Happy New Year from your Aircomplane.com Spite Attendant Crew.
Well, one would have to live in a cave (or a snowbank) to have missed some of the travel nightmares that took place across the country. Blizzards and other bad weather certainly wreaked havoc with thousands of flights, and more than one of you probably spent the night in an airport.
Well, the e-mails to us about the bad behavior perpetrated by many of the airlines has started to come in. And while we are sorting through and answering them, it occurred to us that we can share the benefit of our experience with you here if you encountered some particularly horrific treatment by the airlines. And we’re not sure we have to say this, but keep in mind that bad weather is not their fault. Responding to bad weather and how any changes affect you IS their responsibility. Snow wasn’t just invented yesterday, and weather reports are increasingly reliable. It’s part of that industry. But from our mail, however, some fright attendants just seemed to make matters worse. Keep in mind that you are the customer. Be reasonable and expect reasonably professional and respectful behavior and service. Those airline employees working the aisles and the counters are there because you bought a ticket on their airline (theoretically). Demand respect.
That said, here are some guidelines that may help you in the event you encountered a particularly gruesome or abusive trip.
1) Follow the rules one more time. If you have a complaint, file it in accordance with the airlines’ policies. Get on the record, and mark the date. Make at least three sincere attempts to reach them by phone, and log everything.
2) Record the circumstances of your event while they are still fresh in your mind. Write them down or audio or video record them. Things get fuzzy later.
3) Take names. Many people who work for the airlines try very hard to be accommodating and helpful. You are doing your fellow travelers a service by helping to identify the other ones. Include names in your correspondence to the airline.
4) Wait a reasonable amount of time for a response. Let your impatience be your guide.
5) File a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation Aviation Consumer Protection Division. Here’s the form. It is also located on Aircomplane.com’s home page off to the right.
6) Write your Spite Attendant Crew here at Aircomplane.com. We post many of the episodes we receive, and having your complaint as a link on Aircomplane.com makes it a tad easier to include in on-line correspondence and to share with “others.” Try to keep it somewhat clean and constructive, and let us know if we can use your name.
We’ll be posting more soon. Remember, you are the customer. You spent your money for a service, and you should expect respect and to have every attempt made to fulfill that which you contracted for. Would you expect anything less from a car dealer, homebuilder, retail establishment, or medical or legal professional? Some airlines will continue to feign immunity to civilized and professional behavior while hiding behind bailouts and threatened bankruptcy, but don’t let them. They were not DRAFTED into the airline industry. They are there by choice. If they can’t or won’t do the job while treating customers with the respect they deserve, then they should eject.
