Horrid Customer Service

Time to book an ocean liner. Because your experience with airlines,
I'm sorry to say, m'dear, will never be changed by insulting the
staff. Lots of those people are feds, so be careful.

Having a "hunny" whose a marine, you should know why the airports are
headaches. If you are on the side of hunny's job, you might as well
shut up about it.

I read your first snide little remark directed towards United & went
no furthur. Hopefully the company will do the same & you get no
response.

Please get some help with anger management. Sounds like you need it
big time!

you ungratefull little b--ch.ve a friend who went to iraq and didnt
come home alive. be gratefull for what you have.

The entire tone of your letter shows your immaturity...beginning with
the words "my hunny."

If I were you, I would chalk his late arrival up to the fact that he
wasn't supposed to be on that flight, that day; everything happens for
a reason.

BZZZT! Try again!

And next time write in a professional tone and leave out the curses,
censored or otherwise.

This doesn't read like a letter. It more resembles the rantings of
somebody who's had a few too many to drink.

And at least be thankful your husband is back on American soil, and
not having to deal with people trying to blow him up or shoot him in a
faraway land.

It's a shame that the airline wouldn't book the passenger on the other
available flight that the OP found.

That said, if she has other problems, I'll write her letter for her,
and will charge her based only on my hourly rate as a secretary (as
opposed to my hourly rate for freelance editing or for resumes).
That's my gift to my friends at PlanetFeedback.

I'm pretty sure that what you MEANT to say was:

Lord, even though I have to wait one more day to see my soldier.. I am
sooo thankful that he is on US ground! I don't have to worry about him
having to watch his back every second of the day. Lord, thank you for
allowing me to see my husband..to be able to hug him when I
do..instead of watching him being carried in a flag covered box! Lord,
please keep watch over him and the rest of the soldiers. One day is
not as bad as NEVER! amen

now.. from a military spouse, turned military mom.. I have to say:
SHAME ON YOU!!

Is it wrong to assume that Garry missed his flight on purpose?

I agree with the above poster who found it difficult to read this
letter...I too experienced trouble too.
Remember, paragraphs are not optional...they break up different ideas
and also give your reader a break!

I had an extremely hard time following this letter, and I just
couldn't finish it after about a third of the way through it. It has
an extremely irrational tone, hard to take seriously.

This is a bit ironic, but I was actually supposed to fly on United on
June 20th. That day I was flying from Chicago to Los Angeles. That day
there were awful thunderstorms in Chicago, the kind the ground planes.
Chicago being a United hub can really screw up the entire country. In
fact it's pretty well known in the midwest that if O'Hare gets backed
in the entire country gets screwed. My flight at first was going to be
3 hours late then cancelled all together. I had to fly out the next
day. It's possible that if the OP saw seats online they were being
assigned to another flight. The airlines that day WERE A MESS and
probably for a couple of days after. (And no I do not work for an
airline!)
I'm not going to get into her use of language, etc...

I'm also coming to this letter late (just got back in to town
yesterday).

Delays happen for a number of reasons, many of which are not the
airline's fault. Weather is one. Maintenance is another. Yesterday,
I spent three extra hours in a Brussels airport because of a
maintenance problem. But trust me; I'd rather wait three hours for
them to fix it then get on a plane that has "maintenance issues."

Yes, delays are annoying, but again, they are not necessarily the
airlines fault. It depends on what the cause of the delay is, which
of course, you don't bother to mention. If you'd cut about two-thirds
of this letter out, and take the time to mention the cause of the
delay, I'd be a better judge on the validity of this complaint.

I am with everyone else on this.

Your letter shows a complete lack of any education whatsoever. It
also shows a lack of maturity.

Believe me, you've gained little support here. I'd hang up on you as
well.

I'd bet we never hear back from you again. No wonder.

My ex husband was a Marine and I was with him before, during and after
his enlistment. If you are going to make it in that lifestyle you
better get used to dissapointments and extended absences.

This letter is a disgrace to so many people. Marines, women, wives,
mothers, husbands.

If I was your husband I would be completely embarrassed.

I realize I am late on this but if this letter was written while he
was still in the airport then I would be suprised that he was ever
allowed on a plane at all.

Be thankful that your Marine is home. So many arent and so many never
will be again.

Your myspace page?

I guess all those hot lonely men and women looking for a date with no
strings attached will think twice about using United in the future.

Would you like some cheese with your whine? Put on your big girl
panties and deal. Life happens, but don't worry, it's not permanent.


I rarely fly, but even I know to expect delays and canellations, along
with minimal support (vouchers, meals, etc) from the airlines.

And for the record, I don't care that hunny is a Marine or that your
kids are disappointed. This is an atrocious letter and will end up
exactly where it belongs - in the trash, with exactly the response it
deserves - nothing whatsoever. Tossing in the pity cards only draws
scorn.

~cheers

I started reading your letter, but stopped after the first sentence.
(Where you call them idiots and tell them they don't know their a**
from a hole in the ground). I can bet you that UA will do the same.

