BuckeyeMike80;1701403; said:
DELTA = Don't Ever Leave The Airport
I've never had a good experience with Delta. From the time they sent my luggage to Atlanta when I was flying from Boston to Columbus to the time that we had a flight be delayed for 7 hours because they "didn't have a flight crew assigned to the flight. Are you sure your ticket is correct, sir?" I seriously still don't know how the hell that chick kept a straight face with 200 other people all asking the same question.
[censored] Delta.
I think it was Christmas of 2004 (or was it '05?) that I flew Delta out of Tallahassee, FL with a layover in Atlanta, and was supposed to ultimately get back to Dayton from there. After I'd gotten to my gate, the zipper on my carry-on bag gave out, spewing my possessions everywhere. A Delta rep was nice enough to give me a big, black trash bag to put my possessions in, which wasn't convenient, but I was going to be home in a matter of hours anyway. Or so I thought.
That day, a big snow storm hit the Midwest and pretty much delayed or shut down flights from Denver to Pittsburgh for a period of time. After sitting on the runway at Hartsfield Airport (worst. airport. ever.) for like an hour and a half because there aren't enough gates, I finally got off to learn that my flight was cancelled. What ensued was the most preposterously bad episode of customer service and incompetence I've ever encountered.
There was a lot of confusion. All the hotels in Atlanta were pretty much filled up. After meeting some folks on their way to Columbus and Cincinnati, we contemplated renting a van together and just driving the eight hours north to Ohio, but soon found that all rental cars were pretty much accounted for. No one could tell us when flights would be going back into Dayton or elsewhere in Ohio. The airline said they would give us hotel vouchers, but that we first had to arrange for our flights the next day. Lines were set up at the gate to take care of this step, so I got in line to take care of that. And waited. And waited.
Eventually, and I [censored] you not,
all of the ticket agents just step back from the counter and walk away in unison, ignoring the customers who are next in line. Someone comes out from the airline to explain that its Christmas Eve and the Delta employees are going home to be with their families. As you can imagine, this did not go over with their paying customers, who were attempting to do the exact same thing and had commissioned Delta's services to make this happen. Security guards had to be called in so that they could actually get all of the employees out of there. We were told we had to go to the main terminal to arrange for our new flights.
So, I walked about a mile though five terminals to get to the main terminal, my big black trash bag of possessions slung over my shoulder as St. [censored]ing Nick himself might carry his bag-o-goodies as he slips down the chimney and shuffles his fat self over to the Christmas tree. The only difference really is that my black trash bag is now sporting a variety of rips and tears, through which various trinkets are threatening to escape.
Once I get back to the main terminal, I find a line that scoffs at Cedar Point's lines. Why was the line so long? Why was it moving so slowly? Because Delta hadn't sent ALL their employees home. No, they were kind enough to keep
two ticket agents on. To handle all the passengers shuffling through their major hub from all the flights affected by a giant snow storm shutting down airports from Denver to Pittsburgh. So, I spent my Christmas Eve waiting in that line for about seven hours. When I finally got to the front counter, early Christmas-day flights were already resuming to a certain extent. I had my mother on the phone, who was at Dayton's airport and told me AirTran and a few other airlines were flying in. As she's telling me this, the ticket agent is telling me that no flights are going into Dayton or Cincinnati because both airports are completely shut down. (You can't make this [censored] up.) Bull[censored], I say. I demand they transfer me to an airline that is actually flying into Southern Ohio. Can't do that. "Why," I ask.
Because that would be bad business practice, he tells me. At this point, the people behind me, who hear this response, start laughing, and I
almost go over the ticket counter. "This," I explain, pointing to the long line still protracting behind me, "is bad business."
I eventually get put on "standby" for a flight out in about five hours from then, and by the grace of god get on the flight. While I'm waiting I meet a man who has been in the airport for not one, but
two days. He says the hotel vouchers Delta has been passing out (which I didn't waste my time waiting for) are worthless because there are no rooms available anywhere near the airport.
When I get to Dayton, I haven't slept for about 26 hours, my black trash bag looks like swiss cheese, and my checked luggage is nowhere to be found. As it turns out, it won't arrive in Dayton for two more days. When it does finally arrive on a flight originating from god-only-knows-where, I find out not because someone from Delta calls me, but because I'm driving up to the Dayton airport once a day to check on its status. It turns out, a Delta representative tells me, that so much luggage has been misplaced they can't possibly check on your particular bag if you call, and they certainly can't be responsible for delivering it to their customers' homes and hotels.
I have not flown Delta again since that episode. Nor will I ever. [/rant]
