Delta Airlines has been my airline of choice for many 
years – until now! I am questioning if I will EVER fly Delta again! Miss Bass in Claims Services has pretty much ended my great, long time relationship with Delta. Delta SkyMiles was the very first frequent flier program I joined around 30 years ago. I even chose SunTrust bank so that my debit card could earn me SkyMiles. While I have had many enjoyable trips one mistake has now challenged my love and respect for Delta!
My father is dying from Asbestosis and also has Dementia; I have Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Friends in Las 
Vegas used their SkyMiles to get me a ticket to visit so I could have a break from this high stress situation! While the visit went fine, the return home became much more complicated. I had a 2 hour layover in Memphis and found the flight was also delayed an additional 2 hours. Gate agents were able to assist me getting a flight to Jackson, MS with less wait. This was a relief to my sister/chauffeur and our anxious patient/father.
The flight was fast, no need for beverage service because the 28 passengers did not need a beverage in the 1 hour gate to gate flight. With my MS being active, I was having to use my crutch and was the very last to arrive at baggage claim. But as the last passenger left and the baggage carousel stopped, my bag was nowhere to be seen. The girl at baggage claim told me my bag had gone to Jacksonville, FL instead of Jackson, MS; it would be delivered to me the next day and assigned me a claim number. This was Saturday.
Late Tuesday afternoon my bag had not arrived and the website showed that it should have already been delivered. I had been quite and patient for these 3 days waiting for the process to take care of itself, but with the website not equaling reality, I made a call. Miss Bass began as a cooperative person making a call to the delivery company to check on my bag then telling me it was in route and would arrive in minutes. This is where things turned! I asked for information about compensation for the inconvenience and she told me to send my receipts somewhere. I told her I did not have receipts because since arriving back in Mississippi I was with my sick father, giving a deposition to my lawyer, and making an 8 hour round trip car ride – all while having the same clothes on (my Mom had washed them at least) and suffering great pains because of my MS. When did I have the time or ability to get new clothes or shop to have receipts for anything?
I then asked Miss Bass to transfer me to customer 
service. She then told me she no, she would not. So I asked for the number, she refused to give it to me. At this point I was IRATE! I screamed and hollered and she then told me I could go to the website to report a complaint – and I did! In this position, she should have much better customer service skills or at least have someone to refer an unhappy customer to! This way someone at Delta does not have to deal with a customer while they are irate, but also the customer also has time to write a blog about it. Even as much time as this took me because of my MS… I still had time to blog about it and still heard nothing from Delta!! Solving problems quickly should be a customer service goal.
At the beginning of the call, it said the call may be recorded and I hope it was. Better yet, I hope someone from Delta reads the complaint I did send via the website. Few times in my life have I been treated as callously. Dismissed with no regard. In my complaint I remarked that they could compensate me something for the inconvenience of my bag being delayed 3 days or just to see a copy of Miss Bass’s termination paperwork would also satisfy me!
If this is the new Delta after the merger with NWA, I will surrender my SkyMiles card and even change banks! It is time for Delta (and other airlines as well) to acknowledge that inconvenience has a price even without a receipt! Customer service should be given – not asked for! If Delta does contact me and finds a resolution for this unhappy – now irate customer, I will blog about that also, but to all my readers, let’s not hold our breath for that blog! In the mean time, I will avoid any business with Delta until they offer some form of apology, but without Miss Bass’s pink slip, flight vouchers or a check, I will not take them seriously!
CUSTOMER SERVICE IS DEAD!
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Thomas Johnston 