#24
01-17-2012, 06:43 AM
Just discovered this forum and thought I'd post my AA experience. The incident took place end of Oct, 2011. I booked my trip online through American's website. I was directed there via Kayak as they offered the lowest cost ticket for my trip. I was to find out, the hard way, that you get what you pay for!
The flight I booked was from Bangkok, Thailand to Hartford, CT round trip. It's a trip I've done before, and I knew the hard part was finding convenient arrival and departure times, and also reasonable connections and waiting times in connecting airports. I was able to find decent departures, arrivals, and connections with AA so I went ahead and purchased the ticket. The flight was Bangkok to Tokyo, with a wait of 4 hours there. Then onward to Dallas with a wait of around 2 hours before flying on to Hartford. The price was right, connections and times were good, and I was happy and went with it.
Well around a month later I get an email from AA that my flights had changed, and they sent along the new itinerary. Come to find out, I now had a 12 hour layover at Narita Airport in Tokyo, and because of that my flight to Dallas would arrive later, and my arrival in Hartford would be around 5 or 6 hours later than when I had booked it. This would turn out to be very inconvenient for those that would be picking me up at the airport in Hartford, but that's another story!
I tried to go online and see if I could change anything - no such luck. So I resigned myself to being stuck at Narita, and figured I'd just try and make the best of it. I don't fly that often anymore, so I'm pretty patient and flexible about these things of which I had no control over.
So I arrived that morning at Narita around 6:30 AM, and as I checked through security I noticed an AA counter nearby. They were closed at that time, but the gal at security told me they opened around 9:30 AM. So I spent the morning wandering around the airport, seeking out smoking rooms (thank you Japan for being so accommodating!), then made my way to the AA counter to see what I can get from them. I was hoping to catch a flight leaving earlier to the US that I could still connect into Hartford, and traveling alone I figured I may have a shot.
Well although the girl there was very pleasant to deal with, there was no other flight she could get me on to get me either to Dallas or Hartford any earlier. With another 8 or 10 hours to spend at Narita, I asked her if she could get me a day room, where I could possibly shower and sleep, and if AA would pick up the tab. She said there were rooms like that available, but AA would NOT pick up the tab. So I asked her if she would give me a pass for the Admirals Club (or whatever they call it) so I could sit and rest and get something to eat and drink. She said basically "no way!" but said she would call her boss and ask, which she did. Her boss said "no way!" also.
Now I was getting more angry, but controlled my temper with the girl as it wasn't her fault. So I told her that the very least they could do is give me a meal and drink voucher so I can get some food and drinks while I waited for my departure. And she said she had to call her boss again. Well, she came back and told me they'd give me a meal voucher - NO DRINKS - that I can redeem in a number of restaurants there. I forget the exact amount of Japanese yen it was worth, but it didn't seem like very much at the time I saw it. And yes, it turns out that AA did do the very least they could do. That voucher turned out to get me an overpriced sandwich type meal, and I even had to put up a couple bucks out of my pocket to pay for the whole thing!
On top of the horrible customer service, paying for and not getting the itinerary I had originally purchased (bait & switch in the real world!), and being expected to fork out $6 for a beer on my flight AND put that charge on my credit card - no cash accepted - I made it to my destinations without further incident. I should mention that when I ordered the beer on my flight the attendant gave it to me and asked for my credit card. I told her in that case then, I didn't want it, and she gave it to me 'on the house'. I thought that was very good of her, and complimented her for being so generous. It's a shame the AA employees that are on the front lines of dealing with customers are also victims of AA's poor customer service. I might also add that on my return flight as they were serving drinks, the attendant asked me what I'd like and I told him, "I'd love a beer, but I'm not about to pay $6 and put it on my card". He told me with a smile, "here, I'll give it to you, no problem. I don't have to pay for it!". Another good deed by a faithful employee. I mention this because it's not fair to blame or otherwise vent your anger on those that are just trying to do their job. Kudos to those two attendants that showed what real customer service is all about!
Well when I finally returned home to Thailand I wrote a complaint to AA on their website's complaint form thingy. I requested a reply, and I really figured they would offer some compensation for my being inconvenienced the way I was, due to no fault of my own. I figured at worst they'd offer me free miles, at best possibly a monetary refund or recompense.
Hah! What the hell was I thinking?? I ended up getting a couple of "form" emails in reply. You know the type. Where they throw your name in there to make it sound personal, but in the end offer you absolutely nothing but a "oh well, sorry - but TS"!
