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This one is a bit delayed, as I just listened to the call recording to transcribe.
Woman is stranded in Atlanta this past Sunday. Her flight to LA is cancelled due to an equipment issue with her flight. All other flights sold out, even on other carriers.
She calls and I verify this by pulling up the availability. Indeed, literally every flight on Sunday, both her carrier and others, non-stops and connections - booked SOLID. Her only hope is to standby for each flight and hang out at the airport all day or leave and come back for a confirmed flight the next day (Atlanta was home).
Don't get me wrong - I don't blame her for being upset. But hey, it happens. I tell her this in a roundabout way, and basically reiterate what the airline has already told her (which I outlined above).
She says : "Blargle-blargle-blargle. Then WHY do we even USE a travel agent??? What good are you if you aren't going to DOOOOO something about it?"
(Keep in mind, the above was shreiked...not just stated)
Me: ....
Her:....
Me:...
Her: "Hello?"
Me: "Yes, hello."
Her: "I ASKED you a QUESTION!!!"
Me: "Oh, I'm sorry. What was the question?"
Her: "What good ARE you?"
Me: "Ma'am, surely you don't expect me to answer that."
Her: "I most certainly do!! Why did I pay the fee of booking this through a travel agent when you aren't going to DOOOOO anything?"
Me: "Ma'am, your flight experienced an equipment failure and had to cancel. Under normal circumstances, you would be placed on the next available flight, which unfortunately in this case, is not until tomorrow. There are certain concessions the airline will provide in this case, but there is NOTHING that I can physically do to make the oversold flights available."
Her: "Well you'd damned well better call them!!!"
Me: "Ma'am, where are you now?"
Her:"I told you I'm at the airport. Don't you listen? I decided to go have a meal and wait on all these standby flights."
Me: (sees where this is going) "Ok ma'am. I'll call Delta. Please hold, it may be a few minutes since I'm sure their hold times are long due to the excessive sell-outs today."
Her: *put-upon sigh* "Fine!"
At this point, I place her on hold and call Delta support. My hold time is 8-10 minutes. Typically I would take this time to go back to the customer and tell them the hold time, just to assure them I had not forgotten them.
Needless to say that didn't happen here.
I sat, and I sat. I have done this enough years to know her kind. I knew she'd hang up and I pegged it at 3 minutes.
I was wrong, she held 4 before hanging up.
After she hung up, I disconnected with Delta as I was holding.
My documentation in her record: Psgr called with cnx flight due to equip issues. All remaining flts sold out both OC (other carriers) and DL (Delta) until tomorrow. Airline has rebooked and offered priority standby on remaining flts. Psgr called for us to 'do something' about this and was sarcastic and was yelling at me. Placed psgr on hold to call DL, although futile. Hold time 8-10, psgr hung up after 4. I disconnected as well.
Moral of this story: If she had acted like a human, both to me and to the counter agents, she would have been told that the airline will offer compensation for future travel in a situation like this. At least she was in her home town, and was not stranded in a strange city like so many people are.
Don't know what ended up happening to her, and I frankly don't care.
Woman is stranded in Atlanta this past Sunday. Her flight to LA is cancelled due to an equipment issue with her flight. All other flights sold out, even on other carriers.
She calls and I verify this by pulling up the availability. Indeed, literally every flight on Sunday, both her carrier and others, non-stops and connections - booked SOLID. Her only hope is to standby for each flight and hang out at the airport all day or leave and come back for a confirmed flight the next day (Atlanta was home).
Don't get me wrong - I don't blame her for being upset. But hey, it happens. I tell her this in a roundabout way, and basically reiterate what the airline has already told her (which I outlined above).
She says : "Blargle-blargle-blargle. Then WHY do we even USE a travel agent??? What good are you if you aren't going to DOOOOO something about it?"
(Keep in mind, the above was shreiked...not just stated)
Me: ....
Her:....
Me:...
Her: "Hello?"
Me: "Yes, hello."
Her: "I ASKED you a QUESTION!!!"
Me: "Oh, I'm sorry. What was the question?"
Her: "What good ARE you?"
Me: "Ma'am, surely you don't expect me to answer that."
Her: "I most certainly do!! Why did I pay the fee of booking this through a travel agent when you aren't going to DOOOOO anything?"
Me: "Ma'am, your flight experienced an equipment failure and had to cancel. Under normal circumstances, you would be placed on the next available flight, which unfortunately in this case, is not until tomorrow. There are certain concessions the airline will provide in this case, but there is NOTHING that I can physically do to make the oversold flights available."
Her: "Well you'd damned well better call them!!!"
Me: "Ma'am, where are you now?"
Her:"I told you I'm at the airport. Don't you listen? I decided to go have a meal and wait on all these standby flights."
Me: (sees where this is going) "Ok ma'am. I'll call Delta. Please hold, it may be a few minutes since I'm sure their hold times are long due to the excessive sell-outs today."
Her: *put-upon sigh* "Fine!"
At this point, I place her on hold and call Delta support. My hold time is 8-10 minutes. Typically I would take this time to go back to the customer and tell them the hold time, just to assure them I had not forgotten them.
Needless to say that didn't happen here.
I sat, and I sat. I have done this enough years to know her kind. I knew she'd hang up and I pegged it at 3 minutes.
I was wrong, she held 4 before hanging up.
After she hung up, I disconnected with Delta as I was holding.
My documentation in her record: Psgr called with cnx flight due to equip issues. All remaining flts sold out both OC (other carriers) and DL (Delta) until tomorrow. Airline has rebooked and offered priority standby on remaining flts. Psgr called for us to 'do something' about this and was sarcastic and was yelling at me. Placed psgr on hold to call DL, although futile. Hold time 8-10, psgr hung up after 4. I disconnected as well.
Moral of this story: If she had acted like a human, both to me and to the counter agents, she would have been told that the airline will offer compensation for future travel in a situation like this. At least she was in her home town, and was not stranded in a strange city like so many people are.
Don't know what ended up happening to her, and I frankly don't care.
please say that isn't a common occurrence... I just lost faith in humanity reading that
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