An incident today at the Greenville/Spartanburg airport between an Allegiant employee and a customer leaves me wondering, "Whatever happened to customer service?"
My boyfriend and I were in line to check in for our flight back to Ft. Lauderdale. There was a nice looking couple ahead of us and one Allegiant representative behind the counter. She was not tall but I could spy her behind the pens and fake flowers. She did not look up.
My boyfriend and I were in line to check in for our flight back to Ft. Lauderdale. There was a nice looking couple ahead of us and one Allegiant representative behind the counter. She was not tall but I could spy her behind the pens and fake flowers. She did not look up.
After a few minutes of waiting without a word, I
asked the couple if they had been acknowledged yet. They said, “Yeah, they said, 'If you're going to Ft. Lauderdale you have to wait.' They won't check you in till 9:20. If you’re
flying to Sanford though, that’s different.”
We waited a bit more. The Allegiant employee never said anything, nor did she look up. The line grew from 4 to 14 quickly, and 2 more Allegiant workers showed up behind the ticket counter. Neither one acknowledged the line. Then came a wave.
We waited a bit more. The Allegiant employee never said anything, nor did she look up. The line grew from 4 to 14 quickly, and 2 more Allegiant workers showed up behind the ticket counter. Neither one acknowledged the line. Then came a wave.
The couple ahead of us moved forward. Then, we were waved over. While we were checking in, a man, clearly hurried and harried, came up to the counter.
“Sanford?” he asked. “Did the flight to Sanford leave?”
“Sanford?” he asked. “Did the flight to Sanford leave?”
“It pushed back,” the
attendant said flatly without looking up.
“Can I get on it?”
“No, the flight was
closed ½ hour ago.”
“But it doesn’t leave
till 9:50,” he contested. It was 9:15ish.
“The flight leaves at 9:30” she
replied, still staring down at the computer.
“Is there any way I can get on it?” he
asked again.
“No."
“What should I do?” he asked, clearly upset.
“What should I do?” he asked, clearly upset.
The attendant still did not look at him
“#&*! U” responded
the man who succumbed to dickishness.
My BF and I
checked in, and got comfortable at the gate. About 20 minutes later I noticed
an Allegiant plane just beyond the window. It was stopped just a few feet from our gate's jetway. I asked the BF, "Are they towing that in? Is that our plane?” He was engrossed in something on his iPad and didn't answer. I went back to my work.
A few minutes later, about 30 minutes since checking in, I looked back up. “Hey where’d the plane go?” I asked. From where I was sitting, I couldn’t see it. The BF went to the window. There was no plane! "That wasn’t out plane. That must've been the plane to Sanford," he said.
I understand regulations and duties, but I don't understand unnecessary rudeness. Perhaps airline employees should be trained on handling stressed out passengers who may miss or do miss their flights. Maybe the new fee for carry-on bags could go toward paying an airline concierge who could step up as needed. If airline employees practice dispensing bad news with a glimmer of humanity maybe passengers wouldn't get so dickish.
A few minutes later, about 30 minutes since checking in, I looked back up. “Hey where’d the plane go?” I asked. From where I was sitting, I couldn’t see it. The BF went to the window. There was no plane! "That wasn’t out plane. That must've been the plane to Sanford," he said.
I understand regulations and duties, but I don't understand unnecessary rudeness. Perhaps airline employees should be trained on handling stressed out passengers who may miss or do miss their flights. Maybe the new fee for carry-on bags could go toward paying an airline concierge who could step up as needed. If airline employees practice dispensing bad news with a glimmer of humanity maybe passengers wouldn't get so dickish.
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