"regrets" From Us Air
Mar 18, 2007, 7:57 pm
#1
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Join Date: Dec 2004
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Posts: 352
"regrets" From Us Air
My daughter was at CLT on Friday for hours and I finally got her out to ORD when US couldn't. (Actually, she never got closer than about 75 people from the head of the line.) Done and done. Then, she got an Email from a friend trapped at DCA. He's still there today, although managing with humor, as follows:
REGRETS, WE’VE HAD A FEW
We here at US Airways are aware that the measure of an organization is its ability to operate in trying circumstances. We also are aware that some of you are giving us unsatisfactory grades for our performance at Reagan National Airport during this week’s weather delays – grades as low as A-, perhaps even B+, though we choose to ignore the latter. Let us assure you that while we stand by the wonderful job done by the staff we had on hand to deal with the situation -- all six or so of them -- we do have a few regrets:
We regret that the weather caused us to delay, and then to cancel, several flights.
We regret that when an elderly lady asked "did you call my name," our customer service representative responded, "no, not unless your name is Stand Back," which customer Cadet found so funny that he laughed out loud, which caused passenger Middle-Aged-Brush-Cut-Hill-Staffer-Type to ask aggressively if passenger Cadet was laughing at his mother, which caused passenger Cadet to continue to laugh, which did not exactly smooth feelings. What we regret most about this was that we did not have it on video to post on YouTube.
We regret that many of you did not see the humor in our announcement that we were imminently boarding the Pittsburgh flight, followed a moment later by our announcement that no planes legally could leave from DCA. In comedy, timing is everything, and we regret that you lack receptive comedic timing.
We regret that we told you at approximately 5:00 that the FAA had grounded all flights out of DCA for the remainder of the day and night. We admit that we should have chosen a better story, since you could see flights leaving from other terminals and in fact we actually boarded and sent out a half-dozen flights throughout the afternoon and night. Believe us, if we could do it again, we would choose a better fiction, perhaps that most of the flights were being held because the terror threat level meter was on the fritz, or because the pilots were almost this close to passing the Breathalyzer, or perhaps because their flight numbers were unlucky.
We regret that we told everybody booked on a cancelled flight to get in the customer service line and stay there for rebooking. That line got long, didn’t it? Actually, we don’t regret this, because we had never before seen a line that went from the end of the terminal all the way to the security barrier, and now we have something to tell our children.
We regret that we had only two customer service reps at the customer service desk to handle rebooking for all of the several hundred stranded passengers. That is why, after many hours of waiting, you were told that you should leave the customer service line in the terminal and go to the ticketing lines outside the security area, where there were more agents working.
We regret that we didn’t tell you that "more agents" really meant "only two more agents" (for a total of four) at the ticketing desks and that there were three times as many people waiting for rebooking there. You must admit, that was kind of funny.
We regret that we told you to leave your places in line, find somewhere to sit, and call our 1-800 number, where you would get faster and more effective service. We regret this because hundreds of people in line immediately and vocally disagreed, informing you that almost all calls to that line got busy signals, and that almost all of the ones that got through were put on hold until the cell batteries died. We worked hard to get you to trust us, and we wish we hadn't wasted that trust on such inconsequential lies. We would prefer to spend that trust on bigger, more spectacular lies.
We also think it’s funny that Cingular and T-Mobile couldn’t handle the calls from DCA and basically shut down the service there after 5:00. This isn't technically a regret, but we really wanted to mention it.
We regret that one of our two working agents assisted a single passenger, known to those of you in the line as The Blonde, from 9:15 until at least 11:30. We don’t really know what was up there. Agree with us, though – there is something a little amazing about having a single agent to process hundreds of stranded passengers in a non-moving line. We believe that it qualifies as “zen,” though we’re not spiritual people.
We regret that at 11:00, we added a few agents. Frankly, it hadn’t occurred to us to do this until the police made us do it. As it turned out, it was really easy, and it made everything move a lot faster. Who knew? In any event, we regret that the police, having failed to be unsuccessful in brutally quelling your manufactured insurrection (which, we hasten to add, would have allowed us to go home to our families sooner), also failed to be unsuccessful in quelling our organic one.
We regret that although we typically eschew rules, we are compelled to follow one rule: everybody whose flight is cancelled is given a 1-800 number to call and a blue ticket called an “inconvenience ticket.” That ticket proves your inconvenience. We don’t think it was quite right for so many of you to laugh at this.
We regret that we ran out of inconvenience tickets. Those of you who did not get them were not inconvenienced, and we regret the inconvenience of our being unable to inconvenience you.
Sincerely,
US Airways.
REGRETS, WE’VE HAD A FEW
We here at US Airways are aware that the measure of an organization is its ability to operate in trying circumstances. We also are aware that some of you are giving us unsatisfactory grades for our performance at Reagan National Airport during this week’s weather delays – grades as low as A-, perhaps even B+, though we choose to ignore the latter. Let us assure you that while we stand by the wonderful job done by the staff we had on hand to deal with the situation -- all six or so of them -- we do have a few regrets:
We regret that the weather caused us to delay, and then to cancel, several flights.
