My initial flight from Charlotte to Newark was to depart at 1:30pm, after being boarded multiple times, sitting at the gate and on the runway after being told that air traffic control didn't hold us this last time . . . United Airlines did, no food except a $15 food voucher dated for the next day which arrived as we sat for an hour on the runway. Staff told myself and 3 others who were connecting with an 8:45pm flight to Johberg to get in line to rebook as they didn't hold the big birds. The initial 1:30pm flight was still on the runway at 8:55pm and the 4 of us were told that all flights for the next day were full and that our only option was to call customer service.
Reminder now, the initial flights purchased were Charlotte to Newark to Joberg to Livingstone. I paid good money for a direct flight from Newark to Joberg with a seat upgrade of just over a couple hundred dollars with United Airlines . . . After 3+ hours with customer service on the phone the jist was the fastest route was Charlotte to Newark to Toronto (Air Canada) to Dubai (Emirites) to Joberg (Emirites) and I then had to rebook my Joberg to Livingstone (Air Link) leg on my own and pay an additional $80 to do so.
To top all of this off, my luggage was tagged to be delivered directly to Joberg. When I arrive Joberg a day late and went looking for my luggage at 10:30pm it was not to be found. I was told it wasn't a United Airlines issue to file a claim with the airline that I flew in on, so I went back to the Emirates counter and did so. While I was filling out the form I received a call from a United Airlines staff member in Denver Colorado stating she had my bag. How in the world did it get to Denver? This occurred on Thursday.
As I have not heard anything I call United Airlines on Sunday and wait for almost an hour to get a customer service representative that acts like they are doing me a favor to even speak to me. They state my bag remains in Denver as they never received the lost baggage form. I had a friend in Livingstone, as Mwandi is 4 hours out, to go and file a new form. I attempted to contact United Airlines again today (Tuesday 7/11) only to sit on hold for over 20 minutes.
I kept hearing United Airlines quoting "policy states" . . . well, when you mess up and your policy keeps you from providing a basic level of customer service in order to remedy the situation . . . you need to revisit your policy, else your business plan will surely fail over time.
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