At 2:30 we got into line at 4:30 we neared the front of the counter. We waited 2 hours in line. It was utter chaos! There was no organization near the counter; families were jockeying for position of the four available agents. I find, this unbelievable since USAir “blacks-out” dates because this is a heightened time of travel because of the New Year’s holiday. The only reasons we even reached the counter was because an agent from the preferred clients (platinum, gold, silver) called for anyone going to Charlotte, North Carolina to step forward. When asked why, she replied that Charlotte was always a troublesome spot. She reassured us that our plane would surely be on time because it was the last USAir flight out for the day.
I was upset by this poor customer service. When we approached gate J8 in Miami I attempted to converse with a USAir representative at the gate. He was wearing a blue suit jacket, white male, short, dark hair and was working with Randy H. at the gate. I asked him for specific directions and procedures for lodging a complaint regarding poor customer service with the airline. Without eye contact, he said, “Go to the website; you have to send an email.” He didn’t acknowledge me or ask if he could assist me in any way which further irritated and frustrated me. He then walked away from the gate. He was not wearing a name tag, only a lanyard that was backwards and did not display his name.
The passengers began to talk among themselves around 5:30 as USAir contacted passengers that the plane was going to be at least 65 minutes late because of mechanical problems. There was concern since most of the 150 passengers had connecting flights; us included. I have never missed a connecting flight and was not sure of USAir’s policy. NO physical person communicated this to our family and was not at the gate to share this bit of information or address questions or concerns. During this horrible experience I quickly learned that communication by USAir with its customers or other employees is non-existent. A line quickly formed at the gate counter.
I called USAir’s toll-free line and was connected to VAL who was absolutely the rudest person I have ever contacted. I specifically asked four times what is the specific policy of USAir to its customers, if a connecting flight was missed. FOUR times, my questioned was not answered only that arrangements would be made. In frustration, I emphasized that I was the customer. I was concerned for my family, especially my husband who has health issues. I emphasized that not once had she apologized on behave of USAir and had done nothing to explain what would happened. I paused to allow her the opportunity to redeem herself as a customer care associate and she did not. I then asked for a supervisor and was placed on hold for over 35 minutes as I stood in line at the gate counter. I was .situation right or even offer a plausible explanation. I also believe that she did not want to turn this situation over to her supervisor.
I called back and reached a wonderful gentleman. Unfortunately, I did not get his name; I only know that it started with a “B”. I immediately asked for a supervisor and was transferred to Albert.
KUDDOS to Albert, he was the one and ONLY USAir representative that sympathized, apologized, worked with me and stayed on the line with me through this ordeal!
Albert was the one who informed me that the flight was going to be at least 90 minutes delayed and I would surely miss my connecting flight—not a representative in Miami as I continued to stand in line! Albert worked with me to arrange the first available flight out of Charlotte for Sunday, January 3, 2010. Albert told me that the gate representative would work with my family for hotel and meal accommodations. Albert was wonderful and Albert should be promoted! He epitomized customer service!
Finally, Randy H. at gate J8 returned with his colleague and began answering questions. Randy double checked and found the changes that Albert has already made for me with flight arrangements. Randy H. then answered my questions and assured me that a USAir representative would meet all passengers at the Charlotte gate and extend to them food vouchers and hotel vouchers and if any transportation was needed to and from the hotel it would all be there as we de-planed. Again, I quickly learned that communication by USAir with its own employees is non-existent as none of this happened when we got off the plane. In fact, it appears that USAir employees do not take any responsibility for their actions and only “pass the buck” to the next USAir employee!
There was some apprehension among my family to continue traveling as we knew the plane had some type of mechanical or maintenance problem. However, the option was to stay in Miami until Tuesday or Wednesday for a flight out and this was not an option for our family. We boarded the plane and was then told that a mechanic was again called for this plane for a steering problem in the nose of the plane. We sat like sardines in the plane for an additional 40 minutes. Now, honestly, could this not have been communicated between USAir personnel and avoided “herding and corralling” us in the plane to only hurry up, sit and wait? Is there any time that USAir considers the needs of the passengers? We, like many of the other 150 passengers were tired, hungry and already frustrated that we could not get to our final destinations. With all this stress and frustration, my daughter asks for a blanket, for a little comfort, and was told it would be $7.00. Seriously? Is the bottom line of USAir so precarious that passenger comforts are overlooked when the problem originally lies with the airline and not the customer?
