Delta customer service?

I just booked flights on Delta two weeks and received an email that they'd switched our 2pm flight to a 7am flight. While we can technically make a 7am flight, I'd had a more pleasant end to our 2 week vacation in mind.

I've been on hold for over an hour and a half with Delta. I'm not kidding, an hour and a half.

Anyone have any advice? They have to switch us to a flight, right? Is there any other way to reach them? Do I keep holding? I just called the main customer service number, and asked for service on my existing flight.

I'm so frustrated right now I want to scream. I work in customer service and can't make personal phone calls during the day. I don't know if there is a better time to call. I've never experienced this type of hold time with any company any time in my life, so I don't quite know what to think. Is this normal? Is there something going on in the airline world that I'm not aware of? Superstorm? Terrorist attack?

Whatever the case, I'm pretty sure I will never do business with Delta ever again.

I just booked flights on Delta two weeks and received an email that they'd switched our 2pm flight to a 7am flight. While we can technically make a 7am flight, I'd had a more pleasant end to our 2 week vacation in mind.

 

I've been on hold for over an hour and a half with Delta. I'm not kidding, an hour and a half.

 

Anyone have any advice? They have to switch us to a flight, right? Is there any other way to reach them? Do I keep holding? I just called the main customer service number, and asked for service on my existing flight.

 

I'm so frustrated right now I want to scream. I work in customer service and can't make personal phone calls during the day. I don't know if there is a better time to call. I've never experienced this type of hold time with any company any time in my life, so I don't quite know what to think. Is this normal? Is there something going on in the airline world that I'm not aware of? Superstorm? Terrorist attack?

 

Whatever the case, I'm pretty sure I will never do business with Delta ever again.

If the matter isn't urgent, (i.e. has to be resolved today) I'd simply hang up and call another time. As for whether they HAVE to switch you to another flight, a schedule change of 7 hours most likely means you will have the option of being switched to another flight or getting a refund. What is the itinerary you booked and what have they changed it to?

All is well that ends well!

It was our outbound flight out of Venice that was changed due to a schedule change on the last leg of the original flight, Detroit to Des Moines. Our ship, Celebrity Silhouette, overnights in Venice 6/14, so I suppose 7am is possible but it would really be a drag to disembark at 4am. I don't really know what the disembarkation process is like when the ship overnights port but didn't want to worry about disembarkation then a 7am flight, I'm sure I'd be up all night worrying!

So after 1hr 52 minutes on hold, they tried to charge me $400 to change flights but I nicely talked them out of any extra charges. Now instead of a nice relaxing disembarkation with a 2pm flght home, we'll spend one night on the ship and another at a hotel. Arrive home Sunday night and to work Monday morning but hey we get more time in Venice so it will all be worth it, right!?

Thank you for listening to me whine! That really was a stressful time on hold but it is over andd done and I HOPE I won't need to call them again!

It is not just Delta. I had long hold times with USAir too. But that is one main reason I use a travel agent. When I have these or other issues they are much more accessible.

A few suggestions to reduce (or avoid) long, long holds:

- Yesterday there were major weather disruptions to airports and flights. That's the worst time to call...thousands need to rebook their upcoming flights or worse yet, are stranded somewhere. The message about "experiencing unusual call volume" is really true during bad weather. Wait a day or two and leave the phone lines open for people who urgently need assistance. It would be nice if the airlines put a temporary message explaining this and suggesting calling another day.

- Go online. I don't know that much about Delta and what can be done online and what requires a phone call.

- Call at "odd hours". Here on the West Coast I wait until 10 or 11pm and call volume is low from the rest of the US. On the East Coast, 5 or 6am works for the opposite reason.

Hope this helps

All is well that ends well!

 

It was our outbound flight out of Venice that was changed due to a schedule change on the last leg of the original flight, Detroit to Des Moines. Our ship, Celebrity Silhouette, overnights in Venice 6/14, so I suppose 7am is possible but it would really be a drag to disembark at 4am. I don't really know what the disembarkation process is like when the ship overnights port but didn't want to worry about disembarkation then a 7am flight, I'm sure I'd be up all night worrying!

 

So after 1hr 52 minutes on hold, they tried to charge me $400 to change flights but I nicely talked them out of any extra charges. Now instead of a nice relaxing disembarkation with a 2pm flght home, we'll spend one night on the ship and another at a hotel. Arrive home Sunday night and to work Monday morning but hey we get more time in Venice so it will all be worth it, right!?

