Day 4 of vacation (Final day)
Mom and Hubby took Grandma Casey to the airport early (like 4am early) in the morning. After they left, I climbed into Grandma's bed and went back to sleep. When Hubby got back, he climbed in bed with me and woke me up. I decided it was time for Kristine to wake up too, so I jumped on her bed until she got up. We went down to breakfast and, again, had all sorts of yummy muffins and donuts and pastries.
Back in the room, we played around for a few more minutes. I was enjoying the last few minutes of my vacation, and didn't want to give it up yet. But, alas, time flies when you are having fun. So we packed up, loaded up, and started the travel back home.
When we got to the airport, Hubby and I inquired if Northwest and Continental were partners. When Tricia, the Continental representative, said yes, we asked if one of our flights could be changed so we could fly home together. (When we booked the tickets, we couldn't get them on the same flight, so we did the next best and got them at the same time instead. But that put us on different airlines.) Tricia offered to do what she could to get my flight changed, since Hubby's got into CLT before mine. We waited for thirty minutes, while Tricia made call after call to person after person at Northwest. Nobody was giving her any info. Hubby finally left for his plane, and I waited a few more minutes. She finally got in touch with a supervisor at Northwest. Unfortunately, the supervisory was extremely rude. She didn't even let Tricia explain the situation before she just said nope and hung up the phone. I thanked Tricia for her help, grabbed a compliment card, and ran off to check in.
Once I got to the Northwest check in, I waited in line to be helped by a representative. Getting to the counter only meant being sent to a computer to check in. I went to the computer and was frustrated by not having the information it wanted. I went back to the line and waited again. I got to the counter again, and was told again to go check in at the computer. I finally convinced the Northwest rep I knew what I was saying when I said I couldn't check in by computer. She took me to the computer, tried herself, and finally believed me when she couldn't check me in. She kept running back and forth to her supervisory before just turning me over to the supervisor. The supervisor then chewed me out (yes, she chewed me out) for trying to change my flight. How dare I try to make things more convenient for myself as a customer and make her as an employee do something to help a customer. By this time, the flight was leaving in less than thirty minutes, so Northwest had put a restriction on the flight. Meaning they wouldn't give me a boarding pass. I was already frustrated that checking in with their airline was such a pain in the butt, when she hands me a "gate pass" and tells me "Now hurry along to your flight, no stops along the way". Are you kidding me? Whatever, I took off through security and on toward my gate.
Arriving at my gate, I am told I have to wait. I can't board the plane with just a gate pass, and she doesn't know what to do. Well, okay, but aren't you already boarding the plane? Finally the other girl wanders back. She takes my boarding pass, and begins to argue with me. "You shouldn't have checked in late." "I stood at the check in counter waiting to check in forever, if I am checked in late, it was your own reps faults." "No it's not. It's your ticket. You did it. You shouldn't have checked in late." "Look. I've been at the airport trying to get on this flight for over an hour. I am finally here, at the gate, to board the plane. Are you going to let me on or not?" She handed me a boarding pass and pointed to the other girl. I walked around the ropes (I thought about cutting under them, since there was no one within 100 feet of us, but I didn't want to give anyone a coronary or anything), handed over my boarding pass, and finally boarded the plane. What a relief to sit down in my seat!
During my four hour flight, I was offered a beverage (CranApple in the can with no glass please) and snacks- for purchase. Wait, what? We were given the option to purchase our snacks. And not for a small amount of cash either. Talk about being taken advantage of. And to top it off, they didn't even have any sandwiches. I could hardly believe it. I shouldn't have been surprised, after the crap they put me through just to board the plane.
On the other hand, Hubby was having a great time on his Continental flight. They were more than willing to assist him, and every other passenger there. He dined on pizza and steak (I kid you not!) and plenty of beverages. He had one of the most pleasant experiences of travel to be imagined. And he was plenty upset when he found out the crap I went through on my flights.
After many delays, storms, and missing planes- I have no idea how you can misplace an airplane, but that's the excuse they were giving as to why the flight was delayed for almost two hours- we finally landed in CLT. Hubby and I got our bags, and headed out to the car. The bus dropped us off right at the parking lot our car was in. Unfortunately, since we didn't park it (my dad had flew in the day we left and taken it home, then flew out the day before we got back and brought it back for us. Thanks Mitch!), we still weren't exactly sure where to find it. Luckily for us, there was a really nice lady in a parking security vehicle that came by. (She said her job was to drive through the parking lot looking for people that needed help finding their vehicles, needed a jump for the car, or any other parking lot mishaps.) She drove me around a bit until I found the car. Hubby and I packed our bags into our car and took off.
We arrived home around 3am. I sent a quick email to my instructors letting them know what had happened and asking for the work that I would be missing. Then we turned our phones off, brushed our teeth, and hit the sheets. What a long day.
Overall, the trip was good. It was nice to see my family, and it was nice to hear all about my Grandma and Grandpa. Every family has their drama, and mine is no different. Funerals are a reminder of the bigger picture in life, and what we are really here for. And although I could have done all of this on my own, I was better off, and very grateful, to have my wonderful husband supporting me. I couldn't ask for more.
