Hey #Delta, my bad… (Another "wonderful" #CustomerExperience w/ Big Airlines)

So as I write this, I am currently sitting at the SW FL Int’l Airport, because I haven’t gone anywhere yet.

After a huge weekend hanging w/ our friends, I had an early Monday morning flight on Delta to Atlanta. My wife, finally figured out their website late last night and checked me in at home.

I arrived at the airport bright & early at 6:45 am!

After 20 some minutes getting through security, I began my short walk to the gate. Walking past the monitor, I looked at my flight and it said “Gate C6.” I looked again, because I always double check that kind of thing because, well, being at the right gate is important when you fly.

So I get to “Gate C6” 25 minutes before my flight is scheduled to depart and was surprised to see no one boarding, only people sitting around waiting. I looked at the digital board which read, “Flight 2230, Atlanta, GA, 7:45 am – ON TIME.”

Perfect, I walked to get a bottle of water, passed the Departures screen and checked it again, “Gate C6.”

On my way back from my hydration break, I looked over at C7 and the sign said, “Detroit…”

As I approached Gate C6, I checked the sign again over the Gate marked, “Gate C6.” It read “Flight 2230 – Atlanta – On Time”

So there I sat with about 20 other people all perceivably waiting on someone from Delta to tell us what to do next.

Well, 7:45 came and went, I looked around a good bit. But nothing. So I’m thinking, “I guess we’re delayed…”

Then, at 7:50, the sign goes blank at the gate and a ticketing agent walks up. A young man in a gray suit approaches him & I over hear him ask about the Atlanta flight. to which the agent says, “Yeah, that left 10 minutes ago out of Gate C7, over there.”

Of course, I jump up and am like, “What?!? All the signs said, Atlanta was at this gate?”

To which the gate agent says, “Yeah, you’re right. They did, but the flight left from over there. I’ve got to start working on the LaGuardia flight gate change, so you guys will have to go out to the Ticketing Counter and be rebooked.”

And then started typing…

After another couple of minutes of trying to get him to talk to us, we said we hadn’t been paged, heard no announcements anything…

To which he replied, “Right. It left from over there… You’ll have to go out past security and start over. I’ve got to work on this LaGuardia flight.”

Scene 2: Me at the Ticketing Counter with “Mary”

BTW, I never did find out what happened to young, gray suit guy….

Anyway, by the time I get to the ticket counter I’m quite disgruntled, (which is a Keller way of saying, “Ticked Off.”)

During my 40 minute exchange with “Mary,” she accused me twice of “Not looking around and noticing that there weren’t many people there…” She said, “Sir, all of our flights are full, so you should have thought that your flight was at a different gate when you didn’t see lots of people.”

To which I said, “Yeah but all your signs were wrong.” To which she responded, “Right, but you should have looked around at the lack of people.”

So, let me get this straight, every sign in the building said, “Gate C6” but it was my responsibility to completely disregard all of those signs and simply count the number of people sitting near a gate and then think to myself, “Gosh, the ratios seem slightly less than I would suspect Delta would have for a flight like this…”

Then it was my job to jump to the conclusion that my Atlanta flight was most probably going out of the gate with the sign that said, “Detroit” above it which had appropriate ratios.

My bad, Delta, my bad…

So I got booked on a later flight and when I asked her about compensating me in any way, she replied, “We’re giving someone else $300 because the flight you’re booked on, is now overbooked and to guarantee you a seat, someone else will have to give up their seat. So we’re giving them $300 for you. And besides, there’s no compensation for Missed Flights.”

Again, my bad, Delta, my bad…

So, to whomever gave up your seat, so I could have it, I hope you enjoy the $300.

Oh yeah, to her credit, she let me check my carry on bag for free.

Wow, thanks for not charging me for something that I wasn’t going to have you charge me for anyway.

Oh yeah, and don’t some other “Low Fare, Discount” airlines let you check your bags for free anyway?

Yeah, they do…

If it’s worth anything, I did tell her that the standing joke in our office is, “Whatever you do, don’t book Matt on Delta…”

Yeah, I told her that… But then I said “God bless you” after we hugged goodbye.

That’s not true. I neither said “God bless you” nor hugged her goodbye.

But I did take a good look at the ticket counter, because it could be awhile before I fly Delta again.

Well, actually they might actually tell me that even though the sign says a different airline, it’s actually their flight. Who knows, I guess their signs are like that…

Oh well, I’m on my way to Atlanta now.

Hope I find the right gate…