Thanks, Matt.
I do fly at least 2-3 times a year, and I actually flew more this year due to going on job interviews all over the country. Plus, with my dad having over a million miles on Northwest pre-merger, including several trips around the world, I picked up a few things about traveling...especially making sure I trust my gut instinct.
So yeah, I am definitely an experienced traveler, and as a frequent flier on United, you would think that they would communicate via email. What makes it even worse is that I booked the flight through their website, which means I got my original itinerary via email from United.com. But fortunately, I minimized the damage by checking my flights (this is an upcoming trip to visit my parents for Christmas) over a month in advance so if I needed to make changes, I could.
I just wanted to make sure that people had a heads-up that United fails at this aspect of customer service where Delta excels. Every problem I have ever had flying has been on Star Alliance airlines: United, US Airways and Air Canada. So I'm glad that now that I'm in Memphis, although it sounds like Delta is looking to wind down their hub here, there is still a decent selection of Delta flights.