Delayed

 

At the baggage claim customer service area for United Airlines, hundreds of suitcases belonging to delayed or rerouted passengers.  Presumably at some point the owners will show up to claim their bags? I had to come back Friday morning to get my bag--it was still somewhere in the bowels of the airport Thursday night and I was told I wouldn't be able to get it for four to six hours. It's remarkable  how little it takes for our airline systems to get hopelessly snarled.  Our systems are much more fragile than one would expect.

I had a strong hunch I would end up delayed on my flight to Jordan.  Between the headlines about flight cancellations, the thunderstorms stalking Columbus and my connecting city of Washington D.C. and the tight one hour connection to catch my flight to Jordan, I knew the odds of missing my connection were high.  I even told Barbara as she dropped me off at the airport, that I fully expected to spend in one of the Leen sisters' homes (either Barbara Leen, my wife or Jennifer Leen, her sister who lives in D.C).

Well, I've been in D.C., staying with Jenny and her husband Matt, since Thursday night.  Sure enough, my flight out of Columbus was delayed and even thought my flight from Dulles to Amman was also delayed, it was still gone by the time I landed.  They couldn't get me on another flight to Jordan until today.  My flight leaves today at 5:05 PM.

I honestly wasn't that stressed.  Partly because I was expecting it, partly because I knew I had somewhere to stay.  But also because I needed this.

I arrived in Washington D.C. with a splitting headache, one I'd had all day.  It was strictly due to lack of sleep. I hadn't slept well since quite a bit before I left for Hawaii.  Hawaii was marvelous.  But it was not a vacation in any sense of the word.  And since I'd been home, I had been going nonstop.  There were things to do around the house, end-of-the-year tasks to complete at school, preparations for Jordan, and all-important family time to squeeze in.  I was going full tilt the entire week I was home.

When I got here, I had in mind a list of things I should do while I was here.  I should try to touch base with some friends that live in the area. I should catch up on my blog.  I should go out and see some sites in our nation's capital.  In the end, I decided that none of the things I "should" do, were things I needed to do. What I needed to do was nothing.  And so that's what I did.  I slept a lot--whenever I felt tired.  I slept late every morning, took naps in the afternoon.  This morning I even went back to sleep for an hour or two after I got up this morning--because I felt sleepy.  Instead of pushing myself to start blogging or do something else, I did what my body asked of me.  It felt really good

I realized I have not been in a position where I have had absolutely zero responsibilities in a very long time--and I took full advantage. I did some reading, watched a little TV, went out to eat a couple of times with Matt and Jenny, Zoomed, texted and talked with friends and my family back home, walked to the Safeway a few blocks away once. Yesterday I opened up the dig manual that had been emailed to me to start prepping myself for the archaeological work I'll be doing in Jordan.  But other than that, I mostly slept.  It's clear that what I needed was a delay.  Thank God, I got it.

A Scam Story

I had the most interesting experience with being scammed on my arrival in D.C. Thursday night.  I feel like God worked it out for me because I'm still amazed it turned out the way it did.  Here's the story (with the red flags that I missed indicated so you won't miss them should you end up in my shoes on your next flight):

•  As soon as I got in the long line for customer service snaking it's way through the C Gates at Dulles, I googled United Airlines and dialed their customer service number.  I was greeted with a message "Thank you for calling travel services," (First red flag: The message did not identify the company as United Airlines).  
• I was put through to a customer service rep almost right away (Second red flag: I did not have to battle a robot who keeps insisting in that smarmy voice "Before I connect you to representative, perhaps I can help you.  Why don't you tell me what your call is about". ) 
• And then, the third red flag, I wasn't on hold for 45 minutes listening to elevator music and little promo messages about United Airlines.  Holds on this call were always silent) I was connected with a Michael Clarke who did his best to get me rebooked on the soonest possible flight.  He informed me that the next available flights on United wouldn't be until between the 23rd and 26th of June.  
• I could get an earlier flight on a different airline but I would have to pay the fare difference (Fourth red flag: I have never had to pay a fare difference because of missed connection even when the new flight was on different airline).  The fare difference? $1020!  I was horrified.  But there was no way that I was going to arrive in Jordan possibly ten or more days late.  And just abandoning the trip was not an option either. I bit the bullet and gave Michael my card information.  
• Michael asked me to check for an email that I would need to reply to confirming that I gave permission for them to make the charge (Fifth red flag.  That has never happened either.  I've booked tickets over the phone before and never had to send an email to give the airline "approval to go ahead.").  
• I couldn't find the email at first, but eventually discovered it in my junk mail (Sixth red flag). 
•  Michael assured me he'd gotten me the lowest possible price and had even given me a "discount" on some of the taxes and fees to help me out (Seventh red flag. You can't give "discounts" on taxes and fees).  A couple of minutes later I got an email from United with the new itinerary Michael had set up for me.   I ended the phone call relieved to have a flight, but also annoyed to have spent two thirds the cost of my ticket on a "fare difference."

The next morning I determined to call United Airlines to get my money back. It just didn't seem right.  So I called the airline (not noting the number was different than the night before), was welcomed to United Airlines, argued with the robots for ten minutes until I got put on an interminable wait for a live human being.  When I finally reached a person, and was able to explain my situation, I was informed that United Airlines had no record of me being charged anything.  That was when the penny dropped and I realized I'd been duped.

And here's where things get amazing. My new itinerary was legitimate. Michael Clarke hadn't just taken my money--he had actually booked me a new flight.  Essentially he did what I would have done--contacted United, battled the robots, and arranged a new flight--and charged me for the trouble. 

I called my bank right away and explained the situation to them.  They said they couldn't do anything until the charge posted (it was still pending) but would flag it and reach out to me when it posted. I doubted they'd be able to do much.  After all, I willingly gave my card info to Michael and approved the charges.

Then I decided to call Michael back.  I had been scouring the internet for his company and couldn't find anything. The Google search didn't even turn up the number I'd called. I finally called the number back to find out the name of their company so that I could warn everyone away from them.  The lady who answered asked who I had dealt with and I told her.  She put me through to Michael and I chastised him for charging me when he shouldn't have. He put me on hold and was gone for maybe ten minutes.  When he returned he brusquely informed me that the charge had been cancelled.  He had never asked for my name or other identifying information.  I said thank you and he ended the call.

I thought, "No way."  But I checked my bank account and the charge was gone.  There was no sign of a refund.  It was just gone, as if it had never happened.  I still don't know if it was the bank or Michael Clarke and his vaguely named Flight Ticket Portal company that fixed it. I'm just glad it was fixed!