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United just can't win with Canadian singer

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) on Oct 30th 2009 at 10:00AM

Canadian singer-songwriter Dave Carroll flew United again, and it just didn't work out. Carroll made the headlines when he released a YouTube video explaining his experience with United, which broke his guitar when he changed planes at Chicago's O'Hare airport.

In his first song, Carroll said he wouldn't rule out flying United again, specifically, "To save the world, I probably would ... but that won't likely happen." Well, he did fly United again, simply because he needed a direct flight from Nova Scotia to Denver, and United had the only one available. This time, United didn't break his guitar, but it did lose his luggage.

When he arrived at Denver International Airport, Carroll learned that his luggage was delayed, and the United employees on hand told him to wait for it. Meanwhile, an airport official told him to leave the baggage claim area. Eventually he yielded -- a smart move, since his luggage didn't arrive until Wednesday. And, yet again, United is in the position of having to investigate a problem associated with quite possibly the nicest wronged customer in the history of the travel business.

Following his original debacle with United, Carroll said he'd create three videos for YouTube. He's created two so far, in addition to a statement explaining the situation with United and urging people not to be so hard on Ms. Irlweg. All three have been viewed a total of nearly 7 million times.

United has promised to take steps to improve customer service, but this seems to be slow-moving, as evidenced by Carroll's recent situation. To make matters worse, the word from United's vice president of customer contact centers, Barbara Higgins, said in an interview with Christopher Elliott, "Our agents are empowered to escalate serious concerns that they hear from our guests. We have since provided them with a better way to do that to ensure we can be more responsive to special situations that arise, while also protecting us from the fraud that we see."

"Empowered to escalate" -- that doesn't strike me as terribly empowered.

The lack of movement on the issue seems clear in Carroll's Denver debacle. He had finished the lyrics for the third song before taking this trip. "They lyrics that I used sort of encompass what happened here this week so I might not have to rewrite it after all," he told CBC. That's a sad statement, when you think about it. He was writing about a problem that happened over a year ago, and recent events don't call for revision.

So much for progress ...

Ironically, Carroll was flying to Denver to give a speech at RightNow Technologies, a company that develops customer service software. Maybe United will schedule a demo soon.

Gallery: Ten pilots you don't want in your cockpit

Gallery: The best from the weird and wacky world of tourist complaints

[Photo by cliff1066 via Flickr]

Filed under: North America, Canada, United States, Airlines, News

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Reader Comments (Page 4 of 4)

Rich Oct 30th 2009 11:49PM

Good luck with UAL, my daughter was stranded two days after a reroute, then her and my grandsons luggage was lost for 4 months. After numerous heated arguments with UAL I had my lawyer write a letter. The luggage was found in Texas, she flew from San Diego to Minneapolis to RI. The people at UAL never apoligized nor offered any compensation for all the replacement clothes we had to buy so we could enjoy the Xmas vacation. I have flown many other airlines and have never experienced the rude attitudes like those of UAL. We have avoided the airline ever since. That was the second incident, the first was my grandson being rerouted to DC, I had to wire money for a room and food, this was because UAL had overbooked the flight! Never have flown them again.

stephanie Oct 31st 2009 12:16AM

Sounds like your grandson fed you a bogus story and got free money from you. Every airline is required by the Department of Transportion to offer specific compensation if a passenger is denied boarding due to overbooking. That includes a hotel and meal voucher if the next available flight isn't until the next day.

CD Oct 31st 2009 7:14PM

Empowered to escalate - How 'bout empowered to solve? Neat concept. Customer service RIP.

