August 29, 2ØØ9<br />
<br />
Mr. Jeff Smisek, President and CEO<br />
Continental Airlines Inc.<br />
16ØØ Smith St. – HQS<br />
Houston, TX 77ØØ2<br />
<br />
Dear Mr. Smisek, <br />
<br />
This was originally submitted via continental.com on Sat., Aug 22, 2ØØ9. On Fri., Aug 28, 2ØØ9, I called Customer Care to ensure that my email had been received. I gave my One Pass number to the lady on the phone and she was able to check and verify that there was no record yet of receiving my email. She explained that due to the recent furlough, Continental lost 25 Customer Care agents, and that it is taking 3 to 4 weeks to review emails. I am not too sure this is information that a consumer wants to hear. She asked me to tell her what had happened. Her name was Carre Bates (Houston). She assigned me Cust Care ID 41759ØØ. After going through my ordeal, she proceeded to thank me for my time. I asked her what would happen next. She informed me that was all. The information would be forwarded to a monthly report and the case was closed.<br />
<br />
I called back later in the day to verify that my information was taken and spoke with Angela Evans (Houston). She assured me that the report (41759ØØ) was filed and closed. She proceeded to give me a new ID, 4176133, which she also closed during this call. My experience with her was a little “more pleasant” than with Ms. Bates, but not by much. I was informed about the loss of 25 Customer Care agents, which has caused a delay in responding to service failures. Again, from a dissatisfied consumer point of view, this is irrelevant. <br />
I just wanted to share my Continental experience. All in all, it is still hard to believe that given consumer choices and the state of the economy that such poor customer service exists in this <br />
market.<br />
<br />
Aug 15, 2ØØ9, SAT-IAH (CO 178) - No problems<br />
<br />
Aug 15, 2ØØ9, IAH-CUN (CO 1464) - The flight arrived as scheduled at 3:3Ø pm. However, my bag did not. Tracer CUNCO45841 was opened. Cancun baggage agents entered my bag claim number and advised me that my bag was not scanned into the system. No telling where it may be. My bag was finally delivered to Tulum 9 hrs later. Everything was explained to me about baggage tracing. But, I had to practically beg for an amenity kit. Airport personnel seemed a little "bothered" by the fact that the upstairs offices were closed and they had to find the key and then had to search for an amenity kit. It almost seems that this simple act was a bother to them.<br />
<br />
<br />
Aug 21, 2ØØ9, CUN-IAH (CO465) - No problems<br />
<br />
Aug 21, 2ØØ9, IAH-SAT (CO1779) - The nightmare begins. The flight was delayed over 4 hrs. First we were told due to weather, then to crew rest. Complete chaos. Gate agents had no idea what was going on. No reassurance -- kept being told to sit and wait. Gate agents appeared to be "winging it". Gate agents told pax to go to other gates for flights to SAT and see if able to board stand-by. Pax were told they were bringing "carts" (snacks/drinks) to the gate. The carts never came! Flight CO1779 eventually cancelled around 1Ø:ØØ p.m., even though flights had already resumed. Hell broke loose! Gate agents clueless. I kept being told to go to different gates to waitlist for other flights to SAT (which were also delayed). Once I got to the different gates, those gate agents were most unhelpful. I was told I should have gone to the airport Customer Service Centers for resolution, and not directly to the gate. Keep in mind; I know I was not the only pax affected by this. But ALL pax were told the same thing--to go to the "new gates" and standby for the next flight. Everyone appeared to be passing the buck and no one wanted to take ownership of the situation. The rudeness of the gate agents during this chaotic/stressful situation was quite blatant. I would think that airport personnel have received better customer service training on how to deal with this type of situation seeing as how it is becoming more frequent these days with delays/cancellations and overbookings. This is not an isolated incident. Each time I connect through IAH, I notice that CO employees are not the most helpful. Most IAH employees I have encountered seem to take their job as more of a "chore".<br />
<br />
Not once, was I offered a coupon for even a bag of chips or something to drink. I was at wits end. I went back to one of the Cust Srvc Centers and then it happened...ANA YAKAMOTO (Team Leader)...what a blessing! She never faltered or was "short" with any of the customers. When I got up to the counter, of course she was already aware of the situation and worked ever so diligently to seek resolution to the problems. The same time she took with other pax, she took with me. She finally got me a confirmed seat on one of the last flights to SAT on an aircraft that was going to leave (CO245Ø). Of course, I made it to SAT after midnight, but again my bag did not. I checked with the two young ladies who were working as baggage agents (LISA BYRD and ANA GONZALES) in the baggage claim area that night and again my bag was not scanned into the system. I was informed that my bag should arrive on next flight from IAH-SAT, which would be around 1:ØØ a.m. My bag did arrive and I do understand the delay given the situation with flights from IAH on 8/21. Lisa and Ana handled this situation very professionally and courteously…true professionals.<br />
I know I do not travel enough to truly be of any significant value to Continental, but this experience is making me re-evaluate my choice of airlines. Continental has always been by choice of carrier for travel to family and friends in Mexico and Central America, but after the extreme poor leadership and lack of concern for pax comfort at IAH, I will think twice. Funny thing is, my travel companion flew AA from CUN to DFW and encountered delays as well, but upon speaking about our experiences, he stated that yes, it was chaotic as well at DFW, but AA personnel handled it efficiently and professionally (I am only taking his word for his experience). <br />
The only positive and professional personnel I encountered during this trip were Ana Yakamoto, Lisa Byrd, and Ana Gonzales. Please pass my sincere appreciation to them and afford these ladies the recognition they so well deserve.<br />
<br />
I would kindly appreciate a response from Continental. Ana Yakamoto, Lisa Byrd, and Ana Gonzales cannot do it alone, but again what a blessing to have dealt with them. It was the proverbial finding "a needle in a haystack", but these 3 service professionals alone cannot remedy the comedy of errors that I encountered on this trip.<br />
Thank you.<br />
<br />
James A. Trevino<br />
San Antonio TX 78212<br />
<br />
<br />
cc: Bill Meehan, VP Airport Services<br />
Fernie Lopez, Airport Services Corporate Officer

