Mike cc'd us on his email to United Airline's C.E.O., Glenn Tilton.
Dear Mr. Tilton:When the employees of large companies discard compassion, respect, and common human decency and instead place their own interests in front of those they are chartered to serve, then they are no longer deserving of the public's trust.
On February 19th, I received a phone call from my girlfriend's father indicating that her mother was close to death, and that-if at all possible-I should try and get his daughter to Portland, Oregon as quickly as I could.
I immediately left my office and began making arrangements to leave San Francisco for Portland, including calling the United Premier Reservation line on my way home to book a flight. The gentleman on the line provided me with a reservation number, informed me that I could pick up my tickets at the counter, and wished me the best of luck as the timing would be tight. On our way to the airport, I commented to my girlfriend that our ability to catch the 7:50 flight "would depend on the kindness of strangers."
Little did I know that the only unkind strangers I would encounter would all be wearing United blue.
We arrived at the airport at 7:20, but with very short ticket and security lines I felt that we had a decent chance of making the gate before the doors were closed. I explained to those customers waiting in line that we had a family emergency, and each agreed to let us move to the front.
The first agent to help me indicated that he could not ticket any passengers, and referred me to a different agent at the end of the counter. I approached this new agent, provided her with my record locator number and explained my emergency. I also asked her if there was any way she could contact the gate agent to let them know we were on our way, and perhaps keep the door open a few minutes longer if we were delayed at security.
To my utter amazement, your agent handed me back my record locator number, looked me straight in the eye, and informed me that she couldn't ticket me because "it was time for her to go on her break." I wasn't sure I heard her correctly, so I repeated the nature of our emergency. Again, your agent informed me that it was time for her break, "she had no choice," and that if I had a problem with it, I could talk to her supervisor.
I was absolutely horrified. The only person at the United counter who had the ability to ticket passengers felt that it was more important to go grab a soda than to give me a decent chance at making a flight to be with a dying relative.
I argued with this woman for a good 10 minutes, growing increasingly agitated. Even those passengers who had let me move to the front of the line voiced their objections. She did nothing to assist me, choosing instead to continue to quote company policy. Why she didn't just leave to go on her break is beyond me. Before she finally left, she placed a call to her supervisor and said, in a very sarcastic tone, that there was a customer at the counter "whose mother is sick and dying and who wants to hold a flight and speak with a supervisor." She refused to provide me with her name or employee number.
By the time I was able to find somebody new to help me, it was clear that I would no longer be able to make the 7:50 PM flight. I asked the new ticketing agent if there was any way that he could contact the gate to let them know we were on our way, but he said it was impossible. He booked us on the 10:30 flight.
Upon receiving our tickets, we ran to the security line and quickly made our way to the gate to see if there was still hope of making the 7:50 flight. The plane was still there, but the door was closed and your gate agent was turning other passengers away (including those who had arrived late on a connecting flight). I explained our ordeal to the gate agent, who simply provided me with some "United-style" sympathy: not only could he not re-open the gate, but he told me that he could understand the behavior of the ticketing agent because "management really makes us work some unreasonable schedules."
A perfect keystone ending to the most imperfect, flawed, and horrifying customer experience I have ever had in my life.
I realize that we can't legislate good customer service, and I suspect that no regulations were violated in this noble attempt by your staff to have us "fly the friendly skies." However, given the animosity that your employees seem to have for their management as well as their passengers, I hardly have faith in their ability to serve the public interest in other matters, including those involving passenger safety.
My girlfriend's mother passed away at 2:50 AM, shortly after we arrived in Portland. We will, of course, never know what we might have been able to share with her in the two and a half hours we burned sitting at a gate at SFO.
I certainly hope your agent's break was worth that price.
(Photo: piston9)
]]>B) Why didn't he use the electronic ticketing booth? That's why they exist.
C) She could have been more compassionate to the situation, but it was her break time and she deserves to take it, even if it causes an inconvenience for the customer.
D) Wasting 10 minutes arguing was ridiculous but the customer should have accepted her answer and asked for the supervisor immediately. Instead, he argued with her for 10 minutes and then had to wait while she went on her break. That isn't very smart either, now is it?
Yes, his girlfriend's mom was dying and it is really sad that they didn't get a few extra hours with her. At least they made it there in time. It was a very sad, emotional time for his girlfriend but honestly, how did that impact the worker? Or even the airline? They didn't kill her. They didn't cause her to die any faster.
I work in customer service and I am amazing at it. I am also pregnant and often have to be away from my desk for extended periods. I just got written up because I was away from the phone too long and there were customers holding, even though 70 other people were answering calls. No one took my crisis into consideration and you have no idea what that agent is going through. Sure, she may just be a bitch but maybe she is hypoglycemic and needed to check her blood sugar.
It's easy to get angry at someone you don't know which is why you should always cut them some slack even when you take the situation personally.
]]>After my recent experience with United Airlines employees, I am not surprised. I almost missed my flight from Chicago to Baltimore because I was told that I could not be helped and needed to get in yet another long line. I finally made my way to the beginning of the second line only to watch a ticketing agent have a quite lengthy "social" conversation with another passenger. It was like she was already on her break just chatting away while my boarding time got closer. Finally, the same agent that had turned me away, motioned me forward and ticketed me. My "adventure" did not stop there. My entire roundtrip experience on United was filled with rude United employees. From the ticket agents to the gate agents and EVEN the flight attendants, they all seemed to have a bad attitude. I was not the only one affected. Two other passengers grumbed "what happened to the FRIENDLY skies?" Needless to say, I am no longer flying United. I doubt any other passenger on that flight will either. I usually fly every other weekend, butI am so frustrated by this that I refuse to even enter an airport. I have rented a car and will drive 10 hours to my destination rather than pay to be treated in such a rude manner. Thank you for ruining the flying experience for me United!!! T. Kenney
]]>Seems the airlines just don't care about customers anymore
]]>Keep in mind that at a lot of companies, not taking your assigned breaks on your assigned schedule is considered grounds for termination.
This is because, in some states at least, you can turn around and sue them for being prevented from taking your state-mandated break/lunch time.
So, yes, it is indeed bad customer service that no one else stepped in to sell the ticket, but I think that someone's livelihood might be worth a bit more, especially in an economy where losing your job puts you at risk of losing most of your life.
Before anyone says something like "I doubt that they'd fire someone for...", keep in mind that:
a) companies are currently looking pretty hard for ways to trim payroll and
b) You don't know whether or not an individual employee is at risk for termination.
Go union...yay....the other side of the story is that the ticket agent is a HS dropout who earns as much as many people who actually work for a living because she is a union member. Under the union rules she was 100% entitled to do what she did. Ever want to really see how crappy the unions have made the US airline industry - take a foreign carrier - the foreign carriers planes are nicer, the service is way better, you get food (still airline food) free alcohol, and in addition to being far more motivated to help you the stewardesses are young and attractive.
