I will be randomly invited to pre-order meals for my flights/itineraries, with a few flights offering the ability to order beforehand, but most not.

Today was one of those days that I did not have that option.

So even though it is a 7 hour journey on a paid F ticket and the food choices and quality have been abysmal of late, imagine my surprise when the purser told me that they had no food options for me because I didn't order anything beforehand.

I told him I was not given the option to pre order for this flight, but he retorted that his app shows other passengers did make a pre-order. And because catering only loads what's pre-ordered, I would be left meal-less for my journey.

Added bonus: my window shade is missing, so I have a lovely glare of the sun to stare at on my sometimes working, sometimes not working IFE.

This is the first time as a passenger I haven't been able to have any food. And considering I'm GS, I'm surprised the crew wasn't more proactive in remedying the situation with some creativity.

I would generally rate all of my experiences on UA as poor this year, but this flight takes the cake. Quite literally.