Reader Andy decided to check his bag curb-side at JFK, that wretched hive of scum and villainy, and the curb-side check-in attendant scammed him out of $15 by promising to sneak his “overweight” bag onto the flight for a “big tip.” Naturally, after the deal was done, Andy realized that his bag probably wasn’t overweight and he’d just been scammed. Now he’s writing in to tell his story so that other consumers can avoid a similar fate.
Around 11:45am on Monday I was headed home to San Diego from JFK. As I arrived to the Jetblue terminal I noticed the lines inside were super long, so for the first time I decided it was worth a $3 fee to take advantage of the curbside check in.
Upon checking in, the attendant took my bag and brought it to the other check in station (if I were actually thinking and anymore paranoid I would have watched him weigh the bag). When he returned he told me my bag was overweight and there is a $50 fee for any baggage over 50lbs. Before I could even respond with “are you kidding me?” he told me he could he get it through if I “gave him a big tip”. I quickly weighed my options and decided the tip option was clearly the way to go. As soon as I told him to go ahead with that option and handed him all the money I had ($15 tip + $3 fee) he took one look at the cash and asked “this is a big tip right?”. He then counted it in front of me and was clearly unstoked with the amount, so I assured him it was all I had. He printed out my boarding pass and I headed to the gate.
As I sat on the flight I felt like A) I had been scammed, and B) it was my own fault. As soon as I got home I weighed the bag and sure enough, 46lbs. The following morning I called Jetblue to file a complaint, and also sent them an email. Their representatives were of course very apologetic and disgusted by the transaction, and promised to look into the situation.
I’d like to get my money back as much as the next guy, but I’m fine with leaving it here. My major issue is that in this day and age where the average traveler is being gouged for everything possible by the airlines, someone else has to take it one step further and take advantage of customers outside of the business bubble.
I wonder how often this happens at every airport? Do I blame the attendant, his employer, or myself?
Desperate times make for desperate measures.
We think everyone deserves a little blame here, but you shouldn’t beat yourself up about it. JetBlue has certainly had its share of low-life scamming employees working at JFK. You only lost $15 and now you’re sharing your story so that others can avoid this scam, and you reported the scammer to his employer. I’m sure that our readers, and JetBlue itself, appreciate your sleuthing!
And, just for those of you who are from out of town and flying through JFK, don’t take anything anyone says at face value when you are in that airport. Stick to the straight and narrow, and if you know Obi Wan Kenobi, ask him if he’d mind picking you up.
(Photo: ellimac )
To all the posts here saying that the guy was trying to scam the airline:
Uhhh, no, he wasn’t. The very brief article describes exactly what happened. His bag weighed somewhere around 46 lbs. He was late arriving to the airport and decided to use curbside check-in. The guy told him his bag weighed 50 lbs and would sneak it on for him for $$$. Although it is entirely possible that the scale actually read +50 lbs because those scales are likely grossly uncalibrated and/or broken, the fact of the matter is that he weighed his bag at home and it weighed 46 lbs, so it is more likely that the curbside guy, who is apparently a real dick anyway with the money counting thing and unimpressed with the amount he gave (I’ve only done curbside check-in once and the guy did the same thing, so I took my tip back and went and waited in line, ignoring his cursing and threats), is a goddamn scammer.
How, exactly, is this trying to scam the airline? At no point did the bag actually weight over 50 lbs. His bag was within the weight limit. That’s like being told your FedEx packages weighs more and you’ll have to pay an extra charge, but the guy at the counter will sneak it by for a $5. The only reason you people think he was doing anything wrong is because the guy said his bag weighed over 50, which wasn’t true. The only reason this is the OP’s fault is because he’s too trusting. Read things more carefully next time people.
I find that the scams that work the best are the ones where the victim believes he’s getting away with something.
@humphrmi: Doesn’t matter if the information is real or fake. A bribe is a bribe.
@vildechaia: New York to San Diego by car: Approx. 42 hours
New York to San Diego by plane: Approx. 6 hours
Still want to take the car?
Yes, technically the end result was a bribe and was not exactly Kosher, but the attendant was the one who initiated it, not Andy. I would also add that in the rush of traveling by air, where you might have all of 30 seconds to think about things, sometimes people are easily let to make split-second decisions. Obviously, the attendant knew that rushed travelers are easy targets and easy to sucker and he’s probably pulled this scam on hundreds or thousands of people over the years.
Even so, is bribing a skycap any worse of a crime than slipping the maitre d’ an extra $20 for a good table (especially if he initiates it)? Not exactly the crime of the century…sorry.
Geez, Andy, you’ll have to do better than that to get on the FBI’s most wanted list.
I bought one of these for under $10 at my local target.
