Letter to United

It's been a while since my last post. It took a terrible experience on United Airlines to get me writing again. I never received a response, but it did make me feel better.

Dear United Employee-

I am writing to share my experience traveling on United Airlines on March 9, 2009. As I am only a "General Member" and don't have elite status, I'm sure my comments will go to the end of the queue, but I'll do this anyway. As a side note, I am a Platinum member of American's Advantage program and I travel to/from Chicago quite often. I consider myself an experienced traveler.

Yesterday morning I went to the Denver airport, checked in, checked my bag, paid my $15, and went through security. Just like any normal Monday morning. I proceeded to the gate, where I was allowed to board in Group #4. As I get back to my seat, 24H, I barely had enough room for my small backpack to fit in the overhead bin. I had to use the overhead bin, as the space under my seat was taken due to the extremely large passenger sitting in the seat next to mine, whose left foot and leg were under the seat in front of me. I settled into my seat, of which I was only able to use 75% due to said passenger. I sat back, relaxed and got ready to enjoy my flight, as the flight attendants instructed us to do. The pilot came on, welcomed us aboard, and told us of a maintenance problem on the plane. Something electrical. Don’t worry my friends, he said, there are teams of people working on it, and he should have us taxiing to the runway in 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, I look at my watch, happy that I have a buffer of 15 minutes between when my flight arrives in San Francisco and when my boss arrives. And more than enough time to get my bag, grab a cab, and head to the hotel for my meeting.

Twenty or so minutes later, the captain comes back on and says that they don't know the cause of the mechanical problem, and there would be a 9:00 decision as to when/whether we would take off. At about 9:15, 15 minutes after this "decision" the captain comes back on to say that they still don't know the problem and there will be a 10:00 decision. I nervously look at my watch, calculate the flight time, time it will take to get my bag once we arrive, etc. Still, I’ll make it just in time to get my meeting, although my boss, the President of the company, will have to sit around and wait for me.

A few minutes later, they start announcing names of people that they are pulling off the plane to put on other flights. Premier, Executive, etc. At that time, I start calling to inquire about other flights. The earliest I can get on is 11:18 that gets me in after 1:00pm in San Fran (because all of the elite passengers have been moved on to the next flights). By that time (after getting my bag, getting a cab, etc.) I will have missed my scheduled meeting, and my boss will have been at the airport waiting for me for 3 hours. I call the gentleman with whom we are meeting and ask if we can push back the time. That’s not a possibility, as he has another commitment and then has to fly out that evening. Plus, if I stay on my current flight, knowing that there is a 10:00 decision, maybe I would still get to San Fran in time to make my meeting. So I continue to sit in my 75% seat for while longer trying to figure out what I should do.

After about 30 more minutes, the captain comes on and says that they still can’t figure out the mechanical problem and there is an 11:00 decision. It’s official, I will have missed my meeting no matter how you slice it. No need to go to San Fran anymore. I squeeze out of my seat, grab my stuff from the overcrowded overhead bin, and depart the plane. I wait in line to talk to an agent, who wasn’t able to help me, and sent me to stand in line at “Customer Service”. In the meantime, I pick up my mobile phone and dial United’s 800 number to try to book myself on a flight back home to Chicago, instead of San Francisco, as I no longer have a need to go there.

After saying “Agent” into the automated system for what seems like 5 minutes, I finally get in the queue and I’m told I have a 3 minute wait to talk to an agent on the phone. Meanwhile, I’m still in line with “Customer Service”. After 3 minutes, I explain the story to the agent on the phone, that my flight to San Francisco has been delayed so long that I’ve missed my meeting, have no need to travel there any longer, and I’d like to fly back to Chicago today rather than tomorrow. I am put on hold, listening to United’s music, when it’s finally my turn to talk to Customer Service, live and in person. The woman at the counter tells me that I have to go to baggage claim to fill out a form and have my bag rerouted to Chicago. “Baggage Claim?” I said. “You mean on the other side of security?” “Yes,” she said. “I can’t help you here, you need to go to baggage claim. And because your ticket tomorrow to Chicago is on American [the airline that treats me well], I can’t put you on a flight to Chicago, you have to go see a ticketing agent.” Meanwhile, I had been on hold with United 800 number (while in line to talk to Customer Service), and after giving them all of my information, I was disconnected.

