Category: General

Continental was a great Airline; then it merged with United and became a nightmare beyond belief.

First they said they kept the name United instead of Continental because it was more recognizable.  Gee, why is that?  What marketing genius thought making people think about those United Airlines 911 planes every time they board a flight was a good idea? Idiots.

Flight attendants are surly at best.  There is NO entertainment on board on 2.5 hour flights so you better bring a book or Ipad or something to entertain yourself. You can’t even get a Sky Mall catalog on board.  Food on United Airlines is limited to “snack boxes” at a whopping $8.99 for three bites of food.

Then there’s United Airlines customer service – it no longer exists.

So let me tell you my latest United Airlines experience.

Every three months I fly from Newark to West Palm Beach to see a neurologist.  I book these trips online but because the United Airlines website saves your last search, the trip got booked backwards. When I got to the airport in Newark I found out I was booked on a flight in West Palm!  I went to three “agents” and told to call an 800 number.

After 26 minutes on hold I got an agent who barely spoke English. (I have since been told directly by UNITED AIRLINES that it’s cheaper to outsource these things to India). The guy told me I could change my flight for $200 which would be refunded if I went to their website but then there would be another $393 additional charge for the change in the cost of the flight from when I booked it in April.  He then told me to cancel the ticket and for $75 I could go standby on any flight.  I asked again. “You mean I don’t ever need a ticket? I can just go to the airport any time I want and fly standby for $75?”  When he said yes I knew I was in trouble.

I approached ANOTHER gate person.  I had to get to Florida.  She charged me $586.20 on top of the $247 I had originally paid which brings the ticket up to $833.  I’m guessing I could have flown to China for that price.  I had no choice.  I handed them my Amex and waited four hours for the flight, extremely determined to reach customer service. This means I basically paid full fare for the ticket and the original ticket wasn’t used at all.

Upon landing I spoke with a gate agent who told me there is no customer service and to go to the website and fill out a feedback form or post on Twitter.

I took to Twitter like white on rice and started hounding them.  They wanted an explanation in the 26 characters Twitter gives you.  Then they started insulting me, called me trashy and asked why I was going to West Palm Beach. What business is it of theirs where I go and why?

I was then instructed to call United Airlines and request to speak to a supervisor. Again I was connected to a woman in India (after another half hour on hold) who flatly refused to let me speak to a supervisor.  After my ranting and raving she finally transferred me to the refund department. They were closed and I was disconnected.

I even went so far as to call United Airlines corporate headquarters where of course no one answered the phone.  I am ready to take this to the CEO.

Living in NJ I’m pretty much a prisoner of United Airlines if I want to fly out of Newark non-stop. Occasionally Jet Blue will have a flight.  At least Jet Blue gives you free TV and a snack.

During the flight a man passed out and they asked if an EMT was on board. I am an EMT and went to help the man who was in obvious distress and I was contemplating having them land the plane as it was a cardiac issue.  For my efforts I was given two free mini bottles of Vodka.

In retrospect each of those bottles cost me more than $400.

I will persist, so United Airlines you can insult me all you want but I’m not giving up!

 

I hate Facebook for lots of reasons.  I’ve touched briefly on this in a previous post.  May times I’ve deactivated and reactivated my Facebook account; but, this time I think I’m really gone for good.  I’ve never been happier since I got rid of it.

First of all, Facebook is designed to make you feel really bad about your life.  People post the most wonderful things – their loving relationships, fabulous meals (do I really care what you’re eating?), their new horses, babies, cars, and everything else to make you feel inferior.

I was talking with a friend of mine who is a sociology professor and she said Facebook has a particularly negative effect on teens who feel really bad about themselves and their lives when they look at what their friends post.

The one good thing about Facebook is it helped me reconnect with long lost friends, but now that I have their phone numbers Facebook is a non-issue.

Facebook is scary – you’re being watched.  Try googling something – anything…try a carpet steamer. The next time you login, Facebook will pop up with a multitude of carpet steamer ads.  Facebook is also notorious for viruses and invasive spyware.  My computer guy tells me Facebook is the number one cause for most computer issues he sees.

Facebook was originally designed for the college crowd; but according to my professor friend it’s being used mostly by adults to re-connect with old buddies.  I did, however, meet some really cool people and also got annoyed by a lot of really annoying people.  There are some pretty good Facebook groups to join in order to “hang out” with like-minded people.  I miss that part of it.

I have moved on to Twitter, which I previously eschewed.  While originally intended for fans to connect with their favorite celebs, it has morphed into the best way to promote your business and get your information out there.  I’m hoping it leads to more people reading and enjoying my blog.

I looked into Instagram – Twitter for people who can’t read.  I found I actually have an account and 111 followers. I have absolutely no recollection of starting this account or how to use it.  It makes no sense to me whatsoever.

There are other social media platforms out there and I’m certain new ones will keep popping up. I’m clueless about them and will have to investigate them at some point.

I have a LinkedIn account but it’s the free version. I’ve been told that’s the best way to get connected to people in your field and get a new job. I haven’t had any success with it so far. Anyone looking for a writer/editor/publicist with more than 30 years of experience?

For now I’ll stick with Twitter which is actually user friendly once you get the hang of it.

 

 

Ok so here it is – MY NEW BLOG!

Why a blog? Well there are many reasons.

First I’m a writer but more importantly I have opinions about everything that need to be candidly and safely expressed. What safer place than on the Internet where the entire world can see it?

I was the original Murphy Brown – a pioneer for women journalists in the 80s, but I also have her personality.  When the show came on I didn’t watch it for the first three seasons. People kept telling me I had to watch it because Murphy Brown was ME. I finally gave in and was hooked. To this day I think it’s one of the best written sitcoms of all time.  Many people didn’t like Murphy but being likened to her was a great compliment to me.  (If I only looked like Candace Bergen, sigh.)

My boss once told me that I turn every conversation into one about myself and I instantly replied, “I can’t help it if I’m the most interesting person I know.”  A split second later I realized that was an exact conversation from an episode of Murphy Brown.

What can you expect from my blog? Basically whatever is on my mind at the time – could be humor, could be a rant, could be a rave – you never know what you’ll find here but I promise it will always be interesting and hopefully insightful and amusing.

At this point in time I’m new to Word Press and I know there is a learning curve. I have the patience of a flea so I’m sure there will be a lot of tech mistakes and oh shit moments.  My attention span just doesn’t allow for hours of video tutorials. I’m more the learn as you go type, which is not always a good thing and I have a sneaking suspicion that in some cases it might be a really bad thing.

We will find out together, won’t we!

Erica@ericaontheedge.com