Calm down and rewrite this letter if you expect to get a response.
Otherwise, your letter will end up in the circular file.

The thing is, the airlines treat everyone like this whether or not the
customer is a soldier, parent or king.
As the others suggested, your letter would have been taken much more
seriously as well as your phone conversations if you had kept your
temper. You have to remember when you are dealing with customer
service people you need to keep in mind that they are not the people
who caused the problems but they may be able to help you if you are
calm and polite. If you want courtesy you must give courtesy.
Just chalk this up as a learning experience for both you and your
daughters. Stuff happens and it especially happens with the airlines.
Please don't spend the precious time you have with your husband
carrying on about this. Relax and enjoy your time together with your
family.

Why does an 8 year old kid have a Marine "hunney"? lol

Although you letter truly sucks...United sucks even more. They should
bend over backwards, not for you but for your husband. Didn't one of
their planes crash on 911??? They should kiss the a** of any service
man or woman trying to get home!!!

First of all Kimberly, before you ever write a business letter, you
need to get yourself under control, leave out the swearing and
profanity and possibly do a pre-write before pressing the send
button.

That being said, I understand how frustrating it is waiting for loved
ones to come home from service. My younger sister is presently
stationed in Iraq and we are counting the days till she arrives home
safe and sound in September.

You need to understand, if not for the sake of your children, for the
sake of your husband, that things happen and blowing off the handle
like this solves nothing.

Look at it this way, while he may not be home with you, at least he is
back stateside, safe and sound. As frustrating as it can be to have
to wait, you seriously need to put this in perspective.

In the first place, if you want this letter to be taken seriously, you
have to behave like an adult.

Drop the caps and the exclamation points and excessive punctuation and
the dramatic speech. Add paragraphs. Stop and think before you write.
You sound like an enraged teenager.

Secondly, get some perspective. I have been a military wife for 12
years and "one more day/week/month/year" is something you will be
saying to your children for as long as your husband is on active duty.
Buck up! Being a military spouse is not for wimps. There will always
be delays, changes of schedule, and uncertainty. In our family, we
have learned to never assume that dad is coming home until he is
standing in front of us. Is that rough on the kids? Sometimes, but
that's why you have to be mature, and strong, and pull yourself
together.

You are in Hawaii - which is a pretty nice place to be "stuck" in, if
you ask me. And your husband is in San Francisco, which is hardly a
terrible place to be, either. If he made it through Marine Corps basic
training, he'll survive one night without a change of clothes.

As it happens, my husband is "stuck" too - in Fort Gordon, Georgia,
where he's been sleeping in his car outside a storage unit, waiting
for a transport truck to pick up his unit's weapons and equipment.
They can't leave the weapons unattended, you see, and the truck didn't
arrive as scheduled, so he and one of his soldiers have to take turns
staying out there.

And you know what? He hasn't whined half as much as you have in this
letter.

Get a grip on yourself and act like a military spouse ought to. You
are not suffering. You experienced a minor inconvenience. Grow up.

Ah, what a lovely letter.

I can't read this letter. No paragraphs. One space between
sentences. Grrrrrr!

Been there, done that. sorry to read they still do the same thing.

"GGGRRRR"
How many times does it need to be said? Pirates have no business
writing letters of complaint.

I certainly understand your frustration. Many arilines seem to have no
idea what each department is doing, where/when seats are open,etc.

That means when situations such as yours crop up, it is next to
impossible to get a quick, painless resolution.

That said, you really should calm down before writing a business
letter. As others have indicated, your grammar, spelling, and lack of
format make the letter almost impossible to read, let alone the
emotional outbursts throughout.

I hope your family is able to spend lots of quality time together once
your husband makes it home.

You know this letter would have been decent if you used better
grammar, spell check, and left out all the childish names. I
understand your frustration. My ex-husband was in the navy and when I
remember how happy I was when he would tell me he was finally coming
home. And of course how upset I would get when he called me up that
day and told me it would be another week.
On another note, be thankful that he's even coming home. Do you know
how many widows and widowers would love to be in your situation right
now? I have a very close friend who lost her husband in Iraq. He was a
marine. She is now a single mom of four kids.
And while you have a valid complaint, nobody will take this letter
seriously the way it is written. Try calming down and rewriting it.

Don't ask me why, but I've read this letter several times and would
like to offer the following comments:

Kimberly states that her hunny was stranded in San Francisco on his
way to Hawaii. No where does she state that her husband was returning
from overseas, had ever been there, etc. I appreciate the efforts of
our military as much as the next person but am getting a little tired
of it being used to get special treatment. Delayed flights happen
everyday and no one is exempt.

No where in the rant does the OP state why her husband's flight was
delayed, i.e., which is a very important factor when negotiating
compensation.

As a Marine, it seems that it shouldn't be the end of the world for
Garry to go from 6:30 p.m. until 9:00 a.m. the following morning
without a change of clothes.

It appears that the heart of this letter is Kimberly's statement "Now
what is UNITED going to do for us?". I hate to break it to you, but
they don't owe you anything as you were not the ticket holder. I'm
sure they offered you a $150 voucher to get you off the phone and if
you know anything about air travel you would realize you aren't going
to get anything more.