[ecx.images-amazon.com]>
It’s small enough (maybe 5″x2″) to bring with you on a trip.
Also comes with a 39″ tape measure so you can see if your suitcase is too large, too.
@DeanOfAllTrades: A bribe starts with an offer of money. He didn’t offer money, he was asked for it. The difference may seem unimportant to you, but it is also the difference between the definition of the word “bribery” and “extortion”.
Sorry, forgot the direct link:
[www.target.com]
When I was 18 and going to college, I had about 4 boxes that were 40 pounds or so each. The street checkin person told me that I would have to pay $80 extra, and I said I knew that. He then said that he didn’t have to charge me anything extra, and I said that would be nice. He then said “I’ll take care of you if you take care of me first” and handed me the normal (at that time) luggage form to sign. So, I signed it. He then again said that I had to take care of him, and I was confused since there was nothing else to sign or anything left to do. He then handed me my tickets. I said thank you and walked away. About a minute later, he came up to me and said that he didn’t have to let my boxes through for free, so why didn’t I take care of him? It suddenly dawned on me, “Oh, you wanted me to bribe you!” So I handed him $20.
I’m embarrased by that now, not because I was so dense/naive, but because I shouldn’t have “tipped” him and should have told his manager or somesuch. Oh well.
I have to agree with the people who say it’s really the victim’s fault. This is a fairly sneaky scam, but it’s really their own fault for not looking to see how much it actually weighs. I always make sure I make a note of my luggage weight when I check it.
Funny thing though. I checked a bag with Air Canada flying back to the US. It was 6 pounds overweight. The girl looks at me says she’s supposed to charge me $50 (which I didn’t really care, I was bringing back some beer with me that I can’t get here and I would’ve expensed it anyway because even without the beer, I probably would’ve been over as my bag was close to the limit beforehand and I couldn’t bring more than 1 carry on because my plane was tiny). However, she then says “I’m going to waive the fee, but don’t do it again”. I said “I won’t”, walked away, laughed, and went to wait for my flight. Of course, this also happened in a really small airport.
@dweebster:
Count yourself lucky that you’ve not had any kind of problem with credit card usage when traveling. We call in faithfully before every business or pleasure trip to Asia. Buying a [legitimate] train ticket or paying a hotel bill triggers an error message/reject from one particular credit card company 60-70 percent of the time. Several times the card has been frozen because of fraud concerns because they’re not able to reach us by phone quasi-immediately (calling home number rather than the international cellphone contact number we provide).
Most supervisors advise us to continue reporting our travel plans, but we’ve had one tell us that security is ratcheted up when we do. And yes, whenever I’m able I pay off all charges before departure, even “current” charges that have not yet hit a statement.
So while I don’t like carrying currency, I do when on the road. Travelers’ cheques are becoming increasingly passe, but they’re still usable and more secure.
@humphrmi: He bribed an airline official? First off, curb-side check-in guys are contracted out (usually by the airport) and therefore not airline employees. Secondly, the guy was definitely not an official…
But yeah this guy definitely deserved to get scammed.
Interestingly, just last week, my Super Shuttle driver rolled up to a side curb at the JetBlue terminal, pointed to the huge line and told me to wait there and they will take care of my bag.
HAH! Obviously, the driver thought I was a newbie. I walked past all of the masses waiting for curbside check-in and went inside as I usually do.
I’m wondering if Andy used the Super Shuttle to JFK and he was given the same instruction by his driver???
If so, we may be uncovering a little setup between SS drivers and curbside check in agents!?
Since money is changing hands because of readings on these airline scales, doesn’t that make them subject to certification (just like gasoline pumps & deli scales) by the local/state weights & measures people? Are there any stickers on these scales?
@ecwis: Actually, I was being facetious.
When you buy tickets, find out the baggage policy! You weren’t just scammed on the weight; JetBlue’s baggage policy states that bags that weigh 51-70 pounds only incur a $20 fee, not much more than the “tip”. [www.seatguru.com]
The one time I flew out of JFK on JetBlue, I was told that my XBox HAD to be checked in by some 20-something guy because it was “too big” for carry-on. It was in a back pack with a towel wrapped around it, and I knew it wasn’t too big. To prove it, I even stuck it into the demo station by the check-in desk. He then promised me that if I didn’t leave it with him, that he’d alert TSA to send me back, and if I got past them, that the gate attendant would know as well.
I ended up faking a hand off to my gf, who in front of the guy said she’d just have to ship it to me, then before I got into the security line, she gave it back. I got through with no problems, and the X Box fit perfectly in the above baggage container.
I totally felt like this kid was just trying to take me X Box, so I wrote JetBlue. All I got in response was some email telling me to stop being so paranoid, and next time, I should trust their employees’ judgment.