Unruly Check-In Agents at United Airlines

Unruly Check-In Agents at United Airlines!

I can just see the chair smashing and hair pulling now!

Most airline employees are getting rude because they are all gonna be
unemployed soon. A lot of airlines will be going bankrupt soon.

The are trading at under $4.00 a share, been delisted from the NYSE.

Most major brokerage houses require customers to sign a special waiver
"Penny Stock Disclosure" to buy stock in this company so the client
can't sue when UAUA goes bankrupt again.

Obviously, you have no sense of planning. You casually show up 45
minutes before departure, with surfboards in tow, and expect to have
the airline rush to get you (and your surfboards) on the plane before
take off. As others have pointed out, you need to be there 2 hours
before take off.

Of course, you go to Hawaii without any return flight booked, as
evidence by your claim that they tried to upsell you for seats. Why
anyone would travel by plane anywhere without a return booking is
beyond me, but hey, to each his/her own, I guess.

Then you demand $100 for surfboard repair, without claiming where or
when it happened. Now you want an apology SIGNED by the "three
employees". What about the fourth employee? On your flight to HI,
you said there was a rude employee and his supervisor. On the return
trip, you mentioned "TWO MORE" (including the Asian one). That's four
employees total. What about those in baggage handling? Perhaps
someone there owes you an apology for surfboard damage?

Should they neatly frame this signed apology as well? Or would
another $100 in credit suffice to be used for your next trip where you
show up just before takeoff?

enough to you for you to show up at a reasonable time, why should they
matter to anyone else?

I worked near Malibu for a year. A friend was a professional working
for another company nearby, an aerospace firm with the typical
cubicles and management structure.

My friend's coworker was an avid surfer, and took off around 2pm
several days a week to go surfing.

Annual reviews came along, and my freind's coworker went in for his
review. His manager said "Peter, we like your work, but you are
missing a lot of hours and nobody can get in touch with you." Peter
was like, "well, those are my surfing hours."

As Peter left the office, he turned back and asked the manager "This
isn't going to affect my review, is it?"

Where did the surfboard repair suddenly appear from? If there had been
damage, it seems like you would have said that in the beginning
instead of just trying for another $100 in the end of the letter -
like an afterthought for more money.

All your other problems stem from you being late.

I don't know where you have been the past few years that you have not
even heard any news regarding the airline industry and the vast
changes since 9-11 but I think its time you caught up with the rest of
the world's regarding airline travel.

No matter how you book your flight you are asked to arrive at least
2hrs prior to departure time and allow more time if during peak
hours/days. Just because you choose to ignore these instructions does
not mean UA has to drop everything to accomodate you and your party.

Also as for your opinion that because you paid for your flight it
gives you the right to be late, causeing a disturbance and demanding
they take care of your needs as fast as possible is ridiculous and
totally self centered on your part. And I am quite sure they were very
upset with the "human to human experience" you showered on them!

No monies nor apology is due you.
In fact it is you that should apologize for your deplorable attitude
towards these UA employees.

When I first saw the title, I expected a story about some check-in
staff fight, a la a drunken Scottish brawl after a grueling football
match. It would've been the perfect start to my crabby Friday
morning.

But no, instead I'm reading about YOU didn't show up on time for
check-in but yet expected the staff to go overboard in making sure you
made the flight. In my opinion, if a customer is close to missing
their flight, it's their own darned fault. Next time don't hit the
snooze button on the alarm.

Why are customers so hard to please indeed.

If you did fly at least once or twice since 9/11, you would know
better. The ticket agent is not responsible for your naivet when it
comes to airport reality.

Having shown up only forty-five minutes before your flight, you are
very lucky you made in through check-in and security before take off.
That is not the fault or responsibility of the ticket agent. Can you
imagine what the chaos would look like if everyone who showed up less
that two hours before his/her flight was given "special treatment" to
make sure they got to the plane on time? NO ONE would show up on time
and everyone would expect to be coddled through the process.

As for the upsell to economy plus, did you explain to the ticket agent
that you do not possess the ability most adults have to say 'no' to
something they do not want or cannot afford? You certainly are making
it seem that way by the way you are acting in your letter. The
agent's job is to sell you things. She did just that. Unless she was
refusing to allow you on the plane unless you upgraded, you were free
to refuse to buy whatever she offered to you.

If your surfboard was damaged somehow while in the control of United,
you should have made a claim at LAX when you claimed it after the
return flight. If you failed to do that - or had some clause pointed
out to you in the agreement you probably signed that relieved United
of liability - then you are in for a very difficult time proving
United is at fault for whatever damage you now are claiming.

Use this as a learning experience and stop blaming others for what you
should have done but failed to do.

Got a good laugh from this letter...thanks Sebastian!

It's good you are getting married. There will be someone to look
after you.

Larry
Curly
Moe

I'm sure if they would have refused you, you'd be on here griping that
you were there and the plane hadn't left and the mean people wouldn't
let you on the plane.

You got on the plane, had a great time in Hawaii...what's your beef?

I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm guessing that the "Asian" woman
was HAWAIIAN.

And please explain how the agents were "unruly".

"They blamed us for showing up so late"

*blinks*

Well, sure. Why shouldn't you get the blame?

"and made it seem like they had to do twice the work just to get us on
the plane."

You showed up 45 minutes before a flight and had oversized items to
check. They DID have to do twice the work. As for not doing it with a
smile, if you displayed anywhere near the attitude in person that you
do in this letter, those poor employees probably didn't smile for the
rest of their workday.

By the way, what was unruly about their behavior? Were they running
through the terminal screaming obscenities? Doing tequila shots on the
counter? Is that how your surfboards got damaged?

Wah wah wah. Show up on time. IT's not their job to do everything
possible to get on the plane. IT'S YOURS. Wake up and smell the
Hawaiian Gold!

You are lucky you were even allowed to board the plane when you showed
up 45 minutes before the flight with luggage to check. You are
supposed to show up 2 hours before your flight and check in for most
flights closes 45 minutes before take off.

You showed up with oversize, special items 45 minutes before take off?


You really put them out and are lucky you were accommodated.

I do agree the 'hard to please" comment should not have been made
within earshot.

"I'd further like United to send me a letter of apology signed by
Fabian Zepeda, Lee the Asian and Patricia L'alconchoran."

Thats the funniest thing I've seen on here in ages.

Help me out on this one Sebastian. Why should the compensation for
rudeness be fixing a surfboard which they didn't damage?