We regret that when an elderly lady asked "did you call my name," our customer service representative responded, "no, not unless your name is Stand Back," which customer Cadet found so funny that he laughed out loud, which caused passenger Middle-Aged-Brush-Cut-Hill-Staffer-Type to ask aggressively if passenger Cadet was laughing at his mother, which caused passenger Cadet to continue to laugh, which did not exactly smooth feelings. What we regret most about this was that we did not have it on video to post on YouTube.
We regret that many of you did not see the humor in our announcement that we were imminently boarding the Pittsburgh flight, followed a moment later by our announcement that no planes legally could leave from DCA. In comedy, timing is everything, and we regret that you lack receptive comedic timing.
We regret that we told you at approximately 5:00 that the FAA had grounded all flights out of DCA for the remainder of the day and night. We admit that we should have chosen a better story, since you could see flights leaving from other terminals and in fact we actually boarded and sent out a half-dozen flights throughout the afternoon and night. Believe us, if we could do it again, we would choose a better fiction, perhaps that most of the flights were being held because the terror threat level meter was on the fritz, or because the pilots were almost this close to passing the Breathalyzer, or perhaps because their flight numbers were unlucky.
We regret that we told everybody booked on a cancelled flight to get in the customer service line and stay there for rebooking. That line got long, didn’t it? Actually, we don’t regret this, because we had never before seen a line that went from the end of the terminal all the way to the security barrier, and now we have something to tell our children.
We regret that we had only two customer service reps at the customer service desk to handle rebooking for all of the several hundred stranded passengers. That is why, after many hours of waiting, you were told that you should leave the customer service line in the terminal and go to the ticketing lines outside the security area, where there were more agents working.
We regret that we didn’t tell you that "more agents" really meant "only two more agents" (for a total of four) at the ticketing desks and that there were three times as many people waiting for rebooking there. You must admit, that was kind of funny.
We regret that we told you to leave your places in line, find somewhere to sit, and call our 1-800 number, where you would get faster and more effective service. We regret this because hundreds of people in line immediately and vocally disagreed, informing you that almost all calls to that line got busy signals, and that almost all of the ones that got through were put on hold until the cell batteries died. We worked hard to get you to trust us, and we wish we hadn't wasted that trust on such inconsequential lies. We would prefer to spend that trust on bigger, more spectacular lies.
We also think it’s funny that Cingular and T-Mobile couldn’t handle the calls from DCA and basically shut down the service there after 5:00. This isn't technically a regret, but we really wanted to mention it.
We regret that one of our two working agents assisted a single passenger, known to those of you in the line as The Blonde, from 9:15 until at least 11:30. We don’t really know what was up there. Agree with us, though – there is something a little amazing about having a single agent to process hundreds of stranded passengers in a non-moving line. We believe that it qualifies as “zen,” though we’re not spiritual people.
We regret that at 11:00, we added a few agents. Frankly, it hadn’t occurred to us to do this until the police made us do it. As it turned out, it was really easy, and it made everything move a lot faster. Who knew? In any event, we regret that the police, having failed to be unsuccessful in brutally quelling your manufactured insurrection (which, we hasten to add, would have allowed us to go home to our families sooner), also failed to be unsuccessful in quelling our organic one.
We regret that although we typically eschew rules, we are compelled to follow one rule: everybody whose flight is cancelled is given a 1-800 number to call and a blue ticket called an “inconvenience ticket.” That ticket proves your inconvenience. We don’t think it was quite right for so many of you to laugh at this.
We regret that we ran out of inconvenience tickets. Those of you who did not get them were not inconvenienced, and we regret the inconvenience of our being unable to inconvenience you.
Sincerely,
US Airways.
Mar 18, 2007, 8:03 pm
#2
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: LYH
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Posts: 95
That is pretty funny. A very creative writer.
Mar 18, 2007, 8:13 pm
#3
Moderator: American AAdvantage & Marriott Bonvoy
Join Date: Oct 2002
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Posts: 8,116
How sad. (Well written, and sometimes funny, but overall sad. Thanks for sharing it!)
Weather happens. No denying that. It happens to all of the airlines. But it is in situations like this weekend that companies prove what they're made of.
As much as I truly hate to say it, it is situations like this weekend (or last weekend, or the weekend before that) that I hope I'm flying someone else.
Weather happens. No denying that. It happens to all of the airlines. But it is in situations like this weekend that companies prove what they're made of.
As much as I truly hate to say it, it is situations like this weekend (or last weekend, or the weekend before that) that I hope I'm flying someone else.
Mar 18, 2007, 8:48 pm
#4
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Programs: US Chairmans, Air Tran Elite, NWA Silver, HH Diamond, Starwood Gold, Marriott Silver, IHG Gold
Posts: 394
How sad. (Well written, and sometimes funny, but overall sad. Thanks for sharing it!)
Weather happens. No denying that. It happens to all of the airlines. But it is in situations like this weekend that companies prove what they're made of.
