[rklongo]

Just found this site and I thought I would post my frustration. First I want to say I understand no one is perfect and things happen. I get all that. I am a gold member with US Airways and it isn't like I have never had an issue with them before. The difference in this situation is that if I am told something then I expect the company to follow through. This situation has prompted me to post a negative online comment for the first time ever regarding an airline. I have flown on approx 150 segments over the last three years so more then ample opportunity to have something not go right. In those instances I have dealt with great and rude employees or ones that at best are without a doubt going through the motions. The situation I describe below which seems to be backed up by other posts. Delta's unspoken policy is to ignore you or keep you hanging on until you feel like it is no longer worth your time, effort and aggravation to continue to press for what you feel is right. Here is the exact message I have sent to Delta for claim BHMDL20048. I apologize at the length of this message I just tried to be as factual, detailed and unemotional about the incident as possible.

Delta Baggage Claim Dept

I am writing to discuss my claim with you since there is not an option to do this live. I am doing this because in a manner of one day I received conflicting information regarding the claim process and what my expectations should be. I assume you will have the ability based upon the file reference number to review the conversations recorded to confirm the following narrative.
First off as you have obviously surmised my baggage was delayed. I was making an evening trip Monday 12/6 to Birmingham to meet with customers before flying Wednesday 12/8 to San Diego, CA for 6 straight days of meetings and events. My first appointment Tuesday was before any clothing store I would frequent would be open so I had to cancel it which as a side note will require an additional expense to rebook a trip.
I called the toll free # provided and spoke to a CSR about the process. I wanted to understand what my rights were, what I should expect and also to understand how I was supposed to dress for clients on $50 a day? She told me it was not a firm $50 as listed in the bag information flyer I was provided and directed me to dress as I needed “within reason”. I told her that was an extremely subjective description if she could be a little clearer. She said “as an example if I needed a toothbrush that I should just get a $3 one and not an Armani $1000 designer toothbrush”. I said what about shopping for clothes at Macy’s instead of Wal-Mart and she said that was not an issue. I informed her I was concerned that finding clothes off the rack to fit me without alterations is generally a problem and will limit my selections. I also asked her about luggage. Specifically what was I supposed to do carry my clothes around in a bunch of plastic bags? I needed a piece of luggage and asked if there were any that Delta could loan me to use while mine was being located. She said no and I told her then I was going to have to get luggage since my flight was earlier the next day and I would not have time to meet my work commitments, go shopping and get to the airport. At this juncture my suitcase had not even been located and scanned – it could be anywhere in the US for all we knew. She told me to get what I needed. I told the CSR that I would look to purchase 3 days worth of clothes since I would need business clothes for that day, casual clothes for that night and business clothes for the next day again and one piece of luggage. There was no communication that this was going to be an issue or counsel that I should not do that.
I had an internal midday meeting with my sales team in Birmingham and wore, even though non professional attire, my clothes from the day before. After the meeting I headed back to the hotel and my luggage still was not there so I had to go shopping since I had a late afternoon customer meeting and needed proper attire. I chose a midrange store - Macy’s and even went through the trouble of searching the internet for coupons to save Delta some money.
I purchased the following for 3 days:
3 pair of underwear
3 pair of socks – note I did not get work and casual socks.
1 piece of luggage – I asked to borrow one and was told no.
1 electric razor – I have a medical condition that requires me to use an electric razor. I was not going to buy a cheap razor in case my luggage was not found then I would be stuck with it. Just so you can see I am not trying to get something for free I have included the receipt for the brand new razor I had just purchased about three weeks prior.

For Business Meeting late Tuesday afternoon:
1 dress suit pant and suit jacket

For Tuesday after work:
1 pair of jeans and 1 polo shirt. – note I wore my dress shoes instead of getting a pair of causal shoes

For Wed morning
1 pair of dress pants and 1 sport coat


As I stated earlier I went through the trouble of locating coupons on the internet which ended up saving Delta $145 and only bought items which were on sale saving Delta another $945.

I called the 800# later in the day and good news my luggage was located. The direction the automated response provided is that it was scheduled to be at my hotel sometime prior to 4am in the morning and I would receive a phone call when it was delivered. In the morning I got up and there was no message waiting. I got dressed and packed. While in the lobby of the hotel I noticed in a room off to the side there was my luggage sitting. I called the 800# again to find out what happened. I spoke to the CSR and explained the situation and she told me that since the luggage had arrived that Delta would only pay for 1 pair of clothes and nothing else. Irritated at the conflicting information I was receiving I told the CSR it is not my fault my luggage was lost, It was not my fault that the previous CSR told me a different process and it certainly was not my fault that I was informed of and expecting a call that never came so why would I assume my luggage was at the hotel. The CSR said she did not know why I would receive a call because they do not do that and she was sorry for the misinformation. She said I would have to take up the reimbursement with you.

