[kate]

To whom it may concern:

I am writing you to inform you of the terrible customer service I was provided with by your company. On July 18 I flew into Atlanta GA from Newark NJ on United airways ( a company you partner with and I intend to hold fully accountable as well) on a delayed flight. My flight landed at 755 pm and pulled into the gate at 802 pm. I ran from D gate to E37 to try and make my flight. Upon running up to the gate, the ticketing agent was already shaking his head. I asked him if my flight into Meridian MS had left already. He told me they did. I glanced up at the monitor to look at the departure time, and noted that the plane DEPARTED at 805 pm......TEN MINUTES EARLY! I asked Mr. Steven Holiday if the time reflected was the boarding time or departing time (because I was shocked that the plane seemed to have left EARLY when it had CUSTOMERS using it as a connecting flight), and Mr. Holiday evaded my questions. I asked him several times to tell me what the statement "departed 805 pm" was supposed to be representing. He continued to say things like " ma'am, you missed your flight and that is it". He finally told me that the time reflected that "the plane did in fact leave early, but that it didn't matter anyway because my plane landed at 8:02 pm and Silver Airlines was not going to wait for me anyway".

At this point, I was so frustrated by Mr. Holiday's tone of voice and poor customer service that I was on the phone with someone in your reservations department (Tiffany, team lead) in order to try and find someone else to help me. Mr. Holiday continued to present a sarcastic, unsympathetic comments under his breath while I was describing the situation to the person on the phone. I asked him who the manager was and he told me that he was. I then asked him who he reported to, and he told me "It doesn't matter anyway because he isn't here right now". So, I asked Mr. Holiday what time he would be here. He told me his supervisor, Mr. Tim Goodrum would be in the following morning from 9 am to 5 pm. I told him I would be in at 9 am.

After spending the night in a hotel that United Airways paid for, I returned to speak with Mr. Goodrum on July 19 at 9 am sharp. Mr. Goodrum, although less sarcastic and slightly more empathetic than Mr. Holiday, did spend the time to talk to me in a polite tone. Despite his slightly more pleasant manner, he failed to acknowledge poor customer service on your company's behalf. Mr. Goodrum explained on your company's behalf, that the customer service (departing 15 minutes early) of the few other people on the flight was more important that the customer service provided to me (1 customer). After approximately a 30 minuted conversation of Manager pointing fingers and the conversation running in circles my plane was boarding (25 minutes early). My flight also departed 18 minutes early as the boarding process was quick because there were only 6 passengers on my flight. I will have you know that a few of the passengers applauded me. One gentleman even stood up from his seat and commented that he over heard the conversation and that they (the passengers) agreed with me.

Of note: flight attendant Joy on the flight from ATL to MEI was very nice. Although, she could not help any of the problems she continually asked if I was ok, apologized profusely on your company's behalf, and asked if there was anything she can do. She deserves accolades, at minimum.

Today is July 23, and AGAIN I find myself a victim of your poor customer service. I am writing this email to you in Meridian Airport awaiting a flight coming from Atlanta. There is a woman here who is waiting to pick up her husband that is on that incoming flight. She and her husband happen to employed by Jet Blue. I have been informed that your plane has now been delayed 3 hours due to first mechanical issues and second because your company lacked proper documentation for departure. I have now been re-booked on a connecting flight to LaGuardia Airport instead of Newark Airport just so that I can get home tonight. This is a serious inconvenience for me as a traveler. I pay higher prices on my airfare to fly out of Newark because of the convenience. My residence is in New Jersey and it is very difficult to travel in and out of the part of New York that LaGuardia is located in. And at this point, I am still not sure that I will make that connecting flight.

Of note: ticketing agent Richard Dean worked diligently for hours to try and accommodate me on a connecting flight. He was pleasant, empathetic, and also continually apologized on your company's behalf. He too deserves recognition.

Now, let me tell you a little about myself. I am a 31 year old intern at a national company, and I am currently pursuing my MBA in supply chain management with a minor in Industrial and Organizational Psychology Although not the airline business, my company too is in the business of customer service. I have recently been appointed the title of Operations Sales Support Analyst. My job is to work as a liaison between the sales and operations department, and to ensure good customer service to the people we serve on transportation's behalf. My current project that I am working on is improving our NPS (Net Promoter Score). I can assure that this email is the first of many to not only your company, but to any and all media that will shed light to consumers on my story. I will make it my personal goal to see that this story receives national attention. I find it disheartening with the amount of money consumers pay to fly for convenience, that this is the way they get treated for that price.

I sincerely hope that your company intends to at least attempt to make good on this significant inconvenience and blatent disrespect through customer service. Please to contact me in a timely fashion, as it not my desire to proceed with this. But, I will defend my right as a consumer to expect to get treated properly and to tget the service I paid for.

Sincerely,