Making a long story into a Cliff Note version.

My wife got sick in Mid-August and had surgery.

My MIL got into the panic mood wondering if she needed to be up here with her daughter. My wife wanted her mom here and we booked her flight thru United website since they had a direct flight from Hilo, HI to Los Angeles, CA then onward to Florida.

Sent all the paperwork to United customer service to see reducing the cost of the flight since it was a family emergency in Mid September after getting the doctor letter explaining the nature of the surgery and recovery.

We got an email back from them in late September saying it got denied without a clear explanation in the email.

After four weeks of phone tag, (Sorry that office is only open from 8 to 4 CST) with either long holds or sorry that office is closed now.  I finally got a someone live to talk to today and ask for the reason of denial.  I did not like the answer.  Sorry, the denial states in the our refund policy that all flights that are booked must fly on United or United express.  What confused me is that all the flights were booked thru United.com and I explained that to the agent that all the bookings was done on the website and how that can be?  She simply stated the policy again.  Then I saw the horror, it was denied because the last flight was a code-sharing airline flight.  That pissed me off.  If they could explain why the denial much better in the email they sent us, then I would not have been agitated as much.  But with the crap I had to go thru to get someone live. I'm livid.  What sent me over the edge that I was put on hold with the agent when I was trying to argue that I'm been penalized for a code sharing flight that was available on the website in mid sentence.

Before someone come in with "You agreed with the term and condition" argument,  my entire point is that: customer service sucks in this country now more than ever.  I'm taking my money to someone that can give a better customer service.

Rant off.  I need a beer.

They'll break your guitar too.

I seen that happen.

United is headquartered in Chicago

do not support Chicago

I was a ramp and operations agent there for 5 1/2 years.  I've seen lots of shit happen.

I liked Continental Airlines.  After the merger with United.  Their customer service went down the drain.

Problem is Houston is a United/Continental Hub

United and Southwest are shit.

Good rant.   Is your wife doing ok?

I'm so old that I remember when flying was a pleasant experience.

I know the feeling.  I flew Continental for along time and had a lot of miles added up so I stayed with United.  When  I fly overseas to Europe I can not get a flight that isn't code shared with Lufthansa(shitty).  I hate it b/c my status doesn't count and they always stick me in the back in the middle seat.  It wouldn't be as big of a deal if I wasn't 6'6" 250lbs.  Their customer services sucks and they are a bunch of FSA Chicago bastards...

jump off a cliff, southwest is the TITS

Because then airlines charged what the ticket was worth and turned a profit.  Now they have shit customer service because they can only afford to pay $9.00 an hour.

Only fly Boeing, and try to only fly Delta. Out of 10 or so flights only had one delay.

Can you explain why you expect to get a lower priced ticket?

My experience with Delta is the exact opposite.  I'm not sure I've ever had an on time flight with them.

So, what do you do if Delta has an equipment change and it is an Airbus?

lol

Good customer service or low fares.  You can pick one and only one.

I work in the airline industry and I am pretty sure no airline does a bereavement fare anymore....  

Maybe I don't fit in here but why does United OWE YOU a reduced rate? They don't owe you anything. They offered a service, you bought and paid for said service and they flew your MIL as agreed upon.  Just because they sometimes offer medical emergency or bereavement tickets doesn't mean that they have to do it.

I knew a number of people in college who pulled the old moms sick gotta fly home routine in order to get a reduced ticket. I am sure they have burned numerous times and in an industry that runs on laser thin margins, can't blame them for trying to put an end to it by being more selective.

Glad your wife is doing better btw!

Yes, United Continental blows.  They were assholes coming and going on our trip
To Hawaii last year.

It's still pleasant. You just have to fly yourself.

In 2010 I got one when I had to fly due to my mom passing away, I didn't ask for it I was given it or some discount idr when my girl asked if I was going to be OK and if there was anything she needed to pack to bring to the funeral.
They asked whos and I told them my mom was dying and they gave me a discount..

Never fly United.



My wife's parents made the mistake of flying them recently.  They had a layover mid-flight.  Their first leg was delayed.  They got to the gate for their next flight just in time -- or so they thought.  The plane was still there, the door was still open.  All they had to do was walk down the ramp and into the plane.  But the ticket guy had already filled out some paperwork and wasn't willing to take two minutes to revise it.  So instead he forced them to wait five hours for the next flight.  Killed their whole day.

She is doing fine.

It was a family emergency.  Having family 5000 miles in the wrong direction does not help sometimes.  There are conditions for death and family emergency that the airlines will take in consideration.

They would give the reduced rate if the last leg was not a code sharing flight.  Because everything was booked thru the website and the last leg popped up when searching a route for my MIL to return to Hilo.

United used to be my favorite but switch to American.
btw Had my best serive/experince with Japan Airlines

Glad your wife's doing better, but they're a business, not a charity.....

This.  United raped and pillaged the great reputation that continental once had

I fly over 100,000 miles commercial a year. United sucks ass. I will not fly them or US air even if it costs more on my preferred airlines Alaska and Delta..

No derailment intended, but that's why Steve Morse (Dixie Dregs, Deep Purple, etc.) plays that guitar with the slightly shortened headstock. He said it's because it fits in the overhead compartment on planes that way. He said he's not found one yet it won't fit in. Thus, the ham handed goons don't get the opportunity to bust his ax.

I stopped flying United for several reasons. Delayed flights, the charges for everything get a little ridiculous, the aircraft have always felt too crowded and uncomfortable, and they've lost my luggage more than once. I try and stick with JetBlue and Virgin now. Virgin America is great.

