United Airlines' 1994 misstep multiplied
The less than stellar reputation of United Airlines doesn't surprise me. (see article) I decided back in 1994 the airlines wasn't for me. As missteps go, it wasn't major, but enough to lose two customers that I like to think have snowballed into the airline's woes of today. Generally, I'm not spiteful, but If the service back then is any indication of what has transpired since, I'm sympathetic to anyone who has flown United.
My story started with the 12 p.m. flight from Los Angeles to Singapore via Tokyo. I was in a buoyant mood at LAX. I had on a new outfit and we had just finished a wonderful three days with friends in who live in Santa Monica, West Hollywood and Orange. We were heading back to Singapore for our second year as teachers after a summer of travel and regrouping. We were well-rested and fit.
The warm fuzzy feeling began to wane over the Pacific as soon as the pilot announced an engine had failed and we were heading to Alaska, but soon after changed this to San Francisco. I had just finished lunch and the movie had started. Alaska sounded intriguing. San Francisco--not so much. Besides, my mother would soon be getting on a plane in New York on a flight through Frankfurt, Germany to Singapore.
After we stood in line for six hours, getting re-booked on a flight through Hong Kong for the next day, it was clear to me that my mother would be arriving in Singapore before us. Originally, we were to arrive 12 hours before her. Making the best of a bad situation, I phoned a good friend of mine who lived in Livermore close to San Francisco. He was thrilled with the idea of meeting for breakfast.
The bad situation got worse when one of United's personnel stood up on the ticket counter, waving a toothpaste/toothbrush kit, shouting to the 30 of us left waiting for our hotel vouchers. "There aren't any hotels left," he said. "If you want us to put you up, you have to fly back to L.A."
Say, what? It was 9 p.m. My stomach was rumbling; the food from lunch long gone. "But you have to hurry," he shouted over the din of protest, pointing us to the direction of the gate where a plane was waiting. The two Polish women who had somehow become separated from their tour group heading for China after the Tokyo transfer, recognized sympathy in our faces and decided we were the ones who knew something. Their English wasn't the best, so my husband had to explain to them that we weren't going to Tokyo at this moment, but to LA. The rag-tag group of us clutched our toothbrush kits as we found seats on the last United flight back to L.A.. So far, the kits were our only compensation.
The flight back to L.A. was accompanied by wine--lots of it. The flight attendants walked the aisles pouring from regular sized bottles. The stewardess pressed the remainder of a bottle into my hand before I got off the plane, patted me on the back, and said, "Good luck."
By that time, my mother was halfway to Frankfurt. The sour woman at United customer service told me that there was no way they could let my mother know at the airport in Singapore where we were. "Great." I pictured my mom in a country where she hadn't been before, wondering where we were and unsure of how to find us. If she followed the directions to our apartment, I fretted that she might not find the key where we left it or know how to turn on the air conditioner. Singapore in August is BLAZING hot. There she would be in our living room dripping sweat with no food in the refrigerator wondering when we might show up. These were the days before cell phones.
Back at LAX, we looked for an airport shuttle to take us to the hotel, arriving there 15 minutes before room service ended. The restaurant was already closed. With the $5 phone card, the airline gave us, I started making calls to Singapore to find someone to meet my mom. The assistant principal was home and was more than happy to offer his help. Barely able to down soggy French fries, and a hamburger, I took off my new outfit so it might look halfway fresh in the morning. Our suitcases were who knows where.
The next day, there we were back at the LAX airport for the 12 p.m. flight. Could we get bumped to First Class after all we went through, we wondered? No! Any travel vouchers? No! Eventually, there we were once again flying over the Pacific eating the exact same food we ate the day before--same menu. The movie was also the same. Since I was wearing the same clothes, it felt like the same day, although this time we did make it all the way to Tokyo where we said goodbye to our Polish women friends who didn't have a clue about when or how they would meet up with the rest of their travel group to China. No one at United was helping them out.
There was my mother and the assistant principal waiting for us at the other side of customs in Singapore.
What was United's response to the letter I wrote as a complaint? We were each given a $200 voucher, good for any domestic full-fare price over the next year. These were totally not usable given that we were living in Singapore at the time.
The result of the fiasco has meant I haven't flown United since. Where the airline made its first mistake was not helping me contact my mother--particularly since those of us who flew back to L.A. were not enjoying a hotel in San Francisco with the other passengers and dinner at a reasonable hour. It was the least they could have done. Since that didn't happen, something else needed to have occurred to sooth our nerves. I can't imagine what the decision makers were thinking when they sent us back to L.A. and didn't bump us to First Class at least on the LA to Tokyo leg, even though there was room. These were two easy solutions that would have kept me coming back. Instead, my alliance switched to Northwest and I've never looked back.
The photo by Alan Light is a United Airlines flight in 1987. Things sure have changed.
