Post by Honeylioness on Nov 9, 2011 21:48:12 GMT -5
20 December 2009[/u]
Well, here I sit in O’Hare Airport in Chicago. I suppose I should be glad we have made it thus far. The saga started Friday night when the weather forecasters starting using words like ”blizzard”, “white out conditions” and “almost two feet of snow in places”. At first it is easy to brush off some of the hype as this is the first large snow storm of the season. And they do like to play it for all it’s worth.
But then last night they were not only predicting the path of the storm but we started to see its effects along the mid Atlantic states. The grinding to a halt of all air traffic in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and New York let me know that Boston would definitely be affected. So I tried to get in touch with my airline proactively to see about changing our flight.
And here the odyssey from hell begins.
The first time I called I was on hold for 50 minutes before I spoke to a real person. The woman I spoke with confirmed the website information that our flight which was supposed to leave at 06:55 am had been delayed to 11:30 am getting us into Chicago around 01:05 pm. She was able to find one option for us once we got to Chicago. It involved three transfers. Chicago to Cedar Rapids to Denver to Seattle. And we would be getting in around 11:30 pm. Not wonderful but at least we would get there. I tell her okay and she puts me on hold to confirm them ….. AND DISCONNECTS ME!!!!!!
I just about lost it. But trying to remain positive I called back. And waited and waited and waited some more. After almost another hour of being on hold I hear a real human voice – although “human” may have been too generous a word. Not only is the milk run flights now gone but he tells me there are no available seats on any flights leaving Chicago to anywhere I could possibly connect to Seattle on – until THURSDAY. Hmmmm …..traveling on Christmas Eve – NOT my first choice. The only other option he offers me is to cancel my ticket all together and refund my money. That doesn’t help me either. So I just keep the reservation we have and think I will figure it out when I get to the airport.
I then have another brain wave – what about trying to get a hold of the company’s travel agency that booked the flights in the first place. Surely they would be able to help me. Another hour later of listening to cheesy Musak and the same annoying voice telling me how there were higher than usual call volumes and thanking me for my patience and I gave up.
Just in case anyone was wondering – spending almost four hours on hold or the phone is NOT conducive to getting anything else done – like packing.
Earlier that evening we had gone out for Chinese food for dinner. I was not in the mood to cook and did not want any left overs in the fridge to just sit and spoil while we are gone. After we had arrived home Anne’s friend Arnold had come over to give her a Christmas gift and play the piano. That was fine. I like Arnold, he is a nice kid. However after the wasted hours with the travel agents from hell my patience was wearing thin and my nerves were frayed to the breaking point.
I was in my room finally starting the packing for myself when they wandered into the living room and somehow the talk turned to First Night in Boston. Now I found it hard to believe that Arnold, a native resident of Massachusetts, had no bloody idea what First Night even was. So they are asking questions and I am trying to “maintain” and answer them. Except that they keep interrupting me to crack jokes and wander into other subjects. They did this one too many times and I lost it. I just stopped responding because I knew otherwise I was going to blow. But like most teenagers they had no concept of when to leave well enough alone. So when they came upstairs to see why I was so quiet I let them have it. And informed Arnold that as it was now 10:00 pm I thought it was time he go home – NOW.
Then I called my parents and fell apart. Letting them know that my only options did not seem really like much of an option at all. Dad recommended what I was thinking – get to Chicago because at least I would be headed West, it would be harder to blow me off face to face and as I was in mid transit the airline might be more inclined to assist me.
One last phone call to Ruth and our pick up time from home changes from 04:15 am to 08:30 am.
And then it started to snow. And snow. And snow. And snow some more.
For once the weather forecasters were correct – it was a beast of a storm. The southern part of the state got it the worst with Rhode Island getting over two feet dumped on them in under 24 hours. Ruth made it to the house, said the speed limits had been reduced to 40 mph, and while she cleared her windows yet again we loaded up the bags and off we went.
