This site exists only because of the airline's outright hostility toward its passengers and many of its employees.
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The following material includes letters I received
from various readers who were critical of the contents
of my web pages. A brief summary of
common criticisms is also available in the
FAQ.
For further background, be sure to read
the first critical letter we
receieved as well as its
almost identical copy.
Contents
All editor's comments are in colored italics
Premier Executive takes issue
I am not writing to defend United Airlines. I am a Premier Executive as
are many of those who complain on your pages. I have had both extremely
unpleasant and very pleasurable flights with United and accept that that is
the way of things in travel. I am writing however, to let you know
how I feel about your pages, you and this less than honorable means you are
using to press a
rediculous complaint.
I first ran across you page (actually it was only a letter then) last
year (I think) and remember thinking then that you were taking your
complaint to a rather ludicrous degree. I thought however, that the
situation was between you and United Airlines.
First, I agree, that using the web as a forum for voicing a complaint
is not an initial course of action I would recommend or endorse. I
also readily admit that my experience with United pales in comparison
to some of the others that are posted on my web pages (I state this
right on the main page). However, regardless of whether or not you
feel that my complaint was a ridiculous one, I hope you will agree that
if any passenger feels disserviced by an airline, and takes the time to
write an earnest letter of complaint, offering some suggestions for
improvement, then they deserve to have that letter read and taken
seriously. In my case, it was clear that after two attempts to elicit
a serious reply from United, the letter-writing approach had failed.
At that point, I felt that the public had a right to know about
United's attitude towards its customers.
I returned to you page while surfing today to see it had grown into a
much expanded forum. I have to admit that I wonder of the value of the
page. If, as you say United continues to ignore the complaints posted there
and you are having no impact on their service or profit margin, it would
seem that all this is rather pointless. Unless, of course, the reason
behind the page is to simply provide a pressure valve for travellers, in
which case I see some modicum of value to your "hobby" (your word I think.)
Obviously, I have no way to gage the impact of my web pages on United's
profits or service. However, the success of the Untied site in
attracting the attention of UAL management, as well as encouragement
from several UAL employees, urging me to continue the efforts, would
seem to indicate that there is a point. Even if UAL management does
not make efforts to improve, at the very least, the letters posted on
my web pages are read seriously by a number of UAL employees.
I would like however, to point out something I beleive to be disingenuous
on your part. While reading the exchange in "Criticisms" between you and a
United employee I read your story re the difference between the way you were
treated by United and by Sony. I thought, "Maybe he has a point?" Then I
ran across your address which is:
Dr. Jeremy R. Cooperstock
I do believe an ethics committee may rule that you have a vested interest
in making SONY look good. I am not accusing you of any impropriety here, I
am simply pointing out that there is an appearance of dingenuosness (is that
a word?) on your part.
I'm afraid that you may have missed the link to the full text of the
letter from which that excerpt was culled (please see http://www.untied.com/site/pilot.html).
I was responding to a United pilot's charge that "ONE THING I WOULD
NEVER DO IF I FOUND A CRAPPY PRODUCT FROM SONY WOULD BE TO PRINT A PAGE
ON THE NET DESCRIBING HOW BAD YOUR COMPANY IS." Throughout my web
pages, I make no effort to hide the fact that I am presently working
for Sony. Indeed, there is a link to my home page at Sony CSL at the
bottom of every page in the Untied site. Incidentally, I am only here
as a visiting researcher for one year.
One other point. Having re-read you original complaint and the "form
letter" (again your words) reply. I am now convinced that United apologized
appropriately for their misservices to you and your companion. I think the
offer of $200.00 voucher more than compensated for the relatively minor
inconvenience you experienced on your return flight from Hawaii.
The "voucher was a sufficient apology" argument just doesn't hold
water. Almost any letter of complaint written to the airlines
(yes, all of the major airlines engage in this practice) will receive
the same "compensation" in return. These vouchers are really little
more than an incentive to the letter writer to be a repeat customer,
urging them to spend thousands of dollars more on the airline to which
they were complaining. At any rate, in the case of our own travel
plans for the coming year, the vouchers were completely useless.
