[jafoinwf]

While enduring a mechanical delay, I experienced hostility and rudeness from a Comair representative. She was nasty to me when I tried to converse with her about the delayed situation. I asked for a manager or supervisor and she told me there was not one onsite and I was not going to be allowed to talk to one. I then inquired about the status our delayed flight. The response was with a waving finger and "I ain't talking to you no more." I stepped back to my seat to get my Skymiles card and I began to call the 800 number. Right after me, I saw and heard another customer approach the representative and also encounter rudeness. That female customer yelled at the representative that she "...was an awful person!". At this point, I loudly remarked that with the skillset she has she should be working at McDonalds. At this point, I was sitting down calling the 800 number and was approximately 10-15 feet away.

At that point, she called security even though I was never indicated any threat. I was only commenting on her poor customer service. When security did arrive, a Comair manager appeared as well (magically). At that time, I advised him of his employees rudeness and unwillingness to do her job. That manager was told by no less than 5 other persons that the representative was rude to them as well.

I was quickly placed on an AA flight even though the Comair representative had previously told everyone that nothing was available from any airline. Security quickly left when they realized there was no reason for them being called. When that AA flight took off, there were 15 (I counted) seats empty but there were persons from my original Delta flight still waiting in the airport. That was 5.5 hours after the original flight was due to take off.

I have to say that I am vastly impressed with the US airlines safety record. But the customer service is awful. Mechanical delays are usually not avoidable but representative's poor attitudes are. I was firm but cordial with both the manager and the gate representative. Her reaction was inexcusable and her attempt to intimidate me with police was as if we are in a police state. I actually was the calm one in the conversation.

So, the questions that need to be answered here are:

1.) Is is Delta or Comair's SOP to call security as an escalation process for poor customer service?

2.) Why is it not Delta/Comair SOP to rebook with confirmed seats on other flights both on Delta and with other airlines in event of a mechanical delay? Many other passengers commented to me and to the supervisor that it should have not taken this debacle to get a seat on another airline.

3.) When will Delta step forward and accept the passenger bill of rights? As it is, Delta is allowed by law to detain and treat paying customer pretty much any poor way the local representative is in the mood for.

[Silent Bob]

We can always assume that if security is called to handle a situation, there is way more to the story than what appears and since the agent isn't on this site to defend what happened, we have to take your side, though I would do so with a grain of salt. I've seen my fellow passengers erupt in a fit of rage, once saw a business class passenger catch a temper tantrum like a little child because a flight was delayed longer than he expected. In the end he was taken away in cuffs. Yea I've gotten my share of upset over delays and cancellations but I never take my anger out on the agent, what did they do?

so to help answer your questions 1) its whomever was operating the flight that calls security, since it was comair, delta will take no responsibilty. 2) Delta is usually quite good at rebooking even on other airlines, can't imagine why they wouldn't rebook you confirmed on another airline. Maybe its due to the security issue that they never got around to it? I dunno. 3) when will any airline step forward and accept the apssenger bill of rights? THAT is the question.

[ChrisH]

Silent Bob is correct. Agents do not call security, unless they really feel threatened. There must be more to the story. NEVER make rude/crude remarks to an agent, at an airport, because in this post 9/11 world, airports really provide no rights, and you will risk being arrested. I've seen it happen to plenty of perfectly good people, who simply lose their cool in a situation, and now have a mark on their record. Not worth it!

By the way .... you do realize that the agent is not to blame for the delay, so why take your anger out on him/her. That solves nothing, and doesn't suddenly make the situation/delay better. Trust me, when I say that the agent wants the flight, and you, gone ASAP, just like you want to go. I dreaded anytime I had to work the gate, and there was a delay. I have no control over it, but passengers sure do seem to think us agents control everything.

[jafoinwf]

Why does there HAVE to be more to the story? Because I dared to comment on a gate attendants poor customer service skills? Because we are conditioned that if security is called, then there HAS to be a bad guy involved and Delta wouldn't dare be using security to cover up being awfully rude? Note that the airport contact indicates there was no problem found when security was called. Please see below.

