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4/11/22 flight love field to buffali

Amame
Explorer C

Do not let customer care fool you into believing covid is responsible for terrible service. I flew Southwest once before, not by choice  knowing it's terrible reputation in 2013. I've never flown since. We had long delays and my baggage ended up being lost. No reconciliation was even attempted by SW customer service besides a choice in seating on my next flight, which they knew I would not be taking with SW.

 

Fast forward to 4/11/22. Again, having no choice, I booked round trip flights. (Buf to Dallas w a stop at midway) I had a flawless flight and was impressed we even got in early to DFW despite a full sold out plane.

 

The way back (DFW to BUF w a transfer at midway) was the complete opposite. The nightmare started immediately with the kiosk. I chose to print a boarding pass and and 2 tags for checking in luggage. It only printed the boarding pass. So instead of trying to figure out what went wrong on my own, I went to The check in counter as the line appeared short. There were 4 agents working. They were very slow checking in the customers. One agent was having an elderly Customer remove 5 pounds from her bag, unnecessarily tying up the line even further. The customer was old. She should have been offered more assistance with her heavy luggage as it was 55 pounds.

After checking my luggage the next problem arose at the terminal. We were delayed 30 min. That made myself and others who had connecting flights at midway nervous. There was only a half hour before my next flight which was at the opposite end if the terminals. Inflight, the SW app was not working. We could not access free movies, our locations, or updates on our connecting flights. The seats were incredibly uncomfortable. The gentlement next to me and i were both squirming, our backs were hurting badly midway through the flight. We arrived at Midway airporrt gate b22. I donot recall the time. I had 15 min to get from terminal b22 to a9 (as printed on my boarding pass right before leaving Dallas as mentioned before). I had not eaten, most of the vendors were closed and I had no time to spare anyway to stop quickly for food without risk of missing my flight to BUF. Myself and other passengers started rushing to their respective gates, 5 of which were heading to Buffalo also. I was moving very slow as I'd been nursing an ankle that had been fractured in June 2021 that was still very painful to walk on and totally unable to run. I finally made it to the respective gate, with the other BUF passengers, to find no flight staff in sight. The TV screens for SW information was blank. Most importantly to me, no one there with wheelchairs. We all started fumbling with our phones. 1st we had to turn our phone data on, if you had data. Since SW did not provide internet access or updates on flights which are able to be accessed from the SW app. This all of course takes time we did not have. Finally someone was able to get the app working and indeed, SW made a gate change while we were all in flight. The new gate was all the way back at terminal B12. I checked into the flight from the hoping it would buy me some time to get to a9. So the youngsters of our Buffalo group agreed to run to gate b12 and inform staff three of us were coming but were older with health problems so were having a slow go. If they actually told the staff I have no clue. I started walking with the other elderly couple as fast as we could. I didn't get far before my legs were shaking and pain started in my ankle. I was getting light headed but all I wanted to do was go home and lay down. I weighted the benefits of seeking medical attention but that would take more time and most likely leave me sleeping in the airport as SW staff  was nowhere to be found to even book another flight. I told the couple not to wait for me to just tell staff I was on my way.

