Past 72 Hrs of a Bad #CustomerExperience - Important reminder: The US Airways® debit card program is being discontinued - They Just aren't going to tell you WHEN!!!!!

Remember getting this BoA email a few days ago?

This is a reminder that we are discontinuing our debit card program with US Airways as of September 30, 2012. You can continue to use your card and earn Dividend Miles®1 until that time. You will receive your new Bank of America debit card in August.2 Be sure to activate it when you receive it. Activating your new debit card will not affect your ability to use your US Airways Debit Card through September 30 to continue to earn Dividend Miles. After September 30, only your new Bank of America debit card will work.

Well check your cards folks... BoA has started de-activating cards ahead of schedule "accidentally" and they cannot turn them back on. So needless to say, the last 72 hours, when I have all my bills on autopay with my BoA card, is a nightmare... because I dont even have my new card yet...... This is just bad, but at least the service representative in the #cctr offered that when I have to call to get my payment information updated, that I could Three-way BoA, and they can tell them it wasn't my fault.... another day... another poorly executed program roll out in the world of #custserv

FUBAR – When Duct Tape and WD40 are not Enough - An open letter to US AIRWAYS

FUBAR – When Duct Tape and WD40 are not Enough

An open letter to US AIRWAYS

RE:  US Airways June 13, 2012 Flight 430

There comes a point when a plane is beyond gate repair, and this flight was one of those occasions. 

This was a flight from Philadelphia to Las Vegas - On this plane for over 5 hours. 

Never mind that when I was trying to buy up to my preferred status during the scheduling process, there was no "grace period";

Never mind that the flight was delayed on my first segment;

Never mind that FLT430 was delayed because of mechanical reasons;

Never mind that in an effort to be transparent, the pilot scared the passengers, we had to let terrified people off the plane, and I had to sit next to a panic stricken woman holding her hand because she thought the engine, that had been worked on while we were on the plane, might fail while we were in the air;

Never mind that the bathroom in first class was inoperable. 

THERE WAS NO RUNNING WATER ON THE PLANE, AND THE PREVIOUS CREW KNEW IT. 

The Big IF…..

·         If the flight had been shorter

·         if we did not have to sit on the plane while they tried to fix the engine

·         if it hadn't have been a full flight

I may have been able to manage through the situation.  However, it was the longest most UNSANITARY conditions that I have ever experienced on flight in the developed world.  My boyfriend, who was traveling with me, a Captain in the Marine Corp, said it was the worst flight conditions he had ever experienced, and he fought in Iraq during Enduring Freedom. 

The reason why this is inexcusable is that US Air had every opportunity to change out the equipment, but in an effort to get that plane in the air, at any cost, US Air failed to provide a safe environment INSIDE the plane for the passengers.   I was totally disgusted, and unfortunately disappointed with US Air, and was further disgusted that there was no back up plan for the plane for this process, to ensure sanitary travel conditions in the event of water failure, like wet wipes. 

BUT WHAT IS TRUELY INEXCUSABLE IS THAT THIS UNSANITARY TRAVEL CONDITION ON A LONG FULL FLIGHT WAS TOTALLY AVOIDABLE. 

US Air had previous knowledge that the plane had no working water, and since we were stuck at the gate, and then on the tarmac, while they were trying to manually start the 2nd engine, the plane instead should have been swapped out, and at the very least, some wet wipes given to the flight attendants to put in the facilities.  

This is not the customer experience that I have come to expect from US Airways.  But I want to make one thing very clear, sometimes, a silo-ed approach to the cost analysis to swap out a plane, is not a good process to continue in the future.  The health and welfare of your passengers should always in your decision process.  Please advise of what will be the process improvement plan for this use case, as well as how US Airways is planning to compensate the passengers for failing to provide the minimum standard of care.

Tanya Anne Callaway

Modern Day Castrato – Today’s GOP Men

Modern Day Castrato – Today’s GOP Men

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. – I Corinthians 13:1

For a while I have been silent, as I have watched so many things that were great vision become muddied and sad in the execution.  I have had a growing number of sleepless nights, and with a heavy heart, I write this plea to my fellow conservatives and moderates in the GOP. 

I am an American.  I am a born again Christian since I was child.  I have been a Republican as long as I can remember.  I am a fiscal conservative.  A Reagan Alumni.  I was one of the small group of people who were on the first Tea Party conference call.  So I want to be clear, that I am not speaking against any fellow Republican, but against the current temperature in the political atmosphere.

…and I am a woman...

I since I was very young studied opera, as a coloratura soprano, and the only way I hope I can break through to change to the dialogue is to provide an analogy that maybe the men can understand.   The way that the men are behaving as it relates to Women’s issues, is as if they would rather castrate themselves, to play a role that God, has no intention of them playing… The role of a woman.

By trying to be the voice of the conservative women, and having no compassion or charity, our men voices have become irritatingly high pitched and as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.  We have already abandoned the Reagan rule of 80%, and speaking ill of our fellow Republicans.  Now we attempt to castrate ourselves by speaking on behalf of women?  Let us not forget the 5W’s – When Women Work We Win.

We stand for FREEDOM.  Freedom to make a decision, Freedom to speak.  We even have the freedom to be an ignorant idiot.

But what I like most about America, is that we have the FREEDOM to SUCCEED and to WIN.

I don’t know about you, but I want to win in 2012.  So can we please put down the scalpels, and stop castrating ourselves and our mission?

You know we women know how to sing our own parts…. Can women have the freedom to be our own voice?

You men, modern day castrati, are singing in the wrong key!