Mr. Blanchard:

Our officer was called by airline personnel and responded. Upon the
officer's arrival he could see there was no security issue, told the
airline person that and left. Your issue is with Delta and the customer
service you received and I will ask the local Delta manager to respond.
In addition, you may want to contact Delta, as your fellow passenger
did, to express your displeasure.

Your email does not indicate you were treated poorly by our Airport
officer, is that correct? What if next time there truly is a threat, but
the officer would choose not to respond? The officers have a duty to
check out each call.

I am truly sorry you had a negative customer service experience. I know
air travel can be very frustrating; I wish you safe and trouble-free
travel in the future.

Thank you again for notifying us of this incident.

[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

If the airlines had to face the same penalties the owners of faulty burglar alarm systems face, then these types of police calls would drop sharply.

Many cities will allow the owners of burglar alarms to have a certain number of "false" calls, over a given period of time, without charge. Once the "free" allowance has been used, additional "false" calls subject the owner to a service charge for each call.

Airport police departments could assign airlines a number of "free" security calls based on, say, 5% of the total number of passengers the given airline boarded in the past six months. "False," or bogus, calls exceeding the "free" allowance would be charged, to the airline, at $500 a call.

Mr. Blanchard's case is a prime example of how US-based airlines are using airport police departments as customer service staff. With Spirit Air being the first US-based airline to dismantle its customer service department, it will be interesting to see how many bogus calls the Fort Lauderdale Airport police—Spirit Air’s home base—will tolerate before Spirit starts having to pay costs to the police.

[ChrisH]

The reason that that idea would not work, is because the airport police officer are often times good friends with all of the agents around the airport, or, at least, they were at the airport I worked at. They were often times bored, and were glad when we called, as it gave them something to do, other than walking around, or sitting at a security point.

Also, there would really be no way that the police could prove that the agent did not feel threatened, when s/he called the police. They may have found that the person was not a threat that needed to immediately removed, but it still doesn't mean the agent didn't feel threatened by the person, in some way.

As to the original poster. Just keep in mind that customer service agents have no control over delays, etc. Give them a break, and realize that, post 9/11, it is better to keep one's mouth shut, in an airport, than risk being arrested.

Originally Posted by Butch Cassidy Slept Here

If the airlines had to face the same penalties the owners of faulty burglar alarm systems face, then these types of police calls would drop sharply.

Many cities will allow the owners of burglar alarms to have a certain number of "false" calls, over a given period of time, without charge. Once the "free" allowance has been used, additional "false" calls subject the owner to a service charge for each call.

Airport police departments could assign airlines a number of "free" security calls based on, say, 5% of the total number of passengers the given airline boarded in the past six months. "False," or bogus, calls exceeding the "free" allowance would be charged, to the airline, at $500 a call.

Mr. Blanchard's case is a prime example of how US-based airlines are using airport police departments as customer service staff. With Spirit Air being the first US-based airline to dismantle its customer service department, it will be interesting to see how many bogus calls the Fort Lauderdale Airport police—Spirit Air’s home base—will tolerate before Spirit starts having to pay costs to the police.

[jafoinwf]

Chris, I think it is the ideas that you advocate that unsettle me the most about this event. You are advocating that in a 9/11 world, that gate attendants are allowed to be uncivil and rude but if we comment on their lack of customer skills, we are criminals. This effectively means that you advocate a police state at the Cedar Rapids airport. So, why don't we just drop the term of frequent flyer (which I was of Delta) and start using the term prisoners of bad service. This not so subtly implies that airlines have a direct escalation path to the police whereas the paying customers are subjugated to whatever mood the gate attendant is in. This would explain why the airlines earnestly fought against the NY passenger bill of rights which looked to strip the airlines of the ability to hold and detain their customers ( I mean, prisoners) for hours at end and not provide basic services like water and toilets. Back to the Delta counter at Cedar Rapids, I never asked the gate attendant for fixing the delay. I asked about status and to speak to a mgr and then commented she should be working at McDonalds. That is too much for a poorly trained Delta employee to handle and she had to escalate to her police state.

