Wild Goose Chase, Then Premature Closing Left This Weary Traveler Unimpressed

United Club

O’Hare International Airport – Concourse F

Chicago, IL 60666

Web: United.com

My experiences with United Airlines are hit-and-miss, occasionally brilliant, but more often than not disappointing.

 

After being told by the agent at the United luggage transfer desk in Terminal 5 that my connecting flight would leave from “Terminal 1, Concourse C”, I made the mistake of believing him, finding out once there that it was actually leaving from Terminal 2, Concourse F, a 30-minute walk away. By the time I finally found my gate, I was not a happy camper, so I decided to waste one of my two United Club passes I get each year on their Chicago O’Hare (Concourse F) facility. 

 

With two hours before my departure just a few gates away, I asked the woman at reception what time they closed and was told “10pm, giving me a little less than two hours before I had to board my plane. Tired after nearly 20 hours of travel and 30 minutes of unnecessary walking, I decided to use my last pass and what a mistake that was!

 

What little food there was available (olives, hummus, pita chips, cheese cubes and Skittles) was mostly depleted at 8:15 when I arrived. An hour after I arrived and 45 minutes before their scheduled closing they started putting food and alcohol away as I was told “last call” by the bartender. Seeing little reason to stick around during the commotion and chaos of employees eagerly preparing to flea work, I decided to leave.

 

I asked the women at the front desk why the employees were shutting everything down well before closing time and with several customers still in the club, but was told “they want to go home”. I said, “yes, but you told me they were open until 10pm and it is only 9:15”. One of the women said, “you can make a complaint on the website if you aren’t happy”.

 

The only reason they get two stars is because of the free booze (well drinks, bottled beer, and wine), the place was clean, and the employees relatively friendly (a rarity in Chicago O’Hare).

 

CombatCritic Gives United Club (O’Hare – Concourse F) 3 Bombs Out Of 10 … More Bombs Are Better!

Read This Review And More On Yelp!

Title: Wild Goose Chase, Then Premature Closing Left This Weary Traveler Unimpressed

Key Words: United Airlines, United, airlines, airline, fly, airplane, United Club, club, Chicago, O’Hare, airport, terminal, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, food, definitive, review, guide

Reliable, Affordable, Professional Lawrence (Kansas) To Kansas City Airport Shuttle

SDM Transportation 
P.O. Box 3783 
Lawrence,  KS   66046
Email: reservation@sdmtransportationks.com
Web: sdmtransportationks.com
Phone: 785-979-2428
Fax: 785-371-4024

Hours: Hours based on availability, primarily evening, nights, early mornings, weekends, holidays and all day Thursday services.

 

I found SDM Transportation on a University of Kansas (KU) Questions and Answers page when my friend bailed on a promised ride home from the airport a week before my arrival. They had several options available, but arriving late at night (midnight) left me few options except for a dedicated vehicle. The few I contacted wanted $100 to $125 for a midnight ride from Kansas City International Airport to Lawrence, Kansas. Shannon, SDM’s owner and sole driver, came back with a very fair quote of $65. Sold!

 

Shannon was very professional and responsive from the start, quickly confirming availability and pricing, then sending me a reservation confirmation in an email. On the day of my arrival, he even sent me a photo of the vehicle and information about where we would meet, leaving nothing to chance.

 

When I arrived, he was outside the arrivals baggage claim doors as promised, helping me to put my bags in the car even though he is disabled with Cerebral Palsy (his disability does not effect his driving, he is an excellent and very safe driver). Shannon gave me a brief overview of his business to put me at ease and we spent the next 50 minutes chatting as we made our way to Lawrence. He helped me with my bags when we arrived and he even waited until I found my keys and opened the front door before leaving.

 

If you want reliable, friendly, professional, and cost-effective transportation to and from Kansas City Airport and surrounds, then Shannon should be your first choice. The only drawbacks being his schedule and the size of the vehicle. He works full-time at another job and has no other employees, so his availability is limited to Thursdays and nights only. The vehicle, a Hyundai hybrid, is large, new, and comfortable, but it has a rather small trunk and seats four comfortably, making it a challenge to fit more than two riders and a bag or two each in the car. I also recommend that you contact him as early as possible if you want to ensure that he is available.