Why would it matter what the stewardess looks like you may wonder... the answer, when you fly as much as I do, is that it is really annoying to be seated in a asile seat on an early morning flight trying to catch an extra hour of sleep to get you through the 12 hour day ahead of you and to be woken every time the stewardess walks by because she is generally pretty fat and can hardly fit down the asile. Worse is the realization, as you look groggily down the asile, that you were just in contact with the butt of someone who you would rather not look at let alone touch.
On the last non-US airline flight I took (Thai Airways) I observed stewerdesses who made an effort not to bump sleeping passengers (!) and who were capable of not bumping sleeping passengers (because they were not fat!) Also, the prospect of them brushing up against me as they passed would not have been entirely horrifying as it would be with most US based flight crews!
]]>There's a special place in hell for that bitch. She should go die in a hole and rot.
]]>Not every person is the same, not every situation is the same.
It's called "JUDGEMENT". Instead of hiding behind corporate policy or some retarded sense of "belief that every customer should be treated equally", use your judgement for every case. Unless of course you like being a drone.
]]>The poster said nothing about a guarantee, nor did you point out what exactly he should take responsibility for. These were not circumstances that were beyond someone's control. Your cynical argument like the others here falls flat on its face.
]]>Actually it is very different since you're comparing buying a copy of Lost Season 2 on DVD to sharing the last few minutes of your mother's life with her.
"But don't just blame this person for doing something they were told to do." Before I invoke Godwins Law I'll just say that being told to do something is not a good enough excuse to act in the manner in which this ticket agent acted.
]]>Regardless of the posts content and no matter how egregious the conduct at some point someone will unfailingly blame the victim.
]]>United SUCKS if they "punish" employees for helping their customers. I know who *I* won't be booking with in the future. This isn't the first time I've heard of their poor customer service.
During these days of unfortunately high unemployment, it's amazing to me that SKANKS like this can actually hold a job.
]]>wow, do you believe people when they say you're a fucking douchebag?
]]>i fly frequently - as in twice a week, every week, for going on 5 years. I've flown into and out of SFO and dozens of other airports. 40 min is more than enough time to check-in and get through security especially if you're not traveling with much luggage (if your mother is dying, you don't tend to worry about matching your outfits)
You can blame the victim for arriving 40 minutes before the flight, but it belies our ignorance of what is considered "reasonable" at airports. When did a crappy job absolve you of having the least bit of common decency? If a building collapses because of poor masonry, do you say, "poor stone mason, it's not his fault because he is unhappy with his chosen profession?"
]]>I could not agree more. You can look on here and tell who's had a job that requires them to help people and who hasn't. You can also tell pretty quickly who's a dick. See the first comment on this story.
]]>Now, if I missed my mother's death because of her, then we can talk retribution.
]]>Glocks are known as plastic gun because everything but the slide is made from polymers. The slide is made out of steel but the frame is basicly a hi-tech plastic.
This is my Glock, There are many like it but this one is mine.
Yeah, I too wanted to cry at the end of the article... but after reading a bunch of commenters below defending the ticket agent's actions... makes me want to get terribly depressed about the lack of humanity and compassion in the world today.
]]>In all honesty though the equality thing works out better because if someone witnesses special treatment towards one customer, they're going to want the same thing.
Give em an inch, and they'll want your head for not giving the next person an inch.
]]>@jinjin1080:
I'm not really sure what all the common sense crap has to do with my belief that every customer should be treated equally. I also said that if it were me at the counter I would've processed the ticket.
@LorraineCabeal: While I agree you have to filter out who you hire and do not hire to do the job. That's a bad call on the company's part. Still the clerk stood her ground stating she had to take her break, and regardless of the situation, that takes balls. I've had many situations where I've tried to stand with the company's policy (or whatever) and ignore a person's needs, but contrary to what the angry mob that wants my head for stating the opposite of what they believe, I usually bailed and helped them out. Because I don't believe in the company, I believe in people. But not everyone does. And THIS is what the OP and all of you need to get over.
And I'm done.
Thanks for the laughs, the death threats, the support, and the insults, you guys have been great!
There is no law to take a break at specific times, You are required to take a break at certain intervals, but no specific time is ever set. Unlike you, I don't own a business, I have worked in retail for 6 years and I know how that noise works, so stop pretending you know anything.
]]>@Kaisum:
Well said dude.
Just like the State Trooper has heard every excuse in the book for the speeding justification.... and most of them are lies.
]]>Even if he didn't step outside the booth to help the victim, why not yell out over the loudspeaker? "Hey, I've got you on tape, I've called the police!" or something of that nature. Seems like it would've been the least the guy could've done.
]]>@LegoMan322: "shit happens and we just need to realize that we are not the only ones floating around this earth. "
I heartily agree. I just find it bizarre that you're saying that defending the ticketing agent. Is that your attitude? That we need to realise we're not the only ones floating around here, and that therefore taking a quick break is sometimes more important than basic human decency?
Particularly given that it takes all of, what, five minutes to check people in, and the ticket agent apparently sat there and sassed her distraught customers for 10 minutes. That's just malicious.
"Shit happens" is missing five minutes of your break to be considerate to a fellow human being. Not setting aside your dying mother so the ticketing agent can go outside and smoke a cigarette.
]]>I've worked in customer for 5 years while going to school, and although you hear "every story in the book", you maintain a sense of empathy if you have slightest bit of humanity and depth. The clerk should have possibly considered how it would feel to have a dying family member (you only have one mom) that you're trying to reach in their final hour. I would go back and show her the obituary as one person suggested. And I don't think she was suggesting that they skip security, so I'm not sure where the analogy to terrorism fits into this story.
]]>@MrsLopsided: Oh noes. Now the PC police is going to have you arrested for being so insensitive, incompassionate and how dare you, sensible.
]]>There is no reason to go to a check-in counter at all, and honestly I'm surprised as a United Premier FF (25,000 miles flown in one year), the OP didn't realize this?? That really is too bad, as they may have had a chance of catching the flight if they skipped both the ticketing line, and the ultra-bitchy agent.
]]>Regardless of excuses, each customer is unique. There is no excuse for failing to do everything possible to provide excellent customer service if your company deems it appropriate to have a customer service department.
]]>@Tamar Weinberg: Management would not care where you take your break, as long as you were "off" the clock. She could of stayed at her post for her entire break and there would of been no problem. But if she tried to enter anything on her computer, she would be on the clock again, and got in trouble.
]]>i understand the agent's position and the oppossing one...
i understand that she was going by the book...
but at some point in life you can look passed what is really important in life.
even if the couple was lying, what would the harm be in taking just a LITTLE more time out of your break to do something you feel is RIGHT.
And if those people were liars, then that is on their own conscience
it's how the world is sometimes, and if we maybe look to be a good person every once in a while, these things wouldn't happen
]]>@LegoMan322: As also applies to the asshat agent that could have made the process that much easier and this poor woman could have seen her mother prior to her dying. It's a sad world when a point of view such as lego's is even roughly considered. You do realize you are on a site dedicated to protecting consumers, right? With that goes providing GOOD customer service rather than total ignorance.
