Road Weary

United charges phone fee for service only available on the phone

I know U.S. airlines are desperate for every nickel they can squeeze out of customers, but this is just downright sleazy.

My wife and I are both attending the same conference in Toronto next month. She’s flying up the same day I’m speaking at a different conference in Las Vegas, so I’m joining her the next day. It’s a simple enough itinerary: I’m flying to Toronto from Vegas and returning to San Francisco International.

This is a simple matter when booking a flight online; pretty much every travel site has a link that lets you use advanced options, including multi-city trips. So I went to United’s site and went to the Mileage Plus section, since we’re both using award miles for this trip.

There was no option that let me book an award trip that departed from one city and return to another.

So I called and was told that they could handle this reservation over the phone—but that United would charge me $25 for a reservation made over the phone. “Even for a reservation I can’t make online?” I asked.

Yep, United restricts what you can do online so you have to use the phone, then they charge you because you didn’t use the website.

Would you categorize that under “fail?” Or “scam?”

The gassing-up dilemma

My car rental agreement here in Phoenix required me to fill my tank before returning the car. No problem. I was in Scottsdale, about 30 minutes from the airport, so I hopped on the freeway, got off at the airport exit and started looking for a gas station. The rental car facility is a good haul from the 202 exit, but are there any gas stations between the exit and the rental car facility? Nope, not a one. Had I topped off in Scottsdale, I still would have had to pay for the gas used between there and the airport. Next time, I’ll know to get off the freeway near the airport, fill up, get back on the freeway, then get off the freeway to return the car. A warning from the rental car agency (Advantage) that this stop was necessary would have been nice, though. If you fly into Phoenix and rent a car, be forewarned.

If you work for an oil company, let the powers that be know that a fortune is waiting to be made with a service station near the rental car facility.

Southwest can stand better internal communication

I love Southwest Airlines. Despite having most of my miles on United and American, I’ll fly Southwest if the flight isn’t too long (or even if it is when there’s a non-stop). They’re on time more than other airlines, they’re courteous, and they’re even fun.

So this is a minor complaint, but a complaint nonetheless.

I’m a member of the Southwest A-List. If you fly frequently enough, Southwest puts you on the A-List (you don’t have to apply, just be a member of the Rapid Rewards program). This gets you a boarding pass in the A group without having to play the check-in-exactly-24-hours-in-advance game.

For a talk I gave at a conference, the conference organizer booked the flight through a travel agent who didn’t enter my Rapid Rewards number. When I checked in, I was far back in the B group. That’s fine; not Southwest’s fault. I went to a gate agent, gave her my A-list card, explained what had happened, then told her I’d like to make sure my number got into the record so I could get that high boarding number for my return flight the next day. She swiped my card and told me it was taken care of.

I got the airport in Phoenix today, printed my boarding pass, and found myself far back in the B group again. I spoke to an agent who told me that my number had to be in the system 36 hours before the flight to get that priority boarding position. When I explained that this was not what the Oakland agent told me yesterday, the agent just shrugged. Had I known this, I would have checked in 24 hours in advance—last night—but I didn’t because the Oakland agent told me it was all taken care of.

I’m constantly baffled how two different employees in the same organization can tell two different stories. I’m even more surprised when it happens with a quality organization like Southwest.

Explain this, American Airlines

So, I board my American Airlines flight in Miami, scheduled to depart for Dallas-Fort Worth at 10:10 a.m. But the pilot comes on the PA and informs us there are thunderstorms in Dallas, directly over the airport, and there’s a ground hold. There are no flights going into DFW; everything is stopped. We’re told initially that we’ll take off at 11:30 a.m., then it’s moved to 12:20 p.m. I whip out my laptop to see what that means for my connection, scheduled for around 1 p.m. from DFW to San Francisco. According to the American Airlines website, it’s on time.

I figure the website just hasn’t been updated, but then I check to see where the flight is coming from. It turns out it’s coming from Dulles, and it took off on time at—wait for it—10:10 a.m. That’s right, a flight from the East Coast—where I am—scheduled to leave at exactly the same time as my Miami flight bound for an airport with a ground hold due to thunderstorms was not subject to the ground hold, will land on time, and then leave on its next leg on time.

