Tag: baggage

challenges, travel

Days 5 – 7

2chicksandapen

On the road for New Year’s. Lacking so my of MY essentials thanks to Southwest’s incompetence. Now I’ve purchased some replacements, but not enough. I even feel guilty about what I bought for the interim but I’m not happy I’m in the situation I am in. Stacking receipts and visiting retail establishments post-holiday is on my least favorite list by a long shot.

My new underwear is in the suitcase. The kind I like. Now I have granny panties or cheap inferior ones. Why? Because I’m not sure Southwest will call my Victoria Secret panties essential. I rode the bike today at the gym. Why? Because I have a cheap sports bra on vs. my go to athletic brand that is on the pricey side but does the job for the thicker girls that might have more swing in their boobs. So again, I don’t have my stuff and I have no guidance from Southwest on what is considered essential or approved thanks to their vague website and mass issues at the moment. Thanks Target for the consumables. Your quality is high but not what is in my suitcase for comfy clothes. I just want my lulu leggings back asap.

How long is too long to be separated from your belongings? Your holiday gifts? Your favorite pants? Your medicine? My teen’s very expensive makeup bag? My shave bag with the expensive razor. I mean I love me a plastic razor but not permanently. The things that make you feel good in your own way each day have faded day by day. So far I’ve been really out of whack with this whole dilemma. People are calling and texting to see if I’m still Bagless. Yes, I am. When will you get it? Clearly I don’t know and neither does Southwest. Are they going to compensate you? I don’t know. Their efforts to communicate fall on the shitty customer service side for sure.

Next week is the new year. Kids go back to school. People need to work. Life goes back to fast-paced. I need a plan of action. I need to shit or get off the pot. Do I replace my bag contents and move on with life or do I wait an unspecified time for Southwest to take care of me, its customer? I think I need to do me and take care of myself because Southwest left me and others high and dry at the airport with no plan for days on end while they reset their system(s) and the shit pile of baggage that accumulated.

I wouldn’t be home if I didn’t book myself on another airline. I would be hungry if I didn’t pay my own way and find options as none were given. The saga continues. Where is my bag Southwest? Why don’t you have an app to track it? I can track my kids with an AirTag, why don’t you have updated technology that is similar? Heck my dog is even tracked.

Oh how I would love to see the Southwest president on that Undercover Boss show this week in every position in his company. He would probably crumble with what he saw. Heck, maybe that’s a novel idea. Sit in your employees’ shoes for a day and see the chaos. Experience the shit show in the front row.

Well, I made it to my destination #2. Just realized I don’t have pajamas. Yup, those are in my suitcase and I forgot to take a substitute. Just add that along with the favorite hair gel and face lotion that I can’t buy at the store, only special order. And yes I’m not using my favorite perfume either. Just an all around annoyance.

Now the question is will I get my suitcases in January of 2023? Will the contents have molded? How many people would have gone through my suitcase? Did any of the lotion bottles explode in the -15 degrees temperatures in Denver. When will Southwest answer my phone call? When will they send me a personalized email? When will my reimbursements be considered as I need to replenish a teen’s wardrobe before school starts. 

Leaving this post dazed and confused. That is really the only way to describe this mess of Southwest’s.

challenges, travel

Bagless Still

2chicksandapen

Here we are, day 4 no bags for me and day 6 for a companion traveling on a separate return flight. Their bag is located but not delivered. Both of us have second legs of our trip for New Year’s which causes quite the issue.

Day three was stressful. I had to find time to buy the toiletries that I needed for my trip and those things add up in cost. Not to mention my lack of clothes.  I haven’t been to the gym as my workout clothes are in the bag. Wore boots home so now I need sneakers. Oh those are in the bag too. It’s cold out, bummer jacket is in the bag too. You don’t realize what you miss until you don’t have it. A hair brush. A hair dryer. A tooth brush. Favorite perfume. Medicine. The list goes on and on.

Not sure my expectation on getting my suitcase in the next two days since I only managed to speak to one human who had no real live data. This is funny since I could flip over to Delta’s site and track my bag in real time. I guess I will invest in Apple AirTags for my next trip or when I have a suitcase to use again. 

I’ve tried in the early morning. I’ve tried mid day. I’ve tried late night and even in the middle of the night to reach customer service. One gets the following:

  • Fast busy signal
  • An automated attendant that disconnects you as soon as it offers you English or Spanish options
  • A lovely hold music that dies out after a while, then random dead silence, then the music cycles back and this repeats for close to 3 hours and then boom you get disconnected. So reassuring.

If you opt for the web version (see above), you fill out an intake form. The form notes if urgent relating to travel in 7 days call. You obviously can’t talk to a human because of the magnitude of this airline disaster and because of the list above. So I guess you have to wait 10 days for the corporate response. Well I wonder if that timeline will change with the influx of inquiries?

In the mean time I am out more cash to replace my essentials, clothes and to cover the cost of my own flight home since Southwest failed in a big way on their round trip ticket. Reminder no hotel voucher. No bottled water. No blankets. No suitcases. Zero service. I used to think Jet Blue and Spirit were at the bottom of the airline food chain but I think Southwest might have won an award for this shit show.

I just got this text just now. It looks like a canned update still providing no direction.

I did however file a baggage claim online but I had to do it one bag at a time vs. all four bags included in my one reservation. Another mild inconvenience but shows their software is behind the times. No confirmation number given for each entry for me to track the progress of. Just a refresh your screen message to enter again. Wonder if this is yet another dummy tool to give the facet they are making progress?

Will I see my suitcases again?

Will I get reimbursed for my expenses?

Will I ever fly Southwest again?

The bag saga will continue until I have resolution. Stay tuned. P.S. I’m traveling to my next destination by car with my bare essentials in a trash bag. Literally my only option. That’s style for sure. This process is exhausting and mentally draining to say the least.