Surviving the Ride

I am normally a pretty stoic traveler. Hiccups and bumps in transportation are highly likely and prone to a variety of things such as weather, maintenance calls, crew assembly, and even ramp availability!

You just can’t let yourself get down over those little things. But, as stoic as I am, this year’s travel was highly difficult and could have been very stressful. I hope this article might help you get through your next bout with transportation woes. The first thing I’ll say is that I must’ve had the grace of God with me for not getting upset over things. There were so many reasons to!

Here are the scenarios I faced:

1. My airline flew me from Austin to Houston with no trouble. I boarded in Houston with no trouble… until the thunderstorms hit. We were on the tarmac for four hours before they finally cancelled our flight. 
2.  I rented a car overseas. I drove it off the lot and within a mile, something went terribly wrong. With only two miles on the car, the agency told me it had been my fault and not the car’s. I was given another car with very little fuel in it.
3. My airline flew me from London with no trouble, but nearing Houston, the weather was bad again. We diverted to New Orleans for two hours to refuel before making it into Houston. By then, Houston was a zoo of planes landing and connections missed. 

Scenario I  

I deplaned with the other travelers into a mad house of agent lines, customer service lines, and people who had just given up and sat stunned trying to dial an agent on the phone. I stood in a line for a little while and tried dialing an agent on the phone, but the phones were backlogged for ages.

I held for 30 minutes and gave up. I then had the brilliant idea of traveling over to the line for the next ride I might be able to catch to the UK and getting my reservation changed there, but the lines were extreme. I was just about to give up when I saw the desk next to the UK line where they were boarding for Washington International. Thinking to myself, “I can surely get there from Washington”… I got in the much shorter line.

In line, I was talking with a traveler about my experience. By coincidence, he had been given a priority phone number where the agent would answer the call within three minutes. By the way, that number for United is: 888-253-1295. Memorize it! I was able to get through, surely enough, within three minutes. I was immediately booked on a flight going out which left at 9:33 pm (the original flight I had been booked on was at 3:15 pm). We arrived in London around 1:00 pm (too late for me to make an event I’d ticketed). I got to the hotel around 3:00 pm.

The Fix:

1. Just grace. Keeping calm. Not devolving into a crying, screaming mess (I saw much of this).
2. Luck. Being next to a man in the line who had the United phone number I really needed (repeat: 888-253-1295). 
3. Go to the next available flight out to your destination as soon as you hit the ground. Don’t stop by Customer Service.

Scenario 2 

I had booked Enterprise because they pick you up at your hotel and take you to sign the paperwork. We waited and waited, but no car showed. When I called, they said they had no idea where I was staying or that I would need a pickup. They had no information in their system though I’d filled it in online and had called Enterprise over the phone prior to our trip. They finally did pick us up. They also assured me when I got there that my drop off at Exeter would go without a hitch. “Just show up,” I was told.

I got the basic Enterprise rental car insurance which has about a $1500 deductible. When I got into the car, I noticed it wasn’t shifting easily into first gear. I thought I’d go a little further to see if anything changed, but within about a mile we were hit with an acrid smell and knew something was really wrong. We immediately drove the car back to the dealership, but just as we did that, something popped and the car rattled to a halt. We were told that I had blown the clutch.

There are two things about this: One, I am a very experienced driver in the UK and learned on and have driven standard transmission cars all my life. Two, I’m not sure that two miles on a car would lead to a total breakdown. I think this was a lemon I was given and that they saw the American coming.

I was told an automatic car would be shipped to my hotel later that day. It was, but I was charged for that day and given a car with little gas (we didn’t know that at the time).

The next day, we were on the motorway and a red light came on that gas was low. We were scared and praying because gas stations are sometimes very few and far between on the motorways. We found a station just in time and said a few halleluiahs.

The car was just fine for the rest of our trip until it came to the day before I had to drop it off. I called the South Exeter office to confirm our arrival and transportation to the train station. I was told that they had nothing on me, no paperwork, no reservation to drive to the train station. I wasn’t surprised, but I was pretty upset with the original Enterprise office I visited.

