Bad_Service Wank.
Here is what happens when you cause a scene in an airport and brag about it on the intarnets.

Bad airline service and a little revenge.
This happened a while back, but someone recently poked at me to share it with you all. I generally get great service, so when faced with corportate stupidity get pissed, then resentful, then even.

(background)
Northwest Airlines was cancelling half of their flights due to a mechanics strike and wouldn't honor my free ticket when the strike was going on. A new ticket would cost more than $400 and I couldn't afford that at the time of this posting (heh, still can't, yay for grad student-dom!). I looked for cheaper flights, but with the strike on, everyone was jacking prices out of Minneapolis.

Ursula v/s the Volcano
-or-

How I Managed to Stop Worrying and Screw Up an Entire Airport.




I posted explaining that I wasn't going to be going to the convention and my friend Kiren suggested that Delta might be able to redeem my free ticket. So, I fired up the ridgerunner and puttered out in the smudgy late summer rain to the airport with renewed hope. Half an hour later I was told by a concerned Delta counter worker that there was no reason why I should have been turned down by Northwest, strike or no strike, and that I should go talk to their ticketing agents.

Shoulders squared, I found the end of the Northwest ticket line and sat there for forty-five minutes. The older gentleman at the desk took one look at the ticket coupon, one look at me, and then looked at the coupon again. His whiny voice intoned like a mosquito death knell, "Sorry, we don't have any free seats available right now, you're going to have to try again later."

I'd had it. Twenty dollars of gas and an hour fifteen minutes of screaming children and mocaccino slurping t'hell phone (ab)users to be told 'sorry'? I knew that he wasn't sorry, but he was going to be. I widened my stance, crossed my arms, and fixed my eyes on his receeding hairline. "No."

"No?", he said genuinely puzzled, "What do you mean, 'no'?"

"I mean no. I won't try again later." Here was where inspiration struck. I've had quite a bit of voice training and began to inflict stage projection on the deskworm with worried overtones and outraged undertones. "Are all the flights canceled because of the strike? What am I going to do? Is everyone going to have to stay in Minneapolis because there are no seats? Is it unsafe to fly Northwest right now? Should I buy a ticket at another airline?"

After three minutes of this, the desired effect took place. Whispers ran through the already nervous mob of ticket holders and the crowds began to panic. A huge line formed behind me. People left the check in line to flag down TSA agents, worrying about the saftey of Northwest and if there had been a terror alert, and why was everyone leaving the lines, and what should they do?

The deskslug began to sweat openly and called for a supervisor. My ticket was issued and I will be attending the convention.

Ursula +1 Deskworms -3

Go team.

So far, most people think she's a raging bitch, but she has her supporters. Three pages of comments, at this posting.

It's been carried over to customers_suck. Because, well, she's a sucky customer.