[millionmiler]

On an early 2010 trip, I was traveling with my wife's cat -- taking it home after a special surgery. A week before my trip, I called to add the cat to my trip record, when I was informed that I need to pay at the airport when I arrive.

Anticipating that this would take time, I arrived at Dulles 2 hours and 15 minutes before my flight. I used the United Premier check in line, because I am a premium executive with United and was traveling first class. After standing in the motionless line of nearly 70 people for over 40 minutes (during which only 7 people were helped, I bailed and went into the normal processing line (which was moving at a rate of 15 people per 10 minutes).

I went up to the counter, and was told "you were supposed to be in the Premium Exec line," I can't process you here. After appealing to the rude ticket counter person's sensibilities, he then proceeded to "chew me out" for "not having pre-reserved the cat." I told him what the United customer service representative on the phone said, but unsympathetic, the ticket agent started yelling at me. Apparently I reserved the last remaining carry-on pet position -- whoop-tee-do!

It took another 30 minutes for him to lackadaisically process the carry-on pet fee-- at which point I was sprinting through the security line, onto the bus services to the terminal, and straight onto the plane.

To make matters worse: both I and the person behind me in line (who happened to be going to the same place) arrived without our check-in luggage (*note: it was a non-stop flight = no connections). I also found out later that one of my colleagues who was behind me in the Premium Executive line, missed his flight by 25 minutes. Some benefit that was!?

Fortunately, the flight attendants were very friendly, but the rudeness and total chaos with the Premium Exec check-in line was very poor. I called the manager for United's service at Dulles and, while he was mildly apologetic, he summed it up as "there's nothing I can do to fix the Prem. Exec. line problem."

Moral of the story: Don't bother with the Exec line or Checking In luggage at Dulles, United is too disorganized to handle anything more than boarding and the flight itself.