I eventually got to the gate, out of breath, flushed, sweaty, shaking, and barely able to talk. One clerk was present at gate a9. I told her I needed to sit. She asked if I had come from gate a9. I said obviously and faintly tried asking why in the hell weren't we told about the gate change. She said there was an announcement ( didnt say where or by whom) but obviously no one else heard it. Granted, I have tinnitus so I may not have heard it anyway but funny how I heard announcements for other connecting flights both on the plane and inside the airport., even as I was trying to hold onto conscienceness. The clerk pointed to the tunnel and told me to get to my seat quickly. I started limping into the tunnel. I called to the clerk and asked if she could help me. She did but I was feeling very dizzy, which I let her know. The flight crew greeted me and asked if I was OK to fly. I said I need water and to sit so I tried getting on the plane. They blocked me and said I needed to put on my mask. I said I needed to catch my breath and asked for water. I rrested againsst the wall that attacched the tunnel to the plane where i got a nice breeze. I caught my breath enough to get a little more coherent. I stepped back on the plane and was told by another attendant she would need to check my 2 carryons as the flight was full and no room was left in the overhead compartments. I said my medications were in my bag and needed them. The did assist by taking my bag as I walked down the isle desperately looking for a seat. The elderly couple I walked with congratulated Mr on making the flight. All that was left, of course, were middle seats. I got a seat, finally. It was approximately 20 min after we should have taken off. People began getting upset and asking the crew why they hadn't closed the door yet. She explained how they were still waiting for 5 people. To make matters even worse, a child was relentlessly screaming in the back. I commented to the lady next to me, "great. Whatever hearing I have left is going to be destroyed. The other 5 passengers finally boarded the plane. The flight staff shut the doors. About 5 min later, the captain made an announcement that our flight would be delayed another 20 min. but he could make up the time.  (Funny how we all heard the announcement over a screaming child and my ears ringing even louder than normal. I am certain an announcement was not made in flight about the terminal change. If it was, it was not by intercom). We proceed to taxiing after 30 more minutes and waited in line a whole longer before taking off. Still the poor child was screaming. I was able to access the inflight movies and earbuds to at least tune out the screaming (unlike my previous flight as there was no wifi to access to free movies or flight updates). When the flight crew made it back to my isle for drink orders, the captain announced turbulence and the flight crew had to remain seated for the remainder of the flight. Noone got snacks or beverages. Upon landing. A female flight assistant announced apologies for all of the inconveniences and southwest would be happy to make things right but no contact information was given. . My mother, who does not have a cell phone and recently underwent had surgery was the only person avaible to pick me up at the airport. She brought my son who is too young to drive. Since THEY had no access to flight information and couldn't afford parking, they made laps around the airport. They were there since 7pm. I live 30 min from the airport, it was rainy and dark. I made it home in one piece and so did my mother, who had to endure another 45 min ride home as she did not bring any of her medications to spend the night.

 

This morning the 1st phone call I made was to my orthopedic doctor to set up an appointment to consult new injuries to my bad ankle and my good foot that is now infected from sores created from walking fast and horribly at Midway. My mother will also be seeking medical attention due to the extra strain on her wrist driving in circles for hours at the airport because she was afraid she would miss me. 

 

The second call I made was to SW customer care. The care agent was less than helpful. After I told her everything that happened she told me to send an email to customer care. It is not easy to find and email address for complaints. When the complaint option is accessed, the SW system forces a user to choose one reason why the customer is unsatisfied. A customer should be able to choose multiple and have an option for other.

 

I am livid. I am still in pain and will be seeing orthopedic doctor this week. I have no idea how to proceed from here. I believe this experience went way past offering choice seating or even a refund being a suitable compensation.

 

Please help

 

 

 

 

 

3 REPLIES 3

Re: 4/11/22 flight love field to buffali

parpitt1
Frequent Flyer A

Wow, you should contact SWA customer service via the link at the bottom of the page, this is community discussion page not customer service. 

I must ask why you would fly Southwest if you detest them so much since 2013? They are one of many airlines that fly to Dallas from Buffalo, some even non-stop including Frontier and American to name just two.

Safe travels in the future.

Re: 4/11/22 flight love field to buffali

Amame
Explorer C

When I called Southwest Customer service, I was advised to write a complaint to their email address. Which I did immediately after I disconnected with the customer service agent. After sending the detailed complaint, I received an automated message from southwest stating they would contact me in 10 days. Today is the 10th day since filing the complaint. I have yet to hear from Southwest besides their advertisements.

Re: 4/11/22 flight love field to buffali

DancingDavidE
Aviator A

Make sure in your correspondence that you are clear whether you were flying to Dallas Love Field (DAL) or Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) if someone is trying to look up your flights and can't find them it won't help them to validate your claims.

 


@Amame wrote:

 

Fast forward to 4/11/22. Again, having no choice, I booked round trip flights. (Buf to Dallas w a stop at midway) I had a flawless flight and was impressed we even got in early to DFW despite a full sold out plane.

 

The way back (DFW to BUF w a transfer at midway) was the complete opposite. The

 


 

Home airport MDW, frequent visitor to MCO to see the mouse.