15 minutes before check in to my flight, Delta texted me to say it was delayed an hour. 15 minutes after that text, another one was received saying it was now a two hour delay. Not a big deal during the time of Corona. Knowing this would impact my next flight (with Delta), I went to the ticket counter to see what my options were. Except no one was at the counter.
45 minutes later, 2 employees sauntered over and wanted to know why I and the other customers were there since our flights were canceled. "Well, I suppose we can check you in and put you on the flight..." when I asked about my next flight (MPL-SEA), the response was "Oh you're not going to make it." Yes, which is why I needed to rebook a new flight... The new flight was now going to impact my flight with my third flight on a different carrier. When I asked about my new arrival time at SEA so I could rebook that flight, the response was "I don't know. That's between you and them." Ahh, yes, which is why I need my arrival time. After getting that information, I asked if there was any chance I could get my baggage fees waived since this was going to financially impact me. "No. That is not our problem."
I then called Delta Corporate, where I discovered the average wait time to have someone pick up the phone is 2+ hours... When I finally got ahold of George at Customer Service (2 hours later...), I was told that Delta would not help me out at all since they had no obligation to me as a customer, even though their delays would cause me to miss my other flight and I would have to get a hotel room in Seattle. I repeat, the direct quote was "We have no obligation." George did offer to comp me a few miles if I joined up and got a Delta Elite Credit Card, to which I replied "Why would I ever want to fly Delta again?" Crickets...
The other airline? 4 minutes hold time, changed my flight for free, baggage was free, and thanked me for my business = 10 minutes total. For the record, I average 20,000 miles a year for business travel. I get to choose my flights and airline. So why would I ever want to fly Delta again? Delays are to be expected with travel, but lack of customer service shouldn't be. read more