Originally Posted by danielonn

I have a 6:30 AM flight from SJC this Wednesday and on more than one occasion I have taken an early flight from SJC and am waiting in line at 4:50ish for the counters to open.

5 AM rolls around and I see the agents drinking their coffee and going to the back and barely has the computers up and running. The time which bags needs to be dropped off by is 90 minutes before the flight. I think Southwest should open their counters at 4:30 AM just like Alaska as sometimes the lines get long both at the counters and through security.

How come do I see these agents drink coffee at 5 AM and when I tell them they should be open now as per their website they roll their eyes and say it will be just a minute. Well that minute turns into 5:05-5:10.

They very well know there are 6:30 AM flights that need to be checked in especially with families taking their entire kitchen sink.

If this were my business they would be fired if I saw my staff not open when the stated hours are.

If this happened once then fine but two and three times man there needs to be better management.

It just so happens the 6:30 AM flight is the one with a one stop no plane change which I prefer and gets me to Albuquerque at 10:55 AM vs 2:00 PM.

I have called into the Customer Service Line at 5:00 AM and told them the counters were not open and a line is forming. Their response was the desks must be open at 5. To which I responded then someone better call down to the Station Manager and get things rolling. There were no computer outages nada. I do my part to arrive at 4:50 so why can't they do their part and begin to get the computers online at 4:45 AM? and test to be sure everything is working.

Even the kiosks were not up at 5 AM it said"Closed Please See Agent". Don't they have a timestamp as to when they open and close. I sen them a Tweet to tell them that they should be strict about opening on time unless there is a true problem with the computer.

But no I hear the agents laughing and taking their time or just too tired to see that there is a line and they need to be open at 5 on the nose. Well if you don't want to work early mornings then find another job. Alaska Airlines is already open and their passengers are lining up at security so why can't Southwest open at 4:30 AM so people have time to get a coffee and breakfast.

Have other FTers seen this mess at SJC with the late opening of the counters? Other people in line have commented. I have even in a nice way said"Rise and Shine Get the Computers Online cause its Checkin Time" and still no response.

What would you do in this situation? I mean I have not missed one flight yet but that is saying I may not. Those 15 minutes that I could have been through security and in the lounge or getting breakfast is worth money to me. I arrive early so I can be one of the first to check in. Once I even arrived at 4:40 and was one of the first in line.

Curbside is no help as there is a long line and they are not even open then.