Miami Airport: where customer service goes to die

Miami Airport: where customer service goes to die

79

I’ll keep it short, since this story is still developing. I flew from Dallas to Miami this morning, and as the flight attendant was serving drinks she drenches my MacBook Air with orange juice. I mean drenches. She was pretty apologetic about it and at first I thought it was no big deal. She brought me lots of towels and I spent a few minutes drying my MacBook Air. For a short while everything looked okay, though as soon as I turned it on I noticed the keyboard didn’t work. Crap. That’s one of the downsides of the MacBook Air — I don’t think you can remove the keys, so when something like this happens you’re more or less hosed.

After a few minutes the computer also stopped turning on. I mentioned this to the flight attendant and she said she’d file a report. I requested that they have someone meet the flight regarding the issue, and she assured me she’d have the captain send a message to Miami for someone to meet the flight. A few minutes later another flight attendant came by my seat to apologize and said “to be honest this is Miami, so I really wouldn’t count on anyone actually showing up.” Yes, that has indeed been my experience with American at Miami — service is awful.

We land and sure enough there’s no one there to meet us. Not only that, but there’s no gate agent in sight. After waiting for about 15 minutes a gate agent shows up though is entirely clueless as to the situation. I explain it to her and she says to go to baggage claim to file a report. She was apathetic and clearly had no desire to help me.  Fortunately (or so I thought) a supervisor showed up to handle a different issue. As it turns out he wasn’t much help either. He said the same thing, and looked at me as if I was nuts when I suggested someone was supposed to meet the flight. Before leaving I wanted to have something in writing documenting the situation. Once the crew disembarked the flight attendant that spilled the drink on my laptop documented the incident on the computer and gave me a case number.

I went to baggage claim and they told me that wasn’t their responsibility and to go to aa.com and file a complaint with customer relations.

That seems a bit ridiculous given that we’re not talking about a complaint or minor service issue, but a seriously busted laptop.

Anyway, mark this as “developing.” I’ll keep you guys updated as to what happens. In the meantime, my apologies for being slow to respond to emails, since I’m more or less without a computer till tomorrow night.

And that leaves me exactly where I started — with a broken laptop and no resolution.

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  1. Gumnaam Guest

    what happened to this one.....I having sitting at the edge of my seat (not really)...but still good to know

  2. Mike Guest

    i don't work for these people, nor do I get a ref feral (i.e your credit card sign ups), but you may want to give this a shot. This one is based in NYC

    http://www.tekserve.com/service/spill.php

  3. beachfan Diamond

    The reason it's DYKWIA is that almost no experienced flyer would have an expectation that someone would be met by staff at the gate, absent an injury or medical reason. They just don't have staff available for that.

    Let me phrase it another way; has anyone had someone meet them on request at the gate to deal with a property damage claim?

  4. hello Guest

    ya, so cus service in Miami stinks.... but then again nobody really makes any money except the dumb rich people and fools that come to visit but best of all the boys and the girls are hot with attitude to match so wtf live it up, relax plenty of germans have learned to just visit the beaches they are full of relaxed germans and other euro-trash so live it up a little and lighten up OK!

  5. kcre Guest

    Why would anyone consider this DYKWIA? A flight attendant clumsily breaks a thousand dollar machine, apologizes and mentions that a claim can be filed, but that the MIA ground staff is terrible. Lucky asks if someone from the airline can be brought to the gate so he can get the proper forms filed. Who wouldn't do this? You just want to leave the gate, show up somewhere with no documentation and a broken laptop, and...

    Why would anyone consider this DYKWIA? A flight attendant clumsily breaks a thousand dollar machine, apologizes and mentions that a claim can be filed, but that the MIA ground staff is terrible. Lucky asks if someone from the airline can be brought to the gate so he can get the proper forms filed. Who wouldn't do this? You just want to leave the gate, show up somewhere with no documentation and a broken laptop, and hope the random employee working has sympathy? Seems easier just to have someone high up enough to handle claims actually handle the claim with the flight crew ASAP.

