American Airlines SUCKS!!
Oct. 3rd, 2006 03:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
texchanI can not even begin to express how much I hate this airline. That's right -- hate them. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate.
We had the misfortune of flying on American for our latest trip. We left last Wednesday and returned yesterday afternoon. The flight left San Antonio, TX, had a layover in Dallas (where we switched planes), and then went on the final leg of the flight to Dulles.
Unfortunately, in the hustle of getting off the first plane, we did one of the most idiotic things ever. We left my husband's laptop computer on the plane. It was a horrendous accident. He had asked me to put the computer in the seat pocket in front of me, so that it didn't get cracked in the overhead bin. I did, but the laptop is not very big. It's quite thin, so it slipped right down into the seat pocket and blended with the magazines. Anyhow, in the rush to gather up all my stuff, my hubby's stuff, and the kiddo's stuff, I managed to forget the laptop. In my defense, my hubby didn't remember it, either. Still, I feel awful about it.
We didn't notice until we were boarding the second flight. We notified a flight attendant, who, I might add, was not all that interested in helping us out. She directed my hubby to the gate attendant, who was similarly disinterested. They did manage to figure out our previous plane had already taken off, which meant there was no way to contact them. I suppose they can't radio or whatever. I have no idea. They gave us the numbers to call for lost and found at La Guardia (that plane's final destination for the day) and in Dallas (where American hubs).
OK. Fine. I figured I would just have to track it down after we landed. It was irritating, but entirely our fault, for forgetting the computer, in the first place.
Little did I know that tracking it down would be absolutely impossible.
Did you know there is NO phone number where you can talk to a live customer service representative for American Airlines? That's right. None.
I tried the main lost and found, in Dallas ... it was a machine only. I left a message. So far, I've heard nothing back. I called again today, got the machine again, left another message, which, I'm sure, will, also, not be returned.
I tried the LaGuardia lost and found (which is where the plane was headed), and did get an actual representative, although calling him "human" is a bit of a stretch. He could not have been less concerned about helping me locate my lost item. He told me the plane hadn't arrived yet and hung up on me. (By the way, I was calling him at around 5:30 or 6 PM, and the plane was scheduled to land in LaGuardia at 4:11 PM ... so ... yeah.) I called LaGuardia again today and spoke to a different employee. She actually did check, but came back to the phone to tell me the computer was not there.
After speaking to LaGuardia for the first time yesterday, I went searching for a customer service number. Spent two hours browsing American Airlines' website, which, I might add, is anything but user-friendly. All I could find for customer service was a snail mail address, an email address, and a fax number. That's right. They have a FAX number, but NO number you can call to speak to anyone. The only way I could even talk to a real, live AA employee was through reservations, where the lady I spoke to was nice enough to help me track down the plane (which is how I know it was supposed to land in LaGuardia at 4:11 PM), but that's about all she could do. She didn't have the information available to her. I asked her if there was a customer service number, and, guess what? She told me no -- there was only the email address, snail mail address, and fax number.
WTF is up with that, anyhow?
By the way, I also sent an email to the address for lost and found. It bounced back. Thinking I had typed in the email address incorrectly (I hadn't, by the way), I sent a second email. It also bounced back. So, none of my emails have gone through. I was able to leave a message on the machine at the main lost and found -- actually, I have left two, so far -- but I don't hold out much hope of hearing anything. They tell you, right on the machine, that they will contact you by phone if your item is found. If they don't find it, they email you. Yeah, right. Given this airline's less than stellar committment to customer service issues, what do you think the odds are that anyone will even look for our laptop? I figure they fall somewhere between slim and none at all. I have a strong feeling they just delete all the lost and found messages at the end of each day.
As if it's not bad enough you pay out the butt for the "privilege" of riding on their airplane and receive nothing at all in return. They don't even serve any sort of snack. They give their first class passengers lunch, but if you're one of the peasants in the main cabin, you have to shell out $4 for a snack box containing cheese crackers, a slim jim beef stick thing, some dried fruit, and nuts. Or, you can pay $2 for a muffin. Give me a freaking break! I mean, we paid about $600, total, for our arifare. Don't you think we could at least get cheese and crackers tossed in there?
But, then, when you actually have a problem, you can't get anyone to listen to you. At all. They just don't give a crap. Period. It's painfully obvious that American Airlines is more than happy to take your money and run with it -- all the way to the bank. But, if you have to contact them with a problem you need addressed ... or if you just want them to do their dang jobs ... well, Heaven help you. Because you are fighting a losing battle. I know I shouldn't be, but I'm flabbergasted by this airline's callous, uncaring, negligent attitude. I know it was our fault, in the first place, for leaving the computer on the plane. But, the sad truth of the matter is that we can't retrieve our property without help from the airline. Help which, apparently, shall not be forthcoming. Which means we can probably write the laptop off as simply "gone forever". The whole thing just makes me want to scream. But, I realize that would do no good at all ... so I have contented myself with venting over how much I hate American Airlines. And, I wrote a very nasty email that I plan to send to customer service, via both email and fax. You know, since they have that wonderful fax number, which makes them oh-so-easy to contact. (Yes, that was typed sarcasm, thank you very much.)
