So I had the opportunity to fly US Airways this weekend from Philadelphia to West Palm Beach… I warn this may be a long post, because this happened straight through 24 hours, but please try to bare with it.

I do realize there was a storm coming to Philadelphia.. and it was a monster.. 27+ inches of snow reported at the airport.  My original flight, #979 was scheduled to leave 3:30ish on Saturday.. yes, towards the trailing end of this storm.   The night before, I checked flight status online – still running.  The morning of I checked, still running.  Checked again before leaving via telephone, still on-time.

I arrive at the airport at 1:45PM and approach the counter for the ticket. I was immediately told “No tickets” when I stepped up, before I even had the chance to present ID/Conf#/or flight number.  I said “I believe there is, as I just called and was told it’s still running…”  She continued to repeat “No Tickets” without ever looking up the flight number, or getting off her cell phone.  I asked for a supervisor to explain this to me.. She instead nodded for a TSA officer to come over and stare me down.   I asked “Are you the supervisor?” – and the USAir employee sternly stated “No Sir.  This is an officer.  I already told you, No Tickets. “   I again said I didn’t understand when both the sign, the website, and the call center are telling me the flight is going.  She said “You can call the call center for more information…”   I stepped out of line and got on the phone.

After a 20 minute wait for an agent, I again was told on the phone that my flight is confirmed and will be leaving on time.  The person on the phone said to tell the agent that the flight was infact running.  I was the next person in line, still on the phone with the agent.  As I was waiting to be called up to the counter, I asked the call-center rep if she would stay on the phone for a moment while I get confirmation from the counter… her snide reply was “We have over 400 calls on hold, we have to get to those.”  – You still haven’t solved my issue! How can you call this “closed” without solving my issue first?

I now went to a different ticket counter rep, and showed them my reservation number. They looked it up, and told me it was canceled.  Finally some progress… as she said it, the rep I was dealing with earlier shouted “That’s what I told him.”   The second rep suggested I call and find an alternative flight.

As I step away from the desk, my phone rings.  It’s a VERY courteous, friendly support rep saying she’s trying to be proactive about getting people the flights they need.  I explain the situation, she looks through all the available options, and books me on a following day (Sunday) morning 10AM flight.  She greatly apologizes for the confusion and inconvenience, and offers me an upgraded seat on the direct flight on Sunday morning.  While on the phone with her, I reapproach the desk (according to the phone reps instructions) and ask them to print the new ticket for me.  After some fumbling, I am holding a first class ticket for the 10AM flight.  I step away from the desk and the rep even offers to move my return flight back, to make up for the lost day.  I happily accept – she says she has no upgrades available on that flight as it’s booked solid at the moment, but to check closer to the date.  Great.

Now, the waiting game.  Keep in mind, SEPTA R1 (Regional Rail Line into Center City) has been suspended until 6AM, taxis are charging upwards of $100 to come out in the snow, and we are told by US Airways staff that new flights may become available at any time (so, frankly, it didn’t make sense to leave even if we could)

After some sitting around, Myself along with some friends I made while waiting, ask if they (the US Airways staff standing around talking on their cell phones) can suggest a place to spend the next 12 hours. (Cafe, lounge, etc)  As we were not yet into the new day, none of us would be allowed past security, and there are very few options on this side.  The response floored me: “If you want to stay here, you’ll have to stay outside. We’re closed”   WTF?  Really?  That is the suggestion from a US Airways EMPLOYEE!?!?   This group of people asking this question included some international arrivals who had very few options at this point.  I was absolutely stunned and went hunting for a place to spend the night.

Enter the Marriot… the Marriot is connected to the terminal, so I and some others quickly found refuge in there.  Comfortable chairs in a two-floor lobby made a good place to spend some time.. that combined with wifi (extra charge), and the ONLY restaurant on this side of security worked well for our needs.

Fast forward to midnight.  Suddenly a security guard with a look of distaste comes over and says we all need to leave.  She says the lobby needs to be cleared for the cleaning crew.  Two of the people blindly walk out…  I and two others stay and ask “It hasn’t been an issue all day… why now? where would you like us to go?” – again, very robotic, she says “You need to leave.. I have to clear this lobby.”   I ask again if she has a suggestion, she shrugs, and goes to wait by the door.   I gather my things and meet her at the door…  I ask once more if she has a suggestion, and she says “The GM does not want people staying in here.”… I suggest there are extenuating circumstances considering the weather, the severe delays, and the demand by US Airways staff to vacate the area.  She says it’s policy.  I asked “Is the GM here right now?” – she said “yes, I don’t know… why?” “Can you please call her? I’d like to speak to her about this.”  She steps away for a moment, and returns saying we can speak with the manager at the front desk.

Down to the front desk we go… After a moment, the manager (Keri I believe) appears.. We ask for a bit of compassion understanding that we’ve been spending money in the hotel all day, eating meals there, purchasing essentials from the gift shop, and even one of the three of us that stayed the previous night at $120/night.  We simply would like to remain in the lobby overnight as we wait for our flight…  she turns to the original security guard to ask HER what she wants to do.  I jump in asking “Why are you asking her?  Are you the manager or is she?”  she responds that she is, and they both disappear for a moment in the back.

