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Delta needs some damage control

  • Thread starter Thread starter 250scp
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250scp

Active member
Joined
May 9, 2002
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30
Found the following article by Peter King at CNNSI.com. Nothing like gate agents treating a nationally syndicated columnist with contempt to spark some bad publicity. Know your audience...


Last Tuesday afternoon, my daughter Mary Beth and I were preparing to fly from South Bend, Ind., to Cincinnati on a Delta Connection flight. We planned to continue on to Newark from there, and then drive home. We got to the airport at 2:45 p.m. for the 4 p.m. flight. At about 3:25, Mary Beth said she was going to get yogurt pretzels. "Hurry back," I told her. Well, she tarried, and finally, at 3:40, I told the agent to page her, which he did, and then told the guy I was running to find her. I found her. We sprinted back, went through security, and arrived at the gate at 3:46. "Flight's closed," the gate agent announced. Rather than explain anything -- you have to board within 15 minutes of flight time or you risk surrendering your seat -- his co-agent commenced putting us on the next flight. The 4 p.m. plane would have put us on the ground in Newark at 7:40; the next flight wouldn't get us there until 12:30 a.m. Mary Beth begged for them to open the door. The two guys said nothing. Stone cold. The second agent just continued typing furiously. I saw how unresponsive they were and knew we were cooked. I knew the flight was full, and there were two standbys, or more, and figured he'd just given away our seats at 3:45 on the nose, even with me running to get Mary Beth.

We'd gotten to bed at 3:30 Monday morning because of a two-hour, 48-minute Delta Connection delay in Cincinnati Sunday night, then Mary Beth stayed with two students in a dorm at Notre Dame Monday night, and heaven knows how much sleep was had that night. She was fried. Anyway, I finally spoke up and said, basically, that you guys saw me run to get her, and the South Bend airport is no bigger than a postage stamp, and, really, you knew I'd be right back, and you gave away the two seats to standbys anyway? "Sir, if you don't want seats on the next flight, you can take your business elsewhere," Idiot No. 2 said. I simmered. He printed out the tickets for the later flight, handed them to me, and the biggest two aviation numbskills in Indiana history walked outside to close up the commuter flight.

An older fellow who was in the waiting area for another flight then walked up to the counter and proceeded to start screaming at my Delta foes, who stopped in their tracks. "What you just did is the worst thing I've ever seen done by an airline!'' Mr. Neutral Onlooker yelled. "I will never fly Delta again! I will tell people I know never to fly Delta again! You ought to be ashamed of yourselves!'' To which Idiot number 2 replied: "Would you like us to call security?" He didn't have to. A female security agent came over and asked what the problem was, and Mary Beth told her how evil the two clowns behind the counter were. At this point, the two agents walked outside, and then the first guy stood behind the plate-glass door and made faces at us -- raised eyebrows and phony smiles, head moving smugly from side to side -- and announced loudly and mockingly, in a sing-song way: "Good-bye! Good-bye! Enjoy your flights!''

The later flight began its taxi to the runway at 3:55. Western civilization was saved. Gold stars to all involved! You were five minutes early!

You know, when you fly a lot, as I do, you need to have thick skin. Things happen. I waited out a five-hour delay in Orlando last summer because the crew didn't show up. I didn't make a peep. Things happen. But 99 percent of the the time, you're treated with some kind of common decency, even in the longest of delays. And here are two uncommunicative, unresponsive, totally unprofessional slugs, who can't spend 10 seconds explaining what happened but who can threaten to call security and mock our anger. All they had to do, even one of them, was to explain exactly what happened, which they never did, and say they're sorry, but rules are rules, and we had to be there at 3:45, and we weren't. I would have been angry, but not volcanic. Things happen, but in 24 years of flying for my job, I've never been treated like this, and I will not accept being treated like this.