It took about an hour to travel the 26 miles to the airport, and only one stop on the interstate shoulder to de-ice the windshield and wiper blades. A couple of miles out I called the airlines automated service to learn the flight was NOW pushed to 12:30 pm. But at least we had not been cancelled. Seems our plane had arrived the evening before so that was a good sign. And then I saw the line at the terminal.
Snaked back on itself three times it had the earmarks of a modern version of what Ellis Island must have looked like at the turn of the last century. Weary travelers standing with resigned eyes and holding onto their luggage as though having it would somehow prove they were worthy of moving forward that next step of the way. Revise the clothing, remove the MP3 ear plugs and throw in the odd chicken and babushka and it would be like stepping back in time.
After leaving Anne to “watch” our baggage I made a desperately needed trip to Dunkin’ Donuts for a large iced coffee. There was no way I could face that line de-caffinated. It took a little over an hour and a half before we were finally granted access to the front of the line and could make our way like supplicant refugees to actually speak to an agent. And thus began the negotiations.
“So there is nothing leaving Chicago at all today – going anywhere that has an open seat?” “What about flying from Boston to another city, I am not married to the idea of Chicago.”
One of the things my father taught me years ago when he was traveling weekly for business was that the airline agents have the power to either help you tremendously, or make your life miserable. Depending on YOUR attitude and approach to them. So regardless of how tired I am, how long I have waited, and especially if the people in front of me have gone “postal” at desk when they get there – I smile, remind myself to speak softly and carefully. So I said “Good Morning” to the agent, complimented her Christmas earrings and smiled. Then I was able to find out her first name – Rosa – and made sure to use it. I also commented to her how I was so sorry that too many of those waiting were so rude and how I appreciated her and was not sure I could do that job without losing it. Perhaps that is why the events that happened next happened, or more likely in my mind, it had to do with the Rosary I was running through my fingers as a part of my mind silently prayed.
After almost 15 minutes of her checking all the various routes and connections, Rosa finally tells me the only thing she can confirm for me is leaving Chicago on Wednesday. I call my parents to advise them of this newest development. Not sure just what I am supposed to do at the Chicago airport for two days with a 17 year old girl. That’s when I started praying – Hard. And I knew on the other end of the phone, Mom was as well. All of a sudden the agent tells me there are two seats she can confirm out of Chicago the next afternoon. And she places us on confirmed Stand-By for the three flights leaving Chicago today and going to Seattle. Okay, this is progress. If we miss all three Stand-bys then the airline will have to put us up for the evening. At the least that will mean a real bed to sleep in. And the worst case scenario is that we will arrive in Seattle a day late at 06:30 pm. Our luggage is checked in and off we go to the gate.
Does anyone else feel as though the way things are going with TSA and airport security that the day is fast approaching when we will all be walking through the metal detector in our underwear holding our boarding pass? Separate bins for coat, shoes, laptop, remove anything you are wearing that is metal: keys, watch, hair clip, brooch or belt with a large buckle. Remove the little baggie you have hopefully remembered to do before hand with your “dangerous” contents: hand lotion, lip stick, travel sized tooth paste and/or medication like my inhaler.
After a very long wait (another hour) on the ground for de-icing we are finally moving and airborne. FINALLY! We arrive at O’Hare around 03:00 pm and I wonder if there is any way we can even make it to the gate in another concourse where our first Stand By flight is scheduled to depart from in 18 minutes. Oh well – it’s worth a try. So off we sprint – well okay, Anne sprinted and I did my best to keep her in sight. Oh Happy Day – the plane is not even at the gate yet and it is not going to depart until 05:15 pm. What seems to be an inconvenience for those already there is great for me. Now I have time to get some real food.
I often forget how much I take for granted fresh fruit and vegetables until I am faced with either a mall food court or an airport terminal. When you are feeling tired and dehydrated the last thing I feel like eating is a burger or another slice of pizza. But favor was being showered down yet again – a salad bar. Cold crisp lettuce, tomatoes, lean turkey cubes ….. bliss!! Yes it was made for you by women wearing gloves and yes the cost was akin to highway robbery – but to be able to sit down to REAL food over rode my frugal nature. After sending Anne with cash to procure her own meal (a grilled chicken sub) we actually had time to sit and eat like real people.
