On Going Battle with Delta Airline @delta

On the 15th of October I sent Delta a complaint (see my Post)- WOW - I finally got a response!!  Their feeble response is in italics... My response is at the bottom...

Anyone else having less than satisfactory experiences from Airlines?

On Thu, Oct 27, 2011 at 10:58 AM, Contact Delta <ContactUs.Delta@delta.com> wrote:

Dear Mr. Shelton,

RE: Case Number 4659444

Thank you for writing regarding you and your wife's recent travel experiences with us. On behalf of everyone at Delta Air Lines, I sincerely apologize for letting you down in so many ways.

Let me begin by saying that we take your concerns very seriously and I am truly sorry for the inconvenience you have been caused. Please know Delta is committed to providing our most loyal customers with the excellent service you deserve and have every right to expect and I acknowledge that we fell short of our goal on these trips.

Our goal is to surpass your expectations in each and every way. Your comments were good examples of how our aircraft maintenance, cabin conditions, and in-flight entertainment systems affect our passengers who travel with us the most. While the monitor malfunction that occurred onboard Flight 269 was not a safety threat, as the necessary safety instructions are also included on a placard in the pockets of all our seats, I do apologize for any concern you felt as a result. Rest assured the safety of our passengers is our number one priority and our future course of action is based on feedback like that which you have provided. We are taking your concerns very seriously and I have shared them with our Corporate Leadership team for internal review.

With that being said, I recognize your request for reimbursement of your pet boarding expenses along with a partial refund of your airfare. However, regretfully, I am unable to completely fulfill your request. We do understand the grave impact itinerary disruptions can have upon prepaid expenses but we do not indemnify our air transportation customers against the loss of expenses with other companies. Additionally, I am unable to provide a refund of your airfare on an already flown ticket.

Nevertheless, in an effort to show you how truly sorry we are for the negative travel experiences, I have issued you and your wife each an Electronic Transportation Credit Voucher (eTCV) in the amount of $150.00. Please note the voucher number and associated Terms and Conditions will be arriving in a separate e-mail. I encourage you to add Delta Air Lines to your receiver list so the voucher document is not misdirected to your spam folder. Please keep the voucher number and the Terms and Conditions since the number is required for redemption. It is also important to remind you that there is no Direct Ticketing fee for reservations confirmed online at delta.com.

In closing, I hope I have been able to explain any concerns you have about the service you experienced and our commitment to prevent a reoccurrence. As a valued SkyMiles member, your comments are critical in our efforts of becoming the premier global airline with a leading presence in the world's major markets. We appreciate you and your wife trusting your business to us and we look forward to the opportunity of serving you once again under better circumstances in the near future.

Sincerely,

Heather Bennett

Coordinator, Corporate Customer Care

Delta Air Lines

MY RESPONSE

Dear Ms Bennett,

I really expected Delta to blow me off... your feeble excuses are sadly the state of corporate America.  As you have probably already predicted there is a slim chance that I would ever meet your terms and conditions for your pitiful voucher.  Your statement that your company is safety minded leaves me laughing; thank you for that.

I see that Delta still refuses to grant our travel points SkyMiles acct #2127108229 . I guess SkyMiles is just a ploy for people to think they are "valued" ; so, please don't say that I am a "valued member" when it is perfectly clear that I am not!

Now that I have vented regarding your lackadaisical email.  Who is the next person to contact or voice my request to?... if this were a phone call I would be asking for a supervisor... quite simply who do I talk to now to re-submit my complaint?

Thank you,
Joe Shelton

BlizzCon 2011 - gamers paradise

We have been playing World of Warcraft (WOW) for over 6 years; at various levels of intensity. Today we would be defined as casual players; we have been in raids, RP guilds, several guilds over time, level 85 characters in different classes, and was once a pretty fair PvP player.

So, we decide to go to BlizzCon 2011... Even the Hilton was excited!  Carlos the Food and Beverage Manager was a fantastic guy... the rest of the hotel... well not a favorite

Who attends this intense following? I would say the majority of attendees are male, 20 something; some old farts like us, some kids, some families, and young ladies... And there are those that dress the part.

The lights, smoke, artwork is awesome; electronic marketing at it's finest!

The large models incredible...

It was great to talk with the designers and directors... Would I do it again? Maybe, depending on the venue and how active a player I might be in the future.






























Did I mention it was in Anaheim, CA near Disneyland? an added bonus...

Map update

This Tripadvisor map is a fun little app on I found on FaceBook It has some limitations but as a general overview does the trick. I see some wholes I want to fill with pins!!

This Tripadvisor map is a fun little app on I found on FaceBook
It has some limitations but as a general overview does the trick.

