Well, I got what I wanted – I made it out of Indianapolis at a reasonable time of day, saving 6 hours and a trip to Atlanta in the process. But why did it have to be so difficult?
A little background: I flew into Indianapolis Tuesday night and was set to leave at around 6 PM the next day, routing through Atlanta to get back to Minneapolis. Not a very direct route, but it was needed to fit into my budget parameters for the trip. Knowing that I didn’t really need to stay in Indianapolis that long and preferring a direct flight, I decided to try the Delta Platinum line to see if I could get on a more favorable flight plan.
After a three calls I got what I was looking for, but why did it have to be that way?
A Tale of Three Delta Agents
Agent #1: While still in Minneapolis I called an agent to ask if they could move me to the 4 PM direct flight to Minneapolis using my status to secure a 24 hour same day confirmed seat. The agent indicated that this would not be a problem and put me on hold to change the ticket.
After holding a few minutes, they asked if I was still in Minneapolis and indicated that since I had not completed my outbound flight, they could not change my return flight. He told me that there were seats available on the flight and that I should call when I land in Indianapolis.
This was completely understandable and I thanked the agent for his help.
Agent #2: When I landed in Indianapolis I asked a second agent on the Platinum line to change my flight using the 24 hour same day confirmed plan. She flat out said that this was not possible to change a flight with connections to a direct flight without incurring some kind of penalty. If I wanted this privilege I would need to pay a $200 change fee plus the difference in fare price. This would have resulted in a total charge of over $460.
No thank you.
Agent #3: Not wanting to give up, I decided to change my approach. I asked the third agent if they could put me on standby for the 4PM flight to Minneapolis. He said “how about I do you one better and confirm you into the flight?”
Absolutely! I would love for you to confirm me into this flight. After 5 minutes on hold, the nice agent manually reissued my ticket and placed me in an aisle seat in Economy comfort. This agent couldn’t have been more accommodating and was extremely helpful.
Even better, I eventually was confirmed into first class for this flight!
Never Take Things at Face Value – Always Hang Up and Call Back
One of the rules that I live by while traveling is that there is almost always a way. For every gate agent or call center representative who tells you that something cannot be done, there is likely someone who will go out of their way to help your situation.
Whenever you hear no from someone, keep on trying. Gary calls Hang up and Call Back the 4 most important words in travel and I couldn’t agree more. These magic words are often the difference between coach and first class. They may also be the difference between a direct flight and a time consuming multi-city misadventure. It is almost always in your best interest to keep on trying until you get what you are seeking.
Why does this work? It’s simple, because unless a flight is completely 100% booked, it is usually arbitrary to an airline which of their flights or cabin classes you end up flying. Since most flight operating costs are fixed by the time you reach 24 hours before a flight, expenses are rarely the issue. Airlines simply charge you extra fees because they know that they can often get away with them when people are desperate to fly.
While some airline workers are sympathetic to your needs, others decide that they don’t want to be helpful to people. You just need to keep trying (and adjusting your approach) until you get what you need. On a long enough timeline the right approach and the right agent will get you wherever you want to be!
Agent 2 is clearly clueless, and you should actually let Delta know because someone like that can really hurt a customer. I had a similar experience trying to get a SWU coded properly. It took 5 agents before someone got it right.
Great point. I guess I have never gone as far as to report an agent, because I am not sure how to do that? Do you just get their name and agent ID?