As to the
outward trip you described in which you blame United for delaying a flight
and not getting you on another, I believe you are not completely without
some culpability here. I any regard, there was no damage done to you, you
made your trip on schedule. You simply seem upset that you had to change
your travel plans to do so and think that United was less than helpful. I
can't tell you how many times that has happened to me, on United and on
other airlines. The solution is to pay attention and take some
responsibility for yourself not relying on the airlines to look out for you.
I'm curious as to how you reached this conclusion. A few lines later,
you imply that the solution is to take responsibility for yourself.
Once again, I hope you will agree that neither of the following
possibilities are reasonable expectations to place on travelers:
Naturally, travelers should take some initiative where appropriate,
but under these circumstances, failing to obey the instructions of
airline personnel, who are supposedly there because they have been
trained to do their jobs, is not going to solve any problems.
Reasonable people, with genuine motives and a willingness to compromise
can often find amicable solutions to any problem. You sir are overboard and
United is neither better nor worse than any other airline in the world.
I am certainly willing to compromise, and do not believe I have made
any unreasonable demands on United. I simply asked them for an apology
and they repeatedly refused. As for your assertion that United is
neither better nor worse than any other airline in the world, I am glad
that this is far from the truth. Domestically, United has one of the
worst records for safety, on-time performance, mishandled baggage, and
overall service (please see http://www.untied.com/ual/stats/).
Internationally, when one considers the performance of most European
and Southeast Asian airlines, United is a disgrace.
I hope I have addressed your concerns. If there is anything further
you wish to discuss, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Ridiculous, arrogant, uncooperative fools
My stepfather works for United. He's on his 31st year and like
many, many Americans really dislikes his job, but he works hard. He
has taken one sick day this year for the first time in several years.
I personally have flown 20 to 30 times in the last four years. Flying
this much gives us plenty of opportunity to learn the ropes and become
a seasoned traveller, but even more you see the way other people fly.
The majority of the people flying out there are ridiculous, arrogant,
unco-operative fools. There are people who refuse to sit down when
it's time to leave the gate because they don't like their seat. There
are people who check-in last minute because they don't realize the
rush hour traffic that is there every day is going to delay their trip
to the airport. There are people who are rude to the check-in agents,
the fight attendants and everyone else around them because they think
they are the only ones worthy of attention on a flight of at least a
hundred people.
The people who work at United are doing everything they can to make
the flights move as efficiently as possible. Please consider what
they're dealing with. Where I work, I deal with maybe 20 people at the
most and I can get very irritable compensating for their stupidity. If
I had to multiply the number of peop le I came in contact with by at
least five, and on top of that put it all in an airport or plane, I'd
go crazy. So before complaining about the service you receive from
United, step back and look at what you're doing.
Thanks for sending your comments to the Untied web site. I agree with
you that there are many less-than-polite travelers who make the jobs of
airline employees quite difficult, but I do not accept this as a
blanket excuse for the behaviour of United Airlines towards its
passengers, described in the stories I have posted from other readers.
If I have a bad day at work, I certainly would not use this as a
justification to be rude to others.
By the way, your characterization of the bulk of travelers as
"ridiculous, arrogant, unco-operative fools" is precisely how many
passengers feel they have been treated, undeservedly, by United. This
disdain for the source of UA's revenue, as reflected in such comments,
is still being demonstrated all too frequently. Interestingly, this
attitude is supposedly what Mr. Greenwald is trying to counter with
United's recent advertising campaign, with little evidence of real
change in company policy.
I note that United has many fine employees with highly professional
attitudes but unfortunately, the callous disregard shown by UA
management, customer relations, and a number of other employees toward
the public, tarnishes the reputation these fine people uphold.
Many of us are still waiting for apologies from the airline you proudly
support, after paying a lot of money and subsequently being
mistreated. One couple is still waiting for their lost luggage claim,
which they filed four times, to be acknowledged (see the "story of the
week"). If the rest of UA shared your stepfather's work ethic, these
situations would have all been quickly resolved, or in many cases,
never have occured at all.
Disgusted with business travelers
I have no complaint to register against United. I use their service
frequently, and have found them to be no better nor worse than the
other major carriers.