Finally, this was not your letter to write to United - - it was your
husband's.

This letter will get the military Distribution D treatment. It is
unprofessional and unreadable.

(D as in Dumpster)

I empathize with your situation and frustration. It seems a lot of
this is happening in the airline industry with delays lately. I hope
your husband gets home safely and soon.

I agree with everyone else that this letter was written in anger and
you may want to rewrite using less exclamation points and more
paragraphs to make it easier on the receiver of it so they can help
you.

I am appalled and disgusted by the tone of this letter. I hope United
gets this letter (along with your information) and sends it along to
the Marine Corps.

I have always considered Marines to be some of the strongest, most
capable people around. It appears this Marine isn't capable -- at
least to his wife -- to make his own travel arrangements.

On the other hand, maybe he just didn't want to go home to his
screaming virago of a wife!

I agree that the delays and United's customer service sucked...

But am I the only one thinking this: At least your husband IS coming
home - how many American soldiers don't get to come home, not because
of an airline screw-up, but because they are killed in the war!
Sometimes you need to put things in perspective.

(And no bashing - I have the utmost respect for anyone serving our
country! I am the daughter and granddaughter of veterans!)

Sometimes it's best to take some deep cleansing breaths and to leave
out the foul lingo. I totally see why you're upset. But your
apporoach,tone, and form won't get the attention it may deserve.
The quasi threats of a boycott campaign using the internet and word of
mouth probably should be omitted as well.
Maybe consider re-writing it when you're a bit calmer may get better
results.

I agree with Gino.

When people threaten to post their complaints on the internet, it
tends to be with the attitude that everyone will agree with them.

United is not likely to be boycotted becuase the OP's husband had to
wait a mere overnight to pick up a flight.

Sometimes, writing a letter when one is calm and reasonable is the
best course of action. I would say the same thing about calling a
company. If one is not prepared to be calm and reasonable, wait to
call.

I can only imagine what the OP sounded like on the phone.

I can completely understand why you are upset, but this letter is just
going into the trash.

Also, why can't your husband talk to someone in Customer Relations or
someone at the ticket counter there at the airport? Surely a SSGT in
the Marines can handle this himself without a hysterical wife calling
and writing letters.

Charming.

If I was the poor shnook at United who had to read through this mess,
I would probably quit.

Your "hunny"? Try to use real words in a business letter.

Calling the company names (like an eight year-old) is not apt to get
you very far.

Its a shame your husband wll be delayed for one day, but its hardly
worth getting your knickers in a twist.

This letter, to me, is written unprofessional. Your " hunny" isn't
coming home the day you wish. Well you know what? men.. and women,
overseas don't even KNOW if they will come home. And the comment about
them being idiots.. TOTALLY uncalled for.

First of all, I'm very sorry for the delay in your husband getting
home to you & your children. That is very frustrating &
disappointing, especially as he has been deployed in service to his
country.

However, my suggestion before you send an email to the DOT is that you
sit down with your computer & draft the letter in a word processing
program. Pay special attention to spelling, grammar & paragraphs. A
well-written, business-like letter will often get a faster, more
desirable response that a jumbled mass of misspellings, profanity &
poor grammar. I know you're upset, but you want to present your
complaint in the best possible light, with well-reasoned bullet points
outlining what went wrong, how you tried to help United correct the
problem & what you'd like to see happen.

Good luck with the process & enjoy the time with your husband once he
gets home today.

While the situation at hand sucks hardcore...this is a poorly written
letter. I understand that you're upset (that doesn't begin to describe
how you feel I'm sure) but these letters are sent to the business
themselves. And most businesses will not respond to a letter that is
incoherant with cursing in it. It will go to the permenant outbox (ie,
the trash can.) I strongly suggest cooling off, and writing the letter
again, or having PFB's letter writing service write it for you.

Why was your husbands flight delayed? I think that is the main
question that needs to be answered.

Kimberly--I am so sorry United treated your husband so poorly. Your
children must have been disappointed. What a terrible way to treat a
Marine! Unfortunately, this kind of episode is getting more and more
common on United. United consistently rates last in customer
satisfaction surveys.

Unfortunately, writing UAL customer service will do little good. They
will respond with a form letter. Your best option is to send an email
to department of transportation consumer hotline. The email is
airconsumer@dot.gov This is a good thing to do for two reasons.
First, it is your only chance of getting a personal reply from United
since the DOT forwards these to United and expects United to answer
the customer with more than a form letter. Second, the DOT tracks the
number of complaints they receive. It is important they hear about
outragesous service episodes such as this.

Why was his original flight delayed? If it was weather, they owe him
nothing.

That's all I will say about this poorly written letter. Try some
paragraphs in the future and leave out the drama!

If there were other flights available, you could have bought a ticket
and he would have been home tonight. As it is, he'll be home
tomorrow. Be thankful he's able to come home at all.

Also, what happened to paragraphs? I miss paragraphs!! :(