is it just me.....

[navigator72]

Does Delta airlines really suck as bad as I think they do? I'm not talking about the pilots or the flight attendants, they do a great job. I'm talking about the idiots behind the counter. I had a 3 hour layover in JFK after my flight from Puerto Rico and it quickly turned into a 7 hour layover with no explanation. Ok, there were explanations......

• "It's a weather delay"
• "The plane is having mechanical issues"
• "We can't find the pilots"
• "We don't know where the plane is"
• "The pilot's have run out of flight time"
• "We're waiting for a call from the tower"
• "It's an air traffic control issue"
• "The plane has no power"
• "The plane can't fly in the rain"
• "The plane has nowhere to park, the gates are full"
• "We can't tell you if the plane is airborne yet"
• "We don't know where the flight originated from"
• "We don't run the airline, the controllers do"
• "I don't know"

Is it really that difficult to give an honest explanation? I have no problem being delayed but at least give us an honest answer.
My wife and I will NEVER fly Delta again.

Anybody have any insight as to why this happens?​

 

[mynameisjim]

Insight into why planes get delayed? Or insight as to why agents don't know what's going on? Most of the professional agents have been replaced with part timers who don't know crap about airplanes or airlines.

Try asking your waiter why your order isn't up. You'll get just as many answers, all trying to shift the blame.

 

[Gorilla]

It could have been a combination of any of those explanations.

Let me ask you this: What would you have thought if the agent said "I really haven't a clue as to what's going on. I just don't know. I'm trying to find out."

Would you claim they're lying? That happens more often than you might think.

We had a situation two days ago. Our plane was at the hangar, undergoing a bird strike inspection. Sometimes those take ten minutes. Sometimes 90. We don't know. There's no simple answer. In our case, the bird inspection was fine but the mechanics found a delaminated HF antenna shield... a no-go item.

Ideally you'd like a mechanic to get on the phone and tell the agent "It will take exactly 50.37 minutes to fix, then 12.4587 minutes to get the AC to the gate." But they're busy fixing the jet, and the best they can give you is a rough idea.

Often passengers contribute. Our jet finally arrived, delayed slightly over 2 hours. We taxi out, and get a PSEU light. Another "no-go." Back to the gate. The mechanics come out and replace a black box. It tests fine. This took about 20 minutes. While the mechanics are signing off the book, a man stands up and screams "I want OFF THIS AIRPLANE! They're lying to us! It'll never go!" I tell the man "The jet is ready to go; the problem is fixed. We are closing the door and taxiing right now. You still want to get off?"

"You're lying to us all! I want to get off NOW!!"

OK dude. So he gets off. Now we are REQUIRED to get his checked bags off too. That takes another 40 minutes. I hope he was watching while we taxied away and successfully launched, becasue the next flight wasn't for another 24 hours.

In summary, I'd say cut some slack, sometimes problems compound, and sometimes employees literally don't know. If we say that, we get reamed and are accused of lying. You can't win.

 

[skygirl1968]

relax and breathe...you got to your final destination, right? and i've got news for you, it happens on EVERY airline, not just Delta. i've been in aviation for 11yrs, and been on the customer service end for about 7 of those yrs. sometimes we don't have all of the answers, and sometimes the problem changes as the delay goes on. we may have started with one delay, then something else was discovered that led to another delay. we have been given repositioned aircraft to alleviate a delay and then discovered something wrong with that aircarft. it happens. what i can tell you is that customer service agents don't like dealing with delays any more than passengers do. you think they like hearing that collective groan when they announce a delay? when i worked customer service we NEVER just pulled something out of our arse to tell pax, we always just relayed what was told to us. agents are basically the last to find out about stuff (once it gets handed to them after going thru about 5 other people first) and they get lied to from time to time about delays as well. agents have to deal with that kind of stuff as its handed to them, and sometimes they get more than one flight delay at a time. its not an easy job and agents are by no means paid enough to take the crap that they get from crabby pax when things go wrong.

cut them some slack, sit back, relax, and know that you will get to your final destination. it may be late, but hey...its not a perfect world...especially in aviation!

 

[navigator72]

Relax and breathe?!?! Have you ever sat in an chair at the airport for seven hours after flying for four hours, each hour thinking your plane will leave within the hour only to be told at the last minute it's delayed again? All this after being away from home for a week. I can respect the fact that ticket agents may not be informed but they could show a little empathy instead of staring at us straight in the face and say with an attitude, "I don't know, I just got here." Then get into a staring contest with a weary and angry traveler. You "relax and breathe."