Ok, I see where it should have been possible except for the codeshare part

http://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/specialneeds/compassion/default.aspx

"United offers a 5% discount on fares (roundtrip or one-way) in the event of a death or serious illness (requiring hospitalization or hospice care) of an immediate family member."

If I can't fly myself for some reason , I don't go or drive. Fuck the TSA .

That was Cliff note version, the whole story must be hell

So you are pissed that United didn't offer a ticket at a price you feel is fair?  I'm sorry your wife was ill but how in the holy hell is it any of United's fault or concern that you are 5000 miles away?  WTF???  I feel like I am in bizarro world daily now.

Of all the reasons to get on an airplane, nearly all are time-critical.  Job interview, family illness, close a deal, funeral, using your precious 5 days of vaction....This is why we pay a premium for a faster mode of transportation.  Who should get such a deal?  My airline doesn't offer such a reduced fare, thank goodness.

And damn the organization that has a couple hundred million tied up in the aircraft that hauled her butt 5000 miles, a quarter of the earth's circumference, on demand in less than a day. They should be more caring.

I think many failed to see this simple story.  Our family is in Hawaii.  Me and my wife are living in Flordia.  Hell, the move to Florida was the best thing we did. She had serious surgery.  She wanted her mom here with her.  We had her mom here in 72 hours.  It cost a pretty penny to get my MIL up here on a short notice for a family emergency.  

Hell, I got a shit load of medical bills coming down the pipeline.  I'm I asking for help from anyone.  Nope.  But consider I am going to need to any cost saving to offset those medical bills.  Thank god that stupid Keyan Medical plan did not kick in.  I would be screwed in the ass.  Also, I had to take time off from my new job and my wife loss a good chunk of her salary when she was on medical leave for her job.

Considering the airlines have the death and family emergency policy to offset the cost of the plane ticket if you can prove it.  What really pissed me off that a code sharing flight that was offered on their website to help finalize my MIL return trip back to Hilo,HI.  Since United policy was that all trips has to be on an United flight 100%.  This was a shock to us considering that they could not explain that in an email that the code sharing flight invailded the effect to lower the cost of the ticket.

Like I said, if they had simple clarified that information in the email that a code sharing flight was not consider a United flight.  I would not been as angry.  But to get a simple question answered why the company turn down our request and wasted our time to get a clarification.  We had to battled thru waiting holds that would drive people nuts, drop connections from a land line call, and put on hold until the department closed shop 5pm CST. Just to find out a simple answer.

How's that for customer service.

It's a crap shoot.  Enough crap goes into getting a commercial flight off the gate the fact that one gets out on time once in a while is almost a fluke.  



 

That's the funny thing about Delta. It has gotten better.

As for Continential and United, it is a marriage made in hell.  I know some of the UAL people at the Orlando station and they are not the happiest bunch of people heading off to work.

I flew airtran this past Tuesday and it looked like the checkout line at walmart boarded the flight.

I got stuck next to a woman with her infant *shades on, headphones in, arms crossed, eyes closed*

about an hour into the flight and several baby screeches later i awoke to the smell of baby shit. wtf, this lady is putting the finishing touches on changing her baby's shit diaper right there on the tray table. then 5 min later she passed the shit diaper to the flight attendant that is collecting empty food and drink containers

You should try flying on Spirit Airlines and compare the pics from the people from Walmart.

Having worked for a couple of different airlines as a mechanic,I always suggest driving to my friends. Even when I got to fly for free,I still drove everywhere myself unless they made me get on a plane to go fix another plane. I have enough crazy stories that would turn most people off from flying.

OP, glad to hear you wife is doing well. I understand what a sudden medical problem can do to a family and how hard it can be financialy. I've been there and 4 years later still paying for it.. Almost done though!

Your gripe is with United's customer service. They suck ass at it just like any other large company. They may suck more. Remember these are some of the lowest paid people at the company. Then take into account that they fly near a million people a day. Almost every one of those people is going to pissed off about some aspect of the trip. Traffic, airport crazyness, TSA anal probing, having to throw away $100 worth of liquids and a $80 pocket knife you forgot you had, $28.95 cup of coffee and stale muffin, further TSA rectal inspection, then getting on the airplane and havering shit service for hours and hours..

What I'm saying is they get there fair share of hate filled phone calls. For 99.9% of those calls there is really nothing they can do, people just want to bitch at someone. Getting through all the minions who work the front lines of the phones can fucking suck. That's the fight you get if your up too it.. They know most people will give up and that's why it works for them...

You may not get the sympathy about not getting a discount here.. Poor customer service, yes. The fact that mom was 5,000 miles away in no way impacted your wife's medical condition. Having her with your wife is a convenience. I understand reaching out for someone, anyone to come help. Just having another person there that knows what's going on helps calm your mind. It does help that's for sure but it is far from a medical emergency. I would have guessed you had a 50/50 change of some kind of discount, it all depended on who you talked to and how well you could pull there heart strings.. Guess you didn't find that person...

Picking the right customer service person is a real skill. Though once you spot your mark and tell the right story anything can happen!!

I once got my cable company to reduce my rate in half and the next day a box of sugar cookies showed up at the door. They were the most fresh, best cookies I've ever had.. My cable company sent me fucking cookies!

Go on ...



 

I totally hear you, bro.  Last time I flew on Thai, they served me some weird-ass brand of scotch.  Never flying them again, ever.

I have a United Story of my own, a long one.

 

Air travel shit the bed the day the airlines decided that putting Greyhound out of business would be a great way to increase profits.