Customer service

I haven't missed the US this much since my early homesick days last August. Here's the story:

In trying to get my ticket changed I was told by the Dubai office I couldn't because I bought:
- a 90 day ticket with restrictions
- the ticket had already been reissued once
- only the travel agency I used to buy it could do anything for me

First, I departed the US on Feb. 5 with plans to return on June 16. That's 4 1/2 months, not 90 days. I have NOT had the ticket reissued and lastly, I booked on the internet. "No, you couldn't have booked this ticket on the internet, sir." Really? I have never spoken to travel agent in my life...

The second two points were wrong but it's hard for me to prove my case. The first problem was easy: How could I have purchased a 90 day ticket for travel that is 131 days apart?

Agent: Sir, I cannot change a 90 day restricted ticket.
Me: You do realize that it could NOT have been a 90 day ticket given my dates of travel.
Agent: But it is a 90 day ticket sir.
Me: You don't see the flaw in the logic there?

I went several rounds on this.

*****
Tonight I called the Delta number in the US. It took about ten minutes to reach a human being but once I did I explained my problem. She said, "Oh, well, clearly it's not a 90 day ticket... The coding is close but it is not the same. They just didn't look carefully enough."

The agent put notes on the account and cleared it up for me. Tomorrow I get to call the Dubai office again to have the new ticket issued and pay a $200 reprocessing fee... which is what I expected. I thanked the agent and signed up for Delta Frequent Flyer miles. (The direct Atlanta-Dubai flight is soo much better than a layover in Europe.)

*****
I cannot believe how conditioned one gets living in a land where the customer service sucks. It is like living with an abusive spouse; you have to mentally psych yourself up going into these situations. I don't really blame the workers. They work very long hours for low pay and have virtually no training. That doesn't make it any less frustrating.

A couple of weeks ago Ann and I had a waitress that was great. We tipped her well and Ann made a point of seeking out the manager. She told him, "I have lived in the Emirates for eight years. She's the best waitress I've had in all that time." I can't believe that I've grown accustomed to incidents like the 3 hour dinner at Chili's because our non-busy waiter ignored us, the Subway workers who refuse to put onions on before they toast my sub and not able to give me a good reason why not, or buying something defective and being told they couldn't exchange or refund it.

Of course, don't get me started about the eternal light.

*****
At the end of the call tonight I thanked the agent and asked for her name. I am definitely sending an e-mail to Delta. Beverly Lee at the Dallas call center saved one very irate customer and made him miss home more than he thought possible.