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Continental Airlines Complaint - Continental Airlines. Poor Customer Service - Newark (EWR) Hub Service Desk
Newark (EWR) Hub Service Desk - Complaint
Resolution Update on 01/29/2011:
Continental's response was deemed adequate by consumer.
Continental's response was deemed adequate by consumer.
HOUSTON, TEXAS -- We were supposed to return to Pittsburgh on a round trip ticket on Jan. 2 from Newark on Continental Flight 3205 leaving 5:29 PM. We got to gate 111, C terminal early and all was well until about 5:15 when they announced a gate change to 114 where we were told our plane was coming in from Montreal. At 6:30 PM, we were told it was 15 minutes from the airport and would board shortly. At 7:00 PM we were told to go to gate 70 on another concourse were the plane would arrive and then board us. We arrived at the gate and the passengers and crew were disembarking. At 7:30 PM we were told the crew had timed out and they were getting another crew. At 7:45 PM we were told they couldn't find a crew and CO 3205 was cancelled. We were told to report to the Customer Service Desk were vouchers would be provided for lodging and food and we would be put on a morning flight for Pittsburgh. When I arrived at the desk around 8 PM and got through to the Representative I asked for vouchers for the night, what we needed to do about our luggage and tickets for the next available flight. He looked me in the eye and stated that I would not get any vouchers since it was the fault of the FAA and Air Traffic Control that our flight was cancelled. I said it was Continental's fault since they, not the FAA & Air Traffic made the schedule for their crews. He then countered that we were "Local" and therefore wouldn't get any vouchers (local meaning were beginning our flight in Newark and not part of a continuing flight). I countered that I didn't live in Newark, it was a round trip ticket, and we wanted vouchers since the other agents were giving them out to all customers from our flight (I had been checking with my fellow passengers leaving the desk prior to my turn. He called his "boss" who apparently approved our vouchers. I didn't appreciate his sullen attitude so I requested his name. He said nothing so I just waited while he worked on his computer getting our boarding passes and vouchers. Neither of us had raised our voices during this exchange. We regarded each other silently for the few minutes it took to get our paper work. A hostile, but quiet atmosphere. I would not have bothered with a complaint at all except for the poor attitude of the customer service agent. Situations like this occur in air travel these days and I, like many others, just accept it. The frowning and defiant customer service agent angered me, however. He didn't have to be friendly, but he could have been minimally civil. I've never had a big problem with Continental, but thanks to this one person I have very negative feelings about them at present. I will be contacting Continental using website feedback, a phone call and snail mail. I will be interested in their response. We may be using them again considering that all their other personnel on this day (and most other times we've flown Continental) have always been fairly pleasant. Much will depend on how they handle my complaint to them.
Comments:
Posted by Anonymous on 2011-01-06:
Good review, Alain. I'm glad you stood your ground.
Posted by Alain on 2011-01-06:
It's hard to get a complaint out of me, but this guy and I really didn't like each other. It's odd for me to feel that way about a complete stranger.
Posted by jktshff1 on 2011-01-06:
Good review, no rant.
Posted by MDSasquatch on 2011-01-06:
Good review and good luck getting any satisfaction from Continental. I had a brand new metal gun case on a trip from Texas to Maryland. When it arrived, it looked as if it had been run over; it was semi-crushed and covered in black rubber. Luckily the gun inside was not damaged, but Continental basically told me to stick my complaint where the sun don't shine after a lengthy round of phone transfers, "that's not my departments", and a few failures to understand what I was saying.
Posted by Ben There on 2011-01-06:
I suggest you give Continental another try - I find them to have some of the best customer service of US carriers. I would fly them more, but service is limited from Dallas compared to other airlines.
While this guy could have been much nicer, take into consideration he works at an airport that had seen 1000s of cancelled flights between Christmas and New Years and had probably been yelled at by hundreds of angry people about something he could not control.
While that is not an excuse to be snippy with you, I wouldn't write of an entire airline based on the attitude of one person at the end of the worst week that particular airport had seen in years.
While this guy could have been much nicer, take into consideration he works at an airport that had seen 1000s of cancelled flights between Christmas and New Years and had probably been yelled at by hundreds of angry people about something he could not control.
While that is not an excuse to be snippy with you, I wouldn't write of an entire airline based on the attitude of one person at the end of the worst week that particular airport had seen in years.