When we arrive at Charlotte, we are not greeted by USAir representatives with food and hotel vouchers; we are herded into a very long line of 150 passengers. Since our seats in the plane were in row 21 we are near the end of the line. Laurel and Carol were frustrated USAir employees. There computers and printers were not working; they could not get access to hotels and they were not sympathetic to the customers. Ironically, we googled a local hotel and they had rooms immediately. However, they were not on the approved USAir list. They were complaining on how they had had to work until 6:00 am the day before. Carol was very apprehensive about working with anyone who was frustrated or irritated. She buzzed for the police to come to the next gate because a passenger voiced his displeasure of being bumped around for two solid days. When we inquired about food vouchers, Laurel informed us that the hotel had a continental breakfast. When we voiced our displeasure about not having dinner we were told that nothing was open for us to access. No restaurants were available in all of Charlotte? At this point we were told we could talk to a supervisor/manager and Mr. Sugerman said he would speak with him. Carol pressed a button under the counter and the police/security came over and told Laurel and Carol how “he had their back”. All this, for dinner? Again how ironic that next to our Econolodge was a Waffle House! This was all compounded by the miscommunication of whether we could have our luggage or not. No one could give us a clear answer until we had walked all the way to baggage claim and told by a lone soul that we would not have access to our luggage!
Does anyone at USAir actually stay and experience the hotels they place customers in for the night? Would the CEO of USAir stay at Econolodge? Would the manager of the Charlotte airport? When we called for our shuttle we were told that they would not be leaving the hotel until 1: 00 am. We were at the mercy of the shuttle driver!The Econolodge has outside door access. Would you place your two daughters in a hotel room with outside access in a strange city in a neighborhood you didn’t know? I think not! Our daughters room had a toilet that flushed at random times in the five hours we were there and a shower that randomly turned on and ran. Our room had a sink with such a slow drain that it was not accessible. When we asked at the gate desk about amenities (toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, comb) we were told those items would be supplied. A shower cap, toothbrush and toothpaste were all that was supplied. Does anyone eat the continental breakfast? My husband reached for a banana and picked one up with hair all over it! Orange juice that was nothing more than orange water. This is an example of what USAir chooses for its customers when USAir is at fault. When Mr. Sugerman asked USAir at Charlotte for food vouchers, he had to plead his case! Perhaps you need to reevaluate a $5.00 breakfast plan in an airport.
While the takeoff was uneventful, the landing in Akron/Canton was catastrophic. My daughter and I were at the baggage carousel at 11:55. No other airline had landings. At 12:15 I went to the baggage assistance manager for USAir and asked if this was a typical situation. She stated that the machine had become frozen in ice and they had just freed the machine. Again I quickly learned that communication by USAir with its customers is non-existent. Could this information not have been shared? As we waited on five pieces of luggage it was easy to see, this would not be going well. We waited 27 minutes for the luggage to arrive. My brand new suitcase had a wheel missing but the worst was my daughter’s LL Bean’s monogrammed duffel. It was obvious something had happened. The two buckle latches were undone; there was a slit in the bottom and the zipper had been opened. The inside was filled with snow and ice. And there was NO SNOW OR ICE in Miami or Charlotte! We immediately took these issues to the USAir baggage assistance manager. When we presented her with the physical evidence, we were highly angry. When asked how she, as a USAir baggage assistance manager, was going to take care of this situation, SHE LAUGHED IN MY DAUGHTER’S FACE!! That was the final straw.
We emptied the contents of the suitcase and found that a package of our Jamaican rum THAT HAD BEEN SEALED AND SPECIFICALLY PACKED FOR AIRLINE TRAVEL, had been opened. Two bottles had broken and ruined all of my daughter’s clothing and purchases from our vacation. The baggage manager was of absolutely no help. She was so intimidated by our insistence to do something that she called for two deputy sheriffs to come to the office. Do USAir personnel do any problem solving? Do they have any training in customer service? Do they have any training in handling difficult situations? In fact, it appears that USAir employees do not take any responsibility for their actions and only “pass the buck” to the next USAir employee since she continued to state that this was Miami’s or Charlotte’s problem—STILL WAITING TO HEAR HOW SNOW AND ICE MADE IT INSIDE THE SUITCASE IN THOSE TWO CITIES!
In the end, all she could do was give us forms. She was uncooperative, NO customer service skills and would not answer our questions. We asked her who handled our bags in CAK and she said she only had three (3) people working. I asked for their names and she refused to give them to me, even though the sheriff told her to give me the three names for my documentation. So we have photographs of all our damaged possessions, pictures and names of as many of the poor USAir employees we encountered, and receipts of vacation purchases.
We feel extremely slighted, mistreated and maligned. This is a very detailed accounting of our experience with USAir and our luggage story, but our three other suitcases came through with all their possessions intact, INCLUDING Mr. Sugerman’s two bottles of rum and bottle of champagne! A 60% passage rating equals a failing grade.