I take a moment to gather my thoughts, gather my belongings, and trek down to the tram. I exit the tram, go up a level and head to baggage claim. At the same time, I call the 800 number again to try to get on a flight home to Chicago. The gentleman on the phone was quickly able to get me booked on the 1:47pm flight to Chicago. But he instructed me to go check in for the flight and get my boarding pass. (Remember, I was on the other side of security, so I needed a boarding pass to get through). First things first, I needed to get my bag squared away, and then I would worry about checking in.

I get to the baggage office, hand over my claim check, and explain my story. The woman asks me why I came all the way to baggage claim. I tell her that I was sent by “Customer Service” as they told me I had to come here to fill out a form to get my bag pulled from the San Francisco flight and put on the flight to Chicago. She said “Who told you that?” I said, “The woman at Customer Service”. She said “What was her name?” I said, “I have no idea.” She grabbed my claim check, punched some things on the computer, wrote a few numbers on my claim check, and handed it back to me. She told me my bag was now checked on the 1:47pm flight to Chicago, the flight I would be taking home. But she didn’t understand why I came all the way out, to the other side of security, to take care of this. Next time, she told me, I could just take care of it at Customer Service. Next time, I thought. I hope there isn’t a next time.

OK, bag squared away – check.
Booked on flight – check.

Now up a level to check in for my new flight and get my boarding pass. I get to the machine, swipe my card, and alas, my information isn’t available. The screen tells me to pick up the handy dandy phone sitting next to it, so I do. I sit on hold for a few minutes, and then someone is there to help me. After giving them the story of my day, flight changes, etc., they tell me I have to go check in with an agent – my boarding pass can’t be printed at that kiosk. OK fine, I’ve come this far, my bag is on the right flight, I missed my meeting but at least I’m now booked on a flight home. I go stand in line for about 10 minutes, waiting to get my boarding pass. I get there, get my pass, and then make the trek back downstairs for my second turn through the security line. I have two small bags with me – a laptop case, and a backpack. I go through the whole deal, take off shoes, take off coat, remove both laptops and place them in a bin, etc. A few minutes later, I’m through security, back in line for the tram. Things just might be looking up. I get to my gate, sit down, take a load off. I’ve been walking in heels (I was in a suit, prepared for my meeting in San Fran that I never made it to) for a long time trying to get things in order, and quite honestly, my feet hurt. But that’s OK, it’s 11:30. My flight home is in 2 hours and 15 minutes, and I had time to grab some food, catch up on e-mail and get on my 1:47pm flight home.

At this point, my stomach is growling. Why wouldn’t it be? I haven’t eaten and it’s lunchtime! I go over to the nearest restaurant, have a $17 meal, and head back to the gate, just in time for the 1:17pm boarding. Well, it looks like the fight has been delayed until 2:05pm. No big deal, I think. They always build in extra time into the flight times, so we’ll probably still be on time to O’Hare. A while goes by, no plane at the gate. No agents at the desk. Then it pops up that the flight is delayed until 2:41pm. No announcement, still no agents at the gate. No indication as to why the flight is delayed, weather, mechanical problems, who knew? Finally, a flight pulls up to the gate, and soon we are ready to board. But not before they change the departure time to 2:56. We board, and alas, I’m in the second to last row, even though there are plenty of open seats available in closer rows. No problem. I’m on the flight. My bag is checked on the flight. I’ll be home in no time.

A few hours later, we land in Chicago. About an hour late, still with no explanation as to why we are late, but at least we are home. I’m one of the last people off the plane, I head to baggage claim to pick up my bag and get home. Albeit rush hour in Chicago and now it will take me longer and cost more in a taxi to get home. I get to baggage claim and alas, my bag is nowhere to be found. I walk to “Customer Service”, hand over my claim check, and explain my situation. Thirty minutes and 4 people later, I still don’t have my bag. I am given a small, white sheet of paper with a contact number and website, and a POWAB number. I still have no idea what a POWAB is, but that’s OK, it will soon lead me to my lost luggage. I give them my delivery information for my place of business as I’m told my bag will be arriving at 1am in Chicago. It would be delivered to me the next day and I give them a 9am-5pm timeframe.

The next day, today, March 10, 2009, I decide to drive to work so that I could get my bag home and not have to drag it on the train during rush hour. Driving to work is a pain, but I figured it would be better than the alternative. I check the handy POWAB number several times and my bag is still missing. I call the number and I’m told, “Don’t worry, Ma’am, most bags are found within 24 hours.” I asked where my bag was. He wasn’t sure, but the last time it was scanned was in San Francisco. San Francisco? What? It’s still there? After I went back through security, filled out a form, and was told that my bag would be pulled off the flight and put on my flight to Chicago! Here are a few facts in case there was some doubt about whether there was enough time to get my bag off the plane: 1) The San Fran flight (#377) left 5 hours late, 2 hours after I attempted to get my bag pulled from the plane, so there was plenty of time to do that. 2) The flight that I took to Chicago (#940) left 4 hours after I attempted to get my bag pulled so again, there was plenty of time to get said bag to my flight.