So to conclude this saga, I would heartily recommend to all you readers out there (if you've managed to read it this far!) NOT to fly American Airlines - ever! I know I won't! I'll pay the extra couple hundred bucks next time and fly with a more customer-oriented airline. AA is no longer honorable in my eyes.
The flight I booked was from Bangkok, Thailand to Hartford, CT round trip. It's a trip I've done before, and I knew the hard part was finding convenient arrival and departure times, and also reasonable connections and waiting times in connecting airports. I was able to find decent departures, arrivals, and connections with AA so I went ahead and purchased the ticket. The flight was Bangkok to Tokyo, with a wait of 4 hours there. Then onward to Dallas with a wait of around 2 hours before flying on to Hartford. The price was right, connections and times were good, and I was happy and went with it.
Well around a month later I get an email from AA that my flights had changed, and they sent along the new itinerary. Come to find out, I now had a 12 hour layover at Narita Airport in Tokyo, and because of that my flight to Dallas would arrive later, and my arrival in Hartford would be around 5 or 6 hours later than when I had booked it. This would turn out to be very inconvenient for those that would be picking me up at the airport in Hartford, but that's another story!
I tried to go online and see if I could change anything - no such luck. So I resigned myself to being stuck at Narita, and figured I'd just try and make the best of it. I don't fly that often anymore, so I'm pretty patient and flexible about these things of which I had no control over.
So I arrived that morning at Narita around 6:30 AM, and as I checked through security I noticed an AA counter nearby. They were closed at that time, but the gal at security told me they opened around 9:30 AM. So I spent the morning wandering around the airport, seeking out smoking rooms (thank you Japan for being so accommodating!), then made my way to the AA counter to see what I can get from them. I was hoping to catch a flight leaving earlier to the US that I could still connect into Hartford, and traveling alone I figured I may have a shot.
Well although the girl there was very pleasant to deal with, there was no other flight she could get me on to get me either to Dallas or Hartford any earlier. With another 8 or 10 hours to spend at Narita, I asked her if she could get me a day room, where I could possibly shower and sleep, and if AA would pick up the tab. She said there were rooms like that available, but AA would NOT pick up the tab. So I asked her if she would give me a pass for the Admirals Club (or whatever they call it) so I could sit and rest and get something to eat and drink. She said basically "no way!" but said she would call her boss and ask, which she did. Her boss said "no way!" also.
Now I was getting more angry, but controlled my temper with the girl as it wasn't her fault. So I told her that the very least they could do is give me a meal and drink voucher so I can get some food and drinks while I waited for my departure. And she said she had to call her boss again. Well, she came back and told me they'd give me a meal voucher - NO DRINKS - that I can redeem in a number of restaurants there. I forget the exact amount of Japanese yen it was worth, but it didn't seem like very much at the time I saw it. And yes, it turns out that AA did do the very least they could do. That voucher turned out to get me an overpriced sandwich type meal, and I even had to put up a couple bucks out of my pocket to pay for the whole thing!
On top of the horrible customer service, paying for and not getting the itinerary I had originally purchased (bait & switch in the real world!), and being expected to fork out $6 for a beer on my flight AND put that charge on my credit card - no cash accepted - I made it to my destinations without further incident. I should mention that when I ordered the beer on my flight the attendant gave it to me and asked for my credit card. I told her in that case then, I didn't want it, and she gave it to me 'on the house'. I thought that was very good of her, and complimented her for being so generous. It's a shame the AA employees that are on the front lines of dealing with customers are also victims of AA's poor customer service. I might also add that on my return flight as they were serving drinks, the attendant asked me what I'd like and I told him, "I'd love a beer, but I'm not about to pay $6 and put it on my card". He told me with a smile, "here, I'll give it to you, no problem. I don't have to pay for it!". Another good deed by a faithful employee. I mention this because it's not fair to blame or otherwise vent your anger on those that are just trying to do their job. Kudos to those two attendants that showed what real customer service is all about!
Well when I finally returned home to Thailand I wrote a complaint to AA on their website's complaint form thingy. I requested a reply, and I really figured they would offer some compensation for my being inconvenienced the way I was, due to no fault of my own. I figured at worst they'd offer me free miles, at best possibly a monetary refund or recompense.
Hah! What the hell was I thinking?? I ended up getting a couple of "form" emails in reply. You know the type. Where they throw your name in there to make it sound personal, but in the end offer you absolutely nothing but a "oh well, sorry - but TS"!
So to conclude this saga, I would heartily recommend to all you readers out there (if you've managed to read it this far!) NOT to fly American Airlines - ever! I know I won't! I'll pay the extra couple hundred bucks next time and fly with a more customer-oriented airline. AA is no longer honorable in my eyes.