1. Grand Canyon National Park, AZ, USA
2. Lhasa, China
3. Longyearbyen, Norway
4. Port Lockroy, Antarctica

• Create your own travel map or travel blog.
• Search for vacation rentals at TripAdvisor

Greece on Strike

You may or may not be aware of the strange way the people of Greece are protesting. They have rolling strikes by those that provide services to the country. One day the metro workers, the next might be the antiquity workers, next might be the airport workers, etc. 

I can understand their frustration of no longer being in control of their economy; it really sucks. The European Union has a base made from rich or advanced product based countries like France and Germany. Greece has a lot going for it but it is simply not of the same development. Being in the EU, they cannot correctly value their money and to me, a non economist, non bank guru, it seems really stupid for them to try to keep up with the Jones' so to speak.

So out of frustration, the people are reverting to rolling strikes and using (or abusing) any power they may have. Point in case, @Delta flight 133 Athens to JFK on 13 October 2011 was supposed to leave at 1120; a mechanical failure delayed the flight 6 hours... While sitting in the airport lounge, I noticed each departing flight was delayed somewhere around 4 hours due to "air traffic control restrictions". After waiting 6 hours one would think we paid our Greek dues; but, no! The air traffic controller needed to have our last farewell with an additional 3+ hour delay. Needless to say some moronic passengers raised hell instead of rolling with the flow. One guy got out his mandolin and entertained... What a trooper he was and it was excellent music too.

Back to my riff with Greece... Rolling strikes that must be advertised a minimum of 24 hours in advance and only last a day really won't do too much for your cause. You need to revamp your government; but then, who doesn't need that advice... I think all the governments around the world could use a revamp.

When you mess with the people that bring tourism monies into your country, you get bad mouthed like I'm doing now. I would suggest replacing your government (we need to do the same). And get hell out of the socialistic EU economy, be your own country!

@greece, @greek, ATH

Delta Debacle @Delta Fail

Damn I am getting old... I hate complaining!  Here is my story about Delta Airlines...

Many of you know we just returned from a great Mediterranean Cruise.  I plan to post about it soon.
The following is a partial copy of my notes to Delta:

"Original flight DL1746 on 11Sep2011 PHX to ATL 3 hour maintenance delay.
Flight DL10 on 11Sep2011 which we barely made; had no maintenance issues, but my wife and I were separated by the aisle... how dumb to separate family members...
On 13Oct2011 DL133 ATH to JFK 6 hour maintenance delay, 4 hour "air traffic control delay" not to mention the cockroaches on the plane - I killed two for you. The flight attendant says well that happens when you have food around.  How dumb of a statement.
Flight DL269 JFK to ATL safety compromised due to lack of working systems - following sent to FAA:

"Pre-flight safety video shown to only 1/2 of the plane.  The in seat video monitors and their sound system did not work on the port side seating.  No flight attendant back up instruction was given.

In the event of an emergency, 50% of the passengers might not have been able to act or perform safely. putting the entire plane in jeopardy.

When asked about the monitors, the attendant said they tried to reset it a couple of times - sorry about that.

Four out of Five flights on Delta have had mechanical issues.  Doesn't anyone hold them responsible for there lack of maintenance?"

Final flight DL1772 14Oct2011 ATL to PHX maintenance delay of 3 hours and change of aircraft.


We were in the same clothes for over 40 hours, your representatives at JFK gave vouchers for a 3 hour sleep at a hotel and Breakfast and Dinner vouchers... yes we used the breakfast voucher... the dinner voucher only good at JFK with our flight leaving at 0800 was useless. We have spent hundreds of dollars in additional boarding care for pets.  We spent thousands of dollars to fly Business class with delta and this has not been a pleasure.  All I received was a thanks for flying with us and we appreciate your patience...


Richard Anderson keep saying "safety first" Well I'm sorry Mr Anderson I don't feel Safe!
I notice you conveniently neglected to award mileage as well.


I expect compensation for our extra expense of pet boarding and a partial refund."

One of the better meals we got was a bowl of Corn Chex!


No razor, thank goodness I had a travel deodorant in my backpack...

Google the top airlines... I was shocked that Delta was listed 7th - those listed under that must be horrid!

The 21t annual edition of the Airline Quality Report (AQR) is out.
AQR ratings reflect US airline performance based on 15 reported monthly elements in areas important to air travel consumers. (eg - OT performance, mishandled bags. customer complaints, etc.).


Top 2010 performing carriers are:
1.  AirTran
2.  Hawaiian Air
3.  JetBlue
4.  Alaska
5.  Southwest

good luck if your flying Delta!!!

Ride to Bosler and Back

Just got back from a ride to Bosler, Wyoming and back with my friend Blackie Budd.

the road work on Wyo 34 is going to be great when it's finished. 

 Subille Canyon will be a much safer road to travel... it has always been a great place to view wildlife,

Saw lots of antelope and some fox near Bosler.

Way up on top it's a special kind of beauty, a place where you use what you have.

This was back in July just saw it was never posted