So here I am, approaching the 24-hour mark, and still no bag. No phone call. No information as to where it is or when I’ll get it. In general, my entire experience with United was terrible. I travel a lot, for business and pleasure, and I live in one of United’s hub cities. Yet, I have no desire to fly your airline again. I will probably get an automated response to this, something like, “Thank you for your feedback, we will get back to you soon. And we appreciate your business.” But I felt the need to share this experience in case someone out there reads it.

Sincerely, Kara Maxwell (former customer)

Vacation Part II

This is long overdue. Part II of vacation, my very first 2 week vacation ever. I covered Kauai in Part I, now on to Maui.

We arrived on a puddle jumper plane and headed to the Marriott Wailea. No ocean view room this time, but still very nice. We had heard about an amazing pool so we immediately went to check it out. It was amazing. It's called the serenity pool. No cell phones. No kids. Sunset. Poolside bar service. Ocean. Need I say more?














It's been over a month since we were there so a lot of the things I wanted to write about are lost from my mind. But these are the things that stand out:

1) Whale watching at the Pacific Whale Foundation. If you don't see a whale, you get a free ticket for another whale watching tour. And we were at the tail end (no pun intended) of whale season, we we were just expecting to have to come back to Maui sometime to use our free ticket. But just after we left the harbor, we saw it. A small spout. At first we were certain that it was someone scuba diving, working for the company so everyone thought they saw a whale. But alas, it was the real deal. We saw some amazing whales, very close up.
2) Paia - very cool hippy town on Maui. Went to the Flatbread Company - highly recommend.
3) Ceviche at Cafe O'Lei - we went back to have it a second time - it was that good. We convinced them to make it for us, even though it wasn't on the lunch menu. Apparently we weren't the first to do this.
4) Sitting out on a lanai at J's friends' house in Pukalani, having a nice dinner, with an amazing view of the island.
5) Secret Beach - I won't tell you where it was (see the name), but it was pretty cool. The waves were amazing.

I think that's about all for my vacation post. I wish I had written this on the plane home...

One thing I do know - I'm ready to go back!

Vacation Part I (and blogging in general)

So, blogging. As I mentioned previously, it’s new to me. I’ve been wanting to do it for a while and have been talking to some people in my book club about starting one. Anyway, someone I know who is huge into blogging (even goes to Blog World, can you believe there is a Blog World?!) said something that really inspired me to get going with this endeavor. A blog is a great way to document and journal your thoughts, feelings, ideas, etc. that can be wonderful for many reasons. 1) It’s an instant “record” of what you have done to help you remember what you were thinking and doing at a particular time, event in your life. When I’m 80, I can easily look back and see what I was thinking when I was 33. 2) Think about what you know about your parents versus what your kids can know about you. If I ever have children, they can know so much more about me than I will ever know about my parents. I think that’s pretty cool. By the way, I can’t take credit for those ideas, but I was obviously inspired by them so I am sharing them.

The point of starting this was to write about my vacation. I went on a tangent about blogging.

Vacation. I should have written this a week ago so everything would be fresh in my mind. Actually, I should have written this while still there lounging at the pool sipping mai tais. The trip started out in Kauai, a quiet paradise island. I’ll just write about Kauai for now and will fish with Maui and the rest later.

We stayed at the Marriott in Lihue (awwww LIHUE….inside joke for J). The day we got there, we learned that a 30-year old flight attendant had drowned just outside our hotel in the not-so-rough surf. That made us a little leery about going into the water. In fact, on our second to last day there we realized we had been in Hawaii for a week and a half and hadn’t done more than dip our toes in the ocean. (We were definitely made fun of for this by J’s friends who live in Maui). For the first 4 days of our vacation, we didn’t do much at all. Basically vegged out at the pool, reading, sleeping, talking, making fun of J for being obsessed with his iPhone, you know, the basics.