Mom and Hubby took Grandma Casey to the airport early (like 4am early) in the morning. After they left, I climbed into Grandma's bed and went back to sleep. When Hubby got back, he climbed in bed with me and woke me up. I decided it was time for Kristine to wake up too, so I jumped on her bed until she got up. We went down to breakfast and, again, had all sorts of yummy muffins and donuts and pastries.
Back in the room, we played around for a few more minutes. I was enjoying the last few minutes of my vacation, and didn't want to give it up yet. But, alas, time flies when you are having fun. So we packed up, loaded up, and started the travel back home.
When we got to the airport, Hubby and I inquired if Northwest and Continental were partners. When Tricia, the Continental representative, said yes, we asked if one of our flights could be changed so we could fly home together. (When we booked the tickets, we couldn't get them on the same flight, so we did the next best and got them at the same time instead. But that put us on different airlines.) Tricia offered to do what she could to get my flight changed, since Hubby's got into CLT before mine. We waited for thirty minutes, while Tricia made call after call to person after person at Northwest. Nobody was giving her any info. Hubby finally left for his plane, and I waited a few more minutes. She finally got in touch with a supervisor at Northwest. Unfortunately, the supervisory was extremely rude. She didn't even let Tricia explain the situation before she just said nope and hung up the phone. I thanked Tricia for her help, grabbed a compliment card, and ran off to check in.
Once I got to the Northwest check in, I waited in line to be helped by a representative. Getting to the counter only meant being sent to a computer to check in. I went to the computer and was frustrated by not having the information it wanted. I went back to the line and waited again. I got to the counter again, and was told again to go check in at the computer. I finally convinced the Northwest rep I knew what I was saying when I said I couldn't check in by computer. She took me to the computer, tried herself, and finally believed me when she couldn't check me in. She kept running back and forth to her supervisory before just turning me over to the supervisor. The supervisor then chewed me out (yes, she chewed me out) for trying to change my flight. How dare I try to make things more convenient for myself as a customer and make her as an employee do something to help a customer. By this time, the flight was leaving in less than thirty minutes, so Northwest had put a restriction on the flight. Meaning they wouldn't give me a boarding pass. I was already frustrated that checking in with their airline was such a pain in the butt, when she hands me a "gate pass" and tells me "Now hurry along to your flight, no stops along the way". Are you kidding me? Whatever, I took off through security and on toward my gate.
Arriving at my gate, I am told I have to wait. I can't board the plane with just a gate pass, and she doesn't know what to do. Well, okay, but aren't you already boarding the plane? Finally the other girl wanders back. She takes my boarding pass, and begins to argue with me. "You shouldn't have checked in late." "I stood at the check in counter waiting to check in forever, if I am checked in late, it was your own reps faults." "No it's not. It's your ticket. You did it. You shouldn't have checked in late." "Look. I've been at the airport trying to get on this flight for over an hour. I am finally here, at the gate, to board the plane. Are you going to let me on or not?" She handed me a boarding pass and pointed to the other girl. I walked around the ropes (I thought about cutting under them, since there was no one within 100 feet of us, but I didn't want to give anyone a coronary or anything), handed over my boarding pass, and finally boarded the plane. What a relief to sit down in my seat!
During my four hour flight, I was offered a beverage (CranApple in the can with no glass please) and snacks- for purchase. Wait, what? We were given the option to purchase our snacks. And not for a small amount of cash either. Talk about being taken advantage of. And to top it off, they didn't even have any sandwiches. I could hardly believe it. I shouldn't have been surprised, after the crap they put me through just to board the plane.
On the other hand, Hubby was having a great time on his Continental flight. They were more than willing to assist him, and every other passenger there. He dined on pizza and steak (I kid you not!) and plenty of beverages. He had one of the most pleasant experiences of travel to be imagined. And he was plenty upset when he found out the crap I went through on my flights.
After many delays, storms, and missing planes- I have no idea how you can misplace an airplane, but that's the excuse they were giving as to why the flight was delayed for almost two hours- we finally landed in CLT. Hubby and I got our bags, and headed out to the car. The bus dropped us off right at the parking lot our car was in. Unfortunately, since we didn't park it (my dad had flew in the day we left and taken it home, then flew out the day before we got back and brought it back for us. Thanks Mitch!), we still weren't exactly sure where to find it. Luckily for us, there was a really nice lady in a parking security vehicle that came by. (She said her job was to drive through the parking lot looking for people that needed help finding their vehicles, needed a jump for the car, or any other parking lot mishaps.) She drove me around a bit until I found the car. Hubby and I packed our bags into our car and took off.
We arrived home around 3am. I sent a quick email to my instructors letting them know what had happened and asking for the work that I would be missing. Then we turned our phones off, brushed our teeth, and hit the sheets. What a long day.
Overall, the trip was good. It was nice to see my family, and it was nice to hear all about my Grandma and Grandpa. Every family has their drama, and mine is no different. Funerals are a reminder of the bigger picture in life, and what we are really here for. And although I could have done all of this on my own, I was better off, and very grateful, to have my wonderful husband supporting me. I couldn't ask for more.
2 comments:
Thanks for the tip - I will definitely be avoiding Northwest! Traveling accross the country is a lot more time- and energy-consuming than it looks!
I fly Southwest or Delta. Usually Southwest. They are pretty awesome! Not sure if they fly in your area though. Sounds like Northwest needs to be the ones going bankrupt not Delta
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