E*tickets 0052179231162, 0052179231163, 0052179231164, with a confirmation number of A5ZG7T.
The points you need to consider what Continental’s compensation for this travel disaster are:
1. The weather may have been a delay factor on the East coast for a short time on August 2nd. It did not affect the rest of the country. I was in contact with family and friends, multiple other cities including St. Louis had no weather issues per the internet.
2. Lack of planning/scheduling on the part Continental not having pilots and crew are not the passenger’s fault.
3. Abrasive customer service, flight cancellation, & Continental’s complete unprofessionalism caused immeasurable stress. Your company acted in bad faith.
4. After our six hour drive to St. Louis August 3rd from Kansas City we were told by a Continental staff person Jeff, when we picked up our luggage in St. Louis, the delays were due to someone trying to bring bomb making items on board at LaGuardia. So this confirmed that we had been lied to in Newark and proved accommodations should have been provided. He wholeheartedly agreed and told us to write a letter.
5. Your company is responsible discrimination of the elderly. Cost of 2 hotel rooms, cost for fuel of the drive from St. Louis to Kansas City and back. As, well as the loss of my birthday on August 2nd would all be your responsibility.

That is the way that Continental conducst business. You complain, you have a valid complaint, and they snub.
You file a lawsuit, they hit you with high priced lawyers. Their tactic is to stall, stall, stall. They would rather
spend $10, 000 defending a case that could be settled for $500.

In my opinion, they also have some of the worst flight attendants in the sky. Again, in my opinion, one of the
worst ones is Annette LaDuke. I believe she is senior and flies the long hauls. She is rude, crude, demanding,
and cheap. BTW, she doesn't pay her bills either, ask anyone that knows her.

I could go on, and on, but what's the point. Continental doesn't care.

The response to my stolen ipod was that it is not covered under their policy. When I called they said I could always try taking them to court. The specifics below:

On June 20, 2009 I arrived at the airport in Los Cabos to take Continental flight 1453 to Houston. When I arrived at the Continental check in desk, the agent asked to check my bags. I set my 2 bags on the table and the agent inspected the bags, zipped them back up and then handed them to another agent who was standing behind her. The agent took my bags and walked me to the check in kiosk. While I was using the kiosk the agent took both bags behind the counter and put both of my bags on the conveyor belt to be loaded on the plane and told me that there would be a $25 charge for the second bag. I quickly told him that the small bag was a carryon and that I did not want it loaded on the plane. The agent said that because it had already been inspected that it could not be carried on. I then told him that if I could not carryon the bag that I would need to get several items out of the bag. The agent told me that because the bag had already been inspected and now behind the counter that I could not remove or add any items. I tried to explain to him that there must be a misunderstanding and that I was ok if the bag could not be carried on but that I really needed to remove several valuable items. He apologized for the confusion but said that there was nothing he could do once the bag was inspected and now behind the counter.
When I arrived in Houston I immediately inspected the bag after removing it from the baggage claim carrousel and discovered that my iPod touch was missing.

I would have never packed any valuable items in luggage that was not a carryon. I had no choice in this matter and was not allowed any opportunity to remove any valuable items. There was obviously a big misunderstanding between myself and the Continental agent in Los Cabos.

On December 20, 2008, at 12:13 PM, I received notification from Continental Airlines, that my flight CO529, confirmation AGHMGV, due to leave Denver International Airport (DIA) at 6:25 PM for Newark International Airport, had been canceled. I was due to fly with my wife and son, to join our three daughters who had flown earlier, to New Jersey to spend Christmas with family. I was told that there were no flights until December 23. I immediately purchased three one way tickets on Frontier Airlines, at a cost of $1, 705.50 for the three of us. While we were in flight to New Jersey, at approximately 7:00 PM, Continental called my phone to tell me that flight CO 529 was reinstated and it would leave around 10:30 PM on December 20, 2008. Of course I did not recieve that message until I landed in Newark, and that was too late to be of any use to us and it was past the scheduled departure time of the canceled flight.

Tonight, January 21, 2009, I called Continental airlines, to get them to pay for my Frontier tickets, and they refused, but did offer to refund the unused portion of my original ticket, which should amount to about $538.50, which leaves me out $1, 167.00 for this event which was 100% the fault of Continental. Obviously someone was very hasty in canceling the flight in the first place. I hope that you can help me get Continental to pay for their error.

Ironically, my Frontier flight was right behind Continental Airlines flight 1404, which crashed and burned right in front of us at DIA. So I was not the only one to get burned by Continental Airlines that night.