 

[Gorilla]

Analogy: You're filling up your SUV with gasoline and are totally hacked at the $3/gallon price, so you decide to choke the sh-- out of the clerk at the counter. "You *&%%! Why is this gas price so high?" You've picked the wrong target.

Please answer my question. What answer would you like to hear that would make you less angry? There is none. You're going to be livid anyhow.

And you expect the agents to do a broadway soft-shoe, or a Clara the Clown routine to try and make you feel better? Forget it.

There's a certain zone of irritability which passengers go past, at which point you can expect not polite responses, a true attempt to smooth things over and reassure, you're going to get your own attitude and impatience fed right back at you. It happens all the time. Some dude explodes, his hair is on fire, and screams "I'll NEVER fly this %^&* airline again!" and the chorus of responses from the employees is "Adios %$^&, we don't need you, and we'd rather not have your quadruple titanium a$$ in our seats anyhow. You profess loyalty, but the reality is you'll buy the cheapest seat no matter what."

People's true character comes out when there are delays or diverts.

 

[Gorilla]

Relax and breathe?!?! Have you ever sat in an chair at the airport for seven hours after flying for four hours, each hour thinking your plane will leave within the hour only to be told at the last minute it's delayed again? All this after being away from home for a week.

Buddy, you've just EXACTLY described the lifestyle of an aircrew member. Perfectly.

We've all done it. Maybe 500 times.

 

[skygirl1968]

And you expect the agents to do a broadway soft-shoe, or a Clara the Clown routine to try and make you feel better? Forget it.

There's a certain zone of irritability which passengers go past, at which point you can expect not polite responses, a true attempt to smooth things over and reassure, you're going to get your own attitude and impatience fed right back at you. It happens all the time. Some dude explodes, his hair is on fire, and screams "I'll NEVER fly this %^&* airline again!" and the chorus of responses from the employees is "Adios %$^&, we don't need you, and we'd rather not have your quadruple titanium a$$ in our seats anyhow. You profess loyalty, but the reality is you'll buy the cheapest seat no matter what."

LOL...here here! and i'm actually one of those agents that really believes in providing quality customer service no matter what the challenge. i've lost my patience a few times and had to take a walk away from the counter/podium to keep from choking a pax, but i still came back and did the best job i could under the circumstance. i've been called names by my co-workers like "little miss polly sunshine" and the like...doesn't matter i still keep smiling and do my job. just remember that no matter how mad you get or what you say, that plane isn't going to leave any sooner, and that agent isn't going to get any nicer until you do. just my .02 cents.

 

[AerroMatt]

Time to Spare? Go by Air!

Relax and breathe?!?! Have you ever sat in an chair at the airport for seven hours after flying for four hours, each hour thinking your plane will leave within the hour only to be told at the last minute it's delayed again? All this after being away from home for a week. I can respect the fact that ticket agents may not be informed but they could show a little empathy instead of staring at us straight in the face and say with an attitude, "I don't know, I just got here." Then get into a staring contest with a weary and angry traveler. You "relax and breathe."

In your case, maybe you should have returned from your vacation/business trip a day earlier? $hit happens in this business, and sometimes there's nothing anyone can do about it. Asking some minimum wage gate agent why you can't get home will do nothing to get you there any quicker, no matter what their response is. They really do not know, and they have often been fed Bull$hit by ops to feed to the pax. (I've done this in the past too).

You know what us truck drivers used to say to hitch-hikers?

Get in
Sit down
Shut up
and hang on!

Try to lighten up, or take some prescription meds to mellow out the next time this happens. I once flew Delta on standby with my family (wife and baby girl), and we got bumped from the once-a-day international flight 2 days in a row. I used the forced layover at JFK as an excuse to show my family the sights of Manhatten island. Bitching about it wasn't gonna do any good, so we turned it into a little side trip. Be positive.

Peace, out.

 

[NW_Pilot]

Does Delta airlines really suck as bad as I think they do? I'm not talking about the pilots or the flight attendants, they do a great job. I'm talking about the idiots behind the counter. I had a 3 hour layover in JFK after my flight from Puerto Rico and it quickly turned into a 7 hour layover with no explanation. Ok, there were explanations......

• "It's a weather delay"
• "The plane is having mechanical issues"
• "We can't find the pilots"
• "We don't know where the plane is"
• "The pilot's have run out of flight time"
• "We're waiting for a call from the tower"
• "It's an air traffic control issue"
• "The plane has no power"
• "The plane can't fly in the rain"
• "The plane has nowhere to park, the gates are full"
• "We can't tell you if the plane is airborne yet"
• "We don't know where the flight originated from"
• "We don't run the airline, the controllers do"
• "I don't know"

Is it really that difficult to give an honest explanation? I have no problem being delayed but at least give us an honest answer.
My wife and I will NEVER fly Delta again.

