Hawaiibarb
TUG Member
When I receive especially good customer service, I believe in spreading the word. But this time I'm spreading the word babout really poor customer service on Continental Airlines.
We've probably all had itineraries changed at one time or another, but usually it's not too major. I'm flying non-stop from Honolulu (overnight) to Newark, NJ. Then I had a 4 hour layover before their flight to Burlington, VT (my fall trip to the Trapp Family Lodge). I wasn't happy with the 4 hour layover, but I was resigned to it. NOw I've gotten the dreaded email that they changed my itinerary, and they have simply cancelled the flight I was on to Burlington and put me on a 9 pm flight to Burlington, which gets in at 10:30, after which I have an hour's drive to Stowe. You can imagine how lively I'm going to be feeling.
So I talked with Continental, hoping they could re-route me so that I would not arrive so late and exhausted. The agent I spoke to was named Andrea, and she was courtesy personified, but she couldn't help me; she suggested I speak with a supervisor.
In a nutshell, she couldn't have cared less. Lectured me that airlines have a perfect right to cancel flights; every respose she made sounded "canned", i.e. this is what you say to an angry customer. When I asked if a re-routing was possibile, since Continental had made my trip so much more difficult, she reluctantly checked, and found out that there was another way to get me there earlier, but she was unwilling to do so unless I paid over $300 for the change.
So.....I informed her that, as a matter of principle, I was not willing to pay that amount of money for something which I considered Continental's responsibility. She responded that I did have a choice of airlines, and I assured her that this was the last time I would fly Continental, barring a true emergency when I had no other choice.
So don't expect Continental to honor their reservations or expect that they will work with you to retain you as a satisfied customer.
And yes, Continental Customer Service will also be hearing from me.
We've probably all had itineraries changed at one time or another, but usually it's not too major. I'm flying non-stop from Honolulu (overnight) to Newark, NJ. Then I had a 4 hour layover before their flight to Burlington, VT (my fall trip to the Trapp Family Lodge). I wasn't happy with the 4 hour layover, but I was resigned to it. NOw I've gotten the dreaded email that they changed my itinerary, and they have simply cancelled the flight I was on to Burlington and put me on a 9 pm flight to Burlington, which gets in at 10:30, after which I have an hour's drive to Stowe. You can imagine how lively I'm going to be feeling.
So I talked with Continental, hoping they could re-route me so that I would not arrive so late and exhausted. The agent I spoke to was named Andrea, and she was courtesy personified, but she couldn't help me; she suggested I speak with a supervisor.
In a nutshell, she couldn't have cared less. Lectured me that airlines have a perfect right to cancel flights; every respose she made sounded "canned", i.e. this is what you say to an angry customer. When I asked if a re-routing was possibile, since Continental had made my trip so much more difficult, she reluctantly checked, and found out that there was another way to get me there earlier, but she was unwilling to do so unless I paid over $300 for the change.
So.....I informed her that, as a matter of principle, I was not willing to pay that amount of money for something which I considered Continental's responsibility. She responded that I did have a choice of airlines, and I assured her that this was the last time I would fly Continental, barring a true emergency when I had no other choice.
So don't expect Continental to honor their reservations or expect that they will work with you to retain you as a satisfied customer.
And yes, Continental Customer Service will also be hearing from me.