The horrible transportation ordeal: Day 3 (the conclusion... finally)
Sorry for the delay in posting the end of this monstrosity. Since I was running a day behind and the third day was Sunday, I was in class on the day I would have posted. And then, I think I blocked the memory of the entire weekend, because many of the details have become fuzzy.
8:30 am - I wake up. I have not gotten any voicemail from security while I was asleep. But I will check in person before I call United again.
9:00 am - I start my laundry. Then I go to talk to security to see if they have gotten my bag. They are friendly and check, but they have nothing.
9:45 am - I move my clothes to the dryer and return to my room to call United again.
10:10 am - I call United. They put me on hold[1] while they check with the delivery service. The delivery service is apparently farther behind than last time I called. I am told that my bag is out for delievery and I that I should call back in an hour if I don't have it. Skeptical, I go back to waiting.
11:10 am - No sign of my bag. I sense another day of beging stuck in/around EC on the off chance that they will actually get my bag to me today. I am worried about what will happen if I don't have it before class on Monday becuase it will not be good if I have to miss class over this.
11:20 am - Having given them a generous 10 minute grace period I call United again. Once again I am placed on hold. For about 10 minutes. I am told to be patient, that my bag will be delivered by 2:00pm. Oh really? Being reasonably intelligent, I've noticed a pattern here:
I call shortly after whatever time they say I will get the bag and they tell me to wait a few more hours. I wait a few more hours, get nothing done, don't go out or shower or do anything else that might cause me to miss a phone call from the delivery guy until the time runs out. Then, I call again...
Right. So, now I don't believe they have any clue what they're talking about and, as I'm busy as all hell, I resent being told that I need to wait around if nothing is going to happen. I explain this to the guy. I also explain that if they aren't going to deliver it until next week they should tell me that and let me get on with my life. The guy repeats that I will have the bag back by 2:00. Yeah ok, whatever. And then what? When it gets to be 2:00 and I don't have it what are they going to do for me? I really don't want to call them again and have to endure their horrendous hold music. Are they going to compensate me for having wasted a day and a half of my life? He apologizes profusely, which further irritates me[2], but repeats that I will have the bag by 2:00pm. Yeah, ok, fine. So I hang up and go back to waiting.
11:45 - 1:30 - I goggle around for lost baggage stories online and try to figure out what I will be able to get out of United if I have to call them and yell again. In one story I find, some people had a bag misdirected and spent a week being assured by the airline that it had been located and would be delievered the next day. And then, at the end of the week, it completely disappeared and the airline couldn't find it. This doesn't bode well. I'm further depressed by the fact that I yelled at the last United guy I talked to and the knowledge that I'm going to do it again at 2. As much as I, personally, dislike being yelled at, I really hate yelling at other people[3].
1:45 pm - Ok, I give up. In 15 minutes, I'm going to call them and yell again and be an asshole. And, since they've already driven me to violate my sacred operating principle[3] anyway, I'm also going to stop feeling bad about it.
1:50 pm - My cell phone rings. Wow! Maybe I actually will get my bag back now. The delivery guy is in Manhattan and will be at Columbia in a few minutes. Hope returns.
1:58 pm - My phone rings again. The guy is here and I can come down to get my bag. I try not to think about all the ways this might not be the end of the story and jump down the stairs five at a time[4].
2:00 pm - I get the bag. It is definitely mine and does not appear to be damaged. I return to my room and life begins to improve. Finally.
Lessons learned: 1) Grinning at small, well-behaved children, causing them to laugh, helps. 2) The world would be a much better place if reasonable people could get things taken care of without having to be unreasonable. 3) I will never attempt to fly on United again, nor will I ever entrust any airline with anything I need/want to see again again.
[1] United Airlines has the most awful hold music. Imagine Rhapsody in Blue played on an out of tune piano, recorded and played back in mono and periodically interupted by "Thank you for holding." Making matters worse is the fact that I turned my cell phone volume all the way up on Friday when I was at LGA because I was having trouble hearing the Travelocity person over the ambient noise. Since then, I have been unable to turn it back down. So it's bad and deafening and now every time I hear the tune I will be reminded of this incident... and I used to like Gershwin.
[2] Note: Don't ever spend time apologizing to someone who is annoyed at the fact that you've been wasting their time. The damage is done; they won't forgive you. If you actually are sorry the best way to express your remorse would be to stop wasting their time.
[3] My philosophy in a nutshell: The world is filled with assholes, I don't need to be one of them.