I would like to say that I am absolutely disgusted with business
travelers. I think they are the lowliest, rudest, most disgusting
subclass of humans in existence. You strike me as one of the most
bitter I have yet encountered, and this page is fairly typical of the
sort of low-level, unprofessional, and vindictive behavior I have come
to expect from them.
Really, these people think because they use the service a lot that they
are entitled to some treatment other than what the rest of us receive.
Their self-importance and lack of concern for anyone other than
themselves is appalling.
By the way, I have no connection with United. Good luck travelling
with Reno Air or Southwest, or whomever else you choose. I'm sure they
will treat you like the God you think you are.
Thanks for sending your comments to my "Untied" web site. I'm glad
to hear that you haven't had any of the unpleasant experiences such as
those that grace the various postings from other readers. You seem to
have some animosity toward business travelers, and that is certainly
your right. I should point out that over 90% of my own air travel is
not for business, but I don't think that your reason for flying should
influence the treatment you expect or receive from the airline. Also,
more than half of the complaint letters I receive from other former
United passengers are from those who were not travelling on business.
Thank you also for your kind wishes with respect to my future travels
on other airlines. I do not expect to be treated like a god when I
fly, but rather, to receive a basic level of service and be shown a
reasonable amount of respect that any paying passenger deserves. If
you read through some of the experiences of other United passengers,
you may find that this service and respect is often (as United now
admits in their own advertisements) sadly lacking.
Thank you for your response. I do have animosity toward business
travelers: I am one, and I am absolutely appalled at their attitude,
their arrogance, and their actions with regard to airline employees.
To me, they epitomize rudeness and self-importance.
Whether you recognize it or not, your site and sites like yours feed
this self-importance. Airline travel is difficult enough without the
added pressure of consumers "ganging up" on airlines. You are
catering to this "consumer is always correct" nonsense without
even realizing it. I have had complaints with United, but I have alerted
them and they have been accommodating. An overwhelming number of
my flights with them pass without incident and many of them are
downright enjoyable.
I think your complaint is with the deregulation of air travel. Taking away
the common carrier responsibility has resulted in planes that are
crowded, noisy, not as safe as they should be, and crammed to the
T's with business travelers who grind their teeth throughout the flight
because they couldn't upgraded to first class. Yet, it has been my
experience that this is consistent with every airline; that was my point.
Picking on the poor over-worked and under-appreciated United employee
because mistakes are being made is not an approach I endorse. Creating
an entire website to mock those same employees is, to me, inconsiderate
and uncivil.
First, I don't share your view that business travelers somehow
represent the worst of humanity. Throughout my own travels and
maintaining the Untied web site, I have encountered many polite and
modest business passengers, just as I have encountered rude and
arrogant holiday travelers, and, as I make clear on the "If you work
for United" page, just as I have corresponded with several competent
and professional United employees.
In response to your claim that my site "feed[s] this self-importance"
of business travelers, I note that apart from the occasional criticism
such as yours, the mail I receive from former United passengers does
not reflect self-importance, but rather a sense of frustration,
disappointment, and betrayal (especially from the "loyal" customers),
almost without exception. Interestingly, the few writers who display
rudeness and an attitude of self-importance tend to be those who take
exception to my web site, without having understood its origins and
purpose.
Allow me to address two misconceptions you seem to hold, while
clarifying my motivation for maintaining the Untied web site:
No, the consumer is not always correct. I receive many letters to
which my reply is along the lines of, "that wasn't United's fault." For
those passengers, I suspect I provide far more satisfactory feedback
than United's customer relations department, as I address their
concerns individually, and do so promptly. Keep in mind that I do this
as a hobby in my spare time.
No, my complaint is not with the deregulation of air travel. I believe
that companies should treat their customers with respect regardless of
the level of governmental control over the industry.
What I find entirely unacceptable, is that unlike your own positive
experiences, in which you "alerted them [of your complaint] and they
have been accommodating" some passengers who take the time to write an
earnest letter of complaint to United, offering suggestions for
improvement, receive an inappropriate form letter reply several months
later, or sometimes, no reply at all. In my own case, I had to send a
follow-up note to solicit a reply, and the form letter that finally
reached me two months later indicated that my complaint had not even
been read. I don't know what you think of such conduct, but even the
United employees with whom I have corresponded agree that this
treatment was completely unprofessional.
