Down with Delta Airlines!

This is a letter I wrote to Delta Airlines today:

My boyfriend and I had a horrible experience at the JFK Delta check-in counter from 7am through 8am on Oct, 14, 2009. Our flight to Seattle was at 8:30am on October 14, 2009. We had both taken off an extra day of from work and planned our whole day in Seattle around this flight. So we checked-in, paid the baggage fees, and printed our boarding passes online the day prior to our flight to make sure that we were ready to go on the next morning.

We got to the JFK Delta terminal at 7:20am (1:10 hours before our scheduled flight, when Delta only required us to arrive 45 minutes prior to the flight), and we asked several Delta employees where we needed to go to drop off our bags. One said that we needed to check in at the kiosk again. So we spent 10 minutes at the kiosk trying to check in, but the system wouldn't allow us. We asked another Delta employee where we needed to go, and she said we needed to get on the line that lead to the counter (Delta, what is the point of having an online check-in system when people WITH boarding passes has to wait in the same line as people WITHOUT boarding passes?!), which had filled up during the time we were using the kiosk! So we waited in line patiently for 20 minutes.

When we were the second group in line, another Delta employee came around the line and asked what time everyone's flight was (Why didn't anyone do this before!?), and we said "8:30am." He then replied that we've just missed the last bag check for our flight, and stated that we were late! (How could that be? We got there 1:10 hours before our flight!) We tried to explained to him that we were waiting in line, and that we were mis-informed as soon as we walked in. Without trying to help us or get us to a counter quickly or offering us any solutions, he stood there yelling at us, and kept insisting that it was our fault! We were still waiting in line, as he walked away to speak to another Delta employee about us.

The other employee came over, said, "you're late," snatched our boarding pass from my hand, wrote "LATE!" on top, (Was that truly necessary?!), and held onto them (as if we'd take them and run!). When it was our turn to approach the counter, she walked with us, handed our boarding passes to the counter attendants and told the two people (a black lady, and a white guy) behind the counter that we were late. We tried to explain that we had gotten to the airport at 7:20am, and that we were waiting inline for 30 minutes. The two ladies (the one behind the counter, and the lady who walked with us) didn't believe us, and they kept insisting that we had just arrived at the airport (which was impossible, as the line was really long, and we've obviously already made it to the front!), and that we were late (also false). They didn't even try to help us get onto the plane, or figure out a solution to this problem -- they just kept yelling and talking over our voices as they ignored what we were trying to explain -- that we were not late, and that we needed to get to Seattle on the morning flight.

Soon, it seemed that the entire Delta crew at the airport had gathered around us, and everyone had something to yell at us about! The guy that polled the line earlier came back and yelled at us some more. A few other ladies (whom we've never seen during the entire time we were there!) came around in back of us, joined in on the "customer-bashing" and insisted that they saw us when we walked in (which was an obvious lie!). They were all closing in on me and my boyfriend, and we felt like we were going to get gang-raped or beaten up by the Delta employees! (Is this what they're trained to do -- gang up on customers? Or did Delta hire more street thugs and correctional officers to offset expenses?) At one point, the lady behind the counter threatened me, "Keep talking like that!" I was sincerely befuddled, as I was simply trying to explain that we weren't late, and what had happened. (Are Delta employees trained to threaten customers instead of listen to them?) Was it truly necessary to argue with us and to gang up on us? All we wanted to do was to get to Seattle -- the last thing I wanted to do at 7am in the morning is to defend myself against a bunch of thugs!

The only person who was dedicated to helping us out was the white guy behind the counter -- he had blond hair and glasses (unfortunately, I didn't catch his name over all the loud voices around us) -- who had been searching the Delta system for other flights (direct and connecting) that could get us to Seattle. He was very professional and did NOT join in with the other Delta employees while they yelled at us! Eventually, we stopped talking to the other employees (even though they all stood like hawks around us the entire time!), and he advised us that we needed to pay $50/person to get onto the next flight, which was 12 hours away!

"Are you serious?" I asked, and the rude lady behind the counter chimes in with a smirk, "That's right! You have to pay $50/person!" Then, it all became clear -- it's all a part of Delta's policies to make customers, who are at no fault, pay the extra $50/person flight-change-fee to the airline! Do employees get commission for making customers pay the $50/person fee? Is that was it has come down to, Delta? Shame on you!

Delta, just to let you know, my boyfriend and I will NEVER, EVER fly with you again! ... I hope the loss of future business opportunities with us was well worth the $100 revenue in transfer fees that you've received on October 14, 2009. Please also note that I work in an IT department in a the company with 2500 employees (half of whom travel every week to meet with clients!). I will make sure to share my Delta experiences on with everyone in my company over the company intranet. And when I travel for business, I will specifically request NOT to fly with Delta.

Have a nice day!