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For the life of me, I don't understand why anyone would queue up in a customer service line. I have a cell phone. I call the 800 number.
Exactly. The last time I had a flight cancelled due to weather, I was dialing the number before the gate agent finished the announcement. Everyone got into a huge long line while I stayed in my seat. I was rebooked on the early morning flight before the gate agent was able to get through the few people in line (and that's including my hold time).
I tend to get stomach cramps and need an aisle seat not far from the toilet.
Therefore I won't change seats.
For me, it's a psychological issue. I tend to feel like I have to pee right at the moment where there's difficulty getting to the toilet! I also can't sleep without peeing right before I get into bed. If I wait too long to fall asleep, I have to get up again. So I ALWAYS pick aisle seats when I can, no matter where they are in the plane. Of course, as soon as I have easy access to the toilet, I don't have to go anymore
For the life of me, I don't understand why anyone would queue up in a customer service line. I have a cell phone. I call the 800 number.
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Because calling is a tedious hassle.
First off, you're on hold for anywhere from five to over thirty minutes. They do have an option where they'll ring your phone when your turn comes up, but even after that you still might spend many minutes on hold as the CSR works through the hoops. Also, my Bluetooth headset just doesn't work that great for calls to big companies. The person at the other end almost always says they can barely hear me, yet if I call my wife or a friend then they can hear me just fine. So I have to either put the phone on speaker or hold it up to my ear the entire time. As I said, this only happens with big corporations and other organizations, and I don't really know why that is. By the same token, it often happens that I can barely hear the CSR at the other end. Again, this doesn't happen when I call an individual.
I will say for UAL that they are set up to immediately identify me based on my phone number, which is very helpful. But usually when I call any similarly large company I'll have to go through the tedium of pronouncing and spelling my difficult surname and repeating account numbers. (Did you know that "nine" and "five" can sound the same?). So I've come to the point where I only use the phone only as a last resort.
By contrast, on the way up here, while waiting at SFO I went to the UAL customer service counter on the concourse to move us from coach+ to first, and they took care of me in five minutes. Bada bing, bada boom, done. Way better than calling the 800 number, since I was right there anyway.
Exactly. The last time I had a flight cancelled due to weather, I was dialing the number before the gate agent finished the announcement. Everyone got into a huge long line while I stayed in my seat. I was rebooked on the early morning flight before the gate agent was able to get through the few people in line (and that's including my hold time).
That's funny! I had a flight cancelled last year. Then I saw everyone start dialing on their cell phones. Instead, I went back out to the departure counter where I was immediately booked on the next flight. When I got back to the gate ten minutes later, all those people were still on the phone or queuing up at the customer service desk next to the gate.
One day, I and a couple of other passengers were asked to move towards the back of the plane to balance the load. I asked to remain where I was because I feel safer towards the front of the plane.
Moving back for takeoff and landing would have actually made the flight safer. There are weight and balance calculations the pilot makes for takeoff and there are a number of circumstances (small planes, uneven passenger distribution, difficult airports that are at higher elevations or short runways, etc.) when they ask the FAs to move people around for very legit physics reasons.
When that happens, you can typically ask the FA is you can move back up to your original seat after take off, and if the weight and balance concern is real, they'll say you can do so when the seatbelt sign goes off.
I ask people to switch seats with me all the darn time. I've only been told no once. I don't care what the other passengers think. I prefer to sit with my husband as we have a toddler. The stupid airlines should automatically seat us together.
You have a right to sit together and most times other people dont mind.
Say what? A right????
And you have a toddler? So what? I've had a bunch of toddlers in my life. No one on a plane or the airlines cared nor should they...
Quote:
Originally Posted by GiGi603
"Right to sit together"???--is that in the Constitution?!
That's funny! I had a flight cancelled last year. Then I saw everyone start dialing on their cell phones. Instead, I went back out to the departure counter where I was immediately booked on the next flight. When I got back to the gate ten minutes later, all those people were still on the phone or queuing up at the customer service desk next to the gate.
I don't fly much anymore but when I did & the flight got cancelled/delayed I hedged my bet by calling on my phone while waiting on the CR line, usually the phone won. It was more difficult pre-cellphones, one would stand on line & the other look for an available phone booth to call.
Looks like your oxygen is a bit short Geoff. Are you feeble, cuz neither were my parents. My parents knew how to fly, and did just fine on other airlines. Now, if I were to put my hands around your neck and squeeze for a few minutes....how feeble are you now? What's your problem? You want to know when I'm going to release? Am I causing you distress? Maybe go over there and I'll release....on second thought, try over there instead....nope, go over there.
How feeble were they a full 60+ hours after they expected to be home? Or at 50 and not knowing.
But as you note...United doesn't care about the unwashed masses. As you note...the customer service area has been so powerless for so long that to a regular it's a laughable idea to even expect you'd get customer service from them. It's just that, not airlines have the same experience. That's a United specialty.
So you’re going to strangle me because your parents were in San Jose with an oxygen tank running low? Ignoring the felony assault, where were you in all of this? Obviously not calling the medical supply house to arrange for a refill.
Every is running near-100% load factors. When there is a weather glitch or a mechanical issue, it can take days to get everyone rerouted. That’s not a United problem. It’s the whole industry. If you’re flying on a junk discount fare, you’re the last to be dealt with. You don’t like it? Go back to regulated carriers where San Jose to Sioux Falls is a $2,000 ticket and the planes are empty. Or book an F ticket where you’re the first one processed when a flight cancels.
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