]]>Anyway, I'm reading responses from a bunch of emotional kettles spewing anger and a bunch of cold people who don't see how one person's need translates into a need for everybody.
I understand both sides, but I would say that the emotional "omg outrage" people look far more ridiculous than the callous folk.
]]>Counter agents are inundated with late passengers and hear all the excuses and demands. It's hard to separate the real from fake stories.
]]>@LegoMan322: You must be new here.
Disemvoweling is done by moderators - people don't write that way.
]]>@JayCor:
No - I just have something in my eye. Really. . . .
]]>Wow, I am so sorry to hear that. I can only imagine how horrifying that would be. My father died of cancer last February and my family had to rush to his house to see him before he passed. Even ten minutes is agonizing I can't imagine hours passing with the continuous thought if you will see your loved one before they pass on. She must have hung on until you guys got there.
The agent will pay for her heartless gesture in due time. In the end, nobody gets away with anything. My heart goes out to you, and your girlfriend. May God Bless.
]]>@Jabberkaty: Yeah, I think the pollen count just skyrocketed here. Better shut the sliding glass door. Getting a little drippy about the eyes.
/also a sap
/hopeless sucker for Sound of Music
]]>That is sickening.
]]>@Kaisum:
he needed to get over it
Needs to get over her mother dieing? I'll probably get disemvowled for this - but it's worth it: Your a fucking idiot.
]]>And for the record: Telling someone to get over losing a few hours with a dying relative is pretty heartless. You can have sympathy with a woman who clearly shouldn't be in a service-oriented job, but you can't sympathize with a girl losing the last few hours with her mom? I think your priorities are messed up.
]]>The ticketing agent flat out refused to help quoting similar "must take my break" verbiage and when I asked why, requested that I "lower my tone". Which I did. I didn't say a word. I pulled my phone out and started snapping pictures of her.
Then she went batty, screaming at me. "You can't take pictures of me, it's illegal", "I will have you arrested" etc...
I was promptly ticketed by another agent.
First and last time I flew United across the water.
]]>Your mother is dying. You child is missing. Your business is about to go bankrupt. Your car had a flat tire. You yourself are about to die. You'll commit suicide. You'll kill a baby seal. Your entire life savings is on the line. Your husband is about to leave for Iraq for another 3 year stretch. You need this...you need that...this is the TRUTH...I'm not lying!
Instead of blaming me...try blaming EVERYONE ELSE who uses lies to get around the rules and makes me a cold hearted, rude, bastard unwilling to break or bend for anyone, anywhere, anytime.
At my workplace they call me the robot...which I'm fine with. I have no empathy for people any more...
I don't believe you.
]]>Really? I love people who hide behind corporate policy just so they don't have to use their own common sense. Kaisum, you'd be a star-employee at the f'n DMW.
]]>I really haven't got a bad word to say about BA (aside from the terrifically poor quality food on the flight which is pretty much par for the course), but 80-90% of the staff at Manchester Airport (or at least the ones I encountered) really need to be fired. Out of a rocket launcher, into orbit. The staff at New York JFK were no better.
Customer service requires that you have the capacity to give a damn, at least on occasion. Though, that said, I really don't think the air travel "industry" actually knows what customer service is... (I was going to say "knows what customer service is /anymore/", but based on personal experience I don't think they ever knew)
]]>As for a required work break, yes that is a requirement by the Union... however, how the agent handled the situation, does and can warrant discipline. I personally would go back to the airport and talk to the supervisor in person again, to stress the point.
As for arriving late at the airport, yup its true - no - airline - will hold flights any more. When the door is shut, it cannot be reopened, at that point the flight is "in flight" and between security and ATC requirements - there is no feasible way to "open the door" without causing a larger, more detailed delay.
As for writing to Tilton, chances are you will get a form letter back with a printed signature... I would call reservations 1-800-UNITED-1, and ask for a customer service agent - or the email to which you should send this complaint too.
I do not defend the actions of this employee, it is cold, careless and NOT a policy of the company. I work in another station on the other side of the country and I can say this would never happen. From my own travels before working for UA, I had positive experiences - I use that today when working with passengers.
]]>@crankymediaguy: A special case is the plane is in flight and someone on board had a heart attack and we have to land at nearest airport.
The dying relative scenario is very unfortunate, and no matter what, somebody's going to get blamed. It's just reality. The agent should be fired for not having the self-preservation instinct to take the extra few minutes just to avoid that blame.
]]>@TessTalks: the bottom line is most people shop on price and if United is $50 cheaper than the competition and it's a direct flight instead of a layover, anyone will take it. probably even the guy in the story. i'm not saying it's right, but that's reality
]]>So if nothing else good can come from this story, maybe it can inspire us to go the extra mile in the future, when we are in a similar situation as the ticketing agent. The negatives of helping are minimal, the potential for benefit enormous.
]]>If the guy is exaggerating his experience then shame on him, it's not her fault that she had to take a break at an inappropriate time for him. However, if he is telling the truth and she was rude and argued with him for 10 minutes, then shame on her, there's no call for that sort of attitude.
]]>And in case you hadn't been paying attention, this isn't exactly the best job market for unskilled/semi-skilled labor, so suggesting that someone "get another fucking job" is probably not the most sensitive or feasible solution.
]]>The point of this story isn't that they expected special treatment because of a dying relative, it's that they probably could have made the flight if the ticket agent hadn't decided to be a dick and argue with them for 10 minutes, causing them to be late and miss the flight. If the ticket agent had just said "I'm very sorry, but I'm required to take a break right now" and just left to go on break, the story might have been much different, and if that had been the case I may have taken the ticket agent's side on this one. But she felt that it was necessary to be a sarcastic unsympathetic jerk to these two obviously already upset people and that is just not admissible, no matter how crappy her day had been before that or how many faking people she's had to deal with before.
Yes, it's not United's fault that this guy's girlfriend's mother is dying, and they aren't required to give them special treatment because of it. But they also aren't required to be rude to their customers either. I don't think the OP is trying to get compensation or anything for his girlfriend's lost hours with her mother, I think he is just trying to alert United about the horrible customer service they received, hopefully to avoid such a situation with others in the future.
Come on guys, is it really so hard to just be nice to other people, even if you feel they don't deserve it? Contempt just breeds more contempt.
]]>The website dedicated to United :
www.untied.com
says it all...
]]>Taney71: They were late because they had just found out that her mother was dying and booked the next flight on the way to the airport... It is not like they knew her mother would be dying and booked the flight far in advance, only to arrive at the airport too late.
This is an appalling story. I am sickened to think that this one employee's actions caused this woman to miss 2 hours that she could have spent with her dying mother. The fact that the employee wouldnt give her name or employee number is just the icing on the cake.... At least what goes around comes around
]]>Precisely, just like the man who was in a hurry to get to the hospital to see his dying mother but was stopped by a cop for driving erratically. Same thing. You cannot break laws nor expect special treatment at will. Sometimes life is hard and bad things happen, but it doesn't give each of us the right to decide when laws should not apply to us.
