[1united6]

You have GOT to be kidding me! Our flight was scheduled to leave around 5:30PM, and got pushed back (slowly and steadily, an hour at a time) to 8:30PM. The captain and crew were apparently arriving from Washington D.C. Flying out of a hub (Newark), I would have expected an extra crew / captain / ANYTHING to be available for a flight. But NO, we had to wait for that specific crew to show up. I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere! Seems like cost-cutting via the United / Continental merger has really done the trick for customer service... Specifically, the woman at the gate who is supposed to be able to communicate with stranded passengers instead giggled her way through our delay, deciding to mosey around and chat with friends rather than relaying accurate information to us. While waiting for the plane, somehow the operations team thought that leaving the checked-in baggage out in the rain was a great idea -- all of it was wet by the time it came around the carousel at our destination. No apology, nothing at all. Did you not think that we would notice? Sorry to say, we did notice. The problem with airlines these days is that, since your routes are not particularly unique (as many airlines fly the same routes), the business is effectively commoditized. As a result, the only way (that you can think of) to bring customers back to fly with a particular airline is by using a frequent flyer program. Thus, the airline is able to get away with poor customer service because it knows that, either way, the customers have no choice! A smart idea in the short-run, until the airline goes bankrupt (again!) and then everyone wonders why!? It's the customer service, stupid! The frequent flyer programs are but a quick fix! Take a look at the airlines across both oceans. Singapore, Emirates, Thai (to name a few) -- why are they doing well (profitability-wise), growing, and bringing customers back? Courtesy. A lack of Complacency. A general sense of Customer Service. Put it in your Mission Statement for all I care! The three Cs -- it has a ring to it! They invest in their crew and captains for the long-run! They don't worry (as much as US-based airlines do) about Diluted EPS and accounting methodologies and what the research analysts will think of the numbers posted every quarter. They stick to their core competency -- comfortable, cheap, and effective travel by air -- and not frustrating their customers as they attempt to perform this task. America invented the concept of customer service and, at least in the airline industry, has completely and totally forgotten not only the definition of the term, but the term itself! It is completely non-existent, and this flight experience was one of many examples that substantiates my argument. Despite my frustrations, I know that it will all work out in the end. Someday, somehow, several of the more successful international airlines, perhaps even one of those three previously mentioned, will penetrate the US Domestic flight market and soon enough, lead to the bankruptcy of many US-based airlines. And this time, it won't be Chapter 11.