darthlemsip

Oh, and I've done two for the same trip recently. Going out to Singapore in September with QR, partly for work and, as Mrs Lem decided she wanted to go there, partly for holiday (hence going with QR as they were half the price of SQ or BA in J)

First mistake: Both of us really want to go to the Singapore F1 GP. So what I should have done is check when it was on, that way I don't unknowingly book flights home that depart on the morning of the race...

Second mistake. Due to the odities of our expenses system at work, there is currently no way to book flights for two people and charge only one person to expenses - so we're on two seperate bookings. I wasn't paying complete attention when I booked them, thus we're not actually on the same flight fom DOH-SIN. Still, at least it's me that has to suffer the 8 hour layover and not her. I may pony up the Ł200 to change that

NWIFlyer

Stupidity? Getting on the same flight as someone with little or no experience of flying, let alone HBO. Leaving looks out of it, I could well have appeared like George Clooney when he's forced to travel with an inexperienced female colleague in 'Up in the Air'.

Travelling with a work colleague to BUD via FRA (with LH).

I managed to persuade him that he didn't need to check a bag for a three-day visit - all good.

I took him through, what I thought to be fairly thoroughly, what he could and couldn't carry in his hand baggage - specifically not to exceed 100ml of liquid, and to have them in a separate bag. I even got a nod of understanding. Great, we're on course for a smooth ride through the airport and some time in the lounge to relax ...

So, I'm through T1 security quickly, only to turn round at the sound of a small commotion behind me, and my colleague's bag being hauled off to secondary. A 15-minute wait, following by a search, and eventually they uncover a 250ml can of deodorant - with his protestations of "how was I supposed to know?" not exactly helping my mood. 20 minutes after first reaching the belt, we're through stage 1.

We get there successfully, but on the way back he decides he needs to buy a gift for his partner as recompense for being away for all of three days. Unfortunately, it has to be a very specific type of perfume. We waste heaven knows how long trawling through the shops at BUD, only to discover no-one sells it there. On to FRA, where fortunately he manages to find what he wants, but then gets in the world's most inefficient check-out queue which moves at something a little slower than a sedentary snail. We lose about 45 minutes all told.

To be fair to him, he had grasped the concept of free alcohol by the time we left the Senator lounge in FRA on the way back, so perhaps there's some hope if there's a next time ...

Schultzois

I've certainly had some "Stupid Customer" moments.
I can't relate them, though, as I have rather little control over how my brain (or, more precisely, my ego) handles such situations, which is generally to move on and promptly forget all about them.
The benefit of this is that it saves my very active brain/ego from continuing to beat myself up over something that's already passed and was really not that big a deal.
The disadvantage, obviously, is that it sets me up to repeat the same error again when the "stupid" neurons over-fire, and I must endure a bizarre sense of déjŕ-vu whilst insisting that this can't be possible - it's never happened before... blablabla until I realise the fault was indeed my own.

SoCal

2 or 3 weeks after 9/11, I flew from BWI to ONT to see my ill mother. Took, as my carry-on bag, the small backpack I'd usually used to take my lunch to work. Including a small paring knife for apples (cut out the bad spots). Didn't recall that until security found it. Oops! I apologized and they threw out the knives.

kingcole974

Last year I booked (very last minute) a 2 day mini cruise on the queen Mary for my family and my mum.

It was an absolute bargain.

Until we realised the cruise finished in Hamberg and I had to arrange 5 last minute flights home and then sort out collecting my car from the cruise terminal!

golfmad

A few years ago we flew from Scotland into LHR on bargain tickets, had the weekend in the West End of London and turned up at LHR for the last flight back. It was in the days before mobile boarding passes so I put my Exec card into the machine to be told it couldn't find our booking.

Went to speak to the agent with a smug "your machines aren't working" look on my face to be told very politely that it might work better if we'd turned up at the correct airport.

I'd booked the return from LGW. Had to buy 2 expensive last minute tickets to get back on the last LHR flight.

nmh1204

Perhaps this thread would be better in Travel Buzz seing as most of the posts aren't BAEC.

aldaniti

In Jan this year I had a return BA flight from DFW to LHR.
The night before I was in Houston made sure I booked a hotel near to IAH and when settled in, went online and booked my next morning AA flight from IAH to DFW.
Next morning, turned up at checkin.... something amiss from the checkin agent's expression... almost launched into a DYKWIA moment when I'm informed I'm at wrong airport I had booked HOU/Hobby-DFW. (I blamed the iPhone)

(Ending: feeling very embarrassed, things turned out OK, AA changed my booking to the correct airport for 'no charge sir' but the following month on my BA Amex statement there was a $35 charge, I was still too embarrassed to query it)

orbitmic

I certainly am prone to frequently being a "stupid customer". It mostly happens when I bother to check credit card statements (which I should do every time!) and often do not connect a charge to a purchase immediately. Occasionally, however, it has been worse like the one time I went to the airport one day too late. I try to convince myself that considering the amount of travelling and the state of my brains, it is almost surprising that it doesn't happen to me even more often!...

Strawb

December last year enroute to Hawaii. I left my wheelie carry-on case on the ground just after security, a few metres away from the CCR podium as my brother, who I thought was right behind me in the security line, had gone AWOL and I tried to find him. Eventually caught up with him, exasperated, and entered the CCR without my case. Didn't realise until I sat down for brekkie and then made a mad dash outside to retrieve it, where it had been safely returned to security. I then had the pleasure of having someone rummage through it and an explosives test before I could get it back.

DrBernardo

Last year on arriving (late) into Delhi in 64K I leapt gazelle-like out my seat, down the stairs and was waiting in front of door 2 for it to open, chatting with the crew. Then something felt wrong, and after a moment or 3 I remembered I should have two bags, not one. I'd left my wheelie bag in the overhead lockers upstairs. Cue having to shove past a load of understandably unimpressed people queuing behind me on the stairs to get back to the wretched thing, apologising the whole way...

cestmoi123

Not that unusual - was picking up a rental car at Portland, Maine airport, and the person in front of me was very irate that his car wasn't in the system. He became even less happy to discover that there was nothing wrong with his car reservation, it was where he wanted to be: Portland, Oregon. He was not pleased to discover that the plane ticket he had booked, and the flight he had taken, had left him 2500 miles from his intended destination.

carrotjuice

While checking in at JFK, took a glance at my boarding pass and saw that my 64A upperdeck seat which I had tried so hard to secure through MMB the previous week, was suddenly changed to 4A.

Was about to suggest the possibility of changing back to an upperdeck seat... then it dawned on me that I had been upgraded!

carrotjuice

Mods - Please delete. Mobile connection resulted in duplicated post.

mslouisebrain

A couple of years ago I was queuing behind another passenger at the BA check-in desk at Heathrow. She was having a right go at the check-in agent who insisted that the lady was not booked onto the next flight to Madrid. The passenger was furious - shouting things like "even easyjet don't lose a passenger's booking!" etc etc. This went on for quite a few minutes and got quite nasty when the check-in agent asked if the passenger was sure that she had the right date. "I'M NOT STUPID", she shouted back. A supervisor strolled over and asked to see a confirmation email on her phone. She WAS booked onto the next Madrid flight... from London City. The check-in agent and I both had a little smirk to each other once she'd left with her tail between her legs.