Corporate Responsibility

Yesterday, I'd resigned myself to just accept whatever the airline dished out on Tuesday. I didn't have the energy to navigate through an automated phone system so that I could talk to someone who might not understand English. Instead, I took a 3-hour nap.

Today, after a good night's sleep, I decided to raise some dust. I called the 1-800 number. To my surprise, the fellow on the other end understood what I was saying. As I expected, he handed me the party line, "Ma'am, because the problem was weather related, Delta is not responsible..." I cut him off before he could go any further.

I explained that I understand that Delta cannot control the weather. However, Delta did control the decisions that led to us sitting on the ground for 4 hours with limited food and beverages. It was because of Delta's policies that we were not allowed into the terminal, and it was because of Delta that more sufficient food was not delivered to the plane when it became obvious that we'd be there a while. I finished with, "I want compensation for my discomfort and inconvenience."

He informed me that he could not give me any compensation. Honestly, I didn't expect him to reach into his wallet and send me money. He then said that there wasn't "anyone where he was" who could give me compensation. I said, "You're kidding me. No one?" He said, "Not that I know of." I'd had it. I asked, "Do you have a supervisor?"

I was then transfered to Cincinnati. I went through my story again, got the "weather related, not responsible" line of bullshit again, explained that Delta is responsible for keeping people on the plane again, and was directed to the website to lodge a formal complaint. I explained that I felt like I'd be emailing into a black hole. He assured me that I'd get a response within a week - and I might receive some compensation if others on the flight had also lodged complaints.

So, if I'm the only one who decided to take even more time out of my day to type up an email, Delta will file my complaint where the sun doesn't shine, content in their "weather related, not responsible" rationalization. I really don't expect to get anything - but extra frequent flyer miles would be a nice gesture. I hope that everyone who is responsible for Delta's "weather related" policies and procedures ends up on a plane that's diverted and forced to sit dead still, eating crackers for hours on end.

Now, I'm going to get on with my life. I'll remind myself that I've flown six times this year and all the other flights were fine. And, I don't have any flights in the near future.