An honest mistake once in a while is quite understandable. However,
when "mistakes" are made with regular frequency, they become a problem
that warrants attention. In our own experience with United, we were
subjected to misinformation, incompetence, and rudeness on several
occasions both during our trip, and afterwards. What troubles me more
than the "mistakes" themselves, is United's consistent refusal to
address them constructively. Let's face it -- having a team of lawyers
send a threatening letter to the University of Toronto, urging them to
shut down my web page, is not an effective way to improve a company's
customer service. The entire history is of course documented at
www.untied.com/site/history.shtml.
The purpose of my web site is most certainly not to mock United
employees (please read the "if you work for United" section), but
rather, to provide:
The most recent "story of
the week" featured in my web pages is a perfect example of this
second point. I am presenting United with an opportunity to act
responsibly and reimburse these passengers for their lost baggage,
after three previous attempts through normal channels failed to elicit
anything more than a brush-off.
Regards,
Jeremy Cooperstock
Business traveler's problems get resolved
I think you guys have nothing else better to do. I am a frequent
business traveler - fly over 100,000 miles a year. I am only fly on
United. I do have to admit they do make mistakes sometimes, so do
other major airlines in this country. Whennever there is a problem, I
either ask to talk to a station manager or write to customer service.
My problems usually solve when I speak to station managers. Only few
times I couldn't resolve the problems with them, I wrote to United
customer service. I got reply in about 2 weeks and with a apology
letter and $200 travel voucher. I think you should have a section on
your web page for someone who have something good to say about United.
After all, like you said, it is a free speech country.
Thanks for your comments about United Airlines. I'm glad to hear
that you have had better luck getting your problems resolved than the
many posters on my web site. As I readily admit, other airlines have
problems too, and many passengers have enjoyable experiences flying
with United. However, a good deal of passengers have been treated
with utter disregard by UAL rather than being shown the same respect
as you were.
As for your suggestion about having a section for people who wish to
compliment United, I do have a "criticisms" page for people who take
exception to the contents of the Untied site. Of course, that is
really what the www.ual.com pages are
for. However, if United agrees to set up a section of their site for
people to post complaints, and makes efforts to resolve these in a
timely manner, then I would be happy to reciprocate. Yes, it is a
"free speech country," although United opted for
legal threats in an attempt to silence me,
rather than engage in a constructive dialogue.
Air travel has its ups and downs
Sounds like you have too much time on your hands. Air travel is not an
exact science as the public likes to think that planes should leave and
arrive exactly at the time specified. Do you write letters to the Dept of
Transportation if their is a traffic jam due to construction? The only
thing that i see happened to you on your flight was that the precious
wool dress has a crease in it other than that you went from point A to B
in a timely manner. Thats what you paid for air transportation. Don't
think it was anything else other than that.
Thanks for your letter.
In response to your points, I think you are making an overly strong
assumption about the expectations of "the public" with respect to
on-time flight schedules. While nobody enjoys waiting two hours for a
delayed departure, I suspect that just about anybody who has taken a
few flights in their life accepts such delays as an inherent
inconvenience associated with this form of travel.
However, to answer your criticism, I am afraid that you missed the
entire point of my web pages. While my initial letter to the airline
complained about their lack of coordination in rerouting passengers,
not announcing a critical flight delay in English, not being able to
satisfy seating reservations made weeks in advance, upgrading late
arrival and standby passengers over others who had already been
inconvienced, and mishandling of a garment bag, the web pages resulted
from United's lack of concern for customer relations in replying (or as
the case may be, *not replying*) to my letter. Since then, the many
other letters I received from other former United passengers (some of
them posted) indicated that rude treatment from United personnel is
in fact quite common. That rudeness is something for which we
certainly did not pay.
And hypothetically, if I were stuck in a traffic jam due to
construction and asked a road crew worker if there were any alternate
routes I could take, and he in turn punctured my car tire, yes, I would
probably write a letter to the department of transportation.
A United employee takes exception
Dear Mr. Cooperstock
I am an employ of United Airlines and I felt compelled to address your
concern with our customer service.