After returning to the gate I was not surprised to hear Anne ask if she had time to wander the shops. After making sure she knew what time I needed her back by – off she went to find herself a souvenir of being “in” Chicago.
For those of you reading this who perhaps are not convinced that there truly is power in prayer – well, I am not sure unless it happens to you that this story will convince you. After we returned to the gate area I checked us in just to confirm for the gate agent that yes – we were here, and found out that the stand-by list now had 47 people on it. Then it was back to sit and wait yet again. I had made note that if we missed this flight at least the next one we were confirmed one as Stand By was only two gates away.
21 December 2009
I was not able to finish writing about yesterday’s odyssey yesterday for a number of reasons, but I have a few minutes now to do so.
Around 05:00 pm the plane finally arrived at the gate and they began to de-board and turn it around as quickly as possible. Then the gate agent began calling the names of the Stand By passengers: Gonzales, Wilder, Schmidt, Anderson, Pruitt ……………… ME!!!!!!!!
Upon hearing my name on the intercom I did not take my time getting off my duff to shuffle my way to the desk like others I have seen do. Neither did I not respond to any of the three pages with my name because instead of waiting where I could hear my name I was in the bar halfway down the terminal having yet another beer and then finally getting to the desk just before the last passenger boarded and scream at the agent for giving away “his” seat in a fume ridden rant.
Nope, I was the passenger that jumped to my feet, hand in the air and all but shouted “HERE!” like a gung-ho ROTC recruit. Short moments later I was in possession of the most beautiful pieces of card stock I had seen in a long time – boarding passes. However I did have the presence of mind to give the agent my tickets for the confirmed flight the next day and ask her to cancel those reservations for us so those seats would open up for someone else. Unfortunately at that time there was another detail that slipped my mind – but more on that in a bit.
Well, here I sit in O’Hare Airport in Chicago. I suppose I should be glad we have made it thus far. The saga started Friday night when the weather forecasters starting using words like ”blizzard”, “white out conditions” and “almost two feet of snow in places”. At first it is easy to brush off some of the hype as this is the first large snow storm of the season. And they do like to play it for all it’s worth.
But then last night they were not only predicting the path of the storm but we started to see its effects along the mid Atlantic states. The grinding to a halt of all air traffic in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and New York let me know that Boston would definitely be affected. So I tried to get in touch with my airline proactively to see about changing our flight.
And here the odyssey from hell begins.
The first time I called I was on hold for 50 minutes before I spoke to a real person. The woman I spoke with confirmed the website information that our flight which was supposed to leave at 06:55 am had been delayed to 11:30 am getting us into Chicago around 01:05 pm. She was able to find one option for us once we got to Chicago. It involved three transfers. Chicago to Cedar Rapids to Denver to Seattle. And we would be getting in around 11:30 pm. Not wonderful but at least we would get there. I tell her okay and she puts me on hold to confirm them ….. AND DISCONNECTS ME!!!!!!
I just about lost it. But trying to remain positive I called back. And waited and waited and waited some more. After almost another hour of being on hold I hear a real human voice – although “human” may have been too generous a word. Not only is the milk run flights now gone but he tells me there are no available seats on any flights leaving Chicago to anywhere I could possibly connect to Seattle on – until THURSDAY. Hmmmm …..traveling on Christmas Eve – NOT my first choice. The only other option he offers me is to cancel my ticket all together and refund my money. That doesn’t help me either. So I just keep the reservation we have and think I will figure it out when I get to the airport.
I then have another brain wave – what about trying to get a hold of the company’s travel agency that booked the flights in the first place. Surely they would be able to help me. Another hour later of listening to cheesy Musak and the same annoying voice telling me how there were higher than usual call volumes and thanking me for my patience and I gave up.
