there was none available and when I asked for her
name so I could complain she said that at United names don’t matter and that the policy is the policy.
She made it very clear that she was willing to let this escalate so that she could deny me service altogether – since when did the ticketing agents get God complexes?
She was VERY rude and I paid her the $50.
I called Travelocity and they immediately apologized – I sent them the receipt and not only did they refund me the $50 but they also gave me $50 off my next flight. Kudos to them – that is how customer service is supposed to work.
I contacted United customer service again to inform them of my shakedown and rude treatment and asked them if it was their policy that if you want to be treated with dignity and respect that you need to fly another airline? I also related the issues I had previously and included the bizarre policy of giving someone a domestic voucher for an international flight (which while I was flying to Chicago this time was part of an international itinerary where I proceeded directly to Istanbul).
Their response this time was a bit longer:
“Thank you for your correspondence. I apologize for this delayed response as we are experiencing a higher than normal amount of emails and letters. We are responding to each one as soon as we can.
I am sorry that you had an unexpected charge for your second piece of baggage of $50 as you received information from Travelocity that 2 checked pieces would be free. United does charge for the second piece of luggage to Turkey of $50. Bag fees are determined by the carrier that is initially checking them. The baggage charge of $50 was a valid charge to check your bag for international travel.
However you indicate that our agent didn’t offer you the service that you deserve. In fact you say that she was very rude. Please accept my sincere apology. I have shared your comments with the Cleveland airport
manager so he can take appropriate action to prevent this from reoccurring. As a token of our concern I have provided the travel certificate below towards another flight with us.
As a global carrier, United is striving to provide you with the best service in the industry. Of the utmost importance to us and to you are schedule integrity, customer service and professionalism. We’re committed to meeting your expectations, and we hope you will give us a future opportunity to restore your confidence and support. Your business is important to us.”
This time they gave me a $150 voucher – and AGAIN it was only good for domestic travel!
I have since emailed United again about both situation – I am planning my next trip and it seems a shame that I am sitting on $400 worth of vouchers that I won’t ever use.
Hopefully this time my logic came though a little louder.
Give a vegetarian a coupon for a free steak dinner because he didn’t like his salad is NOT a valid form of compensation. For personal flights I only fly international – I know it seems funny – but its true – I haven’t flown domestically in years that wasn’t work related!
Here is hoping in 10 days I hear something – I still feel bad for that one poor soul answering all that email.