Trust No One

[tadjr]

Chris Elliott article

Why anyone in this day and age would check a painting in their bag, regardless of what they are or arent told, is beyond me. If you have something fragile, ship it FedEx or UPS. How many Samsonite gorilla commercials do you have to watch to get the idea?
Also, regarding the loose screw on the suitcase, I've checked some bags that dont look like they might make it to the other end. I've even taped up quite a few of them. I've also seen perfectly good suitcases get caught, ripped, shredded in the baggage systems. A little strap, big funny name tag, belt, etc getting caught in a baggage roller doesnt always produce a pretty picture in the end. Dont assume that the "handlers" that did it were necessarily human handlers. I'm not saying that I havent seen it myself from human handlers, but there is a lot more involved than you'd imagine once your bag turns that corner and heads downstairs!

 

[usramperTPA]

[. Dont assume that the "handlers" that did it were necessarily human handlers. I'm not saying that I havent seen it myself from human handlers, but there is a lot more involved than you'd imagine once your bag turns that corner and heads downstairs!
[/quote]


Right on tad!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SpinDoc]

[. Dont assume that the "handlers" that did it were necessarily human handlers. I'm not saying that I havent seen it myself from human handlers, but there is a lot more involved than you'd imagine once your bag turns that corner and heads downstairs!
Right on tad!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's a good piece of advice:

If you really must have something that is in
your bag at your destination, if it is valuable,
if it is necessary medication to sustain your
life, then keep it with you in a carry on bag.
If it's too big to take in a carry-on and meets
the criteria above, ship it via FEDEX or UPS.

Above all, stop whining when your valuable/
necessary/medical items are not available when
you reach your destination if you put them in
a checked bag. There are too many variables
involved in the transportation/connection
of luggage, including TSA thugs and thieves,
and you have better odds in a Vegas Casino
than you do in receiving your luggage and all
of the contents within 30 minutes of your
arrival at the destination.

If you can't fit it in one 26" rollaboard
and one personal item, you probably don't
need to take it.

 

[Kev3188]

"I told the agent I was concerned about the handling of the item, and she put four red “Fragileâ€￾ stickers on the outside of the bag."

He should have asked for "heavy" stickers; those usual catch everyone's attention on the ramp. B)

P.S. "Shot-putting" bags?! WTF?

 

[drifterreno]

Would you please speak to my sister and her husband regarding the above?

In a left handed way I'm grateful that US baggage handling sucks. It has taught me to be a very efficient packer now as I NEVER check bags.

Like I said whould you mind speaking to my relatives?

Oh was that your sister I talked to the other day and tried to help her find a drug store at her destination and explained to her how to ask the pharmasist to call her drug store and get a small suply until her bags reached her maybe in 4 days. I was being careful with the days just to give us time. Then I asked her please not to take the giant bottle good for 100 days and only take enough to last for her trip. She was grateful for the help and said her brother had told her so.

 

[MarkMyWords]

Things like this kill me. Where does the customer take ownership for their own ignorance? Just like the people that put their jewlery, priceless fur, medication, film from their wedding, etc in their bags. How many horror stories do you have to hear before the lightbulb goes on?

I was on vacation in TX and found a framed print that I just had to have. I bought it, took it to a professional packing store and had it packaged for the trip home. The print was packaged in a box and foam was put in to pad against any jolt, drop or incident. The print, with glass and frame arrived without a scratch.

An ounce of common sense goes a long way.

 

[28yrsnojob]

your lucky to get your bag at your dest with this outfit

 

[mga707]

I was on vacation in TX and found a framed print that I just had to have. I bought it, took it to a professional packing store and had it packaged for the trip home. The print was packaged in a box and foam was put in to pad against any jolt, drop or incident. The print, with glass and frame arrived without a scratch.

An ounce of common sense goes a long way.

Excellent advice. Several times now while on trips I've purchased items--usually books or articles of clothing (nothing fragile)--that I do not wish to lug home with me (I never check bags). So I've simply gone to a nearby P.O. several days before I'm heading home and sent my purchases on ahead in a Flat Rate Priority Mail box. My goodies have always been at my door when I have my mail delivery resumed, and I didn't have to lug them around.

 

[cellblock8]

PLEASE,PLEASE Dont say you packed your medicine in your check in baggage! If your DUMB enough to do that dont blame anyone but yourself. When you dont get a sympathetic ear on the other end of your call to the baggage call center in MEX. or when you ask for a supervisor in the US.

 

[SpinDoc]

Things like this kill me. Where does the customer take ownership for their own ignorance?

An ounce of common sense goes a long way.

Exactamundo.

Education is the key in this instance.
US has been terrible at communicating
to the customer that if an item is
absolutaly necessary at the destination
that they should either mail it, or
put it in their carry-on. Too many
airline customers don't take personal
responsibility for these things.

Expectations have been set too high
for too many years, and it's time to
ratchet down the expectations of the
customer and tell them the truth.

 

[tadjr]

Expectations have been set too high
for too many years, and it's time to
ratchet down the expectations of the
customer and tell them the truth.

Thanks. Can we also have some signs and notices in prominent places about check in cut off/ baggage limits/ excess charges, etc? I'm sick and tired of hearing "show me where it says that" on some of the most simple things. We all know what the rules are because we deal with them every day, but it would be nice to have a huge sign to point to and say "right here", next....
I know the "old regimes" didnt want to "upset?" the customers about these things so they didnt post anything so when someone got whacked, look out!
If another LCC, Airtran, can have a big sign at their counter telling people about the excess charges and other carriers (AA and NW come to mind) have huge signs in front of their counters with 30/10/5 messages, why dont we? What are we afraid of? I say post the signs and it should mean less things for people to be able to complain about because it would be prominently displayed. They would be more hesitant to make a fuss with it in their face instead of them thinking we're trying to be sneaky about things.

 

[SpinDoc]

They would be more hesitant to make a fuss with it in their face instead of them thinking we're trying to be sneaky about things.

Herein lies the biggest problem that
the old US has been reluctant to fix.
They do a very poor job of educating
the customer, and then they wonder
why the customer questions the policies
and throw fits when the policy rears
it's ugly head.

Be up front. Set the expectation in
clear and concise terms. How do you
think Southwest has been able to provide
mediocre service and get rave reviews.
They set the bar as low as they can,
and since the customer is not expecting
anything, it doesn't take much to
exceed their expectations.

Admittedly, it's not easy to change
cultures, particularly when you are
spending 100% of the time trying
to get out of bankruptcy, but a lot
of US customer perceptions about
draconian policies would disappear
if we lowered their expectations.

Wolf and Gangwal are gone. They are
the ones who pushed for max service
standards, and the expectation was
almost never met. It's time to
drop the facade and start acting
like an LCC.

 

[crazy4newus]

If another LCC, Airtran, can have a big sign at their counter telling people about the excess charges and other carriers (AA and NW come to mind) have huge signs in front of their counters with 30/10/5 messages, why dont we?

One small effort we make at gates in PHX is to post "door closes at xxx". Of course, there are those passengers who come up and say, doors close at 8:10 but is this the flight to detroit? um, yep, that's what the big red letters say. LOL! it's truly the ignorant ones that make my day at the ato so much fun!