Last weekend I was able to take a trip to Columbia, South Carolina to visit my dear friend Molly. She has lived down there for over two years now and I still hadn't made the trip. I was supposed to arrive on Thursday at 3:30 in the afternoon. Unfortunately, I didn't get there until about 9:45 at night. It was an extremely frustrating situation involving delays, missed connections and the Atlanta airport. Great customer service is something I have grown to expect since I work for a company who makes it a priority. Throughout my travel on Thursday, I experienced the WORST customer service ever. I decided I couldn't just "let it go," so I have filed a written complaint with Delta. I thought I'd share my letter! I'll keep everyone posted with their response!
On Thursday, March 26th, I had a scheduled departure from Indianapolis International Airport to Columbia, SC with a layover in Atlanta, GA. I have since gotten rid of the flight number, however, my flight out of Indianapolis was due to leave at 12:20 and was delayed until shorty after 1:30 due to storms in Atlanta. The delay caused me to miss my connecting flight in Atlanta. As a customer of Delta Airlines, I understand there are certain factors out of both the airlines control as well as my control, such as weather. The delay of the flight was not
what bothers me. However, the way myself and the rest of the passengers were treated by the Delta Airlines employees working the gate was unacceptable. In Indianapolis, when I had questions regarding missing my connecting flight in ATL and what I should do, I received the worst customer service ever. The gate worker was rude, would not make eye contact and was no help. She seemed angry that passengers were waiting in line to ask questions. As I sat waiting to board, numerous other passengers discussed the poor service of the gate workers. It was as if the passengers were an inconvenience to them. Once we arrived in Atlanta (at this point we had already missed our connecting flights) and went to the gate workers to figure out what to do next, the service got even worse. The gate workers in Atlanta had even worse attitudes than the one in Indianapolis. When I went to the gate seeking help from Delta, the worker simply said, "What do you need (without making eye contact)?" I explained I had missed my connecting flight and needed assistance
getting on another flight. The worker said "I will deal with that in 30-45 minutes (once again no eye contact) you can come back then." As a
traveler all I was looking for was help. Instead I was left with Delta employees unwilling to help. There was a pilot for Delta standing in
line behind me trying to find a seat on the plane as well. When I mentioned how rude the Delta gate employees had been during my trip, the
pilot actually said, "I am embarassed to work for the airline because the customer service was so poor (keep in mind, the pilot saw how I was treated)." Eventually I made it to Columbia six hours late. The flights got me to my destination safely and that is always my primary concern. However, the service I received from Delta Airlines throughout the disastrous travel day was unacceptable. Although the travel situation was not ideal, great customer service has the ability to make the mess more tolerable. I did not receive "great service." In fact, it was horrible. I felt that way and other passengers on the flight, including one of your own pilots felt the same way. Never once throughout my trip did one of the gate workers say, "We apologize for the inconvenience." There are many choices of airlines for passengers. I fully intend to fly other carriers from now on. While nothing can change the way my trip went, I felt it important for Delta to know how their customers were treated and hopefully make changes so future passengers are not faced with the poor customer service that myself and so many others were given.
Erin Watts
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