A fight with Spirit Airlines and Happiness with Delta

I don’t know how this happened, well i think that I just might have a good idea but the airlines companies have seemed to follow suite with the phone companies in their pricing of services. I remember that I was flying out west and missed my flight on an airlines that I like to lovingly call “the grayhound of the skies.” When I told the checkout lady that I was there for the flight they

stated that I had missed the flight and if I wanted

to fly out again I would have to wait until the following day in addition to paying for a new ticket. Let’s fastforward a few months later. I was coming back from Vegas on the “the grayhound of the skies” and had this following incident. The flight was leaving from Vegas at midnight but the plane was about an hour late. I had a 45 min layover in Ft lauderdale. Suffice it to say…I missed my connecting flight. They told me that the would put me on the next flight without charge 8 HOURS LATER!!!!!

I told them that I appreciated the gesture but I had to be back in Atlanta for a special meeting that afternoon. I asked that I be put on another plane (it didn’t matter to me what airlines that was…in fact I think i would have taken a ride on Air Chicken if I needed to). The clerk said that she could do nothing and that I had to go down to the ticket counter and discuss it with them. Remember that I would have to go past security to find out what the next flight I could take. If they found me a flight then I might not make it because I would have to go back through security and we know how long that can take.

So I head on down to the ticket counter and tell them that I need to get to Atlanta at my original time that the “the grayhound of the skies” siad they would get me there. The clerk told me the same things that the previous one. This I expected so I asked to see the manager. The manager came out and asked me what the problem was. Well, I will give the shortened version.

I told the manager that I had to get to Atlanta because of a very special meeting and that it was obviously not my fault that the planes were late. The manager promptly stated, “Well, I would have made sure that I got there a day early so that something like this would keep me from missing it.” Oh, yes I was a little hot at this point. “Why is it that if I miss a plane because of something outside of my control you force me buy another ticket but if you are late then somehow I need to understand and deal with it” I retorted. He then just walked off and started helping another customer!!! So I followed him wherever he went to let him know that I didn’t think that we had finished our little discussion.

He got a little angry I think because he threatened me, “If you don’t stop then I am going to get the police” he said. Well, I thought this might be a good idea. So I encouraged him a bit, “Well, go get the police maybe they can help us sort this out.” He promptly left and to no one’s surprise he never returned.

With no other means I got on a terminal bus and will I was heading to the next terminal I called Delta and in a few mins I had a flight First Class to Atlanta. I made my special meeting on time and without harm. You know, although paying cheaper prices may allow you to save more of your money, in the end may cost more of your sanity.

Technorati Tags: customer service, delta airlines, meetings, on time, spirit airlines