Needless to say, I shall not be flying American Airlines -- ever again. Because they suck. Period.
We had the misfortune of flying on American for our latest trip. We left last Wednesday and returned yesterday afternoon. The flight left San Antonio, TX, had a layover in Dallas (where we switched planes), and then went on the final leg of the flight to Dulles.
Unfortunately, in the hustle of getting off the first plane, we did one of the most idiotic things ever. We left my husband's laptop computer on the plane. It was a horrendous accident. He had asked me to put the computer in the seat pocket in front of me, so that it didn't get cracked in the overhead bin. I did, but the laptop is not very big. It's quite thin, so it slipped right down into the seat pocket and blended with the magazines. Anyhow, in the rush to gather up all my stuff, my hubby's stuff, and the kiddo's stuff, I managed to forget the laptop. In my defense, my hubby didn't remember it, either. Still, I feel awful about it.
We didn't notice until we were boarding the second flight. We notified a flight attendant, who, I might add, was not all that interested in helping us out. She directed my hubby to the gate attendant, who was similarly disinterested. They did manage to figure out our previous plane had already taken off, which meant there was no way to contact them. I suppose they can't radio or whatever. I have no idea. They gave us the numbers to call for lost and found at La Guardia (that plane's final destination for the day) and in Dallas (where American hubs).
OK. Fine. I figured I would just have to track it down after we landed. It was irritating, but entirely our fault, for forgetting the computer, in the first place.
Little did I know that tracking it down would be absolutely impossible.
Did you know there is NO phone number where you can talk to a live customer service representative for American Airlines? That's right. None.
I tried the main lost and found, in Dallas ... it was a machine only. I left a message. So far, I've heard nothing back. I called again today, got the machine again, left another message, which, I'm sure, will, also, not be returned.
I tried the LaGuardia lost and found (which is where the plane was headed), and did get an actual representative, although calling him "human" is a bit of a stretch. He could not have been less concerned about helping me locate my lost item. He told me the plane hadn't arrived yet and hung up on me. (By the way, I was calling him at around 5:30 or 6 PM, and the plane was scheduled to land in LaGuardia at 4:11 PM ... so ... yeah.) I called LaGuardia again today and spoke to a different employee. She actually did check, but came back to the phone to tell me the computer was not there.
After speaking to LaGuardia for the first time yesterday, I went searching for a customer service number. Spent two hours browsing American Airlines' website, which, I might add, is anything but user-friendly. All I could find for customer service was a snail mail address, an email address, and a fax number. That's right. They have a FAX number, but NO number you can call to speak to anyone. The only way I could even talk to a real, live AA employee was through reservations, where the lady I spoke to was nice enough to help me track down the plane (which is how I know it was supposed to land in LaGuardia at 4:11 PM), but that's about all she could do. She didn't have the information available to her. I asked her if there was a customer service number, and, guess what? She told me no -- there was only the email address, snail mail address, and fax number.
WTF is up with that, anyhow?
By the way, I also sent an email to the address for lost and found. It bounced back. Thinking I had typed in the email address incorrectly (I hadn't, by the way), I sent a second email. It also bounced back. So, none of my emails have gone through. I was able to leave a message on the machine at the main lost and found -- actually, I have left two, so far -- but I don't hold out much hope of hearing anything. They tell you, right on the machine, that they will contact you by phone if your item is found. If they don't find it, they email you. Yeah, right. Given this airline's less than stellar committment to customer service issues, what do you think the odds are that anyone will even look for our laptop? I figure they fall somewhere between slim and none at all. I have a strong feeling they just delete all the lost and found messages at the end of each day.
As if it's not bad enough you pay out the butt for the "privilege" of riding on their airplane and receive nothing at all in return. They don't even serve any sort of snack. They give their first class passengers lunch, but if you're one of the peasants in the main cabin, you have to shell out $4 for a snack box containing cheese crackers, a slim jim beef stick thing, some dried fruit, and nuts. Or, you can pay $2 for a muffin. Give me a freaking break! I mean, we paid about $600, total, for our arifare. Don't you think we could at least get cheese and crackers tossed in there?
But, then, when you actually have a problem, you can't get anyone to listen to you. At all. They just don't give a crap. Period. It's painfully obvious that American Airlines is more than happy to take your money and run with it -- all the way to the bank. But, if you have to contact them with a problem you need addressed ... or if you just want them to do their dang jobs ... well, Heaven help you. Because you are fighting a losing battle. I know I shouldn't be, but I'm flabbergasted by this airline's callous, uncaring, negligent attitude. I know it was our fault, in the first place, for leaving the computer on the plane. But, the sad truth of the matter is that we can't retrieve our property without help from the airline. Help which, apparently, shall not be forthcoming. Which means we can probably write the laptop off as simply "gone forever". The whole thing just makes me want to scream. But, I realize that would do no good at all ... so I have contented myself with venting over how much I hate American Airlines. And, I wrote a very nasty email that I plan to send to customer service, via both email and fax. You know, since they have that wonderful fax number, which makes them oh-so-easy to contact. (Yes, that was typed sarcasm, thank you very much.)
Needless to say, I shall not be flying American Airlines -- ever again. Because they suck. Period.