]]>Apparently, you never worked in a union job before. The rules become extremely strict if your union boss is watching over your employer.
]]>You are off your rocker. Let's go through this yet again kiddies, it is not United's fault that your mother is ill or dying. We all know how painful it is to fly anywhere these days, so what makes you think it's suddenly going to be totally pain-free and that everyone is going to treat you like Jesus?
There are things in this world called, um, laws. If the United employee is required to take a break, you whiners are condoning breaking laws in order to do what? If this story was about how United takes advantage of its employees and forces them to skip breaks, you same mofo whining babies would be all over them. No doubt.
Change your name to LadyWhining.
]]>There really isn't much United can do at this point, other than offer an apology -- but even that seems to be hard for them to do. I spoke with an "executive services" team member almost two weeks ago at this point (she called after I informed the United Media Relations team that I intended to create a shitstorm over this) and I told her that I didn't want a refund, I didn't want free tickets, I just wanted a simple letter of apology to my girlfriend, her father, and her sister. That was close to two weeks ago -- and I've still got nothing. Even the US DOT has already written me back.
Not much more to say about this except it was probably as angry and as helpless as I've ever felt in my life.
Thank you all for your sympathetic comments. Restores my faith in humanity a little bit.
]]>The part of the story which may be creating the most hate for the agent is that she argued with him for 10 mintues. She probably could have helped in out in 2 minutes and then gone on break. She's at fault by default because of that one action.
Now, my issue with the typical responses from this site are the people that appear to have the attitude that a customer is always right no matter what the circumstances. Had these people shown up at the airport 5 minutes before the plane landed, there are people that actually think that the airline should rush them to the plan and delay takeoff until they get on board. This bleeding-heart, elitist attitude annoys the hell at of me.
Nevertheless, in this instance, the agent is just plain wrong. Even though I don't know a customer is lying about a situation, it's better to just suck it up and do everything you can for them rather than risk them complaining.
]]>"As for the ticketing agent, she sounds like a bitch, but that's the kind of relationship we often cultivate with people. It's become an adversarial process."
So it's our fault that this lady is a bitch? You're a piece of work...
]]>You want to blame the ticket agent don't you for not doing her job?
]]>Also if you were the ticket agent would you just let people on because they say " my mom is sick and I need to get there?"
I hope not.
Airlines suck and we all know that. One reason why they suck so much is due to people lieing and being complete jerks to the airline ticket people. Case in point: Calling 911 with a bomb threat to make your plane.
What else is there to say?
]]>I hope its soon.
]]>Just because you say " I need to get on a plane because my mother is dying, that does not open the gates and get you in.
Could she have not fought with them and just let them on? Yes. But that is a whole other issue which it seems people are not grown up enough to handle without name calling.
Also I find it very hard to care about others since as Kaisum said, most people "dont give a flying fuck". It is so sad and so true.
]]>i'm sorry for your loss, but i don't think they did anything wrong.
]]>Just because someone said they need to get somewhere fast does not make it true.
]]>I used to work for a United Express carrier (20+ years, mostly as a supervisor. I left that airline in 2000). I've helped many people in situations like that, no matter what my break schedule or anything else was. I have a big heart and I did care about my customers. At times, I bent the rules almost to the breaking point. After a few phone/radio calls to explain, I even got some flight crews to fudge their off the gate time by a few minutes to cover up for helping someone like her.
Many UA employees I encountered even then tended to be much less than sympathetic or helpful in situations like hers. Unfortunately, caring about the customers is no longer a requirement to work at many airlines. They are all about getting "the meat in the seat" and hitting the performance numbers.
It was just this poor woman's bad luck to hit an employee that doesn't care...I'm tremendously sorry for her loss and for the deterioration of an industry where I used to love to work.
For what it's worth, I'm sorry.
]]>I don't think I've ever seen a more inhumane attitude towards other people than the one you and Kaisum have exhibited. You two are showing what's really fucked up about this world today: nobody has enough compassion for their fellow human beings.
I'm just as appalled by those commenters saying that the OP and his girlfriend need to "get over it" and "stop bitching and moaning" as I am by United's callous and uncaring behavior. Shameful.
]]>While I can sympathize, I am not surprized at all. It seems every time you pick up a magazine, newspaper, or whatever there is anpother example of poor to terrible Customer Dis-service being reported. The corperations give lip service only to customers. I recently talked with a service agent with Southwestern. He mentioned that the 'cattle' were his biggest hassle. That his job would be much better "... if the cattle would just go away."
]]>I cannot believe the amount of people with negative replies to your post. I agree with you.
Let's be honest, it's not United's fault that your relative is dying. There's no guarantee that they will get you there before she dies. What if the taxi driver who picks you up when you get there suffers a flat tire and doesn't have a spare? Then you people will get all out of line over a taxi not carrying a spare and you'll blame the death on the taxi driver.
People today blow me away. They have somehow become so fucking entitled to EVERYTHING ALL OF THE TIME. OMFG, chill out people. Why don't you take some responsibility for a change? How about realizing that while a loved one who is near death is not an enjoyable experience, it is part of life. There are NO guarantees in life other than death. Get it?
Not only is it the law to take breaks at certain times, but many large companies (who also happen to be under the microscope from unhappy employers with lawyers) force their employees to take their legally allowed breaks to avoid strikes (oh what would you whiners say then?!), backlash, etc.
The other thing to keep in mind is this poor lady probably hears EVERYTHING under the sun in a given shift. My parent is dying, my son is dying, my pet rock is dying, I'll miss Friends at 8pm, bla bla bla. The general public sucks to have to deal with. I own a business and I do it 6 days/week! People come up with the dumbest reasons to yank your chain and sometimes it's very hard to know the honest people from the crooks.
Stop bitching and moaning people. Life sucks. Deal with it.
]]>@henwy: i think the bulk of the story revolves around the ticketing agent being a b!tch. Had she been more accomodating (compassionate) they probably wouldn't be asking to re-open the gate.
Also, living in your world must really suck...
A huge thumbs down to United. Let's see how their public relations spin this.
]]>@Kaisum:
How about if i blame the ticket agent beacause they took the time to argue for 10 minutes instead of checking them in in 2 minutes and then taking this "mandatory break." It seems to me the agent delayed the break even longer. Does that put the blame for the late break back on the agent?
]]>One comment I will respond to:
@NotYou007: A sincere, not loaded (no pun intended), question: Why do you have a plastic gun?
Civility, my ass.
My donkey, please meet the Consumerist commenters.
Uh, yeah, you are. If trying to get to the bedside of a dying relative isn't a "special case," please tell us what WOULD be?
]]>It's alright though, I sympathize with people who see the world in just black and white.
