January 2, 1999

 

 

Mr. Gerald Greenwald

President, United Airlines

P.O. Box 66100

Chicago, IL  60666

 

 

Dear Mr. Greenwald,

 

The purpose of this letter is to express utter dissatisfaction regarding a trip my wife and I recently took on United Airlines—round trip from Denver to Birmingham, via Chicago.

 

First of all, several of our bags were lost ON BOTH LEGS of the trip. This is absolutely unacceptable!  In both cases the items were returned to us the following day, which was appreciated, but I feel that details of such importance must be taken care of the first time around.  Especially at the holiday season, these circumstances caused me, and especially my wife, unnecessary stress and anxiety since our bags contained Christmas presents, a majority of our clothing, and other valuable personal effects. 

 

The return trip toDenver on December 29 (Flights 1049 and 263) was a particularly unpleasant experience for us, due primarily to United Airlines.  Over the course of the day we experienced numerous delays—one of which due to high winds in Chicago, which of course I understood fully (it’s the Windy City for godsakes). However, several other delays occurred in Chicago and, in trying to obtain information about these delays, I found United Airlines representatives discourteous and generally uncooperative.  To put it bluntly, I felt my business was not appreciated and that I was lied to.  I was able to find out that a delay was in progress due to a “maintenance issue” with the aircraft, but upon further inquiry, the United Airlines representative simply told me she could say nothing further.  I pressed her, politely, and then she claimed not to know the specific nature of the problem. 

 

Feeling I had a right to know what was wrong, so as to make a safety judgement for myself, I asked the representative to pursue the issue and obtain the necessary information.  She refused—telling me to wait until the information was reported from the flight crew. I told her this was unacceptable, and when she noticed I was beginning to get upset she conceded that the problem concerned some lights on the aircraft.  Personally, I think she contrived this story just to get me to go away--but even if it was true, why should a customer be driven to the point of exasperation just to obtain information he has every right to know? 

 

At this point, unless some amends are made—that is, unless my wife and I are compensated in some way—we are prepared to make every effort to avoid doing business with United Airlines in the future.  Furthermore, we will be committed to discourage others in our personal and professional circles from doing business with United Airlines as well.  Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

Steve Dupont

 

 

P.S. In trying to obtain your mailing address I have tried unsuccessfully for over five hours to get through to someone on 1-800-241-6522. I get a fast busy signal as if the phone on the other end is off the hook.  And the number for lost or damaged baggage, 1-800-221-6903, has been busy for several hours. COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE!