Airlines, Do they Care about their Customers?

Okay here we go. I took a trip recently to look at some properties in sunny Florida. I was not looking forward to the trip at all, you see I don't like Southeast Florida. It reminds me of the hood. I grew up in the hood and fortunately I grew out of the hood, however the people I know there didn't even grow up in the hood and yet they act that way now. I don't understand.

So I went to the airport when I was told. That is something that puzzled me. I was told to be there three hours before my flight. I asked why, and I was told it is necessary for check-in. Interesting I thought. Well I was flying out of the Atlantic City Airport which it is just a small airport. I got there early, in fact about more than an hour before I was told to be there. Let's calculate this. My flight was boarding at 6:05 am and I was told to be there 3 hours prior which would have been 3:05 am but I actually got there at 1:40 am, because someone was doing me a favor and dropping me off.

So I arrive at the airport 4 hours and 25 minutes early, just to find out... THEY ARE CLOSED! That's right the airport doesn't open until 6am. So do I call the airline representative and complain? After all they should know this, shouldn't they? But guess what? They are in the Philippines. That's right and it's very common. Even cell phone companies and other industries utilize the Philippines to handle their customer service. I myself would think that people of another country have a hard enough time just understanding our language. The English language is said to be the hardest language in the world to learn and use properly.

Okay so thank GOD the doors are open and I can go inside and grab a seat. Fortunately there is a vending machine. So at about 5:45 am people start coming in and I get in line and promptly at 6:00 am the airline opens up their counters, I forgot to mention that at 5:30 am the airport turned on the lights, I sat in the dark airport lobby all night. So right away at the counter I start finding out how much the airlines have changed their standards of operation. I had a couple of pieces of luggage because I was taking stuff down there to leave behind. As it turned out I had to pay $100.00 for my second piece of luggage and $50.00 for the third. I thought, They must be CRAZY. Alright so my carry on actually had straps and my third piece of luggage wasn't that big. So, I looked at the airline rep and said; "Are these woman's pocketbooks considered their carry on bag?" She said no, so I said; " Well consider this one my pocketbook and this other one is my carry on bag." Well guess what? She agreed and it saved me $50.00. But still, I had to pay the additional $100.00. I should of gave it to the person next to me to check in, they didn't have any bags.

The plane...more surprises. I got on the plane and it was actually a decent plane, ordinary but in decent condition. The flight attendants were always right there when you needed something, of course it was the money they were after. Since when did flight attendants start accepting tips? When did it start that you have to pay for beverages and the little bags of peanuts? The airline I was on charged AlaCarte for everything. Need a pillow, $2.00 how about a blanket with that for just $3.00 extra? Is this how airlines are money by cutting down on what is included for the price a customer pays the experience of flying. Flying is not just about taking a flight, it is an experience. By the airlines taking away amenities from the consumer they are saying that they don't know any other way to trim the fat. On my flight there was four or five attendants and there was numerous empty seats, in fact there was probably only 30% of the seats sold. The attendants sat in the back rows and talked the entire trip aside from the two times they pulled
out there vendor carts and was hawking their wares. I quite frankly was disturbed by all the chatter and some of it was inappropriate as in being rated x. The seats were a little bit uncomfortable. I was unable to relax and take a nap. I couldn't wait to get off this plane. I arrive at Southeast Florida Airport at about 8:30 AM. This airport is a lot nicer than than Atlantic City Airport, however I don't think I saw all of Atlantic City.

For the most part my experience was uneventful aside from the Philippino telling me to get there three hours early. And the attendants performing sales functions and accepting tips. I'll tell you what, I cancelled my return flight and flew back on another airline. I had somebody else handle it though and wouldn't you know it, that person I entrusted, made a mistake and I ended up landing at Newark International Airport which is a couple hours from home. I took a train though and was their in less than an hour. It was worth it, US Airways has nicer plans, more comfortable seating and the amenities are better. They will go that extra step to make sure you are satisfied and that you will utilize their services once again.

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