Filed under: Business, Stories, Singapore, Airlines, Transportation, Airports
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jun 12th 2008 @ 2:27PM
nadine said...
its funny but reading about your experiences reminded me about why my husband and i never fly united. our two bad experiences happened around the same time as yours. something unhappy was happening with their corporate culture.
i tend to be very pro flight attendant. my mom flew for Delta and i know that they work very hard. but the flight attendants on United were a different matter...
instance one was when i was going thru chemo. i was flying with my fiance to be in a friend's wedding. the hustle and bustle of travelling combined with my ongoing treatment had made me a little queasy. i was also pretty weak at the time and bald as a bowling ball. (i.e. the lack of hair on my head, the missing eyebrows and missing eyelashes should have given away that this was a somewhat legitimate request.) i had asked if it was possible to get a glass of ginger ale to settle my stomach while the plane was boarding. i could see that first class passengers were being served drinks. if the flight attendant had said 'no, it's policy, i'll get in trouble', i would have been ok. But i was just told 'no' abruptly and when we asked if i could get a ginger ale at the beginning of
drink service we were rudely told that we'd have to wait our turn. Again, i understand that they couldn't cater to every whim, but getting a glass of ginger ale to a bald woman who was on the verge of vomiting didn't seem like too outrageous a request.
the second time came when we were flying from denver to dc. We were on the runway and a little old lady HAD to get to the bathroom. It was clearly a 'get to the bathroom, or soil the seat' moment. However we couldn't go airborne with someone in the toilet, so we were paused. At that moment, one of the flight attendants got on the PA and sneeringly announced that we WOULD have taken off, except that someone was in the bathroom and holding us up. That flight attendant saw the same hurried trip made by that old lady. i can't believe that the flight attendant would humiliate a passenger like that, especially b/c the alternative would have been a three hour flight smelling human excrement in the cabin.
after that, adios United. we'll pay substantially more to avoid united altogether.
Reply
Jun 12th 2008 @ 2:37PM
Jamie Rhein said...
Nadine,
You have my sympathies. How awful. And isn't ginger ale cheap?
Reply
Jun 12th 2008 @ 4:01PM
dave kenny said...
Yes, traveling is an adventure. I've been flying United since the late 1970's, and haven't flown any other airlines unless there is no other option. Such as on Chinese domestic flights, or no seats available on United, when I've had to resort to Delta, American, or worse. True, I've had a few mishaps with scheduling, but United has always made it up to me in spades. One time they gave me three free first class transPacific upgrades from economy. That alone was worth at least around $30,000 (check the ticket prices). And, although one of them had expired about two months before I could get to use it, the friendly United operator worked overtime to get an exception for me, and hence I got to use all three of the upgrades they gave me. (Which, btw, were for damage to one of my pieces of luggage that cost me around $250 - not too bad on the compensation department as the food in first class was worth more than that, and I arrived very refreshed after the 17 hour transpacific flights)
I've had one captain offer me free adult beverages when he heard about my customer loyalty (casually mentioned to a flight attendant, but accidentally overheard), upgraded meal selections when nothing on the regular menu conformed to my dietary restrictions (one time I got filet mignon from first class), and a host of other small favors that went well above the normal operational call of duty.
So, for all those out there who want to bash United, I'll just paraphrase what Samuel Clemens said once about an often disparaged minority group. "United Airlines is a member of the Airlines Industry. Worse than that I cannot add."
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Jun 12th 2008 @ 5:37PM
qq ol google eye said...
In 2002 we found out the airline lost our luggage ( 4 bags) and had the car towed from the long term parking and into
impound.295x7 days,at sfo impound. We paid by credit card.The wife found the car towed because someone else with some muscle (and money) wanted the last parking spot..
No ,it wasnt United but now a defunct airline.We lost at least $3 grand in personal items and the car.Was it fun.
Also I paid $1.50 for oj that I never got..
Now we are being billed per bag.wonder if we have to have a call the flight attendant charge?
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Jun 13th 2008 @ 10:36AM
Brenda said...
I must have good United Airlines karma or something. I fly them frequently, as they are the main carrier out of SFO, and honestly, I have always been treated very well by them. I hear and read complaints about them all the time, so maybe I've just been lucky, or maybe as I suspect, flying in general is often just a crapshoot with weather and ATC thrown in? And as much as I fly them, I've only encountered just a few unpleasant flight attendants and gate agents. I've encountered worst service on airlines that I don't fly on as much.
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Jun 14th 2008 @ 6:14AM
Janek said...
I've only flown with 3 airlines on transatlantic. First time was with BA on a trip to Chicago and back with the ticket being bought at the airport 30 minutes before check-in cutoff and I was happy with the service.
My only flight with United was last october on a flight from Warsaw via Frankfurt to Washington. I have to say I was very happy with the level of service from flight attendants. Seeing that I was a heavy-built 6'5" bloke wandering around the back of the plane due to leg cramps one of the FA's offered to bump me up to economy plus seating where I could finally stretch my legs a little. I also got something to drink every time I asked. I felt I got more than I was entitled to.
On the way back from the US I was flying from Charlotte to Frankfurt on a Lufthansa flight. I swear they had at least 4 additional rows of seating in the back of the plane and I felt like fish in a can.
I'm now in the process of planning my next trip to US and if I can find a United flight for a good price I will definitely buy a ticket with them.
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