]]>Did you miss the part that stated the woman could have spent 2 extra hours with her dying mother had the agent bothered to lift a finger?
And yes, I have worked incredibly shitty (as in, cleaning up actual feces) shift jobs. Unless you save lives in the ER, chase criminals from a scene, fight a (building, not client) fire, or transmit 911 calls as an operator, you can take a break. NOBODY WILL DIE.
Speaking of which, this also reminds me of the two fairly recent incidents in which customers were not allowed to use the toilet and soiled themselves because of "company policy"...let me guess where you stand on this one.
]]>I dunno, do we?
Unless she was bleeding through her tampon outside the uniform, or felt a massive case of the runs approaching, she could have taken 3 minutes to check them in. Union rules are not an excuse for actual humans...robots are a different story.
(Incidentally, if your head waitperson scheduled only 10 minutes in 8 hours, that's highly illegal.)
]]>(yes I work for an airline, no it's not United, and yes I do see situations similar to this every day - probably an average of about 10 times per day.)
]]>TIME CLOCKS keep track to the minute of when you clocked in and if you are not on lunch by 5 hours your company will be fined and at most places that is a fireable offense.
Granted people will just say "she should be fired" or "just another college drop out making *snickers $11 an hour!"
Again we all feel for the couple affected here but people in the service industry have a right to keep their jobs! Seems most people here hate these large corporations you think they would be sympathetic to this agent when she just cost them money?
]]>Regardless of that though, there are still two major failures on the part of United. First, as someone else pointed out, a stand-in should have been ready before she was to go off on her break. Don't just leave the station unoccupied. Secondly, she shouldn't have taken the next customer if she was about to go on break anyway. I understand the sometimes those labor rules can be hard and fast, creating a very unfortunate situation for customers, but there is a more tactful way to handle it than simply "Oh gotta go now see you later."
... not to mention standing there for "ten minutes" (assuming what the OP says is true) arguing, thus making you late on your break anyway.
]]>It's the employer's job to provide coverage for breaks. Barring some circumstances, employees shouldn't have to choose between break-time and serving customers. There should be someone else to serve them. Employees, not slaves.
]]>Wal-Mart. At least in Oregon. Not taking your lunch at the appropriate time (and it's within very specific time frames, depending upon number of hours worked) can kick you on to the unemployment lines pretty quickly, even if it's not your fault because you have a ton of customers and management didn't schedule any coverage.
]]>Alot of business will be quick to fire someone who causes a $2500 fine even just one time. Granted the agent should of explained that but in the economy one has to make sure that they have a way to pay their bills every month.
The sad thing is that some of you people here wouldn't understand that, god bless the law makers in California and expect to hear "I HAVE to take my lunch/break" even when there are lines out the door.
I am one of them that can care less if you have an issue and I've been working for 4 Hours and 58 Minutes.
Then get another fucking job you heartless schmuck. Boo hoo, you have shitty hours. Doesn't give you the right to be a gigantic turd.
]]>Also, some jobs may have mandated breaks, so that they can't get in trouble with unions or whatever, for forcing their people to work without a minute of rest. And, the employee may have had a crisis of her own to attend to during her break. We really don't know yet, do we?
]]>There is a good chance that, because of labor laws, the employers is forced to threaten the employee with termination for skipping a break - to prevent the chance of dealing with a labor violation.
So, we have yet another case of harm being caused by the unforseen side effects of a law.
]]>And finding an EMPLOYEE's attorney that even understands state labor law is a wretched process. The State Bar is pretty much useless, you'll get referrals to ERISA and other specialists but few that even know you're supposed to get a rest break by LAW.
]]>@geoffhazel: Actually, that *has* happened to me when I was in line at a grocery store, believe it or not! So friggin' annoying, but obviously not as bad a situation as the OP was in. So I count my blessings.
]]>I'm clueless as to why this airline worker would spend 10 minutes arguing with this poor lady about taking her break. Breaks (when I see them actually applied) allow flexibility of timing. These airline-counter workers have to stand up on concrete floors under lousy lighting for their entire shift, so it is nice their employer doesn't screw them out of breaks. But wasting 10 minutes "on the clock" telling a grieving daughter she can't get on the plane because she's due for a break is beyond understanding. It almost makes the dopes at the California DLSE seem justified for their support of employers that screw workers out of legally allowed rest breaks.
]]>Except that, the agent spent 10 minutes arguing with them rather than just checked them in, which, in my experiences, usually takes less than 10 minutes.
]]>Couldn't this heartless agent have checked them the passengers in in less time than the 10 minutes she spent arguing with them? That's what I fail to see here.
Oh, and while I would say I won't be flying with United anytime soon, I probably wouldn't have flown with them anyway... Continental pretty much dominates where I live.
]]>Maybe the rapist had no assets or anything she could get in a civil suit. The train station booth clerk and conductor both have decent paying jobs, so I'm sure her lawyer thought it was worth pursuing.
I have no comment on what the MTA employees did or didn't do, as I was neither there nor have I read enough about what happened. It all sounds pretty awful though, but still, let's stay focused on what happened with United Airlines.
]]>Former gate, agent not United.
]]>The law is the law, but the law is not always right.
]]>I worked in the hotel business for 20 years if any of our desk clerks or switchboard operators had walked off on a customer, there would have been no end of Hell to pay.
These people obviously are getting too big for their britches and need a serious ethics smack-down. No wonder they're losing money
]]>@Kaisum: You're a fucking asshole.
the passenger DOES deserve special treatment because his family member was dying.
oh, also, fuck the blind triggerhappy banhammer police who dont read the reasoning or understand the argument at hand, you are ruining free speech.
stop disemvoweling people. its wrong. switch to a user supported feedback system, like digg.
]]>That is the problem with most people in todays world. They are scared. Scared of being sued or scared of what might happen if they act.
If a jury wants to find me quilty of stopping a serious crime because I hurt the person committing the crime, so be it.
I'd rather go to bed knowing I stopped a scum bag and hurt said scum bag and live with the judgement than going to bed each night knowing I did nothing.
Then again, this is why I have a CCW permit. When one looks down the barrel of a loaded Glock 17 their actions tend to stop rather quickly and yes, I like my plastic gun.
]]>Also, what difference would it make if the train left the station or not?
Well, remaining in the station is good enough for a "sick passenger." I'm sure you'd love a conductor to shrug and say "oh well, sucks to be her" and just pull away if the victim was someone close to you.
If they did absolutely NOTHING it would be horrible, but they called the cops.
No, they called the MTA dispatcher. The dispatcher in turn called the cops. I'm pretty sure the time that elapsed during this extra step felt like a lifetime to the victim. Again, I am very familiar with this station, and the booth agent could have easily exited the station and called 911 above ground (since they supposedly don't have direct access to 911 in the booths!).
In conclusion, I hope both of you are just as supportive of the people who don't help if your own daughter is raped. I'm sure you will be equally understanding about the possibility of a rapist suing his attackers, and whether the person's employer "allows" someone to be a hero. Keep in mind, TWO people refused to interfere, since apparently calling the dispatcher was the minimum they had to do in order to keep their union pension.