Anybody have any insight as to why this happens?​

Try their phone numbers you will get India and they have bad English and read scripts you ask them a question they give you a weird answer.



I an still trying to get their Liability Insurance Carrier Info So I Can File a Claim for damaged baggage becuse the dumb asses in india are no help and corperate number fwd's to india also.

 

[navigator72]

In your case, maybe you should have returned from your vacation/business trip a day earlier?

You really think that travelling on Saturday instead of Sunday would have made a difference?
here's a side note (there were a total of 3 flights that kept getting delayed for no apparent reason. Ours was the least delayed, the others were pushing 6 hours of delays and then cancelled shortly after midnight. We left approx 12:30am




Am I wrong for expecting good customer service? I said in my first post "I don't have a problem being delayed"
It's the total lack of customer service skills that Delta agents have that has me upset.

I have been delayed on other flights before and at least with other carriers you get treated like a customer and not harshly like Delta was treating us.

 

[Murdoughnut]

I'll sit in the airport as long as I have to if it means the airline can fly me out on a plane they're 100% confident is safe. Sh!t happens. There are a lot worse places to spend seven hours. That's why aiports have bookstores.

Of course, I'm still one of those people that's amazed by the fact that I can have lunch in Florida, then have Dinner in Ohio. I think that's lost on a lot of folks. Keep up the good work fellas (and ladies)!

 

[Princedietrich]

You can go to the bookstore my friend. I'll go to the bar. :beer:

 

[skygirl1968]

You really think that travelling on Saturday instead of Sunday would have made a difference?

sometimes...yes. pax loads are SIGNIFICANTLY lighter on saturdays.

Am I wrong for expecting good customer service? I said in my first post "I don't have a problem being delayed"
It's the total lack of customer service skills that Delta agents have that has me upset.

you have every right to expect good customer service from ANY agent that you encounter. but shouldn't agents have the right to expect well behaved, ar at the very least, tolerable, pax? FYI- Delta doesn't have a corner on the market for rude agents, they work at EVERY airline in EVERY airport in this country. you just haven't had the displeasure of encountering them yet. there are also super agents that work for every airline in every airport as well. next time you encounter a good agent make a mental note of it because it happens far too often that bad customer service is remembered more than good customer service.
in your situation, what would have been the right answer? what could those agents have told you that would have kept you from getting rankled the way you did, anything?

like some of the others have said, take a walk, go to the bookstore, have a brew...whatever it takes to lower the blood pressure a bit and know that the agents are doing the best job they can with what's handed to them.

 

[NW_Pilot]

Best Service

The best service I have ever had was Lufthansa wow have to give them props for service..

 

[Gorilla]

Of course, I'm still one of those people that's amazed by the fact that I can have lunch in Florida, then have Dinner in Ohio. I think that's lost on a lot of folks. Keep up the good work fellas (and ladies)!

You too? People like us are getting scarce. As many times as I've flown, I'm still slightly in awe of the whole process. When riding in back as self-loading cargo, and we begin the takeoff roll, I still look outside and think it's cool when we lift off. From the back, it ALWAYS feels like the deck angle is much higher than it is; I'd swear we're at 40 degrees or more. Just feels different. Pretty much everyone else is reading a magazine.

When I'm confronted by the super-whiny businessman in 4E, who is red-faced and shouting because the flight is 18 minutes late, or they ran out of the salmon, sometimes I feel like saying, "You a$$. It took your great-great-grandparents FIVE FRIGGING MONTHS, exposed to horrible danger, disease, and starvation, to travel the same distance you are about to do in 3 hours, sipping chardonnay and eating lamb chops. So SIT DOWN AND STFU!" Thinking thoughts like these allows me to maintain a vacant smile which can be mistaken for real concern, rather than puching the jerk in the trachea and watching him choke on his own blood.

 

[skygirl1968]

When I'm confronted by the super-whiny businessman in 4E, who is red-faced and shouting because the flight is 18 minutes late, or they ran out of the salmon, sometimes I feel like saying, "You a$$. It took your great-great-grandparents FIVE FRIGGING MONTHS, exposed to horrible danger, disease, and starvation, to travel the same distance you are about to do in 3 hours, sipping chardonnay and eating lamb chops. So SIT DOWN AND STFU!" Thinking thoughts like these allows me to maintain a vacant smile which can be mistaken for real concern, rather than puching the jerk in the trachea and watching him choke on his own blood.

ROFLMAO!! i used to have those same thoughts when i was a flight attendant....