On Wednesday April 5th, I delivered a presentation on Retail Branch Transformation at a New York Bankers conference in Syracuse, NY. Everything went great, there was a big crowd and the presentation was well received. Then it’s back to the airport to fly back to Tallahassee and a drive back to Valdosta, where I was scheduled to speak at a Chamber of Commerce event the following morning. Problem was, there was a huge storm parked over Atlanta and that was my waypoint between SYR and TLH (isn’t ATL the waypoint for every flight??).
So, I expected that there would be some delays and sure enough, my 5:00 flight was delayed four times, with the final time being listed as leaving about 11:45 p.m.
As it turned out, if I made that flight, I would have still been able to connect to my Tallahassee flight as it was delayed until 3:00 a.m. Setting aside that I would only get a couple of hours of sleep, I would at least make it back to speak in time.
Only my 11:45 p.m. flight from SYR got canceled. Hey, it happens and while the airlines can anticipate and remediate many problems, they are stuck with whatever weather shows up. And this was a particularly bad storm. As an experienced flyer, I immediately called the Delta hotline specifically set up to assist premium flyers. No luck, all lines were busy. I kept calling and eventually got a recording that said that Delta would call me back in 3.5 hours. Hmm, not very helpful. So, since I was still at the airport, I went to the main check-in area for Delta and was able to talk with a representative right away. After checking the computer, I was informed that the earliest I could get a flight out was two days later and even that was a late night flight that would arrive in TAL early Saturday morning. Very unacceptable.
So, I walked down to the American counter and booked a flight to TAL via Charlotte for the next morning. $600 out of my pocket and I would miss my speaking engagement in Valdosta, but I would get to be with my family who were over at Alligator Point on the Florida gulf coast enjoying fun in the sun.
Delta comped me a room at a local hotel (they didn’t have to do that …) and I was writing an email to the meeting planner explaining my absence for the next day when I got my call back from Delta. They said they were able to get me on the evening flight the next day. Hmmm, I already had paid for a flight on American for the next morning. I briefly considered canceling my AA flight and taking the Delta ($600 back in my pocket) but a) I would have missed another day and a half with my family (definitely worth more than $600) and b) I was not that confident in Delta coming through with that flight.
I spent a couple of hours trying to get Delta on the phone to cancel my return, but could never get through. I also attempted to cancel online, but after entering what seemed to be a significant amount of information, I was informed that I couldn’t cancel online; I needed to call. Bad customer experience. So, I attempted to send a “contact us” message, but it wouldn’t even allow me to complete that form. It seemed as if the storm had obliterated all of the ways I normally contact Delta. Terrible customer experience!
The next morning I flew home and was on the beach fishing when I got a call from a speaker friend who had spoken at NY Bankers on Wednesday to tell me that her flight was canceled. Not delayed, canceled. And the later flight, canceled. That was the one I was supposed to be on. She had been unable to get a rebooked flight for three days and elected to rent a car and drive from Syracuse NY to Ashville NC. Crazy!
For several days afterwards, I attempted to call Delta, but could never get through. Finally, five days later, I called and got through, explained my situation and with no hesitation and very efficiently, a Delta customer service rep was able to retroactively cancel my ticket so I could reuse the amount for a future trip with no penalty. Excellent customer experience! That is what I wanted to do and it muted the negative aspects of the problems experienced the week before.
I have said many times that the airlines do an amazing job given all of the variables they have to deal with, many of which are out of their control. I get it that bad weather causes a domino effect that can create a death spiral for travelers, but this event re-cements several traveling truths for me: 1) when problems occur and you are inconvenienced, be extra kind and understanding to all airline personnel. I have never seen someone acting like an ass get any special treatment, 2) don’t wait in a long line waiting for help. Have multiple numbers to call or move to a location where there is help without a line, there is almost always this option if you seek it out, 3) make your requests succinct and reasonable. Be professional and firm but understanding.
In my case, I didn’t demand a complimentary room in Syracuse; I merely asked if one was available. I didn’t demand a full refund, but only for the portion of the ticket I didn’t get to use. You get the idea.
I live in Georgia and it would be extremely difficult for me to regularly patronize an airline other than Delta. I would hope that this event would help them see that their backup plans for customer support are woefully inadequate. I have no insight into the decisions that went into canceling flights and arranging for passengers to get to their destinations. I would hope that they were Grounded ones; this event certainly called for great decision-making in a crisis.
Delta sent me three emails asking me if I would still recommend Delta even after they had canceled my flights. Perhaps a better survey would have been to understand how I had been inconvenienced and ask if I had suggestions on how Delta could improve in a similar future situation. But, I will take my partial refund and be happy with that, with the full knowledge that until we can have Star Trek teleportation, the airlines are what we have to get us safely from here to there in a reasonable amount of time. And that Delta gets it done better than most. Happy flying!