I realize that this is not your fault and you are the one left dealing with it however I am the one that was severely inconvenienced. As if I don’t travel enough ( approx 25 trips on USAirways and a couple on Delta this year ) I now have to make another trip to Birmingham. I haven’t exactly been enamored always with USAirways and with Delta’s purchase of AirTran I thought there might be a few more opportunities to use Delta without having to have layovers in Atlanta. I was initially extremely pleased with the first CSR and her empathy though the coarseness of my second conversation and how she flippantly insinuated that I would have to cover expenses without listening still has me irritated. I can’t promise you that how this situation is handled will ensure I will completely change my flying partner however what I can promise you is that how this is handled will absolutely dictate whether I consider Delta for future travels.

As a follow up to this letter which was submitted with the claim form. I have emailed Delta a couple of times and each time my request for information about my claim form has gone unanswered only to state that their records show that the bag was found and returned. I responded with I had to buy clothes in the interim and I have submitted a claim form can you tell me the status of the reimbursement? I am waiting many days and NO response as of yet to that point blank question. I have called and the bag number and it is busy all the time. I used their online chat feature and was told the number was busy because of all the snow we have received in the last week. I responded with snow grounds planes what does that have to do with luggage getting lost. If the luggage never leaves the airport how can it get that lost? Response was to reiterate the original statement. I asked for help finding out about the claim. Nothing they can do and was redirected back to the 800#. Who's on first routine I fear.
If you are an agent of Delta and you read this does it not bother you that the integrity of the company you work for is being called into question? None of this is made up not ONE fact can be disputed. I have kept notes of all interactions. Delta states that it records all conversations so I urge you to review the original conversation with the baggage claims dept when I followed up the next day to discuss options. I not only urge you but I challenge you to do so and then reply to this post if anything I posted was out of context or flat our wrong! I challenge you!

[bilingual]

How much money did you spend on clothes? - if you have "saved" Delta for USD 1095, i would like to know your claim..
A businessman usually packs shirts in hand luggage to avoid situations like this.

[rklongo]

First up I was traveling for 8 straight days so I had to check luggage so your notion that a businessman will pack differently make the assumption that I want to lug around a laptop bag, carry on and checked luggage. T
regardless of your notion I can't get everything into one carry on. As or your question about how much I spent all totalled it was about 800 for the three days. The razor was 200 and sorry if you think that is too much but I had just bought one for that much 3 weeks prior and sent them the receipt as proof. The luggage was about 150 again sorry I travel often and I am not going to get some piece of junk for 50 dollars that falls apart in a couple of months and I am stick with it. I remind you that I asked to borrow a piece of luggage and was told to get my own. I got a suit for less then $200 not exactly high end, jacket and dress pants for 200 and misc other things. I can't help it retailers mark everything way up to make you feel like you are getting a deal. The point bilingual is that I didn't have to but made sure everything was onsale. I didn't have to but searched online and got coupons to use. I didn't have to but requested a loaner bag. You would think they have unclaimed luggage that they could use.

I try to do the right thing and Delta has their own moral compas.

Update after a week of trying I finally got through and not a busy signal. Spike to a very nice lady who unfortunately told me the standard reply is 6 weeks. Looks like Delta's moral compas us not exactly due north.

[HoustonFlyer]

If you are buying things to last 8 days, what would be your problem in buying a $50 suitcase even if as you say it may fall apart in months? If you want a long lasting suitcase, there is no reason for the airline to pay for it. Also a razor for $200 doesn't sound reasonable. Electric razors are available for $20, and remember you only want it to last 8 days. If you want a good electric razor, pay for it. I saw a Panasonic travel electric razor for $14 on the Walmart website. If you bought a suit, you don't need a separate dress pants, and the pants that comes with a suit is a dress pants, or did the suit come with jeans?

If I was the CSR dealing with your claim, assuming the airline is liable at all, I would approve $150 for your claim. I would surely like to know what you get eventually. You have to remember that you are going to be enjoying the use of these items for a long time, and the expense is not to be laid at the airline's door.

[rklongo]

Houston,

you make the assumption that Delta would eventually find my bag. Based upon the posts I have read here that is never a forgone conclusion. So using your logic I should trade down to a $14 razor for the $200 razor I just purchased three weeks prior. I should trade down my quality piece of luggage for something that would break down much quicker. As for the clothes I purchased enough for 2 days but they would last up to 4 days. I couldn't just buy one suit because I was flying the next day to the west coast and had 2 layovers. I didn't get in until 7pm at night - not enough time to get luggage, rental car and then try to find a mall to go shopping. So like bilingual thanks for making a bunch of assumptions and then telling me what I did wrong. I really appreciate that. The point is not my dressing habits or whether I should go to walmart and buy some crap I am stuck with if my luggage is not found. The point is I had very clear discussion with a CSR before I did anything. I told her based upon our conversation this is what I was going to buy and from where. She never cautioned me that this was a problem or could cause issue.

[jimworcs]

With the possible exception of the razor, I think this claim is entirely reasonable. A cheap razor would have covered until Delta either found your luggage or declared it lost. The clothing claims are totally fair and reasonable, and $150 is ridiculous for 8 days