[4] The elevators were both a little below my floor and moving down, so it would have been a five minute wait. Faster to jump down them several at a time.
8:30 am - I wake up. I have not gotten any voicemail from security while I was asleep. But I will check in person before I call United again.
9:00 am - I start my laundry. Then I go to talk to security to see if they have gotten my bag. They are friendly and check, but they have nothing.
9:45 am - I move my clothes to the dryer and return to my room to call United again.
10:10 am - I call United. They put me on hold[1] while they check with the delivery service. The delivery service is apparently farther behind than last time I called. I am told that my bag is out for delievery and I that I should call back in an hour if I don't have it. Skeptical, I go back to waiting.
11:10 am - No sign of my bag. I sense another day of beging stuck in/around EC on the off chance that they will actually get my bag to me today. I am worried about what will happen if I don't have it before class on Monday becuase it will not be good if I have to miss class over this.
11:20 am - Having given them a generous 10 minute grace period I call United again. Once again I am placed on hold. For about 10 minutes. I am told to be patient, that my bag will be delivered by 2:00pm. Oh really? Being reasonably intelligent, I've noticed a pattern here:
I call shortly after whatever time they say I will get the bag and they tell me to wait a few more hours. I wait a few more hours, get nothing done, don't go out or shower or do anything else that might cause me to miss a phone call from the delivery guy until the time runs out. Then, I call again...
Right. So, now I don't believe they have any clue what they're talking about and, as I'm busy as all hell, I resent being told that I need to wait around if nothing is going to happen. I explain this to the guy. I also explain that if they aren't going to deliver it until next week they should tell me that and let me get on with my life. The guy repeats that I will have the bag back by 2:00. Yeah ok, whatever. And then what? When it gets to be 2:00 and I don't have it what are they going to do for me? I really don't want to call them again and have to endure their horrendous hold music. Are they going to compensate me for having wasted a day and a half of my life? He apologizes profusely, which further irritates me[2], but repeats that I will have the bag by 2:00pm. Yeah, ok, fine. So I hang up and go back to waiting.
11:45 - 1:30 - I goggle around for lost baggage stories online and try to figure out what I will be able to get out of United if I have to call them and yell again. In one story I find, some people had a bag misdirected and spent a week being assured by the airline that it had been located and would be delievered the next day. And then, at the end of the week, it completely disappeared and the airline couldn't find it. This doesn't bode well. I'm further depressed by the fact that I yelled at the last United guy I talked to and the knowledge that I'm going to do it again at 2. As much as I, personally, dislike being yelled at, I really hate yelling at other people[3].
1:45 pm - Ok, I give up. In 15 minutes, I'm going to call them and yell again and be an asshole. And, since they've already driven me to violate my sacred operating principle[3] anyway, I'm also going to stop feeling bad about it.
1:50 pm - My cell phone rings. Wow! Maybe I actually will get my bag back now. The delivery guy is in Manhattan and will be at Columbia in a few minutes. Hope returns.
1:58 pm - My phone rings again. The guy is here and I can come down to get my bag. I try not to think about all the ways this might not be the end of the story and jump down the stairs five at a time[4].
2:00 pm - I get the bag. It is definitely mine and does not appear to be damaged. I return to my room and life begins to improve. Finally.
Lessons learned: 1) Grinning at small, well-behaved children, causing them to laugh, helps. 2) The world would be a much better place if reasonable people could get things taken care of without having to be unreasonable. 3) I will never attempt to fly on United again, nor will I ever entrust any airline with anything I need/want to see again again.
[1] United Airlines has the most awful hold music. Imagine Rhapsody in Blue played on an out of tune piano, recorded and played back in mono and periodically interupted by "Thank you for holding." Making matters worse is the fact that I turned my cell phone volume all the way up on Friday when I was at LGA because I was having trouble hearing the Travelocity person over the ambient noise. Since then, I have been unable to turn it back down. So it's bad and deafening and now every time I hear the tune I will be reminded of this incident... and I used to like Gershwin.
[2] Note: Don't ever spend time apologizing to someone who is annoyed at the fact that you've been wasting their time. The damage is done; they won't forgive you. If you actually are sorry the best way to express your remorse would be to stop wasting their time.
[3] My philosophy in a nutshell: The world is filled with assholes, I don't need to be one of them.
[4] The elevators were both a little below my floor and moving down, so it would have been a five minute wait. Faster to jump down them several at a time.
posted by Christine at 6:35 PM
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