Quick background...
My mother was flying by herself TPE-HNL-PDX on Hawaiian, not DL, since DL was charging $500 more for a roundtrip. My father and I decided to buy her a DL SkyClub 1-Day pass, allowing her some rest during her 5-hour layover in HNL. Normally we get in through my dad's GM status on an int'l itinerary.
Bought the pass on 1/1 with my AMEX Platinum. No access to a printer, so I "printed" the pass, but saved it as a PDF through the print function and my mom printed it out the next day. Note: the PDF pass is identical to the printed one. Also saved the receipt and confirmation just in case. I specifically did not put my name on the pass so my mother could use it.
Mom lands in HNL, goes to the SkyClub with the pass in hand, dragons are confused... They said "This looks like a photocopy," but my mom explained that I had bought it for her for that purpose and they let her in while they checked on it.
Mom is settled in the SkyClub, and then an agent comes back and
asks her to leave, because she "doesn't have the original pass." She's quite embarrassed, and calls me to ask me what went wrong. I'm not sure either, because the pass
is original, with barcode, value, date purchased, expiration date, and all. I forward her the receipt and confirmation--agents check on it and deny access once again. Mother is now embarrassed beyond belief and sobbing in the concourse.
I hop on the phone with Customer Care with a (
very sweet) lady (with a British-accent!) and she investigates, and after ~25 minutes can't understand why they won't let her in.
I asked for a supervisor, who also verified the pass had not been used, its purchase date, etc. She couldn't figure out why HNL wouldn't let my mother in. She did not know what else to do, given "you have followed all the procedures and guidelines we have outlined... I don't know what's wrong and I'm terribly sorry.
I guess we can't honor our own 1-Day SkyClub passes." She offered me a refund of the $50 and 4,000 SkyPesos, which I accepted. She also gave me the direct line of the HNL SkyClub.
Called HNL SkyClub and spoke with their supervisor Anna, who was also sweet, and explained the situation. She said that my mother "didn't have an original," and even with the receipt and confirmation, they couldn't "scan" the barcode. They wouldn't accept the paper pass, and weren't able to scan the code on her iPhone either. They also refused to print out the receipt/confirmation to try scanning that barcode, saying "we don't have the technology to do that, unfortunately."
I confirmed the details of the pass and the incident, and she apologized profusely and asked if my mother would like to come back; she could guest my mother in, saying that she had nothing to be embarrassed of... Unfortunately my mother was already at her HA gate and boarding started in 30 minutes, and she told me she never wanted to return to the HNL SC ever again anyways. I declined the offer and said thank you. She also offered to guest our family in next time we are in HNL, though I will have to wait and see if that happens.
Long story short, the 1 agent and the supervisor at Customer Care and the supervisor at HNL SC were SO nice and understanding... But NOBODY addressed why the pass couldn't work--NOBODY knew why!
The only thing that really bothers me is how embarrassed my mother was (to the point of tears) after they asked her to leave the SkyClub. She doesn't drink, doesn't fancy SkyClub snacks; she just wanted to rest a little after a 10 hour flight, prepping for another 6 hour flight. It's a sad day that $50 won't get you that either.
What do you guys think? Thoughts...? I was so frustrated beyond belief at Delta--treating my mother like that. Then again, maybe I'm biased because it's my mother.
Any advice for next time? I guess SkyClub passes don't work how they should. Disappointing and embarrassing.
EDIT:
Here is the original pass... I took a screenshot of the PDF and then invalidated it for obvious reasons. As you can see.. the pass DL generated has a clear barcode and expiration date, but the Terms and Conditions are kinda fuzzy, even though I used their own "print" function...
