Consumerist
complaints
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ceos
Top 10 Crappiest CEOs (According To Their Employees)
Glassdoor released its report of the 50 lowest-rated CEOs as determined by employee reviews on its site. I scractched out all the companies you don't care about and ended up with this list of the 10 Crappiest CEOs (of consumer-facing compaines) (according to their employees)... More » -
when ya gotta go
United: Bad Toilet Timing Leads To Delay, Arrests
Two passengers were arrested on a United flight from LA to New York after one of them jumped up and ran to the bathroom after being instructed to remain seated by a flight attendant. Apparently the man just needed to use the bathroom — like now. More » -
why the hell not?
Airlines Add $10 Surcharge On Busy Holidays
If you're planning any air travel on the busiest post-holiday travel days this year, prepare to pay $10 in an extra, uh, "fuel surcharge" on Delta, American, and United flights. Fuel is super extra expensive on November 29th, January 2rd, and January 3rd, you know. More » -
apologies
Trend Watch: CEOs Apologizing Via YouTube
Want to see a bunch of corporate executives apologizing? Thanks to the magical internet, now you can! More » -
public relations
Did Dave Carroll's Broken Guitar Videos Cost United $180 Million?
The Times of London claims that public relations fallout from Dave Carroll's catchy videos panning United Airlines for breaking his beloved $3500 Taylor guitar and then denying his damage claim may have cost the airline's shareholders up to $180 million. More » -
above and beyond
Seizure Prompts Wonderful Service From United
United couldn't have been more understanding and helpful after reader Chris' wife had a seizure as they flew from Sullivan's Island, SC to Winnipeg. The flight attendants onboard offered to divert the flight to Chicago, but the couple decided instead to power through. United's staff met them at the gate along with paramedics, and offered to rebook them on the flight of their choice. If they wanted to stay the night, United said they'd be happy to pay for a hotel room. Chris' takeaway perfectly captures the spirit behind our Above and Beyond posts: "Even if United is a horrible company," he writes, "there are still nice people there, and sometimes even big companies surprise you." Chris writes: More » -
swine flu
Swine Flu Fanatics Kick Man With Sniffles Off Airplane
James says he got ejected from his United Airlines flight because he had a cold and some of the other passengers wigged out, fearful of becoming swine flu victims. His letter, and its surprise ending, inside... More » -
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united airlines
United Airlines Won't Help Rush You To Your Dying Mother's Bedside Because "It's Time For The Ticketing Agent's Break"
Mike rushed his girlfriend to the airport to catch a flight to see her dying mother, only to watch her miss the flight because United Airline's ticketing agent refused to help because "it was time for her to go on her break." Passengers waiting in line were more than willing to let Mike's girlfriend skip to the front of the line, but her sad situation apparently wasn't enough to earn the agent's sympathies. When his girlfriend finally reached the gate in time to watch her flight depart, the gate agent defended his colleague's lack of sympathy, saying "management really makes us work some unreasonable schedules." More » -
Good Job More than 40,000 United Airlines "front-line" workers will receive a $100 bonus because the carrier's on-time performance topped the Transportation Department's monthly performance rating for March, the Chicago-based airline said Thursday. [Chicago Tribune]
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wcia 2009
Worst Company In America: United Airlines VS GM
A fee riddled airline with expensive snacks? Or a quickly unraveling, government-supported car company? You make the call.
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rude
United Airlines Offers Drinks To "The Idiots In Coach"
Reader Nicholas likes to listen to the cockpit channel while flying, because he says it calms his nerves. The flight attendants must have assumed that no one was turned to that station (or that they weren't being broadcast on it), because Nicholas says he heard one of them refer to the passengers in the coach cabin as "idiots." Whoops. More » -
customer service
Don't Bother Calling In With Complaints, United Is Disconnecting The Phone
United Airlines doesn't want to talk to you on the phone about your complaints — so they're disconnecting it. MSNBC is reporting that starting in April, the airline will shut down the call center that deals with customer complaints. More » -
Not content to just outsource their customer service, United is shutting down its phone center in India in April, instead relying wholly on written complaints. They claim they'll be able to better respond to written complaints, but we know it's just as easy to paste irrelevant advice and insincere apologies as it is to speak them.
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deals
United's Secret Australia Sale: ~$1000 Round Trip Tickets
If you want to hit Australia like right now,United is having an unadvertised sale with roundtrip tickets for about $1000, no advance purchase required. For instance, JFK is only $973 with taxes. Usually no advance purchase required tickets cost a pretty penny. The deal is good at airports all across the nation. Qantas is price-matching the sale, too.
Airfares to Sydney (SYD) [AirFareWatchDog]
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airlines
Great, Airplanes Are Cleaner. Do You Care?
No longer distracted by high oil prices, airlines now claim that they're starting to focus on customer service. Two of them, American and United, think that their biggest issue is dirty planes. Wouldn't it be great if that were true? More » -
poll
Will You Pay $12.95 For WiFi On United Airlines?
United Airlines has announced that passengers on flights from New York City to Los Angeles and San Francisco will soon have access to WiFi... for $12.95. More » -
travel
There Are Fewer Flights, But They're On-Time!
Hey, remember all those chronic unsolvable delays that were threatening to grind air traffic to a halt in this country? It seems that we've found something that can really help. A huge global recession. More »