]]>I've worked in service jobs for over 10 years now and there have been SO MANY TIMES I've had to postpone a break for various reasons, even when management requests I take one. For example, my boss tells me to take a break but a second later a customer asks me a question. I'm going to answer that question BEFORE I go on break and even if I was in a hurry to get on break for whatever reason, I'd still make sure someone else helped the customer before I went into the back. It's common courtesy IMO.
]]>As another poster said, it would have been very simple for the agent to say "I have to go on break, but I'll find someone to help you" or even "I'm going on break, but I will help you on my own time because I can see it's important."
Contrast the behavior of BOTH of the pieces of shit at United with some of the behaviors of Southwest employees, who regularly do things like drive customers in their personal cars to other airports to catch flights, use their personal credit cards to loan money to pay the fare difference for customers in an emergency, take elderly customers who are stranded into their homes overnight.
Some 25 years ago, I was flying on United with my very ill mother for specialized treatment. She was ill, but had been certified by a doctor as OK to fly, and while we were waiting to board the aircraft, another piece of crap in the form of a United supervisor came up to me and announced that my mother would not be able to fly because he had decided she wasn't healthy enough. He wasn't interested in the doctor's statement, which I had with me, or anything else. He offered no alternative and claimed there was no one who could override his decision. A half dozen other United customers, including a couple of Premier status flyers, expressed their anger and told said person that they would no longer fly United, but he didn't care.
Fortunately, an incredibly kind Eastern Airlines pilot overheard the commotion, came to me and said that he would be delighted to have me and my mother on his Eastern flight, going the same place, which was leaving a few minutes later. He smoothed everything to get the ticket transferred and we were on our way.
I later wrote a detailed letter to the chairman of United and got back a formletter that, in so many words, said to piss off.
I have not flown United since.
]]>The proof is the 10 minute argument, her chance to flex her muscles.
As for Mike, the take-away lesson is, never waste your time arguing; if the person in front of you won't do it, demand a supervisor, use your cell phone, whatever it takes.
But let me say that all of us have been in line and, not knowing the full story, watched people demand special treatment, delay takeoff by still futzing around with their luggage, butt in line, and otherwise behave like jackasses. I've seen enough of this to be a little jaded too.
]]>@Kaisum: You have made some really good points here. I would elaborate further but there is no need. I just felt the need to say soemthing and you have said it better than I could.
]]>Every representative went out their way to get me on that flight. I am still thankful to every one of them.
I wasn't flying United.
]]>And I believe in karma. Even if the customer lied, I believe it will catch him later. (I always hope for a broken leg :)
And if the customer is telling the truth; you just helped someone in need.
]]>I just said he needed to get over it, because looking at it from the point of view of business and denial, it's no different than a store that closes at 10:00 closing its doors at 9:59 and I walk up only to be denied service. He thinks his case was special because someone was dying--well that's understandable, but does a business really discriminate from customer to customer based on "cases"? They're not supposed to. Some people employed there might show heart and initiative. This person didn't. I can't be sympathetic to this guy because of this. That's just how workers seem to be in America. Blame the company for not paying her more. Blame the company for not having enough people on duty that day. But don't just blame this person for doing something they were told to do. You don't know their side of the story and therefore shouldn't be quite so biased.
]]>Even the "it wasn't meant to be" line still went along with your intelligent comment. But telling someone to get over a death gives us the impression that you're a pretty lousy human being.
I'm not saying I'm a saint.
But grow up, man.
@Kaisum: Um, you do realize there are still people in this world who "give a flying fuck" about others, right? F'rinstance, I'm not getting into Nursing for the 6-figure salary and corner office. It really isn't that hard to genuinely care about others, and if you feel your job doesn't allow you that liberty, then maybe it isn't the right job for you.
And the letter doesn't strike me as digging for compensation. This was handled in an appalling manner, and had I acted like this ticketing agent back when I was in CS/retail-esque positions, my ass would have been fired ten times over. I think he's simply pointing out how badly they were treated, which robbed them of precious time they could have spent with his GF's mother. Any compensation offered would likely be gravy at this point.
]]>Just as an aside, when my mother passed, I was in London. I called Virgin Atlantic to switch the flight (which was a seven day special fare). Not only did they switch the flight; they put me on another airline so I could get home more quickly and, when I mailed them a copy of the death certificate, they refunded the fare. That's why Sir Richard Branson is respected and the chairman of United is riding his airline into the ground.
]]>@mythago: Companies often mandate the time though-that way, you don't have your entire crew leaving for break at once. It doesn't look like United is one of those companies though...
]]>A few MILLION in compensation, perhaps?
]]>@dragonfire81: I think it only applies to off the clock breaks. The issue is 1) They have to give you the break, and 2) you're not getting paid for the break. Working and not getting paid leads to big problems with the appropriate government entity.
That being said, I'm not sure if there's another rule that would make it apply to paid breaks.
]]>In the aftermath of September 11, however, airlines looking to cut costs hammered the ticket counter, and staff was slashed, customer service be damned.
That doesn't excuse the behavior of the agent in question. But it could well explain the underlying problem.
The letter to United ought to include not just outrage at what happened, but a demand that their ticket counter staffing policies be reexamined and additional staff provided where needed.
]]>I'm such a sap.
]]>@mythago: Your example ain't the best. Someone is still saying you have to take a break after four hours (is this taking into account mandatory break times, the employees need to take a break, desire to take a break, work load, customer lines, employee backup, etc.). Are you citing a certain policy or state law? Or just making me put on my cranky pants for no good reason?
]]>Oh what a wonderful world it would be without bosses.
I'm so sorry for your girlfriend's loss. I hope that the media does not complicate her greiving, and that she may gain some comfort from the international support and sympathies of this site's readers.
]]>Wow, hate to live in your world.
]]>I would have kicked his motherfucking ass. I've been raped. It sucks.
]]>Because she's a !)$(*#^ $@#t, that's why.
She could have ticketed him in those ten minutes and still taken her break.
BITCH isn't a bad enough word.
]]>@Kaisum: @Kaisum: I don't say this often, and I know I'm entering the fray late, but here goes. You, sire, are a fucktard. That is all.
]]>If the door was shut, the door was shut. They cannot reopen it. Those are simply the reg's. It'd be like asking for them to just let them past security without the check.
As for the ticketing agent, she sounds like a bitch, but that's the kind of relationship we often cultivate with people. It's become an adversarial process.
]]>I hope this ticket agent's break was worth it. I really do.
]]>The victim sued the train station operators for not helping her--instead of suing the man that raped her. You can't force people to help you, they called the cops and left it to the professionals, they did the minimum required. At least they did something.
You might find this shocking, but not everyone is as perfect as you. People have different motives, experiences, and priorities than you do. Maybe you have a million dollars in the bank and couldn't give a shit if you were fired for helping the little old lady down the street keep her house, but some people barely scrape by and follow rules religiously to keep from being fired.