One thing that I did for the first time on vacation was Bikram Yoga. It was crazy. They crank the heat up to like 100 degrees and you do yoga. It was amazing. And hot. And very hard. And hot. I felt so good afterwards (although I think I stretched some muscles that I hadn’t used in years, if ever). I had never sweat so much in my life (no, not even at field hockey practice in Kentucky those 95 degree August afternoons). But, it was good enough to go back, and despite being a few minutes late to our second class, we did it again. The second time was easier for me in that it was less intimidating. It was still pretty difficult, as my body wasn’t used to folding and bending like that. But still felt good. The studio was in this great little town called Kapa’a. It was a kind of laid back hippy-ish town with super nice, welcoming people. We loved it, and went back for dinner a few times.

The day of our second yoga class, we spent the afternoon at Waimea Canyon. It was amazing. Especially for someone like me, who hasn’t been to the Grand Canyon yet. They actually call it Hawaii’s Grand Canyon. We took our required pictures at the scenic overlook (you know, those great “self-portrait” photos where you can almost always see the arm of the person taking the photo, and usually someone’s head or ear is cut out of the picture), then headed out for a 3-hour hike down to some waterfalls. Let’s just say that I was not the quickest when it came to hiking on some of the paths, and definitely slowed the pace. But it was still great fun. We got to what we thought was the main attraction – Woipoo Falls. We were, understandably, a little disappointed, as we had been expecting to swim and splash and be happy in the waterfalls and pools. Not after we saw the warning sign about some bacteria with a really long name that might or might not be present in the water. Still, it was worth the hike. On our way back, we noticed that if we went to the right instead of the left, there was a narrow path that led to some other pools and falls that were fantastic. J was a little more adventurous than I was, and went further into the falls. All in all, a great hike.

Driving back from Waimea Canyon, we went and watched some surfers along the way. Pretty cool stuff. Then we went to one of the trip’s favorite restaurants (please don’t laugh here…) Brick Oven Pizza. I know I know. Pizza? In Hawaii?? We had eaten some great seafood the previous nights, and were just in the mood for some yummy pizza. This place had been recommended and we now know why. Best crust ever! And they give you garlic butter to dip your crust.

I know there is so much more to write about Kauai, but my fingers are hurting and if anyone is reading this, they are probably starting to day dream about other things, their minds wandering to their vacations, etc. I’ll get to Vacation Part II soon.

PS – Why doesn’t Word recognize the word BLOG? (I can already hear it…it’s Microsoft…blah blah blah)

Re-Entry

I just got back from an amazing two-week vacation. Kauai, Maui and topped off with a visit to the paradise of Louisville, KY for the Derby. Now I'm back at work. Half working. Half day dreaming of vacation. Half staring at my computer. Oh wait, that's three halves. I've probably looked at my vacation pictures 25 times today. Reminiscing. Loving it.

Usually when I come back from vacation, I'm dreading work, and just so unhappy about re-entering the real world. For some reason, this time I'm just happy. In a good mood. Thinking about the good things and not worrying about how much I have to do. I think I know why. Someone I know pretty well keeps talking about and quoting Getting Things Done (GTD). I tried reading it. Personally I'd rather read a trashy novel or a non fiction about Sorority Life, etc. But I am going to try to read another chapter this week. Small steps. Anyway, my opinion (before reading the book, so no offense to J or to the author of the book...) is that all you need is a 2-week vacation once in a while. I feel so amazingly refreshed. And despite the aforementioned photo viewing sessions throughout the day, I have gotten so much done today (see, GTD!!) That was my first two-week vacation since I started working. That's all I needed.

I am going to journal about my vacation soon, I just felt the need to start my writing this way - ease into the blog thing. It's new to me. I already like it. Life is good.

Fame

I'm finally getting my two minutes of fame. Perhaps? http://www.jdbstudiophotography.com/

My cousin Janet took this photo of me about a hundred years ago. Now she uses it on her photography studio website.

By the way, I'm the photo on the left, in case you couldn't tell...

Funny Funny Bone

Have you ever hit your funny bone so hard that it actually becomes funny? Happened to me. Might have had something to do with the caipirihnas at Cafe 28.

Book Club

Last night's book club was great! Thanks to the author, Marsena Konkle for joining us and sharing her thoughts on the book.

For next month, we will be reading two (how ambitious are we??)

1) His Illegal Self by Peter Carey
2) Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos

Looking forward to it!

For those of you who asked, here is a list by month of the books we've read since the inagural book club meeting back in September:

Kite Runner
My Sister's Keeper
The Known World
Holidays on Ice
Love in the Time of Cholera
Middlesex
The Long Road Home
A Dark Oval Stone