Kathie Oct 31st 2009 12:27AM

You know you people surprise me. Those of you that think Southwest is so great why do you fly on other carriers, why not stay on Southwest. Those of you that have lost luggage, think about how many pieces of luggage is sent through the skies on a daily basis and then you might realize that a piece here and there really isn't that big of a deal and all the airlines do a pretty darn good job. United Airlines has never had an engine fall off on the taxi way, If a passengers takes the wrong bag at the baggage carousel, it is that passengers responsibility to get the bag back to the airport and then the bag is delivered to the correct passenger period. As for damage, wheels, handles, outside pockets and all the whistles and tricks that are on suitcases today are not covered for damage. A suitcase is suppose to carry clothes and as long as that can still be done and the clothes protected then the bag is still good. Also, if your bag does get damaged, please don't try to tell the baggage service agent that the bag was brand new and that it cost 200.00. If it was brand new and it did cost 200.00 you spent far too much money on a suitcase. If there is a delay and the aircraft sits on the runway for any length of time, the Captain always comes on and tells you what is going on. It might be a creeping delay where they are not sure how long it is going to be, so a short delay can turn into a long one, but they always tell you what is going on. You get what you pay for ladies and gentlemen.....if you want to pay 49.00 for an airline ticket, then your are going to get 49.00 worth of service for it. I personally think, it would be a fantastic idea for the airlines to completely shut down for the holidays and if you need to get someplace for the holidays, then perhaps a covered wagon will get you where you need to be only take a little while to get you there. Or maybe, even maybe if they did shut down for the holidays, people would truly appreciate them where they are operating and getting you where you need to go safely. One last thing, those of you and you know who you are that check your car keys, house keys, and medicine in your bags deserve to have them lost. Why would you check those things, do you not have pockets or a purse to carry them in? That is like locking your car keys in the trunk for safe keeping.
Have a wonderful year and I hope all your plane travels are pleasant, on time and arrive safely.

jacoad Oct 31st 2009 2:30AM

you go Katie

GdMstLvIdts Oct 31st 2009 12:56AM

So not surprising. I haven't flown United in 10 years because they are so awful.

gardinermob Oct 31st 2009 12:58AM

I'll never fly Eastern or TWA again ! Their owners SUCKED !

Stephanie Oct 31st 2009 1:26AM

I'm with you! Ditto for Freddie Laker and Pan Am! I've been thinking I may never fly them again either! How about all you people on this site who seem to have so much flying experience? What do you think about Freddie Laker, Pan Am, TWA and Eastern Airlines? Anyone had any recent problems with them? I'm thinking that maybe I'll try them again. It's been awhile.

Debbie Oct 31st 2009 1:43AM

This can happen with any airline, isn't safety your number one priority ?

I am happy that they are concerned more about the way the planes fly than all the complaints .

stpruit Oct 31st 2009 1:54AM

after a bad expierence with a very rude flight attendent on a flight returning from hawaii 8 years ago i decided to give united another try. again a mistake in judgement !!!! i had 2 layovers and made it to my destination. when confirming my return flight imagine my surprise to find my reservation canceled,. united told me they had no record that i had used my 2nd leg flight. i assured them that i had and was indeed where i was booked to be. they offered me a solution, provide them proof by the bar code numbers on my boarding pass. now really, who keeps old boarding passes three weeks old. ( i do now) after an hour of wrangeling with a rep. and several supervisors from some place out of the continental united states i was assured all was well. you got it, when i checked in at the airport the next day no record could be found. i got home 16 hours later via another carrier with the firm resolve that united airlines will never see another dollar from me even if i have to travel across country by stagecoach !!!!!

elle Oct 31st 2009 11:29AM

Clearly AOL has a beef with United Airlines since it always seems to me they always go way over the line to highlight their goofs. They sure did a stealth job not highlighting the fact that Delta recently landed on the wrong runway and, thankfully, no outbound flights were lined up for takeoff yet. Kinda makes one wonder why AOL thinks that the baggage problem is more press worthy than a huge safety goof. Hhhmmmm....?

Kim Oct 31st 2009 1:53AM

United will never be great, unless they start treating thier employees better. You cannot have great customer service when your pension has been hacked, they cut your pay at every turn. I would change the name to Disgruntled Airlines. To have a happy company you need happy employees.

Cassandra Oct 31st 2009 10:53AM

It sounds like if you quit your job, United will be well on its way to having happier employees.

Gene Oct 31st 2009 2:44AM

I had flown with United for many years, and then I did not fly for a little more than a year.
And I had approximately 100,000 frequent flyer miles. I was fairly stoked about using the miles for a family vacation this summer. So when I went to use them, they told me they took them away 8 months earlier,and that they attempted to contact me about losing the miles. All I can say is it was a very dirtly deal, I purposely went out of my way in arranging flights with Unitited and being loyal to them in everyway, so that I could get the miles benefit.
Then they hit me with the news, "Oh sorry sir, those expired in August, didn't you get the email".

United is a very poorly run company, in comparison. So for the future, I will go out of my way now to fly everything but United. They are history for me.

Cassandra Oct 31st 2009 10:59AM

Why on earth is it United's fault that you don't read your frequent flyer statements? If you weren't receiving the statements, wouldn't you figure that out after 8 months went by with no statement? Do you need someone to tell you when it's time to go potty, too? Most airline frequent flyer miles don't sit in an account forever. Please grow up, people. Take some responsibility for your own stupidity and stop blaming United and all the other airlines.