I hope that in a crisis I can be the hero and stop what's happening, but who knows what will happen? People react differently when faced with stress.
I don't think the train operators acted courageously--but they did alert the proper authorities. If they did absolutely NOTHING it would be horrible, but they called the cops.
But you don't see that. Neither did the woman being raped, which is why she sued them instead of the rapist. No, she forgave him because he was "Sick in the head."
Misplaced priorities, on your part, hers, and on the train operators.
]]>Did he ask for supervisor in that 10 minutes? What happened was abhorrent, I hope United responds and I will be interested in reading the response, but at some point arguing solves nothing. The other agents at that desk are as much as fault as the agent in question.
]]>I have never, ever seen that happen.
And if someone was going to take a break vs. taking the 2 minutes it takes to give you your ticket, why argue for 10 minutes? I dunno, it just sounds odd.
]]>I wish there was some legitimate reason that could be used so the OP's girlfriend could sue the ticket agent in civil court.
]]>http://www.uatimetable.com/United.pdf?linkTitle=Worldwide+timetable+PDF
Why the fuck would someone from the ticket counter be taking a break when there are dozens of flights leaving in that time frame and there be nobody else available on the ticket counter?? There is a long list of flights leaving between 7pm and 8pm, and then there is a huge gap between 8pm and 10pm. All of this isn't about labor laws and having to take a break and a specific time. This is yet again another example of the kind of customer service United is known for because their union allows them to get away with it.
My dad worked in the airline industry for 33 years as a customer service agent, and I've worked on the ramp for a while (both of us for the same non-union major airline) and over the years we've both have seen the way that airlines like United and American and Northwest operate. Back when I used to work the bag room (the place where the bags come down the conveyer belt from the ticket counter to be sorted onto carts and taken to aircraft) at IAH in Houston, I would be blown away at the United, American and Northwest workers. Our airline shared a bag belt with United, and if the United bag room people were on break, they broke. On a nearly daily basis I watched as they would let bags come down the chute as passengers started arriving an hour before departure and let the bags accumulate because they were on break, until the carousel was so backed up, I would have to call up to their ticket counter and complain about it to get them to come start picking up bags. They would do the same thing if they didn't have every single bag cart present even if they didn't need them. They would load up 5 carts behind a in a train even if they only needed 2 and if there were two flights 30 minutes apart, they would put the first flights bags on the first few carts and the next flights on the last few carts. When it was time to take the bags for the first flight, they would take all the carts and then just stop working because they didn't have the carts for the next flights bags. They would let the bags just sit there on the carousel clogging it up. Bags would be be so backed up that as more bags came down the chute they would slam into the others and fall off onto the floor into a giant pile. They would also never check the oversize bag chute because they parked their carts in front of it (which was against airport regulations because it was a fire lane) and. The oversize bag chute is where they would put animals crates to send them downstairs. Dogs were left there for hours at a time in the Houston summer heat with no water, on a regular basis.
]]>At the very least, the conductor could have made an announcement...
He says it was 10 minutes, but it could've been less than 5 and we have a "I got a fish THIS BIG" kind of story going on here.
It's a sucky situation and he has a right to be angry. I don't know why she didn't just say "This is my last one" and then pass him through, but I WASN'T THERE.
I do know that many companies come up with some real BASTARD rules to punish employees willing to work on their breaks, so I know how the ticketing agent would feel.
If you were alone and barely scraping by in this economy and would lose your job if you worked on your break, would you? Not saying that she would've and I don't know her situation, but would you? If you hear this stuff all the time and assume people are just lying would you?
You can't take everything at face value, especially when you don't have all the information.
]]>What, they're just not going to check anyone in for ten minutes?
I can offer hope that not ALL people would behave this way. I don't care how many hours or difficult shifts I've worked, when the time comes that I ABSOLUTELY don't give a SHIT about customers, it's time for me to quit dealing with customers and do factory work screwing caps onto peanut butter jars.
]]>That's so terrible.
]]>These kinds of situations are an excellent way of ascertaining an individual's character.
]]>How long would it have taken to collect a driver's license, ask if anyone has slipped them any bombs they don't know about, and check them in? This was a rush trip to get to the hospital, so I'm guessing they didn't have six suitcases and a big bag of ski gear. Take the damn license, type for a few seconds, and say "You're in gate C23, that way." Three minutes, tops.
Instead she spent three times as long arguing with people who were already upset because an immediate family member was dying.
Fire the twit and give me her damn job. I'll happily delay my break to help people who just might be telling the truth about a terrible loss they're suffering.
]]>@JayCor: And if you would like to watch some more humane stuff, take a look at this:
[soonereyo.blip.tv]
They are the Kings Local School District Firecrackers, Cincinnati, Ohio, at their U S Naval Academy performance.
And the fact that she acted the way she did? Absolutely disgusting.
]]>What I think they should do is send copies of the letter they sent to Tilton along with copies of the obit to all of the major news organizations. If the names of those heartless employees can be found out they should include them with the letter.
I am sure at least one of the major news organizations will pick up on the story.
]]>People that work with customers (or employees that manage other employees, for that matter) are use to hearing every excuse in the book. Unfortunately, when someone's mother is REALLY dieing, no one believes it, because so many people before them have simply cried wolf because they felt entitled to some perk they couldn't get otherwise. There was even some "expert" on Oprah a few years back encouraging people to lie to airlines ("It's our honeymoon!") in or to be bumped up to first class.
The op was lucky. A 10 minute argument with an airport employee did not lead to a tasering or a cavity search. Oh wait they are on the list for that on the return flight. Arrogant bastards I guess they are to big to fail so why worry about treating anybody with any decency.
]]>Thank you to all of the people that ever lied about "Dear Grandpa" dying to get a discount on an airline ticket for making that standard procedure.
Honestly, people become numb because of the liars. And the liars think nothing of trying this out - because if they get through, sweet! If they don't, they figure they've not really lost anything since "Gammie Hortense" doesn't really exist and needs no real comfort. Narcissists like that never think that someday their boy who cried wolf tactics may impact real people someday.
When we realize we're not islands and our actions have consequences we may not bear, the world will be a better place.
]]>Work long hours? Cry me a god damn river
I have worked 24+ hours before in a row.
]]>Although it's strange that the ticket agent argued with them for 10 minutes, I can sort of see the other side. In this case a customer's mother really was dying and it's terrible that she didn't get that extra time because of the missed flight. However, anybody could lie and claim they needed faster service because of a dying family member or some other emergency. How would the employees know whether it was true or not?
]]>@locakitty: It's applicable in cases where somebody don't read good. :)
]]>@Kaisum: I agree. While it's possible that she could have postponed her break in order to help one person it would have been almost impossible to then take a break after she had already made one exception.
]]>I hope that the next time that lady needs the help of the public, they shun her the way she did here. There aren't enough fires in h-e-double hockey sticks to begin to account for her lack of morals and humanity.
