Great Companies Overcome Obstacles. Weak Ones Ignore Them.
The following is a story of my recent trip on United that involved 8 planes, 4 delays, 3 mechanical issues, and 2 last minute cancellations. And, not in one single instance did United do the right things. In fact, they did nothing.
First Leg: United Fail
Last week, I was to fly from Chicago to Cedar Rapids (where my brother would join me) and then onto Denver. When I arrived from ORD to Cedar Rapids the plane to Denver was canceled for mechanical problems. The best option, per United, was to have a 2+ hour layover in CR, then fly all the way back to Chicago, have another 3+ hour layover, and then fly to Denver. This meant that instead of getting to my final destination of Avon, Colorado late in the afternoon, my brother and I got there in the wee hours of the morning. And instead of driving through mountain roads in daylight we got to drive wintery mountain roads in pitch darkness. Has anyone driven over Vail Pass? They have had a recent avalanche that buried the road one night. The super late arrival also meant missing a vacation day and missing an event in Avon that night. There was no communication, no compensation, no vouchers. Nothing from United. Of course, mechanical problems are an obstacle. United takes the hide under the desk approach to dealing with them and misses the chance to connect with humanity. I’m sure there are far worse stories of people being put out, for example, the cars that were actually buried in an avalanche, and just maybe some of them were on the road late because their flight was canceled?
2nd Leg: United Fails Again
I was to fly from DEN to MSP and ORD on Sunday, April 14. The night before I was alerted to possible storms, delays and cancellations. I was given the option to rebook with no exchange fee. I did so, since fortunately, my plans were flexible. Since the flights were ultimately cancelled and I rebooked on a direct flight to ORD I am satisfied. However, I do believe I helped United at a time when there would be considerable chaos rebooking those who went to the airport, were stranded in MSP or who were otherwise forced to make other plans at the last minute. These passengers would have all received some compensation, depending on their situation. I too had to come up with money for an extended trip for accommodations, food, transportation, etc. It is disappointing that the ones who volunteered to help and take flights later in the week were not offered anything.
Nothing.
I decided to move my flight from Sunday because the first part of my trip was a United fail. I extended my return trip, yes, to avoid the possible cancellations or delays. But I did it primarily because I have no confidence that United cares about its passengers. I didn’t want to spend another 12+ hours traveling. I didn’t want to get shuffled and then face other calamities, ie, mechanical failure, over-crowded phones, and ticket agents–or further cancelations since the crews had flown too many hours!
Yes, I was able to rebook and also able to pay for the unexpected charges–on both ends of my grip. Yes, I also helped United deal with a weather situation. And what did I get? A survey asking me to tell you how United handled my trip. Let’s see, of the 1,000 flights canceled that day, how many passengers did they have to put up, buy meals, provide vouchers, etc. What if they had reduced that number by 20% by simply offering people those things before they got to the airport? Everyone would win, including airline personnel, overtaxed flight teams, over-burdened aircraft, and the entire process of disbursing and reimbursing. In fact, there are plenty of mentions on @United regarding promises for these compensations that were later denied. That would be the double whammy on the hapless traveler.
Third Leg : United Double Fail
I was ready to come home. The night before departure I got a notice that my seat had changed because they had changed the plane. OK, I guess that’s fine. Then, a full 8 hours before take-off, they alerted me again that the plane they reassigned was now delayed and that the flight would take off 40 minutes late. How would a flight not taking off for 8 hours be triggered by a delay? Was the plane coming from China or another faraway place? I had lost all confidence that United would have this flight fixed. I went to the airport 4 hours before the delayed flight was to depart. I also took to Twitter with this message of 8 planes, 4 delays, 3 mechanical failures, etc. The United team monitoring Twitter replied and sent condolences. But when I asked for help getting on an earlier flight they were only able to get me on a flight that was later than the delayed flight–except now the delayed flight was further delayed and the timing was a wash. I guess United had also lost confidence in this original flight–that had the plane switch, mechanical issue, and double delays. At the ticket counter, a very helpful United agent got me on standby for the earlier flight. That worked and I barely made it to the gate–of course, one small thing happened. I got my boarding pass at the gate. I got in a long line to board. But the boarding pass didn’t work. I had to go back to the desk, get a new pass, and get at the end of the line again. A small thing, of course, as I did get on the plane and took my middle seat in the very last row. Coincidentally, the guy sitting next to me was supposed to be on an earlier flight that was delayed and probably going to be canceled.
Great Companies Overcome. Weak Companies Avoid.
I live in the city of Chicago and can fly out of Midway or ORD on any airline. This was a trial run for me to fly United, which has not been my choice of carrier for many years, in spite of being headquartered Chicago.
In conclusion, United, you have to do better.