But wait…weren’t we told there was a ground hold for all air traffic bound for DFW?

This just smells bad.

As it turns out, the earliest flight out of DFW that isn’t completely booked is as 7:30 p.m., so I got off the plane and got myself onto a 3:30 p.m. nonstop from Miami to SFO, leaving me plenty of time to sit and write this post about the inconsistent information American Airlines tells its passengers as though there’s no way those passengers can investigate and find out just how inconsistent it is.

Need flight information? Ask a fellow passenger

I’m sitting in the food court in Chicago O’Hare’s K Terminal; I just arrived from Washington Reagan National on a flight that was delayed 90 minutes due to weather here in the (ahem) Windy City.

As an aside, I’d love to meet the genius who decided Chicago was a good place for a major hub airport. Indianapolis is closer to the center of the country and has far fewer weather problems. I’d pay real money to talk for just five minutes to whoever made that call.

But I digress.

I’m connecting to a flight to Kansas City that was scheduled to depart at 8:45 p.m. and showing on-time when we left Reagan. We arrived short of the gate at 8:25 and waited for a ground crew to guide us in. They finally arrived, then we waited for a gate agent to move the jetway into position.

As I deplaned (how company nobody ever debuses or deboats?), I asked the gate agent if it was possible to call the gate for the Kansas City flight to let them know I was on my way. I have Platinum status with American and I’m delivering a keynote talk at 8 a.m. tomorrow (Thursday) morning; this flight is the only way I can get there short of taking a flight into St. Louis and driving to Kansas City from there. (I can’t tell you how many times one of my flights has sat at the gate because, according to the pilot or flight attendant, we’re waiting for a connecting passenger. Yet never, not once, has a plane waited for me.)

The gate agent told me she had to stay on the jetway and the jetway phone only connected her to other G gates. After some prodding, she finally tried to call another G gate so they could contact the agent at the Kansas City gate here in the K terminal.

But nobody answered. Finally, a fellow passenger waiting in the jetway for her carry-on bag, asked if I had the flight number. It told her what it was and she punched it into her smartphone. (I would have done this myself except that I’d sapped my phone’s battery talking to Orbitz and American about alternate routes to Kansas City while sitting on the tarmac in D.C.) In less than a minute, she said, “You’re going to Kansas City? That flight is delayed until 10:40.”

I have never been happier to be on a delayed flight.

But it’s mind-boggling that a passenger with a mobile phone has access to more information than an American Airlines gate agent.

Something is seriously wrong here.

Air(less) Canada

It was entirely my fault that I arrived at SFO five minutes after the 60-minute-before-departure cutoff time. The seat I had arranged months earlier was given to a standby passenger and I wound up in a middle seat. At least I’d be able to turn the air vent full blast, which (for me) relieves some of the claustrophobia that comes with being squeezed between two strangers. But alas, barely a trickle of air escaped the vents on the entire Airbus 320. I fly a lot—a lot—and I’ve never been on a plane where you couldn’t open the vent and release a gush of cool air onto your face. Not this five-hour flight to Toronto. And nobody had an explanation…or an apology (hardly surprising for Air Canada, one of the surliest of all the airlines). I have never been happier to get off a plane.

Glen’s New York exprience

by guest writer Glen Thomas

Glen Thomas, from Memphis Light, Gas, and Water, attended a workshop I taught in New York a few weeks back. He shared this tale by email and gave me permission to post it here.—Shel

I had reservations for Super Shuttle to pick me up. My flight had been delayed getting into La Guardia and I got in three hours later than expected. I called Super Shuttle at 9:30 and they said it would be about 25 minutes. About 35 minutes later, a Super Shuttle employee came in and said “Thomas” and moments later I was on my way. A few others were in the shuttle as well, so I didn’t think anything of it when the driver pulled up to an address in the 84th or 85th street. He then looked at me and said, “Thomas, Talia Thomas?” I told him no and proceeded to tell him at least four times that I was staying on 45th street. He called dispatch and gave them my name and they said they had no record of me. When I produced my confirmation number, they suddenly found my name but said I hadn’t called that night. They didn’t have much to say when I told them the dispatching employee’s name. At 11:30, two hours after I called, I finally got to my hotel, Club Quarters in Midtown.