Just in case anyone was wondering – spending almost four hours on hold or the phone is NOT conducive to getting anything else done – like packing.
Earlier that evening we had gone out for Chinese food for dinner. I was not in the mood to cook and did not want any left overs in the fridge to just sit and spoil while we are gone. After we had arrived home Anne’s friend Arnold had come over to give her a Christmas gift and play the piano. That was fine. I like Arnold, he is a nice kid. However after the wasted hours with the travel agents from hell my patience was wearing thin and my nerves were frayed to the breaking point.
I was in my room finally starting the packing for myself when they wandered into the living room and somehow the talk turned to First Night in Boston. Now I found it hard to believe that Arnold, a native resident of Massachusetts, had no bloody idea what First Night even was. So they are asking questions and I am trying to “maintain” and answer them. Except that they keep interrupting me to crack jokes and wander into other subjects. They did this one too many times and I lost it. I just stopped responding because I knew otherwise I was going to blow. But like most teenagers they had no concept of when to leave well enough alone. So when they came upstairs to see why I was so quiet I let them have it. And informed Arnold that as it was now 10:00 pm I thought it was time he go home – NOW.
Then I called my parents and fell apart. Letting them know that my only options did not seem really like much of an option at all. Dad recommended what I was thinking – get to Chicago because at least I would be headed West, it would be harder to blow me off face to face and as I was in mid transit the airline might be more inclined to assist me.
One last phone call to Ruth and our pick up time from home changes from 04:15 am to 08:30 am.
And then it started to snow. And snow. And snow. And snow some more.
For once the weather forecasters were correct – it was a beast of a storm. The southern part of the state got it the worst with Rhode Island getting over two feet dumped on them in under 24 hours. Ruth made it to the house, said the speed limits had been reduced to 40 mph, and while she cleared her windows yet again we loaded up the bags and off we went.
It took about an hour to travel the 26 miles to the airport, and only one stop on the interstate shoulder to de-ice the windshield and wiper blades. A couple of miles out I called the airlines automated service to learn the flight was NOW pushed to 12:30 pm. But at least we had not been cancelled. Seems our plane had arrived the evening before so that was a good sign. And then I saw the line at the terminal.
Snaked back on itself three times it had the earmarks of a modern version of what Ellis Island must have looked like at the turn of the last century. Weary travelers standing with resigned eyes and holding onto their luggage as though having it would somehow prove they were worthy of moving forward that next step of the way. Revise the clothing, remove the MP3 ear plugs and throw in the odd chicken and babushka and it would be like stepping back in time.
After leaving Anne to “watch” our baggage I made a desperately needed trip to Dunkin’ Donuts for a large iced coffee. There was no way I could face that line de-caffinated. It took a little over an hour and a half before we were finally granted access to the front of the line and could make our way like supplicant refugees to actually speak to an agent. And thus began the negotiations.
“So there is nothing leaving Chicago at all today – going anywhere that has an open seat?” “What about flying from Boston to another city, I am not married to the idea of Chicago.”
One of the things my father taught me years ago when he was traveling weekly for business was that the airline agents have the power to either help you tremendously, or make your life miserable. Depending on YOUR attitude and approach to them. So regardless of how tired I am, how long I have waited, and especially if the people in front of me have gone “postal” at desk when they get there – I smile, remind myself to speak softly and carefully. So I said “Good Morning” to the agent, complimented her Christmas earrings and smiled. Then I was able to find out her first name – Rosa – and made sure to use it. I also commented to her how I was so sorry that too many of those waiting were so rude and how I appreciated her and was not sure I could do that job without losing it. Perhaps that is why the events that happened next happened, or more likely in my mind, it had to do with the Rosary I was running through my fingers as a part of my mind silently prayed.