The only thing you can do in a case like this is to not fly the airline. And so my little protest will be just that, a little protest. But it will be real. For the next year, until Feb. 23, 2005, I will not fly Delta. My guess is that will cost them maybe $5,000 in business. If Mary Beth goes to college in a town serviced by Delta, she will not fly the airline for one year either. I'm sure Delta will get a chuckle out of this protest. My only hope is the airline disciplines the two numbskulls -- I just wish I'd gotten their names, but Delta can figure out easily enough who they are -- for costing the company a few G's.
 
Truly sad...

It's really a shame that so much of an airlines image is hinged on the dam.n gate agents. This story could be told countless times in Atlanta.

I hope DAL does disciplne the gate agents and some how makes a formal apology to Mr. King. If this guy is a frequent flier he is probably a medallion member, and as such the agents should have gone out of their way to at least explain the situaion to him (even if they couldn't hold the flight.)

It's this kind of crap that will tank the legacy carriers.....
 
Uh I think SBN is a Comair station with CMR Gate Agents. Who says ASA and Delta has a monopoly on idiots?
 
Yeah, I know SBN is a CMR station, but all this guy knows is that he was flying on "Delta." Granted, we certianly don't have the market cornered on idiots--but the TSA is giving us a good run for our money:D
 
Gate agents should be screened using a psychology test. I've never seen so many power-hungry immature people in my life. Sure, they have to deal with idiot passengers every day, but they have to have the ball$ to deal with it or just get out...

I hope DAL/Comair cans these arseholes...
 
I bet these jerks get talked to atleast. If they really are Comair people, I wonder if they could "transfer" to another section of the DAL corporation without losing their date of hire seniority as gate agents? I bet ASA would allow that--because they are nice people. But they wouldn't be allowed to go to Comair if they were Delta or ASA gate agents, because Comair is full of "special people."

Bye Bye---General Lee:D :D :D :p :p :p :cool:
 
It's called the free market. You pay peanuts, you get monkeys. This guy willing to bump up his ticket price for better help? Didn't think so.

We've got the airline industry we always wanted - cheap, cheap and cheap. wait until it's Easy, Go, Air India and Aeromex - gosh what savings we'll have then....
 
Why fire them? They'll just have to hire two more idiots. You get what you pay for and they get paid peanuts. So how do you get good loyal employees when you can't trust the company to take care of you? At CAL, there are many sad stories of stations becoming Express Jet stations where CAL just said too bad, either take the paycut, move to a CAL station or quit. Lots of disenchanted gate agents and station managers that couldn't care less about pissing off the passengers.
 
Hey 250,
Sorry to hear about your travel woes. It's unfortunate people like this exist at most of the carriers, it's a matter of weeding them out.
Since you'll be needing travel for the next year maybe you could give ATA a shot. After a quick ride on ATA conn right out of South Bend to Midway you can connect to all our destinations. Book online and you'll save more money, join our travel rewards program and you get free tickets after 3 tickets. This summer we will begin introducing our buisness class section to our fleet.
Better luck in the future.
 
good grief!

Good Grief General!!!

Do you honestly have to hijack EVERY thread???

This is a topic which deals with a breakdown in customer service and has NOTHING to do with hiring, pilots, furloughs, etc.

Switch to decaf.
 
Huck said:
It's called the free market. You pay peanuts, you get monkeys. This guy willing to bump up his ticket price for better help? Didn't think so.

We've got the airline industry we always wanted - cheap, cheap and cheap. wait until it's Easy, Go, Air India and Aeromex - gosh what savings we'll have then....

Unfortunately there is some truth to what you say. If all airlines give relatively the same (cra.ppy) customer service, then decisions will be made on ticket price and convenience. However, I think this is how JBLU and SWA have been scooping up pax who are willing to drive a few more minutes for quality customer service and respect.

I remember years ago needing to change a date on a SWA ticket I had. When I called I was ready for a fight, but the customer service agent couldn't have been more accomodating and friendly....I was amazed.

As the old saying goes, if we don't treat the customer right--someone else will. (IMHO)
 
Apology....

Well, I went to the CNNsi web page and sent Mr. King a short apology email and asked him to give Delta another chance. In this environment we can't afford to loose even one frequent flier. Might not hurt for other DAL/DCI folks to do the same.....just a thought.
 
