horrible experience with GA in TPA airport
 

i was flying with my wife and 3 kids on a european vacation on wed 6/5. i purchased a travel package on travelocity that included tickets (one infant) and hotel. at check in (2 hrs prior) there was a huge issue where they couldn't get the infant ticket to work or something so check in took 1.5 hrs. we literally ran to the gate to catch our flight to CLT. we were the last ones there. the GA said all the overhead bins are full and that we would have to gate check our one roller bag. no problem. however he said we have to gate check it in to our final destination (MAD). i told him that was unacceptable since we had baby stuff on there that we needed for our layover and extra outfits for the kids. i had a feeling that our luggage wasn't going to make it since we checked in so close to departure (and sure enough 2 out of 3 bags arrived 3 days into our trip).

i told him to please simply gate check it to CLT. he insisted that he only does that for FC passengers. i couldnt believe it. i told him that he's wrong, that i've personally had this happen where the overhead space fills up and they simply gate check to your next destination. he got extremely rude and told me my only option was to check my carry on to MAD or to wait for the next flight (which would mean missing the only CLT to MAD flight). i asked for a manager and he said "i'm not going to delay all these people for you to ask something that i already told you". i insisted he call the manager, once he did she was there in 2 mins.

once she got there he rudely turned his back on me and told her "these people want to gate check their bag to CLT but i told them we only do that for FC passengers and he wont believe me". she immediately said "i have no problem with that" and grabbed my bag and gate checked it to CLT. i swear if i didnt think he would pull me off the flight i would have told him to go f*ck himself.

now this isnt' my first bad experience with AA gate agents... is this becoming normal? i'm still extremely pissed off. we had baby formula, clothes, diapers, etc on our ONLY carry on for a family of 5 on an international trip... had the manager not arrived and approved it i would havanyways just ranting since i'm still pissed; i wish i had gotten his name; but in all the rush i forgot..

Ok? So you got what you wanted? They gate-checked the bag to CLT.

Guess I'm not understanding what you're asking in this post and I'm no AApologist by any stretch.

GAs can be rude/hateful, but if it ends up with what you asked for, what does it matter? Move on with your life and enjoy the vacation. There are plenty of other things worth getting worked up over in life.

No excuse for the lack of common sense or attitude, but it's well established around these parts that the top priority at AA is D0 - meaning the plane leaves at the departure time and no later. That GA is probably under a crazy amount of pressure and calculated valet checking would cause a delay - the manager, not as concerned as I presume they have some leeway to use common sense.

Doesn't solve the rudeness, but might explain the reasoning.

A company has to try really hard at consistently providing crap customer service over a long period of time to get people as accepting of bad behavior as you clearly are. That GA should, and in a normal company would, be out on their arse and never employed by anyone for any position that involves interaction with customers. That the manager, which I'm actually surprised the GA called, made things right doesn't make it OK.

OP I would write in a complaint, most likely nothing will actually happen since its near impossible to get fired from a US airline, but still worth reporting.

I guess we've all fallen victim to Stockholm Syndrome. As an outsider yes, AA's customer service both on the front lines and in support is quite mediocre at best. We do tend to blame the victim. I will say that I try to take as much outside influence out of the equation when traveling as I can. If there are loose ends I leave time to deal with them ahead of time. I stow my bags under my seat (a family of 5 with 4 seats should've had ample space to store all of their bags under the seats). I buy my own food/snacks and beverages prior to boarding. I don't rely on the wifi or IFE. I only expect to get from A>B with my luggage meeting me on the other side. I guess it's rather sad that an Ex Plat requires so little out of their carrier of choice. I'm rarely disappointed, though.

Serious question... if there was a problem with the Infant ticket isn't it likely (or at least quite possible) that Travelocity screwed it up? OTA's are not known for always getting things right...and Infant tickets seem to be a common stumbling block from what Ive read over the years here on FT....

Anger seems appropriate...Im just wondering if not all of it is being sent in the right direction.....

No, it is not official policy. The GA made up his own rules on this with regards to first class passengers.

The policy is that no US carrier "short checks" anymore. It's simply not allowed.

It's different with regional jets and pink tags - I'm speaking of when a white luggage tag is printed.

If you were there last and there was no space, the bag is to be gate checked. To your final destination (not an intermediate connecting point). Period.

The Manager clearly made an exception in the interest of calming the tension and to get the flight out. Also because she probably rationalized that you weren't hidden-citying to CLT with a roundtrip to Europe and a family in tow.

By the way, the worst line to use is "But they did it for me before!" They hate hearing that (without a supporting policy or clear detail stating why)

Right. Short checking isn't allowed for any passenger regardless of class of service.

Actually, I think the policy is valet only for first class and no short check period. I don't think the GA made up any rule, they just refused to take the initiative to waive it.

AA Agent was at fault.

They could have graciously offered to check with their supervisor. And not been pricks first and then are over-ridden by their supervisor.

The delay/booking issue was contributory to the situation, but in the end the GA actions sucked

Regardless of how a bag is checked - the POLICY is that short checking is absolutely not allowed. Period.

There is no guarantee your bag is coming on board. You were forced because you were late and there wasn't space.

It's not a question of what you want - its a question of what's operationally necessary.

And it's not stupid, it's actually quite smart; the only people who would want to short check would be violating the airline's CoC. Otherwise, it would be really stupid to force a connecting passenger to leave airside during a connection, just to wait for a retrieve a bag - potentially causing them to miss their connection.

That just isn't how things works. This policy actually makes sense, and the policy wasn't on your side. You were late and it wasn't AA's fault; you said your ticket had problems, and when that happens, you're just lucky to get a seat on the plane, forget about your bags.