[Skippy905]

On November 10th we left Buffalo for Mexico, connecting in Newark, and Houston. When we left Newark, we were 10 minutes late out of the gate, simply because no gate agent arrived until 5 minutes after the scheduled boarding time, so we were 10 minutes late to even begin boarding. We arrived 10 minutes late to Houston, and I was a bit nervous, as this was only going to give us 35 minutes to deplane, and head to the next gate. Normally enough time, but we had to cross the airport, and I was a bit nervous. When we exited the plane, I specifically asked the gate agent to call ahead to inform them that we were on our way, as we only had about 12 minutes. The gate agent told me that he was busy, but that we had enough time. I was a little surprised that the gate agent refused to help, but figured we must have enough time. So we raced across the airport and arrived at our gate 2 minutes before we were supposed to depart, only to find the plane had left already. Hmmm….enough time?!? So we again had to go and rebook our flight. At this point I was upset that no one initially helped us when requested, and that the plane could not wait for us, even though we had arrived 35 minutes before departure. Our luggage managed to make it onto the plane, but they couldn’t hold it for us.
When it came to booking, I was again dumbfounded that they couldn’t do more for us to look at other airlines to see about getting us their quicker. All they could do was put us on standby for Continental
flights to Mexico. We waited for 4 hours to see if we could get on the next flight. We did not. We were rolled over to the next flight, and again waited 4 hours to see if there was something that could be done. During this time we were not attended to very well, as they would not listen to my request to book on other airlines. Also not even once was I offered any sort of meal compensation. I had to ask for it and was given a measly $4 per person (two of us were flying). Finally, the last flight came and went, and after 9 hours of waiting in the airport, we were out of luck for the day. We again had to rebook for the next day. However, we had to track down someone to help us at customer service, as no one seemed to be around. When we finally found a person, he was very aggressive and rude towards us the entire time that he rebooked our standby tickets for the next morning. At the end of this, I had to ask if there was some sort of compensation, as we now had to stay the night. Without saying so much as “Here!” he gave us discount rates to local hotels. I found this to be insulting after waiting 9 hours to find out that we were stuck, but new that there was nothing that could be done with the rude agent at this time.
So the next morning we were at the airport to see if we would make the next flight. Thankfully we did and we arrived into Mexico 20 hours after we were originally supposed to. This really caused real difficulties with our business, having to postpone meetings, hotels, etc. to accommodate our new schedule. Eventually we dealt with everything and headed home. On my flight home, everything went OK, until we reached Newark. We were to fly at 5:00pm to Buffalo, however only 25 minutes to 5:00pm we were informed that there was a mechanical problem, and we would be delayed until 5:45pm. At 5:30pm we were told it would now be 6:15pm. I understand the issues, but must state that they could have given us better warning than 20 minutes before scheduled departure.
Finally we get on the plane, and 6:15pm came and went. I assumed it was more mechanical problems, but soon came an announcement that we were just waiting for two more passengers to arrive before departing. This made me FURIOUS. Less than a week ago, they couldn’t hold the plane until 2 minutes BEFORE departure, and yet here we were waiting a full 20 minutes beyond our time for 2 passengers.
I felt betrayed, insulted, and or course angry that an airline couldn’t extend me that same courtesy less than a week ago, causing me numerous business problems, without so much as offering me any type of compensation unless I asked (to which I was given a “slap in the face” amount of compensation). I have flown many airlines and faced many issues, but have always been dealt with by the airline. I have never seen such horrible customer service as I have with Continental. Also, to top it off, after all the passengers had to wait almost 1.5 hours to take off, you could tell that they were a little upset. It didn’t help that the stewardess was VERY rude and confrontational to 2 passengers (I’m not saying they were right, but there is a better way to deal with it), as well as being overall unfriendly to the entire aircraft. I didn’t even want to talk to her she was so rude.
So for the record, I have flown Continental Airlines 3 times, and all 3 times I have faced serious issues, that were dealt with incompetence, rudeness, and outright lack of concern for customers. I gave Continental a second chance to prove themselves as an airline, and they have failed horribly.
If you are a business person, and value your business, do not fly Continental Airlines. It will only end up costing you far more to your business in the long run. I also suggest no one flies Continental Airlines, as they do not care for their customers, and will only cause you headaches, by which they will not even acknowledge your concerns.