The Club Quarters price is very good for a location that’s so close to Times Square. That’s all the positive comments I can provide. When I got there, the wi-fi that they advertised was not working. I
called the desk and was advised to “go out into the hall” to try it. I took this advice, and it still didn’t work. Over the course of the next five days, I asked the hotel staff six different times about
the internet access. Each time, they promised to check into it and get back to me. They never did. Luckily, our conference was at the Hilton, and I was able to take my laptop there and quickly get
online.

We requested that the hotel schedule a cab pickup for us the day of our departure. They instead called a pricier car service. We were 10 minutes late getting back, which was completely our fault, but then we waited for another 20 minutes for our luggage to be brought down. When we asked about the length of time it was taking, the indifferent concierge said, “It takes 15 minutes!”

When the employee kept coming down with partial or incorrect luggage, I asked if I could go up to help him identify our bags. They agreed and sent me to…get this…our room! That’s where they were keeping the luggage. Instead of 15 minutes, it was a short walk up the stars on the 2nd floor. The car service tacked on $25 for their wait, and the total cost was $75 to get to La Guardia. With little time to spare, we felt that we no choice but to pay the cost in order to make our flights. Terrible, terrible service.

At Westin, I’m not so preferred a guest after all

When I’m traveling on business, I rarely pay for my own hotel room. Most business travelers don’t. You may use your own corporate credit card, but you submit the expense for reimbursement. I’m an independent consultant, and I use my own credit card, then add the hotel and other travel expenses to my invoice. Business as usual.

Every now and then, a client books my hotel room for me, and occasionally, one of them actually pays for the room. Such was the case tonight, when I checked into the Westin Providence. I was surprised, though, when I handed the desk clerk my Starwood Preferred card and was told that I would not be credited with any points because somebody else was paying for the room.

I’ve been a business road warrior for nigh on 12 years, and this is the first time I have ever had my affinity card rejected because the client was picking up the tab. Of course, there would have been no question about getting points if my stay was going on my corporate American Express card. Never mind that I’d turn around and invoice my client that cost.

Frankly, I didn’t know until I got here that my client had already picked up the hotel tab. If the fact that I’m spending the night here—me, a member of the rewards program—isn’t enough to credit me with the points (my client isn’t going to get them after all), then I’ll make a point of staying in other hotels that don’t have such absurd policies. That would include—let me see now—all of them except Westin. Way to lose a customer, Starwood.

More fun with Hilton Internet

You may remember that I experienced grief with the so-called high-speed Internet connection at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas. I’m currently staying at the Hilton in Jackson. The wireless high-speed is fast enough, but there’s another problem.

The service is apparently provided by Nomadix. I can tell because a small browser window that remains open all the time I’m online tells me so:

This graphic refreshes every couple of minutes with a very audible “click.” If the laptop volume is on, this click becomes part of what you’re listening to. Since I’m about to record my podcast over Skype with my co-host, that click will become part of the show.

Was nobody using their brains when configuring this service?

Forget the Alamo…rental car, that is

After a long stretch with nothing much to say about my travels, here come two posts, both arising from my current trip to Jackson, Mississippi. I’m here to visit my son, who is stationed at nearby Ft. Shelby and has a short pass before redeploying to Iraq.

My wife and I landed on time (thanks, Southwest) and got our baggage. Then I headed over to the Alamo Rental Car desk; I’d booked an online reservation with Alamo. The line was 10 people long and not moving. There was not one other person at any of the other rental counters. Only one employee was working the Alamo desk and, as it turned out, was also handling the National desk. Everyone in line, as far as I could tell, had made a reservation that included information on when their flights were landing. Alamo knew there would be a surge of customers at that time, yet made no plans for additional personnel to handle the load. I stood in line for 30 minutes—during which two customers completed their transactions—before deciding to pay an extra $100 for our four-day trip and got a car from Budget.

Question for Alamo: Have you ever heard of this concept called “customer service?”