When they return, the manager Keri comes around the desk and says “Sorry, nothing I can do.  It’s our policy.” I exclaim that lack of situational understanding and compassion is NOT part of the policy.” She then says “If we want to stay here, we will need to purchase a room for full rate.”  She goes on saying “If I let you stay in the lobby, then I have to let everyone that ever asks stay in the lobby.”   Frustrated, I ask her if she understands what kind of damage she’s doing to the Marriot Brand… a snide look from her, and away we go to the cold crossway tunnel.

With nowhere to lay down without being attacked by rats (Yep, I saw two) we are forced to remain awake throughout the evening, stuck in limbo between a closed Marriot, and a closed airport.  NOT feeling good about how ANYTHING is being handled while on this property so far.

Minutes later, I receive a voicemail saying my 10AM flight has been canceled.  Frustrated, I call back and speak to rep who rebooks me on a flight through Atlanta in the AM.  Minutes later, I decide to check the website flight status and find that the flight to Atlanta, has been canceled all evening.  The US AIRWAYS REP just booked me on a nonexistent flight.

I call back yet AGAIN and an obviously pissed-with-life rep answers.. I hear her in the background complaining about having to work overtime.  She then switched my flight to a Philly to Palm Beach flight, with a stopover in Charlotte leaving at 1:35 Sunday afternoon.  I asked about the first class upgrade I was given, she says she has it for the first leg, but not the second.  She says she doesn’t have the power to change it and I would need to speak to a manager.  I ask if there is one around, and she connects me with Donna, her supervisor.   Donna immediately starts with a ‘Let me tell you’ attitude… and says the upgrade was obviously a mistake because they NEVER give upgrades over the phone without points.  I explain that I received the first one over the phone, she holds strong and refuses to help, claiming that it’s impossible and if I have a problem, I can email the customer relations department and expect a response in 1-3 business days.

No sleep later, it’s 5AM and I head down to the ticket counter, frustrated beyond belief. The person at the front podium asks to see my existing ticket… I show it to her and she says I don’t need to wait, I can just go through security.  I asked if the flight was still on, and she said “Yes, all flights are now running.” – I asked her once more to confirm considering hours earlier I was told it was canceled.  She says yes.

After some coffee and relaxing in the Marriot 2nd floor, I decided to go through security.  First person checks the ticket, go ahead… 2nd and 3rd person side by side look, one signs off on it, go ahead.  I get through security and head to the gate, B11.  I arrive at B11 to find absolutely nothing…  I go hunting for a rep at ANY podium.   A friendly rep takes a minute with me to look it up.. her eyes widen saying “This flight was canceled… I’m not sure how you got past security?”  I nod in agreement with the ridiculousness of the situation, and she suggests heading to the end of terminal B where I can find customer service.

Great!  Here I go back down to customer service…  yet another angry human being behind the desk exclaims “Can I help you?”… I show her my ticket asking to know what flight im on.. she snaps back with “Just hold on.” and then tells me that flight has been canceled.   “Right, I realize… what’s the next flight I am able to get on to ANYWHERE in Florida…”  “8:30PM but it’s all sold out.” … “Okay, that doesn’t help me.. what happened to the earlier flight leaving around 1:35?”    A snappy “Yeah” and she insta-prints the tickets for what is the 953 flight to West Palm Beach, connecting in Charlotte.   I ask if I can still get my first class upgrade, and she again snaps with “You’ll get what we have.”    Unreal so far.

So now, I sit waiting at the gate…  I decide to call US Airways customer service a few moments ago to ask if I can move the first class upgrade to my return flight.  She says there’s no availability.  I then ask if the 2PM has availability and finally… a YES.  She then ruins it all by saying “You don’t have enough points here for the upgrade.”   I realize that, but my earlier flight was given a complimentary upgrade and considering I’m not using it for the way down, I’d like to apply it to my return trip… I don’t think it’s too much to ask after my nonstop back and forth.  She says “It was a mistake that you got it, and I don’t plan to make a mistake for you.”  she goes on saying “There is a note on the account that you are not able to get an upgrade from a past supervisor.” – I suspect Donna here.  She was the one who claimed there was no way they’ve ever given an upgrade over the phone.   The current rep then suggests I email customer relations if I have any issues.   I hung up in exhausted frustration.

So I’m sitting here, writing this, waiting for a flight, astonished with how poorly things have been handled…  I hope US Airways finds this “valuable” enough to read.

So… I AM emailing this blog post to US Airways customer relations.  I also am emailing this to Marriot International, perhaps as it’s own post.  I also have tweeted it out to 1600 people, and plan to at least three – five times more over the next week.

Let me make one thing very clear… the weather delaying planes was NEVER a problem.  The issues I had were with the way this was handled… no clear communication between staff/travelers, staff/call center, airline/call center, horrifying bad attitudes, complete inconsistency, and the “We’re doing YOU a favor” attitude.

I’m looking forward to seeing how US Airways and Marriot International reply to these…   In my next post, I’ll make some suggestions on how this could have been BETTER handled.

So do what you need to do US Airways – get in touch – Tweet me (@JosephD), email me: joseph@josephdepalma.com, or even call me.  I want to understand what your solution is, and I want to know BEFORE my return trip this Friday.

Regards,

Joseph DePalma
joseph@josephdepalma.com