 

CombatCritic Gives SDM Transportation 9 Bombs Out Of 10 … More Bombs Are Better!

 

 

Title: Reliable, Affordable, Professional Lawrence (Kansas) To Kansas City Airport Shuttle

Key Words: SDM Transportation, SDM, transportation, Lawrence, Kansas, airport, MCI, Kansas City, international, shuttle, Shannon, McCoy, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, food, definitive, review

* Photos courtesy of SDMTransportationKS.com

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Copyright 2011-2015 – CombatCritic and 3rd Wave Media Group, LLC – All Rights Reserved

JustFly.com Offers A Good Price, But Little Else

JustFly.com

I was taken to JustFly.com’s website after searching Kayak, United, Delta, and Lufthansa extensively for fares on an upcoming overseas trip. I was hesitant at first being a unfamiliar website, but I decided to give them a try with the following reservations, pun intended …

First, people need more information before paying for a reservation, like applicable baggage fees (not just a disclaimer saying “the airline MAY require baggage fees”), to make an informed decision. JustFly does not provide actual fees, only the disclaimer. Fortunately, having flown Lufthansa many times in the past, the carrier for the trip, I knew that the first bag (up to 50 pounds) was free, making the decision a bit easier.

Second, JustFly does not provide a way to enter frequent flyer account information either before or after purchase.  I assumed that once registered with their site, I would be able to update my profile with the data, but that was not the case. The only information available for editing on their website are name and email address, no seat or meal preferences, home airport, passport information, or anything else for that matter. The ability to enter frequent flyer and other pertinent personal information once would save customers a lot of time later and help ensure they return to make future purchases.

The only plus was that their price and itinerary were better than I could find even on Lufthansa.com, therefore …

CombatCritic Gives JustFly.com 4 Bombs Out Of 10 … More Bombs Are Better!

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Title: JustFly.com Offers A Good Price, But Little Else

Key Words: JustFly, just, fly, airfare, airline, travel, fare, reservation, trip, website, frequent, flyer, miles, value, TravelValue, CombatCritic, critic

United Airlines: We Don’t Care (Sometimes), We Don’t Have To (But, Maybe We Want To) … I’m Confused!

United Airlines, Inc.

77 W Wacker Dr

Chicago, IL 60601

b/t Lower Wacker Dr & Michigan Ave in The Loop

united.com

 

I do not usually write reviews so many weeks or months after the fact, but being in India for four months where Yelp did not yet exist, I felt compelled to add my two cents.

My first two of three United flights to Delhi were both two hours late and I had to rush through Frankfurt Airport to catch my final flight after already spending close to 20 hours traveling (with 7+ yet to go). I somehow made it!

However, when I recently checked my mileage balance on United.com, my final leg still had not been added to my balance, requiring me to submit a request that still has not been answered.

Airlines in general, and United in particular, just do not care about customer service because they do not have to. They know that most of us will probably purchase the cheapest fare, so it will only be a matter of time before we return even if their service is pitiful, which it usually is … rude check-in and gate agents, aggressive flight attendants, and poor on-time departure/arrival record … they should change their motto to: “United Airlines,We Don’t Care, We Don’t Have To”

As my India trip neared its end, I have to say that United came through with flying colors. 

When one of my wife’s return flights in mid-January was rescheduled, leaving her a 30 minute layover to clear immigration/customs, re-check her bag, and get to the next gate (IMPOSSIBLE), we contacted United and were quickly dismissed … “sorry”! But when we got our travel insurance company involved, they were able to change her flights and get her home in time to attend a meeting at work the following morning.

