My customer service agent acts like a child
 

I recently had a terrible time working with Delta in trying to locate my baggage and repair it. When I went to the airport baggage service to complain about my destroyed baggage she acted like a child. I said something along the lines of first you lost my bag then you destroyed it. Silly of me thinking that when Delta hired employees and they were working they represented the company. She was representing herself and not the company she works for by responding to me that she didn't lose my bag, that it wasn't personally her fault. Well I also didn't know that Delta hired 5 years olds. She also informed me and three other witnesses, just so everyone knows, that luggage often comes out of the airplane on fire. That burn marks from your luggage is just normal wear and tear. It is no big deal that your baggage is on fire while it is under the plane. What is with these Delta employees? Do they just hire anybody and is your only requirement to be hired is that you can be completely rude to every customer who is just trying to to from one place to another.

She was correct to point out that she wasn't personally responsible for your bag being delayed and/or damaged. She was merely the agent trying to help YOU. Perhaps there was an accusatory tone in your voice when you approached her? Helping the customer realize that the person they are dealing with is there to help and did not personally cause the issue gets the blame game out of the way and helps focus on getting the matter resolved. It's a common customer service technique for diffusing an irate customer.

I get the feeling your chosen screen name "Princessbeth1" describes you very well!

I agree with PHX. The agent was not responsible for your bag being lost and damaged. She was hired to help customers, when situations such as that, occur, not to be berated and blamed by the customer. The airline I work for, it is well within my right, per the company, to no longer assist a customer if they begin berating me, or become accusing toward me, preventing me from doing what I am hired to do, which is, help the customer. It is not my job to stand there and have a customer blame me, or have them become rude, and argue with me.

I wasn’t there, but from the sounds of it, you walked up to the agent, weren’t very nice, and said, first, “YOU”, lost my luggage, and then, “YOU”, destroyed it. It comes across as a personal attack on the person there, who is there to help you. Just because someone is hired by a company, and thus, "represents", the company, doesn't mean they are responsible for everybodies jobs, make the company policies, etc, and it doesn't give someone the right to blame them. Taking it out on an agent, who is there to help, isn't going to solve the situation, and to me, that is childish behavior, as well.

If your bag came out of the airplane with “burn marks” on it, as you say, I would think they would cover that. I had an issue one day where a person’s bad fell against the muffler of the belt loader, and it burned a hole in the bag. The airline purchased them a new bag, of exactly the one they had. BUT, general wear and tear, such as scrapes, minor tears, etc., are not covered. Luggage is designed to protect the contents inside. Luggage is designed to take wear and tear, so the contents do not. People need to stop expecting luggage to remain in pristine condition, all of the time. There is no other way to load luggage into an airplane, than to stack them, not only in the airplane, but also on the carts, etc. They will receive wear and tear.

as a former customer service agent, i always HATED when people would say "you lost my bag" or "you damaged my bag" i held my tounge, but thought, no i didn't, the airline did, which is what the agent should have done, but i agree with PHX on this one. it gets tiring of people saying its your fault when your sitting in chicago and the bag is delayed in atl

I didn't hold my tongue at the end. I would say very bluntly that I didn't lose their bag. At the time their bag was lost, I was here helping other people who claimed I lost their bag. It got damn old. Of course, I understand they didn't mean me personally but I was old and tired of it.

I'm still old but no longer tired of it.......;)

Her royal highness's complaint should serve as an example of what NOT to do when you have a legitimate problem with the airlines. Apparently, in her mind, airline employees are beneath her.