Delta Disappointment

Posted Sun February 3, 2008 12:00 pm, by Greg I. written to Delta Air Lines

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I was employed in the Middle East as a physician for > 14 years. I have traveled internationally at least several times a year. I started using Delta due to connections with Gulf Air. I then continued to use Delta on coming back to the United State January 2007. Since then I have traveled substantially and had several problems with Delta's system. Some due to my inexperience with the system they have in the U.S. but more from the system itself.

Firstly, I was given a voucher for $1000 in Frankfurt in Fall of 2006 for volunteering to give up my seat - I only used about $280 of it and then the coupon was lost with the remaining which had the credit recorded. Stupid me - I lost the coupon and was told you have keep no record of these transactions so there I am out the ~$700.

I then planned a trip to meet with friends in Brazil this February and went to great detail planning it. No one going needed any special visa (except me apparently). I went to the Delta website and the link there for information on visas was quite confusing and in no location do I recall it simply stating "You need to have a visa issued in the US prior to departure". In fact the site masterfully circomlocutes the issue. The day prior to departure I checked in at the Delta website and found a link for weather. Going to that link at Yahoo I found numerous ads clearly pointing out a visa had to be obtained a week or more in advance and after calling several sites I confirmed this. I previously traveled to other Latin America countries with no need of visa. I was surprise by this lack of clarity from your website though I have to take some of the blame also. However, if your websites try to essentially play travel agent I feel there are some implied responsibilities you have to your customers. I assure you these items are addressed better by other foreign airlines I have dealt with.

Finally, since my trip to Brazil fell through I planned to visit my daughter and son-in-law in Wash DC. He booked the ticket and I received the email with the electronic ticketing. I was unable to check-in by computer or find my itinerary and so I called the Delta Skymiles number. After dealing with the impersonal but ever polite computerized voice I finally got a human on the phone and they could not find my ticket at first either - even with the confirmation number or e ticket number. They also spelled my name incorrectly though it was correct on the electronic ticket receipt I have. After 30 or 40 minutes and having to additionally call your corporate customer services twice I eventually had them find my itinerary and correct the information in your system. I was finally able to check in online!! I went to the airport in New Orleans 3 hours early - made sure all things were set - baggage checked in. Started reading my book and eventually boarded my flight. Fortunately, I was also upgraded. I made it to Atlanta and then went to check in at the Crown Club. I then proceeded to read my book again. A bit later I found the time very late and ran to try to catch my plane to BWI. Little did I know the boarding gate had been changed from my ticket and now was on E concourse instead of B concourse. No one in the Crown Club announced or looked for me - very different from other clubs where when I check in the announce for the passengers when the flights of the checked in travelers are ready for boarding. Then your staff at the gate stated "well you should be on time". I agree - and that would be easy when the airline club and the airline do their part. Gate had just closed - plane there - of course you never open them. They sent me accross the airport to Concourse B or D to another flight -which of course I rushed to as quickly as possible. They were sad to announce they "just closed the gate" also. It would have to much to ask the prior gate to make a 1 minute call to notify them I was being sent there. They of course said they also can't do anything. I went to the customer service desk where I was informed that there were no more flights and I would have to get a hotel in town. That was the final straw. I asked them to provide it an Ms ***** was at least polite as she and her associates adamantly stated this was not possible. I therefore asked to be put back on another flight back to New Orleans and cancel my trip as it was now 10 pm and I started this trip driving to the airport at 1 pm! I then had to literally run to the gate to make the flight to New Orleans and when I arrived there was treated very curtly by the staff there. I found your staff to be "polite" but generally arrogant and curt if not smart aleck's throughout the evening.

This is even more amazing knowing I signed up for email updates on flight notifications and get all emails immediately on my Blackberry. Of course none of the changes nor departure notices were sent. Soooo unlike other airlines I have dealt with.

First I think that while I was not 100% blame free for my problems - I certainly think any sensible person would agree that the performance provided by Delta was not the best and played a very significant and avoidable role in my misadventure. I have been a physician for 25 years - if I ever came remotely close to handling my patients in this manner I would soon have none.