Posted by Anonymous on 2011-01-06:
Bear in mind that CO32xx flights op by Colgan D.b.a. Continental Airlines. Overworked, underpaid express operations employees not always the best representation of Continental. Continental historically has been rated the best network carrier in N. America.
Posted by trmn8r on 2011-01-06:
Newark is beautiful in the Springtime, it's a shame this didn't happen a few months from now.
I hasten to mention that Colgan Air is the company that had the snafu in Buffalo last year. I saw a segment on CNBC on these carriers Bete Noir points out - I would hesitate to fly with them.
I am impressed that you got the voucher. I though he had you when he pointed out you originated in Newark. You trumped him nicely.
I hasten to mention that Colgan Air is the company that had the snafu in Buffalo last year. I saw a segment on CNBC on these carriers Bete Noir points out - I would hesitate to fly with them.
I am impressed that you got the voucher. I though he had you when he pointed out you originated in Newark. You trumped him nicely.
Posted by Anonymous on 2011-01-06:
The flight crew can't fly over 16 hours in a shift. This includes ground time and delays. Sounds like the flight crew had been dealing with delays all day and timed out. It can be hard to find another crew. My bf is actually the manager of the crew-scheduling department for another airline. He tells me stories on how pilots and flight attendants purposely ignore phone calls on their days off to avoid being called in to work. Sometimes they have to arrange to fly in extra crew members from other cities. Crew time outs suck and I'm sure the employees at the airport hate it too. But, they are being paid to help accomodate disrupted passengers. At least you were able to get a voucher. Persistance can pay off
Posted by Ben There on 2011-01-06:
I was once on a flight that was delayed over 6 hours because of storms at DFW. The gate agents informed us that the inbound crew was approaching their legal limit of hours and that it was in everyone's best interest to board as quickly as possible so the plane could leave before they timed out. They also followed up that all hotels in the area were sold out, and even the crew would not be able to get rooms if the flight was cancelled.
All of the ground crew was in place as soon as the plane reached the gate, and even though the plane was a regional jet all the gate-checked carry on bags from the inbound passengers were sent to the carousel to keep them from hanging around the door of the plane.
They had already lined all of us up against the wall and had scanned our boarding passes so as soon as the last passenger got off the plane, we immediately started boarding... We were told to forget our seat assignments because sitting next to a stranger for 50 minutes is better than sitting next to your loved ones for 10 hours on an airport floor.
We all appreciated the urgency and humor, and we literally were leaving within 15 minutes from the time the plane got there.
All of the ground crew was in place as soon as the plane reached the gate, and even though the plane was a regional jet all the gate-checked carry on bags from the inbound passengers were sent to the carousel to keep them from hanging around the door of the plane.
They had already lined all of us up against the wall and had scanned our boarding passes so as soon as the last passenger got off the plane, we immediately started boarding... We were told to forget our seat assignments because sitting next to a stranger for 50 minutes is better than sitting next to your loved ones for 10 hours on an airport floor.
We all appreciated the urgency and humor, and we literally were leaving within 15 minutes from the time the plane got there.
Posted by trmn8r on 2011-01-06:
There is a silver lining in this cloud. Imagine if New Jersey's REALLY dirty secret, Camden, had an airport. The thought of being stuck there might almost cause me a heart attack.
Posted by DebtorBasher on 2011-01-06:
I try to prevent people from going to Pittsburg all the time and I don't even work for an airline :)
Posted by Anonymous on 2011-01-06:
That's because they keep going without you, Basher
Posted by Alain on 2011-01-10:
Update: An article describing a similar recent problem at Newark Airport appeared in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and is availible at http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11009/1116167-37.stm
Thank you for all the comments! Much appreciated!
Thank you for all the comments! Much appreciated!
Posted by Alain on 2011-01-28:
Update: A response came from Diane Cummings, Customer Care Manager for Continental, on Jan. 22. She apologized for the incorrect information given at the airport and, more importantly, said that the negative attitude of the Continental Customer Service Agent was not what was expected of their employees. The behaviour and incident would be included in the monthly Customer Care Report that is distributed to senior management. She also requested that I continue to use Continental. I find this response adequate and it did address my primary concerns about this event. Since my overall experiences with Continental have been good ones I shall continue to travel with them. This complaint is resolved to my satisfaction.
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