Luckily, the south Exeter office worked out the details for my transportation. Then, I got my bill…

I had the entire $1500 deductible taken out from my credit card! Though I’d never heard a peep about any mechanical determinations on the car and, in fact, they probably hadn’t even been done yet. “Standard protocol,” I was told. I had to sign off to get out of the office and to make our scheduled train.

I was given a tracking number and a contact email address (which I definitely wrote with all I have just said to you here). I anticipate they will come back with filing against me.

The Fix: I have had issues with Enterprise in the past, and the only thing that really worked was to write the highest level of management. Don’t be afraid to do this… it seems to work. See this link. You might also have a peek at this link. My issue is currently unresolved. My next step is to write the managing director.

Scenario 3 

The day I was supposed to leave London was uneventful. The plane boarded and got off the ground early! What a treat! We were going to arrive almost 1.5 hours early to Houston. That was the good part. The bad part was that we got an old aircraft with only about half the movie monitors working. I was forced to move three times before I got a seat with a working monitor.

Closer to Houston, we were told that due to weather (of course!) we were going to have to go into a holding pattern. This went on for a while before we were forced to land for refueling in New Orleans. This took a couple of hours. This meant that connecting flights were missed (mine was actually cancelled). So, when we did finally land, it was the same mess I had faced on my outward bound flight. People screaming and crying… flights missed. People sleeping in the airport.

The Fix: Fortunately, I had my magical United phone number (remember 888-253-1295). However, by the time I was on the ground everyone else had taken up all the connecting flights to Austin. It was a fluke that during my call, one of the seats on the latest flight was released! I was leaving Houston at 11 pm.

Well, that was only 3 hours from now, so I decided I’d go to the VIP room, which I have a pass to. This is the only time I got a bit rattled because they wouldn’t allow me to enter even though I had a pass and I was a credit card holder as well as a MileagePlus member. United has already heard from me about this.

To recover, I decided to get a bite to eat and just chill. I was getting by on my sense of humor and no sleep.

I asked a young man driving a cart where the Pappadeaux restaurant was, and he offered to whisk me there. Yippeeeee! What fun! I was turning this thing around, by damn! J And the oysters at Pappadeaux were wonderful. About that time, I was due back at my gate, so I made my way there. That’s when things sort of devolved. Here is the list of the messages still on my phone:

Your 11:15 pm United flight is delayed due to awaiting aircraft. It now departs at 11:54 pm. Next message: Now departs at 12:26. Next message: Now departs at 1:10 am. Next message: now departs at 1:15 am. We arrived at around 2:10 am and I was home around 3 am.

It took longer to get to Austin from Houston than from London to Houston!

One thing I didn’t mention is that a family showed up late to the gate for my plane to Austin and were told their seats had been given away. If you arrive after a certain time, they release your seats even though you’ve reserved them… no matter how hard you’ve tried to reach the gate or that it wasn’t your fault. Be prepared!

Also, I was reticketed on both the outbound and inbound flights this trip. Each time they rebooked me, they forgot to add that I was a Group 2 traveler (priority boarding). Make friends with the agents behind the desk. Yelling at them isn’t going to make them help you. Both times, the agents were kind enough to let me board even when my tickets didn’t say I could.

Summary 

1. Don’t lose your cool. It won’t help and may hurt your situation. It’s also useless and energy draining. Save up your energy for fighting any battles until after you’re home if possible. 
2. Use any contact methods you can to bump your cause up the chain of command. If one doesn’t work, go the next step up. Don’t be afraid to request what you want (full refund, dismissal of charges, frequent flyer miles, etc.). Research the net to find phone numbers of CEOs, Managing Directors, etc. until you find the person who will help you. 
3. Get into your happy place. Find that place of calm within the storm and use that to get you through. Laugh and joke with your fellow travelers. Don’t get into the blaming and anger that could really sap you. 
4. Find things to entertain you. Get dinner at a nice restaurant at the airport. Find a cart driver to whisk you around. Treat yourself to a taxi ride after you finally arrive at your destination. Whatever it takes to pamper yourself, DO it! Make yourself as comfortable as possible. 

The Crowds in Houston