1) Yes, you were disserviced, however I can't believe that you would spend so
much of your time on the Internet bashing my company. As an employee owner I
take offense to your comments.
I'm sorry that you take offense to my comments. If you have some
suggestions as to how I could better elicit a satisfactory reply from
your company to my initial letter of June 13, 1996, please let me
know. Along with the dozens of other dissatisfied customers whose
letters I have posted on my web site, I would be very happy to find an
avenue by which to have my grievances addressed.
As I stated several times, I would be very happy to update both my
opinion of United Airlines as well as these Web pages, if your company
finds the time to apologize with something more than a form letter.
2) Have you never been inconvenienced by your local grocery store or one of
your utility companies or a credit card company or had bad service at a
restaurant or hotel? Why not have a sight to bash them as well??? Why are
singling out my company?
Of course I have received bad service from other companies.
The difference, as I explained in my
letter to one of your pilots is in the way these other companies
responded to a polite criticism of their poor service. I include the
relevant paragraph below:
... let me take this opportunity to illustrate a
significant difference in the treatment that Sony and United
Airlines show their respective customers. Approximately nine
years ago, I purchased a Sony walkman that, after half a year,
began exhibiting some audio problems in the right channel. I
brought in the unit for repair under warranty, but the problem
resurfaced shortly thereafter. After a second repair, I left
Canada to spend a year abroad, and again, the repair proved to
be insufficient. By now, however, the warranty period had
expired, and I was required to pay for the third repair.
Furthermore, because the required part was not in stock, I had
to wait an additional month before the unit was returned to me.
I wrote a letter to Sony, explaining my frustration, and not
only did they send me a prompt reply with a full reimbursement
for the repair, they also included an additional replacement
part in case it was ever needed in the future. While this
experience does not necessarily speak well of authorized Sony
repair centers, it says a great deal about the respect that the
company shows to its customers.
3) We posted record profits in 1996 and were voted as having the best mileage
plus program, the best trans Atlantic carrier and several other prestigious
awards. If we were so bad, I doubt that we would have been honored in this way.
Yes, I am aware of these awards. Other readers of my web pages, as
well as the many other passengers who have shared similar experiences
as the ones described, are no doubt incredulous that United continues
to earn enormous profits and be so honored. However, as the word
spreads of your company's callous disregard for its passengers, I
expect that either United's profits will drop, or your airline will
be forced to change its attitude.
4) Quite frankly, it's a shame that you waste your time being so negative
about this Mr. Cooperstock. Nothing is perfect in this life.
Quite true, nothing is perfect. However, I believe that there are
minimal standards of service that we are all entitled to expect when
spending several thousand dollars on air travel. Since it's relevant,
allow me to repeat a section from my reply to another individual:
Actually, I am in general a very happy person and have almost
always been satisfied with the service received during my air
travel. However, like most human beings, I tend to get upset
when people treat me rudely and then damage my personal
property.
[In reply to: "If you could channel your negative energy into
helping others this world would be a much better place."]
That is exactly what I am trying to do through these web pages.
After the lack of a serious reply to my two polite letters to
United, it soon became obvious that this airline had little
concern for its passengers. I have already heard from a good
many other passengers who are sorry that they didn't read my
web pages before choosing an airline. Those who did (like the
recent January 21 letter indicates) will hopefully enjoy a
pleasant flight rather than suffering.
I have been quite gratified to receive notes from other United
employees, stating that there is no excuse for the poor service we
received during our travels and agreeing that United's reply to our
letters was unsatisfactory. If you believe otherwise, that is
certainly your right.
False Assumptions Challenged
As a United employee I do appreciate reading criticisms of my company.
We cannot possibly improve if we cannot hear from our customers. I
do, however, feel obligated to respond to some of the completely false
assumptions many passengers make.
Thank you for your comments. Unfortunately, like the customer service representatives who
failed to read the letters we had sent them you too have completely
missed the points raised by the postings contained at the Untied site.
You may be addressing the assumptions that some passengers make, but
this is irrelevant to anything posted at my site. If UAL is serious
about improving, might I suggest that it starts by:
1. Other airlines do not experience delays.
It just happens to be that United's on-time performance is improving every
month. We happen to operate hubs in cities which tend to experience
a higher-share of air traffic control flow delays than other carriers.
