SGJR8860’s BodyBlog

I really wish I had something more positive to post, since I haven’t been here in a while. But I needed to put this up as a "caveat" to those who have not yet experienced something like this. Learn from my mistakes and DON’T FLY AIRTRAN…
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My 30th Year High School Reunion…I planned for this about three months in advance, booked my flight, got my room reservations, I was all set. And that was even with a few mixed feelings about how it would be, seeing people I hadn’t had contact with for the most part since 1978. So it was going to prove to be an interesting weekend to say the least. I left bright and early at 5:30 this morning to make sure to allow for plenty of time to make my flight.

FADE TO: 9:17 p.m., sitting at home and posting this message. Somewhere in Florida, my former classmates are lounging by the pool, reconnecting and sipping cocktails, while I am still at home. How is this possible? Here’s my letter to my airline of choice - unfortunately for me. I’m sure everyone has a recent horror story like this one, but if you don’t, be sure you knock on wood once you’ve read this. You are VERY fortunate.

I would like to congratulate you for reaching a milestone this morning. I have had many experiences with airlines before, some bad, some good, some only so-so. But on this date, July 25th, 2008, Airtran has managed to allow me to experience The Single Worst Customer Service Event of my life. And that’s saying something.

It was bad enough that I had to cab from my home in Arlington at 5:30 a.m. to Union Station, so I could catch one of the first MARC trains to the BWI station, take the shuttle and then arrive at BWI Airport to check in with Airtran. I made it in at 6:45 for my flight scheduled at 8:50 - plenty of time, I thought, to make it into the 45-minute time window according to your rules, before my flight "closed."

Obviously, you don’t play by your own rules. I would say that when I arrived at the ticket counters, there was anywhere from 200-300 customers in line, easily. And how many agents did you have manning the counter, which had spots for at least six agents? THREE. Half the number for all of those people, most of whom met the same fate I did when their flights "closed" before they were able to check in.

I was informed tersely by one of your agents, that the best they could do was put me on a stand-by list for another flight that wouldn’t leave until THREE THIRTY in the afternoon, and even then there was no guarantee of a seat. THAT was doubly confirmed later, when I was told that on a plane with confirmed seating for 117 passengers, 121 were already booked.

And then to add insult to injury, after purchasing trip insurance in case of an event like this morning’s, that the insurance only covers cancellations due to bad weather and "technical difficulties." In other words - I am now expected to eat the cost of this trip because of YOUR incompetence at maintaining satisfactory customer service. And I say that because I have no wish whatsoever to obtain a "flight credit" from you. That’s the equivalent of finding a rat hair in your hamburger, then having the restaurant apologize by giving you a coupon book for a dozen more hamburgers. At this point in time, with my weekend ruined, and no chance of making my 30th High School Reunion, nothing less than a full chargeback to my credit card will bring about satisfactory resolution of this matter for me.

Even though I was told when I gave my consent to be placed on the stand-by list that my luggage might arrive at my destination without me, why was I not surprised when, at wit’s end, I went to your baggage claim office to check on my bag to discover that it hadn’t even left the airport? That smacks of intentional deceit - as if you cut your losses regarding the percentage of customers who would be displaced from their flights, and pocketed the proceeds.

I hope your happy with this unscrupulous practice, because even though I am only one person, if enough word-of-mouth gets around, fewer and fewer people will be inclined to avail themselves of your dubious services when they shop around to fulfill their travel needs. And I fully intend to the best of my ability, through blogging, vlogging and telling my friends, family and neighbors, that even if their only alternative method of transport is a horse-and-buggy, that would still be a better deal than using AirTran.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 25th, 2008 at 6:32 pm and is filed under Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.