[pattsi]

3 Aug 2009, I thought I had made a reservation online and charged to my Visa. Today, 4 Aug., I discovered that the reservation was not completed. As best I can figure out is that the UIUC Credit Union VeVisa Verify was not available. As I was making this discovery when speaking to an online representative, I further discovered if I got assistance from online to secure the reservation previously made it would cost me another $20 to make certain that the reservation would be completed. As I was working with the individual, I got cut off (this was the second person that I was speaking with about the situation. I had been cut off from the first) So I called back and spoke with Laurie, a supervisor, who would make the reservation, but would not waive the $20 fee. I also learned from her that the previous two times that I had been disconnected/cut off that the representatives could not call me back because they can not make outgoing calls, which appears to be the ultimate lack of customer service. The bottom line is that I was treated very poorly by this airline, probably because I am not a high mileage customer--cut off while talking to a representative, had to call back, wasted tremendous amounts of time, would not waive the fee, which is nothing more than a continuation of the money grubbing being done by the airlines. It has never been clear to me why it is so difficult to train customer service representatives to be helpful, facilitate closure on a quesion/problem/issue without aggravation that only causes dissatisfaction and a posting such as this.

Additional money grubbing on the part of the airlines is the newly increased fee for checking luggage. This is terribly discriminatory to the elderly or handicapped, who can not lift luggage into the overhead compartment, people who do not have access to a computer to pay for the luggage online and save the $5 increase, and children traveling alone, as are many of the other instituted extra fees. Elderly and low-income citizens more than likely do not have access to the use of a computer.

The time has come for the customers to resist the way airlines handle us, treat us, and overcharge us. I laughed when I read the NWA Customer First "Customer's Guide." There is nothing in the 12 statements about assisting customers with reservation problems, minimizing customer frustrations, maximizing developing loyalty to this airline because the customer was treated like a human being. The merger with Delta does not necessary produce improvements when being bigger is accomplished.
I will be interested as to the quality of the "canned" response that I receive.