jrothenb

Alright folks, I just wanted to share a quick story. Please read if you're interested - if you're not, do me a favor and please don't flame - just move on.
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I was flying from ORD-BDL on 8/2 and decided to accept a VDB to a flight 3 hours later. The GA seemed pretty nice at first and I told her that I just became a Premier Exec yesterday. As we were discussing the bump, I casually said, "could you get me some dinner?" to which she looked up and replied, "yes."

After she dispatched the flight and printed me out the new documents, I asked her about the meal voucher. She said that she never told me that she would give one to me, and that United doesn't issue meal vouchers. I was nice and calm the entire time and said, "there must be a misunderstanding, because you definitely said that you would." She said, "well I'm not the one who's lying." I asked her if she was calling me a liar, to which she responded, "if the shoe fits."

She called a supervisor to print a meal voucher (but mostly to complain about me right in front of my face, saying things like "this guy causes all this trouble for $3"), and told me, "you're not scoring points with any of us." Then she looked straight into my eyes and said, "i'll remember this in case you're on any of my flights in the future - trust me." She walked away to her next gate, and as she did, patted my shoulder and said, "welcome to premier exec - we're all going to remember you."

I was left pretty stunned. I didn't know what I had done to this woman, and she was so mean and unnecessarily so.

I know none of you were there so you might think that I'm leaving something out of this story, but there is nothing else to say. It was a bad experience that left me feeling pretty lousy. I'm on this flight twice a week and now I have been blacklisted by some of the GAs.

Such is life in this current sad state of affairs in this industry.

Take care everyone, Jeff

#10

Did you get her name? I would make sure that she gets a GTNM (Going the Negative Mile) certificate so she can have an appropriate commendation in her file. If you do not have a name, at least the gate, date, and time. There are more horror stories here than not, but my general experiences have been quite positive. Sorry for your troubles, Jeff, but it sounds like you handled it in a very level headed manner.

UAPremierGuy

Wow. Not surprising...but wow. I guess this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTxXO0MQLDA) on YouTube is pretty accurate.

You should def. send a letter to UA, via SnailMail, with names and specifics including flight, gate number, etc. as well as your 1P number. Appalling and makes me sad.

Also, just curious, you said a supervisor came over...what did the supervisor say about the whole issue?

KMHT FF

Even if you win an argument with a psycho, you still lose.

One thing she got right: The alienation was not worth the 12 quarters.

Pick your battles, dude.

UrbaneGent

You know what, my father told me a long time ago to "kill them with kindness" - I'm hearing more and more stories like this from fellow UA passengers. I think the full flights, the summer, people doing their once a year flight not knowing squat. Let me add that they make like almost nothing right now.

That's no excuse for her behaviour. However, what I would do, assuming you really didn't need the $3.00 - is get a Blockbuster gift card and a little note. Next time you see her say, "you know, the first time we met, we didn't start off on the right foot," and hand her the card. In the card tell her:

Enjoy a couple of movies with your family,
Don Jones

That's what I would do - and believe me, the next time you see her, she'll be sure to take care of you - and feel like crap for being so mean last time.

I've done that in the past.

Yours,
UG

UAPremierGuy

That's a REALLY good idea. Be the bigger man, especially since you'll be taking this flight so frequently and are pretty likely to run into her again. Sometimes it's scary how much control GAs have over our PNRs and UA reservations and accounts...

PHLGovFlyer

I wouldn't loose any sleep over this one.

First of all, I travel through ORD all the time and while I've seen gate agents that have worked my previous flights I've never actually had a "repeat" GA (what are the odds after 50+ transits through ORD in the past 2 years???).

Second, everyone has a bad day once in a while (both you and the GA ). Stuff happens.

Third, I really don't think anyone at UA will put a note in your "permanent record." The GA was just being annoying with her "we're all going to remember you" comment (and doing a bad impersonation of my third grade teacher at the same time ).

Finally, the GA was out of line, not you. You have nothing to apologize for. Chalk it up to karmic balance and move on. I was treated very rudely by a matron at the ORD RCC two days ago. Later I got an op up on my flight home. Somehow it all works out in the end...

bhmlurker

Don't sweat it. The GA is but a cog in the massive machinery of UA, and can't do a whole lot even if she does remember you. Know your rights and be prepared to defend them.

You need to write a letter, paper and postage stamp, on this. If you don't, then don't complain if fall out from this nails you. Every business has bad workers, and if customers don't help weed them out, they might move up in hierarchy and seniority.

3 dollars for meal voucher? I thought dinner vouchers are higher. That is strange. That said, I recommend against being excessively nice to the person. If the person is a coworker, a neighbor, your kids' teacher, then do that.

melampus83

Yeah, I agree with the sentiment about not worrying about it too much... I would bet if you asked her what your name was after she left the desk, she probably already forgotten. I think she was just trying to intimidate you since she thought you might not be a regular flyer (becoming Premier Exec)

Either way, don't worry about it. I like UG's idea, but it depends on the context of the conversation. If you were being very civil with her, then I doubt it would help much....

Welcome to Premier Exec!

FightingIlliniUAL

I hope to God you got her name. I'm not going to comment on the meal voucher and the implications of getting it, BUT her relentless attacks and ESPECIALLY her one liners "i'll remember this in case you're on any of my flights in the future - trust me." and "welcome to premier exec - we're all going to remember you." would have initiated a response from me that would have kicked out of the airport.

Write a letter and don't be nice.

warreng24

You need to provide more detail.

I assume that the supervisor came to the gate? What did the supervisor say to you? I would be appalled if the supervisor said/did nothing while the employee said those things to you.

Also, IIRC dinner vouchers are more than $3.

LilZeppelin

I think you flirted with a Gate Agent, and then made a big deal out of not getting a meal voucher. Did you now want HER to buy you dinner? Also, although you were calm the whole time, I like GA's sense of humor better.

jrothenb

Thanks for all the kind messages. To answer a few questions that came up in the thread so far...

1. I did get her name - I didn't post it publicly (although I wanted to) because I figured that would violate privacy rules.

2. When I said that she "called" a supervisor, I literally meant that she "called" a supervisor on the phone. I never saw this person face to face, but just watched the GA speak on the phone at her podium.

3. In retrospect, it really wasn't the meal voucher that was important. It ended up being $10 (not $3 as she rudely stated), but had I known the hassle it was going to cause, you can bet your bottom $3 that I wouldn't have even broached the subject.

Per everyone's advice, I think I will write a letter just to explain the situation. As many you suggested, I was very nice and kind to her to begin with. I am not going to cow-tow to her if I see her again or try to buy her off with a Blockbuster card. I was a nice customer, and I clearly am a good customer - that is what should be reasonably expected of me.

I often feel for these folks and their situation. It is a tough industry that involves doing a job that many of us would despise. These GAs are paid poorly, underappreciated by management, and are the first line of defense for countless (understandably) frustrated travelers. It's just a shame that these people are so jaded by this job that they are often unable to distinguish the "good guys" from the "bad guys." All passengers have become a nuisance in their eyes, and I just don't see the situation changing for the better anytime soon.

Take care everyone, Jeff

pbz

Sorry for your bad experience. You don't have to buy the GA flowers or add yet another to UA's stack of "missed expectations" (aka screwed up as usual) mail. Just pull your business and spend your money on a different airline. The only way UA will fix their customer service problem is when they finally realize their lunch is being eaten by other airlines.

I had momentarily considered sending them copies of all the thousands of dollars of etkts I've bought on AA since I finally gave up on UA last year, including connecting flights where UA flys nonstop. But, why throw good money and time after bad?

AdamUK

Nevermind.