]]>This just comes down to someone caring more about their mandatory (smoke) break or whatever than actually doing the job they are paid to do.
Using good judgment should be mandatory in all jobs, too bad you can't effectively teach it.
]]>I would not just watch a woman get rapped. Screw my job. I have worked in law enforcement and I would not standby and worry about losing my job. I would help. I have risked my life many times to help perfect strangers in need. Sometimes in the line of duty and other times because it was the proper thing to do. Some of you are just heartless and only care about yourself and nothing more. You can stand around and watch a helpless person all you desire. I refuse to and that is not internet tuff guy talk. It is the truth.
]]>Not so much arguing with your point - cause I agree that you should obey the law... but does anyone else see how this is another example about how things work when government gets involved with things?
It no longer matters what you want to do when you have someone mandating breaks. When you legislate common sense common sense goes out the window.
I understand why these laws are there, because big business has no conscience; but government has no foresight and when all you can go by are laws human decency gets trampled.
I dunno, this makes me angry and sad. And I don't have the answers.
]]>@NotYou007:
Have you been homeless? If so, were you happy?
She also stood there and argued for 10 minutes rather than getting someone who wasn't on break to come over and do the ticketing.
]]>Then ask for a manager and give him/her a copy too, after explaining what had happened too.
If no action is taken, then take it to the court of public opinion.
]]>Re-train her, yes. But terminate her employment? That's a little much. After all, the management is more at fault for not having proper coverage.
]]>+1!
]]>How the hell can you be so unsympathetic? You make me want to puke.
Oh...if you are bothered by what I've said I suggest you GET OVER IT, MAN!
@tc4b:
You are soooooo right with your "asshole" comment.
]]>This, though, goes to a whole new level. I fly a few times a year and I won't be taking United.
]]>Ah, that should do it.
]]>No one likes to be told no. In so many words, the agent assumed they were being told "no" because they were being pulled away from their break to help a passenger that may or may not be telling the truth. The full transcript of the conversation does not exist. I would have liked to have heard the passenger's pleas versus the lack of compassion from the United worker. Even if it only proves United failed, it could still give us clues as to what we might be able to do as educated consumers when we are faced with brick walls.
]]>So on the one hand, it's entirely possible that the agent was telling the truth and that she was "required" to go on her break at that moment. But, as I said in another comment (which hasn't shown up yet), what invalidates her entire argument is the fact that she DID NOT IN FACT GO on her break, but hung around to argue the point. If you're going to violate company policy and possibly federal law ANYWAY, go ahead and issue the damn tickets.
I commend the OP, because if that'd been me, there'd have been bloodshed.
]]>If some asshole idiot higher up is going to fire me for helping someone who is rushing to the bedside of their dying mother I don't want to work for that company to begin with and would be happy being homeless knowing that I helped someone get to the bedside of their dying mother.
Silver-bolt you are nothing but an asshat troll. Grow up and grow some balls and learn to stick up for others instead of only worrying about your self. Again, you are nothing but an asshat.
]]>There ya go. There appears to be ample room in the law for her to have stayed and helped him without running afoul of the law.
]]>I'm not sure how the amount of time that passed is relevant.
The airplane door technically can be opened, but many airlines have a policy that generally don't allow it to be opened once it's closed.
]]>However, we really need to be more informed on this subject before we know how to respond or where to channel our anger.
The amount of time that passed between United was contacted and that 7:20 time.
What are the labor laws applicable to this situation?
Can the airplane door be opened once it is locked, even if it sits there idle as they prepare to disengage from the terminal?
Is there any other information we should know before we know how to be angry or to whom we should feel anger? Being angry at a company logo or name isn't very effective. We want to know exactly who to contact so that we may observe the system in order to suggest positive changes.
]]>In this situation, United should have had a second agent to take over for the person who had to go on their break.
]]>good ol' human decency, where the hell does it go
]]>Many airlines run not-advertised programs that will allow you to match your current airline flying status. For example, Delta sometimes runs a program where you contact them with proof of your current status (1k, elite, what-have-you) and you begin flying with Delta. You will jump to the equivalent status with the new airline.
Also, to Jeffbone: the entry-level tier of FF isn't very prestigious. You'll find that marketing babble on every program's site, but it isn't until you reach tier 2 where you start seeing real customer service. I don't even know if premier members are even allowed priority boarding.
]]>Further, I absolutely despise these inflexible laws, especially when they are applied in situations where a break isn't really a necessity (a non-manufacturing or safety-intensive job). I'm pretty sure anyone working a customer service job doesn't need the state to mandate a 10 minute break for them.
]]>Did you read the article? This wasn't a flight they'd booked months, weeks or even days in advance - they'd booked to get on the next possible flight after receiving a call that a relative was very close to death. THAT is why they were late to the airport. I don't imagine they took the call at noon and sat around twiddling their thumbs for hours, do you?
]]>assholes.
if they try to offer flight vouchers, i would get the local news involved to embarrass the shit out of them.
this is just unacceptable.
]]>I can understand as well as anybody that when you've had a long and stressful day, a break is welcome, but sometimes it just isn't gonna happen. Putting off my break for a few minutes should not be a big deal.
What I can't figure out is if there was a line, why wasn't there another ticketing agent to relieve the one going on break?
]]>What normal person would worry about getting fired or a company policy for helping someone who was rushing to their dying mother?
I just lost my mother Jan 18th to cancer and if I had run into this situation I most likely would have ended up in jail. I'm going to quote a comment I once read over at fark.
This story makes me want to get all stabby.
]]>Let's see what UA says about how they treat Premier members, or in their own words, "we put Premier® members first" -- [www.united.com]
Looks like they failed on all counts, especially regarding "Priority Check-in".
Seems like OP should vote with his feet, if he's going to keep up that level of airline travel.
]]>For example, where I work - I can't work more then 5 hours without a lunch. Even if I want to work for 6 hours and leave early for the day - NOPE, the law will not let me (even if I'm OK with it.) Of course I'm also on Salary, which means as long as I step foot into the building, I'm paid for the day - even if I turn around and leave (of course I'm sure they would fire me soon after if I abused that...)
But point being - the law is the law. I would guess the airline would have things like that very scheduled - that is when they are scheduled for a break - they HAVE to take a break or be fired.
Again, not sure why the airline would not have someone around to take over for the worker going on break......
]]>@Micromegas: Sadly, agreed. Employers can get in big trouble with state/federal government for having workers skip (or take a shorter) break. That being said, the agent should have had someone there to cover for her. That, and her callous attitude, are inexcusable.
]]>However, I can understand the ticket agent's behavior because in a lot of jobs, some of which I've worked, the boss considers doing any work whatsoever during your break to be one of the worst offenses and will probably fire you for it. The second your break begins, you stop doing your job and don't do it again until you're off your break, or else.
]]>It wasn't meant to be.
Get over it, man.
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