After almost 15 minutes of her checking all the various routes and connections, Rosa finally tells me the only thing she can confirm for me is leaving Chicago on Wednesday. I call my parents to advise them of this newest development. Not sure just what I am supposed to do at the Chicago airport for two days with a 17 year old girl. That’s when I started praying – Hard. And I knew on the other end of the phone, Mom was as well. All of a sudden the agent tells me there are two seats she can confirm out of Chicago the next afternoon. And she places us on confirmed Stand-By for the three flights leaving Chicago today and going to Seattle. Okay, this is progress. If we miss all three Stand-bys then the airline will have to put us up for the evening. At the least that will mean a real bed to sleep in. And the worst case scenario is that we will arrive in Seattle a day late at 06:30 pm. Our luggage is checked in and off we go to the gate.
Does anyone else feel as though the way things are going with TSA and airport security that the day is fast approaching when we will all be walking through the metal detector in our underwear holding our boarding pass? Separate bins for coat, shoes, laptop, remove anything you are wearing that is metal: keys, watch, hair clip, brooch or belt with a large buckle. Remove the little baggie you have hopefully remembered to do before hand with your “dangerous” contents: hand lotion, lip stick, travel sized tooth paste and/or medication like my inhaler.
After a very long wait (another hour) on the ground for de-icing we are finally moving and airborne. FINALLY! We arrive at O’Hare around 03:00 pm and I wonder if there is any way we can even make it to the gate in another concourse where our first Stand By flight is scheduled to depart from in 18 minutes. Oh well – it’s worth a try. So off we sprint – well okay, Anne sprinted and I did my best to keep her in sight. Oh Happy Day – the plane is not even at the gate yet and it is not going to depart until 05:15 pm. What seems to be an inconvenience for those already there is great for me. Now I have time to get some real food.
I often forget how much I take for granted fresh fruit and vegetables until I am faced with either a mall food court or an airport terminal. When you are feeling tired and dehydrated the last thing I feel like eating is a burger or another slice of pizza. But favor was being showered down yet again – a salad bar. Cold crisp lettuce, tomatoes, lean turkey cubes ….. bliss!! Yes it was made for you by women wearing gloves and yes the cost was akin to highway robbery – but to be able to sit down to REAL food over rode my frugal nature. After sending Anne with cash to procure her own meal (a grilled chicken sub) we actually had time to sit and eat like real people.
After returning to the gate I was not surprised to hear Anne ask if she had time to wander the shops. After making sure she knew what time I needed her back by – off she went to find herself a souvenir of being “in” Chicago.
For those of you reading this who perhaps are not convinced that there truly is power in prayer – well, I am not sure unless it happens to you that this story will convince you. After we returned to the gate area I checked us in just to confirm for the gate agent that yes – we were here, and found out that the stand-by list now had 47 people on it. Then it was back to sit and wait yet again. I had made note that if we missed this flight at least the next one we were confirmed one as Stand By was only two gates away.
21 December 2009
I was not able to finish writing about yesterday’s odyssey yesterday for a number of reasons, but I have a few minutes now to do so.
Around 05:00 pm the plane finally arrived at the gate and they began to de-board and turn it around as quickly as possible. Then the gate agent began calling the names of the Stand By passengers: Gonzales, Wilder, Schmidt, Anderson, Pruitt ……………… ME!!!!!!!!
Upon hearing my name on the intercom I did not take my time getting off my duff to shuffle my way to the desk like others I have seen do. Neither did I not respond to any of the three pages with my name because instead of waiting where I could hear my name I was in the bar halfway down the terminal having yet another beer and then finally getting to the desk just before the last passenger boarded and scream at the agent for giving away “his” seat in a fume ridden rant.
Nope, I was the passenger that jumped to my feet, hand in the air and all but shouted “HERE!” like a gung-ho ROTC recruit. Short moments later I was in possession of the most beautiful pieces of card stock I had seen in a long time – boarding passes. However I did have the presence of mind to give the agent my tickets for the confirmed flight the next day and ask her to cancel those reservations for us so those seats would open up for someone else. Unfortunately at that time there was another detail that slipped my mind – but more on that in a bit.