I changed planes in Chicao and arrived in Minneapolis on Flight 685 at around 8:00 pm. My bag was missing. I filed a report with several other passengers whose bags were missing.
The next day United baggage called to say they had found my bag and would deliver it to me.
They delivered the WRONG BAG. Somehow the baggage personnel had mixed my tag up with another customer's and United delivered us each the other person's luggage.
None of this is outrageous. It can happen because we're human and we make mistakes.
A woman from UNITED BAGGAGE IN MINNEAPOLIS phoned me the next day (I think her name was Joni) and was extremely courteous and helpful. She tracked my bag down where it had been mistakenly delivered (Winona, WI) and told me that it would be on the next flight to Minneapolis and delivered early that evening. She said that I could not call her directly but could receive updates by calling United's toll-free baggage number - (800) 221-6903.
When the bag didn't arrive, I contacted United's toll-free bagage number. That's when the REAL PROBLEMS started. Over the course of the next 24 hours, I made at least a DOZEN CALLS and spent AT LEAST FIVE HOURS on the phone during the day and evening in an effort to recover my bag. The first person I spoke with apologized, said he would send a $100 travel voucher (which I haven't received), and told me my bag was in Minneapolis and would be delivered shortly.
My bag failed to arrive. The next person I spoke with said the bag was in Winona. The third person told me that it had been transferred to a Delta flight. At one point an agent even mentioned the possibility of Singapore. All of these people were well-meaning, but what I really needed was to speak with a baggage claim agent in Minneapolis where I had received the most up-to-date and helpful information the previous day.
Initially the toll-free people told me that I couldn't talk to the baggage service people in Minneapolis. I was persisten and they contacted the Minneapolis baggage department, and told me that an agent from there would call me back right away.
I waited for over an hour before calling again. This time they sent an EMERGENCY MESSAGE to the baggage department in Minneapolis, and again told me that an agent would call me "in the next few minutes." Each of these calls consumed close to an hour of my time. The agent didn't call.
The third time I insisted on speaking with a toll-free supervisor. He made every effor to help and remained on the phone with me for over an hour. He contaced United baggage in Minneapolis (I think he said the man's name was Chris) and told me "Chris" would call me back. I stayed on the line with the supervisor while we waited for the call to come through. We waited for over half an hour, most of which I spent on hold listening repeatedly to United theme music (which now makes me ill).
Finally, the supervisor (while I was on hold) called the Minneapolis baggage office again and spoke with a woman who said she would not call me back because it was "THEIR POLICY NOT TO SPEAK WITH A CUSTOMER UNTIL THE BAG WAS IN THEIR POSSESSION." Clearly this was a lie. I had received a courteous call from a woman at the United baggage claim office in Minneapolis the previous day, telling me that she had located my bag and that it was in Wisconsin. Also, I was told repeatedly by the toll-free agents that United agents in Minneapolis said that they would return my calls. I asked the toll-free supervisor to please call back and ask the woman's name. He did so, but she refused to give him her name. She was working on the evening of November 11th with a man who I believe is called Chris (who had previously said he would call me back but never did).
I thought it was outrageous that the woman at United baggage claim in Minneapolis refused to give her name to the supervisor at United's toll-free number. The supervisor agreed. He understood my frustration and even stated that, in his opinion, the woman in Minneapolis had lied about United policy.
The calls ended at around 11:30 pm. I was awoken by a call at 6:15 am from a United baggage agent in Minneapolis, cheerfully telling me that they had recovered my bag. They delivered it a few hours later.
Losing a bag for two days is a major inconvenience but, as I said before, mistakes can happen and they don't anger me. What upsets me beyond words are the hours upon hours of wasted time, and the aggravation of dealing with consistently innacurate information from toll-free agents, and the inept and rude behavior of United agents at the baggage claim department in Minneapolis. The only exception to this was the woman who phoned me from the Minneapolis baggage claim office the day after my bag was missing, and made a sincere effort to help resolve my problem.
I doubt that I'll ever see the promised $100 travel voucher, but even if I do it would not come close to compensating for this unpleasant and time-gobbling debacle.
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