The saga continued …

I received a call in early February, three weeks prior to my scheduled departure, informing me that my 84-year old mother had been hospitalized and was not doing well.  I contacted my travel insurance company (Allianz Global Assistance/AGA Service Company /Jefferson Insurance Company) thinking that they would be as professional as my wife’s, but after 12+ hours of being ignored (on their 24/7 Hotline), I contacted United reservations in New Delhi.  They were not extremely helpful, but when I was finally transferred to an American employee, she was outstanding.  She quickly found me a flight two days later (i had to get from Southern India to Delhi the next day) and WAIVED THE $300 CHANGE FEE … without even asking.  I was able to get home to see my mother and spend a couple days of quality time before she passed away on 2/12/2015. At that point I was much happier with United.

and continued …

Then, just three weeks after my mother passed, my wife received word that her father had suddenly died in Naples, Italy where he and her mom live. I logged-in to my United account to search for “bereavement fares”, but even though a link appeared in the search results, there was no such information on their website. It turned out that United discontinued their bereavement fares at some point in the recent past. When I called United Customer Care, a deceiving term, I was connected with their offshore “care” center in Manilla, Phillippines where I was quoted $4000 for a single ticket … $1600 more than the cheapest fare available on Kayak.com and $2350 more than we eventually paid Delta airlines. Thanks for your compassion United!

I had been prepared to give United 6, 7, even 8, Bombs (3 to 4 stars) because of the recent positive experiences detailed above, but finding out post de facto that 15,000 of the 20,000 miles from the US to India and back I paid dearly for were not eligible for frequent flyer credits (K Class) and the $4000 quote for a last-minute bereavement fare changed my mind. So, I will now have to downgrade my previous ratings …

CombatCritic Gives United Airlines 3 Out Of 10 Bombs With Room To Grow Or Recede Further … More Bombs Are Better!

 

 

Read More Reviews By CombatCritic, Including United Airlines, On Yelp And TripAdvisor Along With Many Other Reviews And More!

Title: United Airlines: We Don’t Care (Sometimes), We Don’t Have To (But, Maybe We Want To) … I’m Confused!

 

Key Words: United Airlines, United, Airlines, air, plane, airplane, travel, airport, flight, reservation, agent, customer, service, CombatCritic, TravelValue, Yelp, value

 

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CombatCritic Q&A: Dehradun Airport to Rishakesh (Transportation)

Dehradun to Rishakesh
29 November 2014, 15:59

Hi,

Can someone tell me the best way to get to Rishikesh from Dehradun airport & approximately cost? Is it easy to share rides?

I’m arriving approx 7pm.

Thanks in advance,

Josie, Melbourne, Australia



Re: Dehradun to Rishakesh
15 December 2014, 09:38

Josie,

I took a bus from Dehradun to Rishikesh just two days ago for 50 rupees that stopped at the airport on the way. Pay 700 rupees to the taxi touts giving advice if you like, but there are other much more reasonable options if price is a concern. 

I’ll be posting (free and objective) reviews on my blog http://www.CombatCritic.com if interested. 

Good luck!

Chris S.
aka CombatCritic

Re: Dehradun to Rishakesh
December 15, 13:32

Since Jollygrant Airport is on the way from Dehradun to Rishikesh, Uttrakhand Roadways has mandated that all buses going from Dehradun to Rishikesh or vice versa has to pass through the airport. So yes ! Bus a cheaper option, but you’ll have to wait for a bus….

K_Yogi, New Delhi


Re: Dehradun to Rishakesh
December 15, 14:33

The trip of OP is already over. He had hired a pre-paid cab at rs. 700/-.

CarLink, Mumbai

Re: Dehradun to Rishakesh
December 15, 17:40

Yes ! I saw that…

But the thread might be read by other people….

K_Yogi, New Delhi



Re: Dehradun to Rishakesh
December 16, 09:04

K_Yogi,

It’s nice to see someone interested in the benefit of the traveler posting honest information and not touting their or friend’s businesses. THANK YOU!

BTW, I’ll be in Dehli next week and have some questions about travel. How can I contact you?

CombatCritic, Lawrence, KS

Follow CombatCritic On Yelp (An Elite ’14/’15 Member) And  TripAdvisor (“Top Contributor”) Where You Can Read His Latest Reviews, Try His Favorite Recipes, And More!

Key Words: asana, ashram, ashrams, bus, buses, cab, CombatCritic. TravelValue, Dehradun, dehredun, Ganga, Ganges, India, meditation, rishakesh, Rishikesh, river, taxi, transportation, yoga,