mwarden

I do this all the time. I don't always have access to a printer or want to bother with running to the printer at the time.

otralot

The CO TA's and reps working the floor should have been able to help the OP access the confirmation #--if in fact it was actually needed--in like 5 seconds. The fact that they would take time to reprimand a customer at all especially on busy day shows a lack of understdning of customer service and disregard for acheiving the comapny's goals (getting people to their destination).

IAHflyer

I completely agree. Which is why this part is really baffling: It would have taken the agent all of 3 seconds to let you know you can retreive all the relevant info without the confirmation number...

adagio

The new bag drop only kiosks are a bit different than the check in kiosks, meant to scan the boarding pass for people who alreay OLCI'd to generate baggage tags. I checked bags earlier this week at them and they either want to scan the BP or have your confirmation number entered. I started typing my OP number (force of habit) and it wouldn't take it and then scanned my BP. I agree that the agent could pull it up right away, which she had to do for me b/c the baggage tag printer screwed up. Took more than three seconds, but not much more.

ssullivan

Actually on the bag drop only kiosks in Terminal C at IAH, the kiosks are programmed so that you can't use an elite card, OnePass number, credit card, or other method to retrieve the reservation. There is a bank of kiosks for bag check only for OLCI that requires you either key in the confirmation number off the boarding pass or scan the boarding pass. It sounds like the OP was in that line. While it's true at most kiosks you can just check in again rather than hitting the button for CO.com OLCI bag drop, at this particular bank of kiosks that option does not exist. The only thing you can do on those kiosks is use a confirmation number or scan a boarding pass to check bags.

Still, it sounds like IAH C was total chaos at the time, and the CO agent the OP dealt with was not in the best of moods or wanting to be very helpful. She could have simply said "This line is for those with confirmation numbers, but I'll go ahead and look up your reservation. Next time use the other line."

mwarden

Does this sound incredibly stupid to anyone else? Horrible usability and it doesn't seem to accomplish anything, since one has their confirmation number at the time of ticket purchase.

puddy

Without ever using these, it does not sound stupid. I imagine they are set-up that to streamline the process of checking bags. If you just scan the BP and it spits out the luggage ticket, that would make it very fast. When you put the full kiosk there, it allows people to do everything which slows down the process.

Like I said, without using them, they make sense as long as they work like I think they do. It might take a bit of time for people to adjust, but in the long run, it should make checking bags much easier and faster.

mwarden

My point was: why require confirmation number? That's the stupid part.

Having a confirmation number does not mean the person has checked in already. Thus, they should allow finding the reservation by any of the normal means.

They can still disallow check-in from that kiosk. That is a completely separate decision.

mike_plat

Can't you just put your credit card into one of these kiosks and have it access your reservation by reading your name off the magnetic stripe?

To me, the most shocking thing about his whole ordeal is that they were actually nicer in BOS than in IAH.

Hartmann

I have admitted that I should have printed the boarding passes, but at the time of my online check-in I did not have access to a printer and was not going to be near one in wee hours of the morning before the flight.

I could have gone to one of the self check-in kiosks to get the # but at first I was in the line for regular check-in and assumed I did not need it.

At the Continental.com bag drop at IAH they will only take your confirmation number. I am so used to simply using my OnePass number that I did not think a confirmation number was needed (even after telling two different CO reps that I did not have it).

Missing the flight was partially my fault, I will even take 10-20% of the blame, but CO dropped the ball on this one for me. The customer service was horrendous, even as I tried to handle the situation in an understanding, kind, and professional manner they were rude and impatient.

Thank you for the tip on E terminal. I figured it out when I walked into it and rolled my eyes thinking "yeah, I should have checked in here".

adagio

Not with the bag drop kiosks. They are at the old ticket counters just to the left when you enter the terminal lobby. Scan your boarding pass or enter the confirmation number...

puddy

Point taken.

Hartmann

Oh yeah, is it just me or is Continental's BOS C25 gate way too close for comfort? Sitting there yesterday I felt that I was being herded. My girlfriend left her bag in front of her seat in the gate area while she went to the restroom and a man just plopped himself down in the seat and put his feet on her bag... I was sitting right next to him and turned and said "excuse me, I believe there is someone sitting there". He looked at me for a second, looked at the bag under his feet for a second, and replied "oh, I guess there is".

I did love the fact that I could hear the security folks (FSS?) talking behind the wall at that gate. Between the accents and the things they were saying I was having a blast.

mike_plat

Sounds like another *(%@# invention by the people who brought us the bug-riddled continental.com website.

kingalien

I'm sure there were good intentions with these kiosks just like the BP only kiosks, it skips the checking baggage screens and speeds up the process, albeit, just a little. However, there should be an alternative method on the baggage kiosks to locate one's reservation at least with a secondary screen that allows for a search of a reservation just like a regular kiosk.