45 minute CUT OFF--Dont be late!

[madders]

Maybe I'm just dense....

Was it documented that she was told, and agreed to, the airline having no responsibility for her baggage delivery or just that she checked in late? The former is what I meant by the "he said - she said" issue.

Jim

yep it was documented that she was late to check in and that she was advised she would have to ship her bags

delta has a 30 minute cut off and they will not even give you a choice to go without bags

 

[BoeingBoy]

yep it was documented that she was late to check in and that she was advised she would have to ship her bags

I guess I'm just having one of those days....

If she was advised that she would have to ship her bags, how did they end up in US' control to be delivered?

I've been assuming that at some point someone from US accepted her bags after the cutoff time without anything proving that she accepted responsibility for retrieving them if they didn't arrive with her at the destination. Maybe that assumption has been wrong.

Kim

 

[N965VJ]

<SNIP>
Kim

Something we should know?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[john john]

I once had a station manager that had a policy you carry the passenger YOU CARRY THERE BAGS. Believe me the plot thickens when a passengers arrives at baggage claim without there bags. We have some agents that check passengers in (boarding pass only) and the bags have to be carry to the gate, kind of like punishment. L.C.I. are part of the business. Some agents are scare not to check in a LATE CHECK IN their scare of letter writers and management that won’t back them up. And some agents just don’t fell like the hassle of saying NO.

 

[BoeingBoy]

Something we should know?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Oh No...ejected from the closet by myself!!!!

Jim

 

[USFlyer]

Does Amtrak hold a train for late running passengers? THEY MOST CERTAINLY DO NOT. The greyhound bus will leave you as well.

This isn't even a valid comparison. I can show up at the curb 5 mins before Acela departs and still make the train. Amtrak also won't give you grief if you want to take a later train. Just walk up to the counter and they'll change it ... you don't get socked with thousands of dollars in fare differences and change fees.

 

[Travelpro72]

Your right that was a bad example. I shouldn't have compared an airline against such supreme service as Amtrak.... Though Amtrak does put you on the later train and may cater to you a little more they also don't run an operation anywhere near what the major airlines do. They also are not under the extreme security the airlines are. I'm sure you can take your gallon of water and 12 oz bottle of Pantene shampoo with you as well. No cavity searches by the TSA. I have taken the train and it is an extremely relaxing experience but even if you sit in line for security and make it there before the cutoff you will get there a hell of a lot faster than the train. Acela gets to top speed for how much of its route? Not much.

 

[USFlyer]

Bottom line, if I show up 29 minutes before a flight out of a medium-sized station, I and my bags should be able to make the flight. Anything else is not customer friendly. Before this stupid "you need to check liquids" stuff, I showed up at security 15-20 mins before departure (checking in online 24 hours in advance) and never missed a flight.

 

[john john]

Bottom line, if I show up 29 minutes before a flight out of a medium-sized station, I and my bags should be able to make the flight. Anything else is not customer friendly. Before this stupid "you need to check liquids" stuff, I showed up at security 15-20 mins before departure (checking in online 24 hours in advance) and never missed a flight.

See. letter writer

 

[USFlyer]

See. letter writer

Huh? I've never written a letter to any airline. I don't have time for that nonsense, especially when it never yields any change.

Whether you like it or not, a hard cutoff is NOT customer friendly. I personally don't care what the backend issues are. From a customer standpoint, you're not meeting what I would consider reasonable expectations. Period. 30 mins should be more than enough time to process a bag, I mean really.

And for the record, my original e-mail seems to have gotten lost. I would have been within the 30 mins IF the kiosk had actually worked and IF there had been an agent to help with the fact that the kiosk couldn't process my transaction. When I asked the agent why the kiosk did not work and why no one was available, she said, "Oh, that happens all the time". Ok, so, now I'm being penalized for missing a cutoff that I ONLY MISSED due to poorly implemented technology and poor staffing on US's part. This is NOT customer friendly, no matter how you slice it. See, on other carriers, the agents have discretion when stuff like this happens. On US, I'm told it's my fault and I'm out of luck. That is the problem I'm talking about. I guess I'm supposed to know in advance that US cannot implement solid technology or adequately staff their airports.

 

[Travelpro72]

So no other customer oriented business has any kind of cut off periods? Hmmmm interesting.

 

[john john]

Huh? I've never written a letter to any airline. I don't have time for that nonsense, especially when it never yields any change.

Whether you like it or not, a hard cutoff is NOT customer friendly. I personally don't care what the backend issues are. From a customer standpoint, you're not meeting what I would consider reasonable expectations. Period. 30 mins should be more than enough time to process a bag, I mean really.

And for the record, my original e-mail seems to have gotten lost. I would have been within the 30 mins IF the kiosk had actually worked and IF there had been an agent to help with the fact that the kiosk couldn't process my transaction. When I asked the agent why the kiosk did not work and why no one was available, she said, "Oh, that happens all the time". Ok, so, now I'm being penalized for missing a cutoff that I ONLY MISSED due to poorly implemented technology and poor staffing on US's part. This is NOT customer friendly, no matter how you slice it. See, on other carriers, the agents have discretion when stuff like this happens. On US, I'm told it's my fault and I'm out of luck. That is the problem I'm talking about. I guess I'm supposed to know in advance that US cannot implement solid technology or adequately staff their airports.

You and your demands are why we break the rules. I not saying it is bad or good just what you get when your work for an airline. People pushing the envelope

 

[Travelpro72]

The way I see it is the company keeps the staffing low for costs (so they say). Higher costs means higher fares and you don't want them higher now do ya? There are many airlines with many airplanes and most facilities are outdated and cannot handle the volume. It is no different than being in Kmart and having 20 checkout lanes but only 6 have a light on. Do we go to the manager and DEMAND that in the price of everything in my cart you should have this and this and that.... The airlines are held to this standard that is just not realistic sometimes. Sure as a customer you couldn't care less about the reasons why. Well my friend there ARE reasons whether good ones or bad. That is the reality and that is the facts. Travel will only get busier as the years go on and lines will only get longer. So that being said, get there early.

 

[USFlyer]

The way I see it is the company keeps the staffing low for costs (so they say). Higher costs means higher fares and you don't want them higher now do ya?

Umm, no, I was on a full Y ticket. Over $1000 roundtrip for a 500 mile flight. Don't tell me about dirt cheap fares. I haven't booked more than 3-4 days in advance in years. The airlines charge passengers high fares but then don't deliver anything different to those paying 6-10x the lowest fare on a given flight.

I'm somewhat amused how everyone overlooks the fact that it was US's incompetence that pushed me over the cutoff, not my own doing. It's always the customer's fault. Interesting business model you have going here.

 

[Travelpro72]

Well I think in a previous post I said that if you were having kiosk trouble or something airline related that YOU were not in control of then a consideration should be made. The company should then make every attempt to get you on your original flight.