This problem is esspecially tough on us at our SFO, LAX, and ORD...
Nowhere in my web site does anyone state that other airlines do not
experience delays. On the contrary, we acknowledge that United is
improving in this regard, but that it is still ranked poorly.
2. Safety
Safety at all times and in all things. It is our corporate moto and is
the most most important aspect of our company. Our pilot's receive the
best training the industry has the offer. Our Denver flight training
facility has more simulators and technological aids than any other...
While it may be your corporate motto, the FAA-compiled statistics do
not support any assertion that United is doing well compared to the
other airlines. Please read the Prospective
Passengers page.
3. We cancel flight for loads.
Three weeks before your scheduled flight we decide which specific
aircraft will fly the route. The decision is based on maintenance and
other schedules. When we cancel a flight it puts this very detailed
plan in limbo and costs us much more than the canceled flight. To put
it short, we do not cancel flights for poor flight loads...
Once again, this information is very interesting, but your simple
denial of the problem seems to be untrue. Although you may wish me to
believe that Mr.
Austin is lying in his description of the conversations he had with
both a UAL gate agent and supervisor, given United's track record
in this regard, I see no reason to doubt his account.
4. Mileage Plus
Mileage Plus is one of the most generous frequent flier-programs in the
industry. Just look at our enrollment numbers and you will see that it
is also the most popular. Upgrades are a perk that we enjoy...
Nowhere in my web site does anyone question the enrollment numbers or
the quality of your Mileage Plus program. The issues dealt with under
"Premier Class and Frequent Flyer" are
the proposed reductions to the award structure, the remaining
"economy-comfort" seats in business class, various incidences of
passengers denied their upgrade seat, and general rudeness and
incompetence the frequent flyers have been shown.
5. Uncomfortable seating.
United is replacing every seat on every plane. Fly on one of our new
A319's, A320's or 777's and in all classes of service we offer a new
type of seat. We are the only airline to have adjustable
...
For the passenger of flight 863, we are installing new connoissuer
class seat on all of our wide-body aircraft with lumbar supports and
new leg rests. We have one of the largest fleets, so the change will
take a few months.
Until the change is completed, what is United doing for those
passengers, such as your
Mileage Plus customer 00131-899-696, who paid business class fare on
flight 862 (not 863) and was treated to an experience that would
be considered substandard in economy? At any rate, I think many more
passengers would agree that a cosmetic makeover of your planes is less
important than an accompanying improvement in your attitude towards
customers.
Note: Since then, this matter has been resolved. Of course, many
other problems remain outstanding.
In closing, please understand that we do not intentionally try to
frustrate travelers. I will never make an excuse for a rude
employee-because there is no excuse. Yet, I feel that this page is
full of stories written on false assumtions. United is Rising to meet
your expectations and the changes will not happen overnight...
Although some readers have reported the existence of a deliberate
effort to frustrate travelers (on the part of flight attendants who are
trying to force management to the bargaining table), this remains an
unsupported claim for now. More to the point, though, you feel that
the stories reported on my web site are based on "false assumptions"
but have done nothing to correct these, beyond dishing out more of the
tired, UAL company line. Please read what
your pilots have to say about the new hollow ad campaign vs. paying
attention to the criticisms leveled against your company in my web
pages.
Regards,
from: Lanny Roff
Fri, 27 Jun 1997 12:44:14 +0000
Sony Computer Science Laboratory
Takanawa Muse Building 3F
3-14-13 Higashi-Gotanda, Shinagawa-ku
Tokyo, 141, Japan
Sat, 21 Jun 1997 14:03:52 -0400
Fri, 6 Jun 1997 18:48:54 -0400
from: Marty Trujillo of Westminster, CA
Maintainer, Untied web site
Thu, 29 May 1997 22:36:31 -0400
from: Tom of San Francisco
Thu, 20 Mar 1997 08:51:14 -0800
Sat, 1 Mar 1997 09:37:16 -0500 (EST)
July 23, 1997
Although you have avoided addressing any of the serious issues raised
in my web site, preferring instead to deny that UAL could be at fault,
allow me to reply to your points, very briefly:
Jeremy Cooperstock
Maintainer, Untied web site