United Airlines - Always an Adventure

I'm sitting in O'Hare Airport in Chicago. I'm at one of those laptop stations they have in the terminal with barely enough room to actually place the computer on the shelf, and the absolutely hardest stool upon which I have ever placed my big bottom. The sun in beating down mercilessly over my right shoulder, making it all but impossible to see my laptop's screen. No, I'm not very comfortable right now. And it's all United Airlines' fault!

I was supposed to get on a plane last night from O'Hare to Washington-Dulles. It was the last flight of the night - around 9:10 p.m. - and I was in the gate in plenty of time to catch it. However, about 30 minutes before departure the gate rep got on the PA and simply announced, "I'm sorry but the flight to Dulles has been canceled. I don't have any further information. I suggest you go to the Customer Service Center for rebooking."

So I and everyone else in the gate grabbed our stuff and started the walk to the Service Center.

I was the 30th person in line. Yes, I counted. They had two agents working, although there were spaces for at least eight or nine. The line did not move. After about 45 minutes, miraculously two more agents showed up and started helping people. It still took another 30 minutes before I got my turn.

The gentleman agent who proudly wore a "Shop Steward" button on his tie, informed me the only flight I could get on was at 3:55 the following afternoon. HUH? What about all the morning flights? Booked. He offered to fly me in to Baltimore or Reagan National, but those were hardly appealing alternatives. It's not like these three airports are next door to one another! So I got a new boarding pass and a voucher for a room at the nearby Holiday Inn.

I had to ask the hotel for a toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, shaving cream and comb. Fortunately they have a nice little card in the bathroom offering these items to wayward travelers like myself. I got to bed around 12:30 and set the alarm for 7:00. I wanted to get up and check flights before actually heading back to the airport. When I did, they were all full, except for one leaving at 1:15. Worth a try, I thought. So I got up, showered, got dressed and caught the shuttle back to O'Hare.

I got back in the Customer Service Center line. There were only ten people ahead of me this time, and still only two reps working. Still, it went a little quicker than the night before. I explained my situation and the agent was actually very helpful. She got me on standby for the 1:15 flight and confirmed on the 3:55 one. She tracked my bag for me and confirmed that it arrived at Dulles around 10:00 a.m. Then something happened that is pretty annoying.

I asked her why the flight from the night before was canceled. She said she didn't know and would look it up. "Maintenance problem." And as quick as that she printed out and handed me a $100 voucher good for a future flight. Hmmm. So if I hadn't asked why the flight was canceled, she would have just let me walk away to wait another six hours in the airport. But because I asked, I got a $100 voucher? That's just stupid!

Now, you might say United is just being frugal. Why give out $100 tickets if they don't have to, right? But the situation is this:

After last night my attitude toward United was to avoid them at all costs! Fly any other airline no matter how inconvenient or even more costly. But because they gave me the voucher, I will fly United at least one more time...and since there's no such thing as a $100 ticket, I'll spend money with them. Plus I'll admit I'm a bit more forgiving that a plane had a mechanical problem. What I'm NOT forgiving about is that they didn't automatically offer this voucher in the first place!

It's stupid, greedy and poor marketing to behave this way. But United is huge and doesn't care. We are just product that needs to be moved from one location to another. Satisfaction is irrelevant, because we don't have nearly the choices we should as alternatives.

So, I'll get home 19 hours later than expected. I missed a day of work. And my butt is really, really sore from this stupid stool. I hate you, United!