Originally Posted by keeton

I, too, have been notified by e-mail and phone when there was a delay in my flight and I, too, have found that the acutal departure was nowhere near what the estimate was in the automated message(s).

The moral of the story is: Be vigilant and be proactive. This is an IROP situation and things can (and probably will) change before the ultimate departure.

Relying on others to watch your situation for you (e.g. club attendants or an updated phone call) is naive. If you feel that you must leave the gate, always keep an eye on the monitors or use your smartphone to watch the status on delta.com and check every few minutes. This is a lesson learned from experience.