 

Thank you for listening to me whine! That really was a stressful time on hold but it is over andd done and I HOPE I won't need to call them again!

So are you saying you changed to a 7am flight but a day later? Not sure where the $400 they quoted you comes from. Delta's usual change fee for international flights is $250pp, which would be $500 if there are 2 of you, and when the change is necessitated by THEIR schedule change, the fees should be waived; not sure why they initially asked you to pay, but glad it worked out in the end.

A few suggestions to reduce (or avoid) long, long holds:

 

- Yesterday there were major weather disruptions to airports and flights. That's the worst time to call...thousands need to rebook their upcoming flights or worse yet, are stranded somewhere. The message about "experiencing unusual call volume" is really true during bad weather. Wait a day or two and leave the phone lines open for people who urgently need assistance. It would be nice if the airlines put a temporary message explaining this and suggesting calling another day.

 

- Go online. I don't know that much about Delta and what can be done online and what requires a phone call.

 

- Call at "odd hours". Here on the West Coast I wait until 10 or 11pm and call volume is low from the rest of the US. On the East Coast, 5 or 6am works for the opposite reason.

 

Hope this helps

Use Delta frequently & with change of flights on their part, they do require you to call to make the change. Can't speak for international flights, but "regular" if change is more than an hour there is no fee to change flight to something that's more feasible to you. Glad it worked out for this original poster.

A few suggestions to reduce (or avoid) long, long holds:

 

- Yesterday there were major weather disruptions to airports and flights. That's the worst time to call...thousands need to rebook their upcoming flights or worse yet, are stranded somewhere. The message about "experiencing unusual call volume" is really true during bad weather. Wait a day or two and leave the phone lines open for people who urgently need assistance. It would be nice if the airlines put a temporary message explaining this and suggesting calling another day.

 

- Go online. I don't know that much about Delta and what can be done online and what requires a phone call.

 

- Call at "odd hours". Here on the West Coast I wait until 10 or 11pm and call volume is low from the rest of the US. On the East Coast, 5 or 6am works for the opposite reason.

 

Hope this helps

Yes, thank you, good common sense advice!

We originally booked a 2pm flight with a total duration of 15 hours, and short layovers, and paid extra for what I consder a reasonable schedule for a return trip. We live in Iowa so we don't have decent flight options like those of you in larger metropolitin areas, all options have 2 layovers. On our original date flight options were either insanely early had very long layovers and total trip duration, as much as 4 hours total longer than the flight we originally booked. So I asked to be rebooked on a 10am flight the next day because that particular itinerary had short layovers like our original flight, and for that schedule I was quoted the $400. One segment of the flight we requested was Air France - I don't know if that had anything to do with the requested upcharge, or if it was the fact that I asked for a different day? We are a group of 7, so $400 is pretty random. I asked for that charge to be waived however and they did so, but I was surprised that they asked. Whatever the case, I was very happy that the schedule change was satisfactorily resolved.

On our original date flight options were either insanely early had very long layovers and total trip duration, as much as 4 hours total longer than the flight we originally booked. So I asked to be rebooked on a 10am flight the next day because that particular itinerary had short layovers like our original flight, and for that schedule I was quoted the $400. One segment of the flight we requested was Air France - I don't know if that had anything to do with the requested upcharge, or if it was the fact that I asked for a different day? We are a group of 7, so $400 is pretty random. I asked for that charge to be waived however and they did so, but I was surprised that they asked.

Ok, maybe the $400 was a $250 change fee + $150 fare difference? Given that THEY changed the schedule I'm surprised they asked you to pay as well, but maybe you had a new agent, or the agent didn't initially realize you were calling about a change THEY initiated. Again though, glad it worked out.

Ok, maybe the $400 was a $250 change fee + $150 fare difference? Given that THEY changed the schedule I'm surprised they asked you to pay as well, but maybe you had a new agent, or the agent didn't initially realize you were calling about a change THEY initiated. Again though, glad it worked out.

But it sounds like the $400 is the TOTAL amount quoted for the change, not per person. So that isn't it.

We stayed an extra night in Venice after a cruise and booked the Marriott near the airport for that night to be close for an am. flight. It was less than a hotel in the city and there was a bus that picked up right outside the Marriott that dropped us near the train station. We spent all day in Venice and then took the bus back to the Marriott.We saved a lot of money on the hotel and did not have to worry about making the flight.