Unfortunately, the story never gets better! When I returned to USAir at 11:00, Monday, January 4, 2010 to speak with David Wyatt the manager at Akron/Canton for USAir I was met with hostility and animosity. My daughter and I approached the USAir counter and waited patiently in line. When it was our turn we gave the card to the representative and she disappeared for 20 minutes. When she returned she informed us that David would not see us because we had been loud during the incident the previous day. When we pressed the matter, the representative again stated that he was refusing to see us. When I asked her name she refused to give me her name. My daughter and I called David Wyatt’s phone and the representative who refused to give her name answered, her name was Jill because she answered the phone.
In frustration we turned to the Delta counter who had been helpful the day before. They directed us to information where a very helpful woman named Bobbie directed us to the sheriffs. Deputy Taylor was again on duty from the day before and he contacted his sergeant who contacted David Regula, head of customer service at the Akron/Canton airport. Mr. Regula was kind, helpful and listened and saw our documentation of this series of unfortunate events. He stated that he had tried to have David Wyatt come and hear the other side of the story but he refused and Mr. Regula could not force him to do so. Mr. Regula stated that reports had been filed regarding the incident for our being loud, my daughter swearing and the false accusation that we threw glass at the baggage assistance manager. While we were were wrong to swear, we were not wrong to be loud. WE NEVER THREW GLASS; WE PLACED OUR BROKEN POSSESSIONS ON THE COUNTER AND ASKED FOR A BAG TO PLACE THE BROKEN GLASS INTO. HOW DARE WE BE ACCUSED OF A PHYSICAL THREAT! I AM REQUESTING A COPY OF THESE REPORTS, ESPECIALLY SINCE NO ONE TOOK OUR NAME!! Mr. Regula continued to offer to see what he could do, took my phone number and stated he would follow-up and contact me.
At approximately 4:15 Mr. Regula did follow-up with me. No wonder he is in charge of customer service at CAK!! He informed me that he did speak with David Wyatt and “Mike” the regional USAir manager on a conference call regarding this situation. He explained that neither David Wyatt nor “Mike” would contact me that my situation would be resolved through the customer care internet source. Again, I quickly learned that communication by USAir with its customers is non-existent.
I expect resolution for the problems encountered. I have bolded and underlined the critical points of my complaint. I have documented every part of the problem beyond what your computer tells you. It tells you nothing of the treatment, comments, and poor interactions between your employees and my family! My expectations are:
It will be interesting to see how my complaint is handled. I tried to follow protocol for USAir policy and procedures but it is extremely difficult when USAir employees do not take any responsibility for their actions and only “pass the buck” to the next USAir employee. It would appear that kindness and customer service was only extended to our family by non-USAir personnel. I look forward to your reply within the next 48 hours. Luckily, Mr. Regula has asked for follow-up in the event I do not hear from you.
Update: January 10, 2010
As of the above date, I have not heard from ANYONE at USAir regarding my electronic complaint submission. On Monday, January 11, 2010 I intend to follow up with Mr. Regula, Customer Service Manager at Akron/Canton Airport. A hard copy of this report and documentation will be sent to Customer Relations, 4000 E. Sky Harbor Blvd., Phoenix, Arizona 85034
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pay for my suffering@!
did you see this? http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Boycott-US-Airways/138869596218883?notif_t=page_new_likes
US AIR refuses to take the blame for this bloody knee. please join this boycott as we can work together to get our voices heard!
US Airways has singlehandedly managed to completely ruin my wifes trip to Italy. They canceled her flight from Philidelphia to Venice because they could not fine a crew when the navigation system was finally repaired at 4:00 am, the flight was origianally scheduled to leave at 6:00pm. So then they give her a $10 voucher and put her in a hotel with no clothes, medicine, etc. The next day they f...lew her out at 6:00 but this time not on a direct flight but with a transfer in Munich to a Lufthansa flight to Venice. She was ASSURED that her lugage was on the second flight and was rerouted to Venice. Upon arriving in Venice a day and a half late for her tour her luggage was not on the plane. This is were it gets good. Because she arrived in Venice on a Lufthansa flight, US Air will take no responsibility for the lost bagage and says it is Lufthansas problem. Well I beg to differ as my wife is now in her 3rd day in Italy with not luggage.
We set up a website to consolidate us airways boycott forums and posts. www.boycottusairways.com and www.boycottusairways.org. Please spread the word about these sites so we can grab some media attention about the horrible customer service at US Airways
You are obviously a US Airways employee. Rude and crude with no concern for the passengers, i.e. customers, i.e. your paycheck. Stick that up your fat butt.
your lucky i was'nt working you female dog. i would have stuck your rum bottle up your fat butt