I feel that the least that Delta can do is to provide a full refund for the tickets involved.

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Re: Delta Disappointment by RowdyRetailer Posted Wed February 6, 2008 @ 9:34 AM Once again throwing in the ol resume in the letter, physician for 25 years, handling of your patients........nobody cares! Reply Re: Delta Disappointment by T. C. Posted Mon February 4, 2008 @ 10:28 PM You are not out 700 bucks. You volunteered to take a later flight which means you used your original ticket and then used 280 bucks of a free voucher. There are tons of people bumped that see no accomodations. Reply Re: Delta Disappointment by Shadowboxxx Posted Mon February 4, 2008 @ 4:47 PM I went to the Delta website, entered "Visa" in the search box and was brought to a page that very thoroughly explains when you need a Visa and how to obtain one. No circumlocution evident to me. Reply Re: Delta Disappointment by Harleycat Posted Mon February 4, 2008 @ 8:27 AM I can't see that Delta is at fault here. First, you lost the voucher. That's on you not them. Second, you couldn't make heads or tails of the Visa requirements on their site so instead of checking with the State Department (always the final word for these issues), you just assumed you didn't need one and lastly, you whiled away the time reading instead of checking on your flight. So, what exactly did they do wrong? Gate assignments change all the time and it's not always the airline that changes them. Airport management frequently changes the gates to accomodate late flights. As a physician, I would hope that you take more responsibility for yourself or do you blame your patients when things go wrong? Reply Reply by Greg Mon February 4, 2008 @ 1:13 PM Oh please, she doesn't work for an airline by RedheadwGlasses Mon February 4, 2008 @ 2:00 PM Given him good grades for spelling.. by Steve-Oh Mon February 4, 2008 @ 2:58 PM What are "smart aleck's" though? by donno Mon February 4, 2008 @ 8:02 PM They are like sheep. by Steve-Oh Mon February 4, 2008 @ 8:13 PM Why is it? by Harleycat Mon February 4, 2008 @ 5:00 PM I'm a travel agent... by Hello Kitty Mon February 4, 2008 @ 9:29 PM Oh please.. by Harleycat Mon February 4, 2008 @ 4:56 PM I clean by donno Mon February 4, 2008 @ 7:49 PM Re: Delta Disappointment by Gino Posted Mon February 4, 2008 @ 2:49 AM I read your letter as carefully as I could and you seem to keep floundering somewhere in the grey area of ambiguity. People are rude, but in a polite way, you lose a voucher with some credit on it and expect them to what? Give you credit for what was left on the ticket you lost? You purchase tickets and are not certain what the policy for a visa is, admitedly because of some kind of lack of familiarity with the site. Do you call Delta ahead and ask what visa requrements are? You find the Club and start reading a book, assuming your name would be paged or you'd somehow be forwarned of the gate change after losing track of time. Needless to say, it's frustrating to read because one is never certain what you expect or what they are required to do for you. If you're partly to blame for all these issues, why does Delta owe you a full refund for the tickets involved? The plane was at the gate waiting for you, you dilly dallied and were late. They rebook a flight and even upgrade, and you missed that flight. Your lack of planning and poor time management isn't Delta's fault. Reply Do you know what happened by ♥Venice♥ Mon February 4, 2008 @ 3:56 AM Yeah I recall that! by Gino Tue February 5, 2008 @ 11:00 PM Re: Delta Disappointment by donno Posted Sun February 3, 2008 @ 9:44 PM You admitted that you were not 100% blame free. Honestly, what percentage do you feel you were responsible? To me, it looks like you are about 10% blame free. That is, maybe 90% of the responsibility lies with you. You lost the coupon. You failed to review the visa requirements after admittedly finding the description at Delta confusing. You were reading your book and lost track of time, causing you to miss the details of the gate change. Under the circumstances, I don't think Delta owes you any compensation. Reply Delta faults by longlens Sat February 16, 2008 @ 3:03 AM