The Delta Disaster
Note: This letter was sent to Song’s customer service email today. In my haste, I didn’t catch the name of the disgruntled employee.
To whom it may concern:
I flew Song for the first time this past weekend on a round-trip flight from New York City (LGA) to Fort Lauderdale.
Yesterday, I arrived at the Fort Lauderdale airport to return to New York. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, my traveling partner and I arrived exactly half an hour of our flight’s departure time, and as such, were not allowed to use the electronic check-in machines.
After five minutes being outright ignored, we finally managed to get the attention of a Delta Airlines employee behind the ticket counter. We explained our situation and asked her what could be done. Instead of drawing out our options, she proceeded to scold and lecture us.
“We know that we are late checking-in for our flight. What can we do now?” I asked.
“You can’t arrive 20 minutes before your flight departs.”
I looked at my watch. We had 25 minutes until our flight left, and we were standing here being reprimanded by an airline agent. My traveling buddy tried to tell her that we were waiting to speak with her for five minutes while she ignored us. Unsurprisingly, his comments fell on deaf ears. I told her my watch read that we had 25 minutes left.
“Well, my watch says 20 minutes left. You should be arriving at the airport at least 30 minutes prior to your departure time to check in. It’s been that way ever since 9/11. You can’t just expect to show up at the airport and walk onto the plane.” On and on she went. Not once did she address my question. And, for the record, I checked later and my watch was correct – either hers was fast or she was lying to further emphasize how late we were.
Now, both my traveling partner and I have worked as consultants since 9/11 and, as we flew every week, are fully aware of the travel requirements since then. We had already established the fact that we were late for check-in; instead of a lecture, what we needed was someone to help us in this situation and let us know what we could do to fix the problem – not for someone to treat us like children. I feel that the airline agent took my youthful looks to mean that I was a 16-year-old, which I assure you I am not.
All through her tirade, the airline agent was printing our boarding passes. Still berating us, she handed them over, claiming that we were “lucky” that the computer let her print the boarding passes. It was as if she didn’t want to tell us that we would be able to get on this flight until she handed us our passes, attempting to make us suffer for our tardiness as much as possible.
It was undoubtedly the worst service I have received from any airline that I have flown. In addition to making it clear that being late was a sin and making me feel like I was one-inch tall, the airline agent made it clear that Delta or Song is an airline without respect, class, or sensitivity.
Yes, there are many options to choose from when flying, and I will be sure not to choose Delta or Song in the future.
To whom it may concern:
I flew Song for the first time this past weekend on a round-trip flight from New York City (LGA) to Fort Lauderdale.
Yesterday, I arrived at the Fort Lauderdale airport to return to New York. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, my traveling partner and I arrived exactly half an hour of our flight’s departure time, and as such, were not allowed to use the electronic check-in machines.
After five minutes being outright ignored, we finally managed to get the attention of a Delta Airlines employee behind the ticket counter. We explained our situation and asked her what could be done. Instead of drawing out our options, she proceeded to scold and lecture us.
“We know that we are late checking-in for our flight. What can we do now?” I asked.
“You can’t arrive 20 minutes before your flight departs.”
I looked at my watch. We had 25 minutes until our flight left, and we were standing here being reprimanded by an airline agent. My traveling buddy tried to tell her that we were waiting to speak with her for five minutes while she ignored us. Unsurprisingly, his comments fell on deaf ears. I told her my watch read that we had 25 minutes left.
“Well, my watch says 20 minutes left. You should be arriving at the airport at least 30 minutes prior to your departure time to check in. It’s been that way ever since 9/11. You can’t just expect to show up at the airport and walk onto the plane.” On and on she went. Not once did she address my question. And, for the record, I checked later and my watch was correct – either hers was fast or she was lying to further emphasize how late we were.
Now, both my traveling partner and I have worked as consultants since 9/11 and, as we flew every week, are fully aware of the travel requirements since then. We had already established the fact that we were late for check-in; instead of a lecture, what we needed was someone to help us in this situation and let us know what we could do to fix the problem – not for someone to treat us like children. I feel that the airline agent took my youthful looks to mean that I was a 16-year-old, which I assure you I am not.
All through her tirade, the airline agent was printing our boarding passes. Still berating us, she handed them over, claiming that we were “lucky” that the computer let her print the boarding passes. It was as if she didn’t want to tell us that we would be able to get on this flight until she handed us our passes, attempting to make us suffer for our tardiness as much as possible.
It was undoubtedly the worst service I have received from any airline that I have flown. In addition to making it clear that being late was a sin and making me feel like I was one-inch tall, the airline agent made it clear that Delta or Song is an airline without respect, class, or sensitivity.
Yes, there are many options to choose from when flying, and I will be sure not to choose Delta or Song in the future.
posted by danielle at 2:06 PM
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