[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

With all due respect to Chris, causing someone to "feel threatened" is, in most states, neither a crime, nor a legal basis to remove someone from a public transportation facility. However, certain states may allow businesses, including airlines, to refuse service (or boarding) to someone who causes a staff member to feel threatened. In the case of an airline refusing service, on this basis, there is probably an obligation to refund, in full, and in cash, check, or credit to form of payment (not travel vouchers,) the amount of the fare paid, regardless of whether the ticket is "non-refundable."

Recently an employee of the Town where I live, in an open, and televised, Council meeting, stated, in referring to me, "...I will knock him on his ass." When I researched the law governing this subject I was surprised to find when such a statement is made, in anger, as this statement was, and there are no extenuating circumstances--such as the showing of a weapon, or raised fists, such a statement is not a crime. Pennsylvania is one such state where this principle applies.

Accordingly, people who find themselves escorted, and barred from, an air terminal (unless there is only one airline serving that terminal) as a result of a staff member who called the police over a customer who threatened to write a complaint letter, or sneezed, may have a basis for a law suit, against the offending airline, if that person's travel to his final destination was materially interfered with.

[jafoinwf]

But I didn't even say I was going to do anything and never communicated anything threatening. I had walked away from her rude service and I was approx 15 feet away and said she should be working at McDonalds.

[ChrisH]

I am not advocating anything. The fact is, in an airport, it basically is a "police state". Nobody really has rights, in an airport. For that matter, if an agent became that rude, the passenger could probably call the police on the agent, saying they were threatened.

I am not advocating that agents should be allowed to be rude. I am only warning, that I worked for an airline, in an airport, for two years, all post 9/11. Airports have basically become a "police state", and it is often times better to just keep comments to one's self, than risk being arrested.

One of the agents I used to work with, for example, was getting into an argument with a disgruntled passenger. The passenger was twice this agent's size. The agent felt threatened, even though the person never "did" anything threatening. The agent finally asked the guy, "did you just say bomb?". He, of course, didn't say bomb, but it certainly backed this passenger down. That was completely wrong on the part of the agent, but had the agent called the police, who do you think would have been hauled off in handcuffs? I am just saying, be careful, because many of these airport police officers are friends with the agents, and will always take the agent's side, whether they have a legit reason to call, or not.

Threatening may not be against the law, but in an airport, I have seen MANY passengers escorted, in handcuffs, for being "threatening" to an agent.

[jafoinwf]

Chris, Like I said, we are just prisoners of bad service. Your pragmatism around the airlines and their inability to deliver product is disgusting. I guess it is a hard mindset change for those of us who work for companies that actually value the customer and also make a profit.

[ChrisH]

I no longer work for the airlines, and actually do not work for them, because of many of these issues. I took a job with an airline, becaus I am in flight school, training to become a pilot, and thought it would be a fun job. It was far from it. I only speak to how things are, based on what I experienced, as an airline employee. I don't advocate, nor do I support many of the airline's policies, etc. The fact is, things are what they are, and I am just telling people how it is, with regards to the airlines. I witnessed this crap on a daily basis, and it isn't showing any signs of changing. The only way it will change, is for people to stop flying, altogether, not just stop flying one particular airline. Fact is, more people are flying than ever before, even though airline complaints, are more than ever before. The airlines see no reason to change, as long as that is the case.

I look forward to getting another job, with a company (non-airline), that not only values it's customers, but also it's employees, because the airlines sure do not!! I agree 100% with everything you are saying. Do not take my posts as being supportive of the airlines. They are far from it. I am simply trying to explain how things are, based on what I experienced, as an employee.