[nuffun]

This is my letter of complaint to air canada and I am still looking for a place to send it. So I will start posting it everywhere I can first.

To whom it may concern:
I would like to file a complaint regarding an incident on the 6th of January, 2009, 22:20 H which occurred at the Vancouver airport.
While I was waiting for a flight to Toronto I heard the call for boarding. I went to the line up and was turned away because it was only the rear of the plane boarding first and I was in seat 21. No problem, so I stand aside but stay near to the desk. I was watching the ticket agent scan tickets and wait for them to call my seat number. He then very aggressively said to me "I told you we are boarding the rear of the plane first". No problem, I did not move but still just wait patiently and observe the ticket agent and watch people pass through and look around. The same agent then said in a more aggressive tone "Why are you staring at me? It is not going to speed things up. Don’t worry you are not going to miss your flight so you will have o wait until your seat/row is called. What’s the problem, are you in a big rush to get on the plane? Do you need to get on this plane right away?"
I replied only with "I’m not worried, so don’t worry about it"
I wanted to say lots more but feared missing my flight for being hostile, which I was not.
I found this to be very offensive, unprofessional and very uncomfortable to me. I have never been treated by a professional in such an insulting manner. I was humiliated in front of all the other passengers in the line. My demeanor at the time was of sadness as I left my upset child at home and I certainly do not need to come to an airline which will treat me in this way.
This is unacceptable. What are you prepared to do about this?

[countrynewsman]

Go to this site: http://aircanada.com/en/customercare/index.html and click on "Past Travel - Comments, Compliment, Complaints". It opens a form where you can state your complaint. If you didn't get the agents name, I'll bet they can find out who it was just by the flight number and date. Good luck.

[PHXFlyer]

I'm not going to side with this agent as his demeanor seemed a bit combative, however according to your own account of the events:

Originally Posted by nuffun

While I was waiting for a flight to Toronto I heard the call for boarding. I went to the line up and was turned away because it was only the rear of the plane boarding first and I was in seat 21. No problem, so I stand aside but stay near to the desk.

So you were told once you were in the queue to board too early, yet you remained in close proximity to the jetway door.

I was watching the ticket agent scan tickets and wait for them to call my seat number. He then very aggressively said to me "I told you we are boarding the rear of the plane first". No problem, I did not move but still just wait patiently and observe the ticket agent and watch people pass through and look around.

Now you were told a second time that it was still not yet your turn and that they didn't want you loitering close to the boarding door (they didn't use those exact words but most would have inferred that) yet you still stood your ground and remained in your place all the while watching the agent process the other passengers.

The same agent then said in a more aggressive tone "Why are you staring at me? It is not going to speed things up. Don’t worry you are not going to miss your flight so you will have to wait until your seat/row is called. What’s the problem, are you in a big rush to get on the plane? Do you need to get on this plane right away?"
I replied only with "I’m not worried, so don’t worry about it"
I wanted to say lots more but feared missing my flight for being hostile, which I was not.

You wanted to say more but didn't. Good thing you at least showed some restraint there. However when you said, "I’m not worried, so don’t worry about it" was there the least bit of sarcasm in your tone? It really doesn't matter, however, since your continued presence there was aggravating the attitude of the agent. He all but told you to "step back" or "leave the immediate boarding area" but you did not comply and remaiined hovering about his work area observing his every move.

[qoute]I found this to be very offensive, unprofessional and very uncomfortable to me. I have never been treated by a professional in such an insulting manner.[/quote]

Perhaps the agent felt uncomfortable with you standing there watching him while he was working. Would you feel comfortable if a total stranger was observing your every move at work? As for professionalism, it runs both ways. You dis-respected him by not vacating the immediate area when told it was not your turn to board and by remaining in your place after repeated attempts to get you to back away. Perhaps his tone and manner were insulting, but I wasn't there and can't really comment.

I was humiliated in front of all the other passengers in the line. My demeanor at the time was of sadness as I left my upset child at home and I certainly do not need to come to an airline which will treat me in this way.
This is unacceptable. What are you prepared to do about this?

Perhaps if you had simply walked away when turned away from the boarding queue, or when you were told the second time not to loiter about, this whole thing would have been avoided. The agent had no way of knowing what was going on in your head at the time about your child.

[jimworcs]

I'm not going to side with this agent as his demeanor seemed a bit combative

.... come on PHX, you and I both know that what follows is going to be a long defence of the airline employee!! Let's not pretend...

Perhaps his tone and manner were insulting, but I wasn't there and can't really comment.

But that didn't stop you writing 636 words commenting on the passenger's behaviour though did it? Why can you comment on nuffun's actions, but then say that you can't comment on the employee's? Double standards?

[jakearny]

I have also experienced similar attitude but not to the point where the agent will yell and belittle you in front of others. If the guy moved out of the way of traffic and was just looking around I do not see the problem. The entire airport is for waiting is it not? If the agent wanted the guy to move out of his sight he could have just asked politely, no? we are all in this together...

