Lost Bag FRUSTRATION!
 

I just need to vent. My husband's bag has been lost since Saturday, 6pm, when his flight landed in Washington, DC. It is now Monday morning and the bag is STILL not here!!! Last night we waited at home, told they would deliver any time before 10pm -- and it never showed up.

I have just been told by Delta (ARRGGGHHH) that 1. The bag will be delivered anytime between now and 1pm (so I have to wait at home for it), 2. They cannot give any more specific information. 3. They will not offer compensation because this is his "home" destination. Their representatives are so extremely rude and unhelpful! I am irritated and disgusted.

I'm sorry you're having this experience - but the good news is, at least they have the bag!! I had one delivery delayed once (not Delta), and the issue is that all the airlines have outsourced to companies that actually do the delivery - and sometimes there are communication issues there.... But remember, at least your husband's bag is somewhere in your city - and hopefully, there are presents inside!!!!

Our daughter and soon to be son-in-law had to wait 4 days for the airline to get their bags to them on Oahu this past June.
We figured part of the problem was multiple airlines and Murphy's Law the kids were smart enough to carry on their wedding attire.

Good luck

Debi is sooo right. Consider yourself lucky they didn't lose the bag altogether.

Reminds me of the old joke where a guy walks up to an airline ticket counter...

"I'd like to fly to Boston, but I'd like my luggage to go to Hong Kong."

"Sir, we can't do that."

"What do you mean? You just did it last week!"

If it is feasible, just go back to the airport to retrieve it. That's what we did.

Hey, if they have the bag you're LUCKY. Yes, it's annoying -- but my son's bag is still missing from 2006. LOL

Well, thanks for showing me the glass half full.

The bag finally showed up today at 2pm. It is not so much the delayed bag that irritated me, but the unhelpful and rude attitude of Delta customer service. They refused to give me an exact time of delivery and did not offer any form of compensation -- all of this information was delivered in a belligerent tone of voice. One woman refused to allow me to speak to her supervisor. Flat out refused. This, after I had been on hold for 40 minutes.

Anyway, the bag is back and I am glad. But I won't be flying Delta any time soon.

The problem is that Delta would have no way of knowing when the bag would be delivered. It was in the hands of the courier service. Even they can't give a very reasonable estimate of delivery because they have so many bags to deliver. This happened to me when I was in New Orleans with almost nothing. I waited outside for the courier and practically attacked him when he pulled up to the hotel. i was shocked by the sheer number of bags he had to deliver. I did get a $25 check from jetBlue and a $50 voucher.

I understand the problem, but a little compensation and politeness would have gone a long way.

If the problem is so common, why don't the airlines change the system?

I think because my husband was at his "home" destination -- and thus not eligible for compensation -- Delta pushed his bag to low priority.

It could be worse:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34753901

They didn't put his bag to low priority. They gave it to a courier company (or taxi company) that took it to its own offices and bunched it with other bags and packages that needed to be delivered in your area. They only send out one taxi with one bag if there is only one bag to be delivered, not very common except in very small airports.

If you had been at the end of the line, you might have gotten it about 8 PM. You were somewhere near the middle of the line, and you got it by 2.

Why should he be compensated? Presumably he has a toothbrush and clean shirt somewhere at home. If you had to take off work to stay home and get the bag, you might have a case, but I don't think anyone is going to compensate you for lost wages in cases like this.

Ditto Ackislander. His bag wasn't low priority, it was completely out of Delta's hands and with the courier service. They have so many bags to deliver that it can take a long time for a bag to show up regardless of need.

When I was in NOLA I was there for a work conference and had no proper clothes to wear at all. I called the courier company several times to get updated ETAs on my bag but there was absolutely no way they were prioritizing my request despite my situation.

That being said, I know it's frustrating but it's the cost of flying I suppose.

Why should he be compensated?

He does have a spare toothbrush, but not spare deodorant or razors, both of which we had to purchase.

He doesn't have a spare razor or deodorant at home? Wow! I find that unusual. And so what if he had to buy them, now he does have a spare at home. Its not like he has no use for an extra can of deodorant. Surely he'll use it someday. I'm not sure I understand why you had to stay at home to wait for the delivery either, when my husband's bag was misplaced (on several occassions) it just showed up on the doorstep -- sometimes in the middle of the night. In fact, the airline always asked if it was o.k. to leave the bag without ringing the bell. This doesn't seem any different than waiting for any delivery -- be it, a new sofa or the cable repair guy. No one gives an exact time -- just that "window" of delivery approximation.

I agree Delta could be more polite, but I'm sure their poor employees aren't in the best of sorts with all the job and pay cuts going 'round.

Glad you got to vent, but what you need to do now is write a letter to the Customer Relations department at Delta and clearly and as unemotionally as possible explain your position. The main problem I see here is that you had to deal with a rude representative and, more importantly, this representative did not connect you with a supervisor when you so requested it. This is the sort of information that Customer Service needs to be aware of and they won't know about it unless you tell them.
Don't expect compensation, but let's hope you get an apology and perhaps the next person down the line won't have to deal with a rude, unresponsive service rep.

Hey,

My experience is that it usually takes 2 to tango.

Me thinks your expectations were a bit over the top, and you fail to enlighten us as to YOUR attitude over the phone. I have never had a discussion with an airline rep that started out impolite or rude on their part. Besides, without quotes or sound bites, its hard to tell what you personally deem as rude and impolite. To some people, a reps simple inability to meet an unreasonable expectation can be seen as rude, and the situation just blows up from there. I'm sorry, but I'll hold judgement here as to whether I think you're due an apology.

Lost bags happen. Be glad you got it back.

Demanding to know the exact time for it's delivery seems haughty. You can certainly ask, but if they can't give you one, just let it go and take what they give you....again, being glad that you're even getting it back at all! As other posters have mentioned, it was out of Deltas hands.

And the fact that you think he was due compensation is ludicrous in my view. Now, if he or you had to miss work in order to be home to get the bag, that would be a different story, but you mention nothing like that. What do you expect to be compensated for? A $3 stick of deodorant and a $2 Bic razor?

My son's bag didn't make it to SFO on his trip home from Uganda this Christmas. The rep told him that they don't "compensate" you if you're at "home" and the bag is delivered within 48 hours. (As he told them, "home" is no longer California, it's Uganda, but that's beside the point). The bag did arrive the next night. In fact, we wanted to go out to dinner, so we called the courier company, and they very kindly called the truck driver, who told us exactly where he was and when he expected to be at our house. That said, it was within the 6-10 p.m. window they originally told us that morning. Their nice attitude made it better for us, I'm sure.

Well, it's over and done with now. The bag is here, I am moving on. To those of you who showed empathy -- thank you.

You should try getting a refund on a lost bag. You wanna talk about rude and no help at all!!! Yikes.

A million phone calls (meanwhile the company is SOLD - US Air to Air West or something), a million letters, three trips to the airport, begging, crying, groveling... And ultimately they pay you about 40 cents on the dollar for your stuff.

It's ugly out there in luggage land.