Today I had one of those “I’m so putting this in my blog” moments.  Actually it was more like an hour, which is waaay less than my sweet little sis’ RC had to sacrifice to deal with the same issue. But I’m rambling…

They look so happy, don't they?

Midwest Airlines boasts “The Best Care in the Air.”  I’ve only flown that airline once, and although it was many years ago, I do remember the experience as a pleasant one.  So when it came to booking our flight to Florida, we chose them, 6 months in advance.  We chose them because they come highly recommended, don’t often cancel/change flights, take care of their customers, get good reviews, yada-yada…

A few short weeks ago I received a call and an email from Midwest stating that our flight times had changed. I spent an hour on the phone with customer service and we rearranged all of our flight times. It was annoying, but I figured it was part of flying and they did notify me and they fixed the situation, in a polite manner.  I asked the customer service rep if this would happen again. While she couldn’t tell me no, and I don’t remember what her exact response was, I ended the call with a feeling that everything would be okay. They have great customer service, after all.

However, as of today, we won’t get to experience ”the best care in the air”, because just a few short months before our trip and after one schedule change already, Midwest Airlines has cancelled all flights to and from Orlando until AFTER our trip.  How did I find out about this?  From their wonderful customer service?  Via email?  Via urgent voice mail message from Midwest?

Nope.

I was informed by my parents, who read this article in their Sunday morning paper, and left me the urgent voice mail. Wasn’t it nice of Midwest Airlines to issue the press release before notifying their customers, who already paid for their tickets several months ago? Oh, yeah, I’m impressed. NOT.

So, I dialed the customer service phone number. Over and over again. I got a busy signal. Over and over again. The website was no help. At all. Was I becoming frustrated/angry/unhappy? Sure. Then I got through to the annoying computer voice and I settled in for the wait. My hopes were lifted when I was connected to a customer service rep right away. It was temporary, this feeling of elation, because I found out that yes, indeed, our flights were all cancelled.

The solution? Midwest will refund our money (to the credit card) in about 72 hours (give or take a few, I’m sure) and mail us a receipt of this transaction. There will be no email regarding this, no confirmation number, no immediate assurance for me, other than their verbal agreement to refund my money. It makes me wonder, can they conveniently “forget” my call to cancel the flights? Can they keep my money, saying I never contacted them? I hope not, because I haven’t the slightest idea how to handle a situation like that, and we cannot afford to pay for tickets twice.

Unlike my sister, I received an apology. Although it was half-hearted, and really, it was one of those trained monkey responses, in my opinion. This did nothing to soothe my seething temper, and (unfortunately) the service rep got to experience a taste of it.

I have a rhetorical question for you out there. If you (the customer) cancelled a flight because it wasn’t “economically sound” for you to fly somewhere, would the airline make you pay? We all know the answer to that one. Yes, I probably will get my money back, but will they pay me a $50 fee per person for having to rebook and pay more for our new flights? No, Midwest Airlines won’t do that. According to the service agent “it is not the same thing.” Bullshit.

Do we have new flights? Yes we do. Here’s hoping Delta Airlines has a better handle on customer service.

Attention Midwest Airlines: You have put boogers in my cereal, and it was incredibly rude of you to do so.

Enough said.

Mrs. V