This is my first official blog rant. Read at your own risk.
It's official. I. hate. air. travel.
Living far away from your families has many consequences. One is that you get to spend lots of time figuring out travel logistics, booking flights, organizing travel to airports, packing, sitting in airports, waiting in lines, juggling luggage and carseats and breastpumps (or "BPs" as the TSA guys call them while blushing) and strollers and carry on bags and diaper bags and a baby.
It means that you live in fear that your child will scream or have projectile spit up and explosive diapers while you're trapped in a two foot by two foot space on a plane. It means you must practice your best "please help me" faces when asking people to switch seats with you so you can nurse the baby more discretely by a window than on the aisle with the beverage cart and everyone else within a six-foot radius (which is like 40 people on a plane) getting an eyeful.
Air travel also comes with the joys of delayed flights in airports with an exhausted baby (and two exasperated parents) and cranky individuals all around you shouting expletives at equally exhausted and exasperated airline employees who can't control the weather or the FAA flight crew turnover guidelines. All of those aspects are tough but the real reason I am penning this post at 12:46 a.m. is that I have currently been on hold and in heated conversation for over an hour (1:15:58 according to my phone) with a certain online travel company. Why, you ask? Well, let me tell you.
11:00 p.m. Found a good fare to go home to Indy for a few days.
11:07 p.m. Pressed "purchase"
11:08 p.m. Site kicked me back to list of flights - no confirmation that tickets were purchased
11:15 p.m. Called company to check if tickets had in fact been purchased
11:19 p.m. Customer Service Rep said not purchased and recommended I try again online
11:21 p.m. Indicated to CSR that the same problem occurred - got to point of purchase again, clicked "purchase," once again no confirmation of purchase
11:30 p.m. CSR explained that this is because the published fare isn't actually available (never mind the price guarantee proudly displayed next to the price). Apparently, the airlines publish their fares directly and if they're no longer available due to a price change, the airline can just refuse to honor the price.
11:40 p.m. After going back and forth with CSR to understand what she meant, asked to speak with Supervisor
12:15 a.m. Supervisor finally took me off hold (please note that I waited 25 minutes to speak with said Supervisor
12:20 a.m. Explained situation to Supervisor (apparently she wasn't able to use the 25 minutes to get up to speed on situation)
12:25 a.m. Supervisor began trying to get original fare advertised on the web site for me
12:27 a.m. Had random and frustrating conversation with supervisor about whether Rose Isabel was Rosie's first name or first and middle name or first name and MY maiden name. I'm still not sure what she was confused on there, but it put my communication skills to the test.
12:30 a.m. After Supervisor walked through purchasing process on her end, THE SAME THING HAPPENED - She was booted back to flight list instead of purchasing ticket. Apparently, she had not understood what I had told her happened to me. She needed to see it for herself.
12:35 a.m. Supervisor said she'd need to contact airline directly to see if she could get the fare for me. I was put back on hold. In my frustration, I began this blog post.
12:50 a.m. Supervisor apologized and explained that the airline would not honor the fare being shown on the travel booking site. Flights would now cost $100 more. No way to fix this. Supervisor offered $50 voucher. I used all kinds of arguments - false advertising, lack of business integrity/credibility/ethics, etc., never going to be a customer again, going to blog about experience (well, just thought that in head). Nothing worked.
1:04 a.m. Hung up in defeat. 2:04:57 on phone.
So, heading to bed at 1:31 a.m. $50 voucher of stale apology in my email inbox from said company. No apology or voucher from the evil airline that changed its fare. No tickets purchased.
Did I mention that I hate air travel?
Being the eternal optimist, I must acknowledge that there are upsides to air travel.
Each flight Jon and I survive (spit up, diapers, screams and all) just makes us more confident as parents and strengthen our teamwork. This picture is from our flight home after our first cross-country visit to California for Josh and Alexis's wedding when Rosie was 7 weeks old. We're exhausted but happy. I remember feeling like a *real* mom for the first time because I changed poopy diapers on my lap and on the tray table, went through three outfits when she spit up everywhere, and Jon and I successfully calmed her down when she unleashed her travel wrath on us mid-flight.
The ultimate joy, though, that makes all the hassle of travel worthwhile is seeing family on the other side of that security divider. Nothing like it.
So, sigh, I may hate air travel...but tomorrow I will accomplish the following:
1. Work out anger in customer service survey from former online travel booking company
2. Find new online travel booking company
3. Book tickets to Indianapolis