[nuffun]

Dear PHXflyer, I had been nothing but tired, quiet and polite to this agent with all I've said even though I was very taken aback at the time. I avoid conflict, do not wish to find arguments of any kind and do not wish to be spoken to like I'm a piece of crap.

Thanks and good day!

[jimworcs]

This agent was probably tired, fed up of the hassle which is created when airlines force their employees to treat customers badly.. and lost his rag. There is no legitimate reason for the employee to ask a customer to get out of his sight or request that a customer not look at him. If he doesn't like people looking at him whilst he does his job, why work in a customer facing role? The truth is, he had someone to unload his attitude on, and that is what he did. Almost certainly with impunity, because the airlines almost encourage such staff behaviour. As long as nuffin was not impeding other passengers or the staff member from doing his duties, he was perfectly entitled to do what he was doing. Airlinenazi's are getting out of hand..

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by jimworcs

.... come on PHX, you and I both know that what follows is going to be a long defence of the airline employee!! Let's not pretend...

Will you please stop the personal attacks already? There are 2 sides to every story.

But that didn't stop you writing 636 words commenting on the passenger's behaviour though did it? Why can you comment on nuffun's actions, but then say that you can't comment on the employee's? Double standards?

Now you're counting the words in my posts? Seems a bit obsessive to me.

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by nuffun

Dear PHXflyer, I had been nothing but tired, quiet and polite to this agent with all I've said even though I was very taken aback at the time. I avoid conflict, do not wish to find arguments of any kind and do not wish to be spoken to like I'm a piece of crap.

Thanks and good day!

I already said from your account it sounds like the agent was combative. If you truly avoid conflict, however, why didn't you just put some distance between you and him instead of standing in the same spot and acting as a lightning rod for his apparent poor attitude?

All I'm saying is that more could have been done on your side of this equation to mitigate the escalating situation. He may have seen, and wrongly so, your keeping your place as a challenge to his (self-perceived) authority. Simply moving to the rear of the crowd would have ended the whole thing.

[Corbel]

also not siding with the employee, but my brother was also reading this post with me (doesn't work for an airline by the way) and we were both wondering, after you were told the second time that they were boarding the rear of the plane first, why didn't you just go take a seat in the area?? the plane isn't going to leave without you. if you were standing near the line, the agent wouldn't know if you could have been trying to sneak on etc. why didn't you just take a seat in the boarding area??

[Silent Bob]

Old Bob is gonna be the one who sides with the agent. Sorry but its a pet peeve of mine when it comes to seat calling. It just seems on most flights as soon as they start boarding (which usually begins with First class) everyone wants to crowd the gate, blocking the way so that people who'se seat has been called cannot get through. I have even heard gate agents yell out for folks to back away so as not to hinder the boarding process. Sir (or madam) you were asked to step away from the area not once, not twice, but thrice, to the point that yes the agent did become unprofessional. Actually you shouldn't have even gotten on line as they didn't even call your seat number.

sorry but it annoys me to no end when I hear row "starting with row 25 - 29) and folks with row 17 show up only to be told to go back and wait your turn, then to hear the agents announce again, "stressing" the fact that you should only go up when your row is called. It's easier to just sit and wait, or if you have to stand, stand away from the boarding area.

And I am not someone who flies every so often; I fly almost weekly. So you can imagine how annoying it is. Once when i sat in first, I was blocked from boarding by a coach passenger who was trying to slip in. Actually the guy thought he was sitting in first as he was row 7... but he neglected to hear the agent say first class row 1 - 4. UGH!!

There are two sides to this story and I'm going pro agent.

[ldl007]

I agree with all your postings. However, some times when multiple announcements are made in a busy gate area from several gates, it is very difficult to understand which seat numbers are called for which flight.
Similarly, when multiple flights take off from the same gate (as in Delta JFK), elderly and not-so-seasoned travellors could easily be at a disadvantage. There is no reason for the gate associate to los epatience. While he/she is a trained professional, passengers could be nervous about missing their flight.

[countrynewsman]

I will agree with Bob on this one...to a point. I have had to work my way through those that crowd around the agent to board when my row is called. Now, if nuffin moved aside, clearing the way for all to board, the agent should have just ignored him. However, if he was standing right beside him, looking over his shoulder while he is working, I think I would have been irritated as well. After all, he was asked to step aside more than once. The humiliation, in my opinion, was caused by the passenger in this case. I very much doubt the agent was aware that nuffin was sad over leaving a child at home...irrelevant, and just something to spice up the melodrama.

[Elizabeth Kennedy]

For the past three days I have been trying to submit a complaint through AC's Customer Care.... It hasn't been working. I finally had to fax it.

Originally Posted by countrynewsman

Go to this site: http://aircanada.com/en/customercare/index.html and click on "Past Travel - Comments, Compliment, Complaints". It opens a form where you can state your complaint. If you didn't get the agents name, I'll bet they can find out who it was just by the flight number and date. Good luck.