As much as I truly hate to say it, it is situations like this weekend (or last weekend, or the weekend before that) that I hope I'm flying someone else.
Weather happens. No denying that. It happens to all of the airlines. But it is in situations like this weekend that companies prove what they're made of.
As much as I truly hate to say it, it is situations like this weekend (or last weekend, or the weekend before that) that I hope I'm flying someone else.
Mar 18, 2007, 8:57 pm
#5
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: High Point, NC
Programs: None
Posts: 9,171
US mainline 30% OT departures/4% of flights canceled
- East mainline 12%/5%
CO mainline 57%/2%
DL mainline 80%/.2%
AA mainline 75%/.3%
NW mainline 79%/.9%
WN 85%/.1%
B6 46%/.5%
NOTE: EWR (CO) has had an ATC ground delay program in effect since 13:20 this afternoon and CO instituted a ground stop of their aircraft between 18:30 and 20:00. General GDP continues.
NOTE 2: JFK (DL & B6) instituted a GDP at 13:38 which ended at 19:20
NOTE 3: PHL hasn't had any ATC delay programs today
So every other airline is having the same problems.....
Jim
Mar 18, 2007, 9:02 pm
#6
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Posts: 394
Day 2 of the "recovery, and how's US doing.....
US mainline 30% OT departures/4% of flights canceled
- East mainline 12%/5%
CO mainline 57%/2%
DL mainline 80%/.2%
AA mainline 75%/.3%
NW mainline 79%/.9%
WN 85%/.1%
B6 46%/.5%
NOTE: EWR (CO) has had an ATC ground delay program in effect since 13:20 this afternoon and CO instituted a ground stop of their aircraft between 18:30 and 20:00. General GDP continues.
NOTE 2: JFK (DL & B6) instituted a GDP at 13:38 which ended at 19:20
NOTE 3: PHL hasn't had any ATC delay programs today
So every other airline is having the same problems.....
Jim
US mainline 30% OT departures/4% of flights canceled
- East mainline 12%/5%
CO mainline 57%/2%
DL mainline 80%/.2%
AA mainline 75%/.3%
NW mainline 79%/.9%
WN 85%/.1%
B6 46%/.5%
NOTE: EWR (CO) has had an ATC ground delay program in effect since 13:20 this afternoon and CO instituted a ground stop of their aircraft between 18:30 and 20:00. General GDP continues.
NOTE 2: JFK (DL & B6) instituted a GDP at 13:38 which ended at 19:20
NOTE 3: PHL hasn't had any ATC delay programs today
So every other airline is having the same problems.....
Jim
Thanks for the supporting info. Does EWR ever have a day without a ground delay or ground stop??
Mar 18, 2007, 9:05 pm
#7
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Jim
Mar 18, 2007, 9:07 pm
#8
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Mar 18, 2007, 9:08 pm
#9
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Ok, so US is in the last spot. But it also shows that not only US is having problems. Thats been my point I've been trying to make in my posts, that US is not the only airline with problems as so many of you have tried to make it seem.
Mar 18, 2007, 9:17 pm
#10
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: High Point, NC
Programs: None
Posts: 9,171
And some disregard the degree of the problem, making it seem every airline is the same.....
Jim
Jim
Mar 18, 2007, 9:22 pm
#11
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: PIT/DFW/MEL; AA Exec. Platinum & 4MM, QF WP
Posts: 7,689
US is definitely the only airline with so many self-inflicted problems. they're not just last, they're in a sub-basement of performance all their own.
Mar 18, 2007, 9:25 pm
#12
Moderator: American AAdvantage & Marriott Bonvoy
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I really don't care what spot they are in. That's not my point. Go back and read the original post. Go back and read my post. The point is, once the weather happens, once all hell breaks loose, what's the recovery? It's the runaround. It's the busy signals. It's the 2 agents to serve 5,000 people. It's the complete inability to react when anything goes wrong. That's the issue.
Mar 18, 2007, 9:59 pm
#13
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I had myself and three co-workers leave SJU on Friday. Three of us were on US, one on DL.
The one on DL was delayed in SJU, but eventually made it to AVL, basically on-time (though he had to run thru ATL to do it).
I made it to AVL. Eventually. After some quality time in CLT.
One is still trying to get out of SJU, since US continued to insist upon routing him online when there are no available seats ex-SJU. A call to our corporate travel people finally solved that (along with forcing the refund out of US).
One is still in BOS trying to get to PIT because he made the mistake of getting on the BOS bound flight on Friday.
So, 1/3 on US made it, and the one was delayed rather heavily. 1/1 made it on another carrier. 2/3 on US are not yet where they were trying to get on Friday.
Mar 18, 2007, 10:02 pm
#14
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Kendall
Mar 18, 2007, 10:15 pm
#15
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: ZRH
Posts: 659
Hilarious. I have already copied, pasted, and forwarded this to some friends who were affected this weekend, along with some of the ever-growing crowd of business associates who refuse (as CLT-based, >50% travel-required types) to ever even approach a US aircraft, much less get on one. How sad.
My condolences to all those affected this weekend.
My condolences to all those affected this weekend.