Comair's "on time" numbers are better than ASA's.

You get what you manage. Delta Connection stations have so much "on time" pressure that being "on time" is all that matters.

By the way, this CNN yahoo is pretty inconsiderate himself. What makes him think that 48 people with things to do want to wait on his tardy daughter to get an ice cream cone?
 
Fins:

I agree that the flight should not have waited for the kid to get an ice cream. However, the agents should have been more accomadating and concerned (even if they had to close the flight before she they returned).

Even if this guy is in the wrong, he has the power of the pen and can do significant damage to DAL/DCI, this kind of press is something we don't need right now.

Again, IMHO.
 
Palerider957 said:
Fins:

Even if this guy is in the wrong, he has the power of the pen and can do significant damage to DAL/DCI, this kind of press is something we don't need right now.

Again, IMHO.
So We have the power of the MICROPHONE too! How long would I last at a Delta Connection carrier if I made a similar rant on the PA about CNN/SI? His outburst, over his delay, is unprofessional.
 
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Ye gads....

look, I'm tired of this thead already.

My point is that we are not trying to prove a finer point of constitutional law, nor resolve fundamental "rights" or "wrongs." We simply need to attract and retain high revenue frequent fliers (who sometimes act improperly).

Perhaps this guys was out of line, but he will have more of an impact on DAL/DCI then we will on SI. Is this a rediculous point in a customer service driven industry?

In my mind this industry is a zero sum game, if we lose a passenger, then another airline wins one...so we have lost twice.

This guy may be spoiled, but we need his $$...simple as that.

Flame away....
 
At 325pm she needs yogurt pretzels? I have zero sympathy for people who act irresponsible. She could have packed a snack ahead. I say f*ck Peter King and his article-
 
Let me get this straight, some clown who happens to write a column for CNN is angry that a DCI flght wasn't held while his little princess went to stuff her face with snacks? Remember, this guy is part of the same media that everyday bashes airlines and publishes on-time statistics. There is no statistical column for would-have-been-on-time-but-we-had-the-muchies! Either you are late or you are on time. SBN has a rather small terminal, distances are not that great. Why didn't Her Royal Highness just load up on the way past the ticket counter before entering screening or just command her man servant to fetch it for her?

Mr. King, or is it just King, knows that 15 minutes means 15 minutes. He admits that HRH "tarried," and that he was making a pest of himself at the gate while they were trying to close the flight out ON TIME as in, "I told the agent to page her." Not asked, mind you, told. He also admits, barely, that HRH did not present herself at the gate until less than 15 minutes before departure. 14 minutes is what he claims but one has to wonder.

Try a little experiment sometime, count how many times you observe the notice to passengers present themselves for check-in at least 15 minutes prior. It is on the website, on your ticket/baording pass, on signs from the terminal to the gate area and even in the jetway. Gate agents even make a public address announcement. Some people just don't get it, I suppose. 15 minutes means 15 minutes, this is what the airline bashing media has demanded and that is exactly what they have got.

Sounds like he might be better off if he was able to control his daughter a little more, he could have avoided this but he doesn't say that...it's just easier to bash DCI for running an on time operation. Whatever.
:rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 
It's threads like these that ensures that fractional pilots will always have a job as long as the airlines keep treating people like doo doo.
 
Delta's policy is close the gates 10 prior....these folks had 4-5 minutes to go. I hope the offending Gate Agents are disciplined accordingly.

My position as a pilot is a CAREER position...these Gate Agents can pick up and go get some other job if they so choose when the airline tanks as a whole. I'm in it for the long run, unlike some of them.

IF YOU DON'T LIKE CUSTOMER SERVICE, DON'T BE A FRIGGIN' GATE AGENT. (Yes, I meant to yell that)

I get so tired of F/As coming to the cockpit during boarding and complaining about how they hate passengers. Well, get another job then.

I need to go to the gym and blow off some steam. Catch you all later. :mad:
 

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