    Indeed, I'm surprised, especially in first, that the senior FA didn't get the paperwork handled while still onboard the flight.

  6. Andrew B OMAAT

    @MustBeBlind:
    I guess I should have been more precise in my attempt to reassure Lucky, since one thing I've learned from reading this blog is that commenters can be pretty picky.

    The FA admitted that she spilled the drink, and she apologized for it. Unless the apology was something to the effect of "I'm sorry you're upset about that drink you spilled on yourself," the fact that she does not appear to be...

    @MustBeBlind:
    I guess I should have been more precise in my attempt to reassure Lucky, since one thing I've learned from reading this blog is that commenters can be pretty picky.

    The FA admitted that she spilled the drink, and she apologized for it. Unless the apology was something to the effect of "I'm sorry you're upset about that drink you spilled on yourself," the fact that she does not appear to be disputing the fact that the drink was within her domain at the time it spilled should help tremendously. Contrast that with a situation where there is a factual dispute as to whether the glass was being handled by the passenger or the crew member at the time of the spill. Hopefully that is clearer!

  7. AMRivlin Guest

    Lucky keep us updated.

    I can say: I had orange juiced poured into half of a MacBook Pro keyboard, the keys pop off and you can clean them in a non abrassive solution. Youtube has a good training area. If the computer is fried, yuck. Let us know how it goes.

  8. MustBeBlind Guest

    "The FA admitted fault, which should help tremendously."

    Lucky never said anything of the sort was mentioned. And what is "fault" exactly? There's no denying she spilled the drink. If the drink is on my tray and some bumps cause it to spill on my laptop, is the Captain at "fault"?

  9. Andrew B OMAAT

    I actually think you handled it great. There are plenty of people who would have freaked out and started screaming/causing a scene. The best thing is to keep your cool and try to get them to handle the situation, which you did. The FA admitted fault, which should help tremendously.

    My guess is that this will be a hassle to resolve, but it will get resolved.

  10. beachfan Diamond

    Very sympathetic and I believe AA definitely owes you compensation.

    As far as requesting to be met at the gate, I'm +1 on the DYKWIA aspect of it.

    Isn't there an incident report they can file and give you the number of? That's what would happen if a passenger got injured by an attendant.

  11. adjtravel Guest

    When beverage or food service starts, I put away any important papers and electronics away from the seatback tray as I know I might have to pass along a glass of juice or a tray of food, or an accident might happen in sch a smal cramped space. I love your blog lucky, but this time I feel you brought it on yourself.

  12. Paul Guest

    There is a reason people stay with United!!

  13. Duncan Alexander Guest

    Lucky,
    I love your blogs but it's always the comments that do my head in. As part of most English classes "comprehension" makes up 33% of the total score writing it and speaking it more or less the other 66%. Obviously that is no longer taught in America? Some years ago a privately owned IT company in the states (Delaware based filthy rich, new money, DYKWIA (I had to Google this)) harassed me to...

    Lucky,
    I love your blogs but it's always the comments that do my head in. As part of most English classes "comprehension" makes up 33% of the total score writing it and speaking it more or less the other 66%. Obviously that is no longer taught in America? Some years ago a privately owned IT company in the states (Delaware based filthy rich, new money, DYKWIA (I had to Google this)) harassed me to do there HR because the staff they were getting were AFW over lunch with the owner, I explained this wasn't what I enjoy doing for a living as a PA, however I would write all their "Employment Situations" advertisements even for outside agencies etc.. So there IT all email? Each advertisement included "a handwritten cover note" the average for 80 positions over the last 2 years including a CFO, who could comprehend a written instruction is just under 2%. I was appalled but he has been ecstatic by the quality of the applicants he has interviewed since I became his copy writer. I used to get emails from the HR company about it being inefficient to receive resumes by mail, in fact the still don't get it! DYKWIA there is a difference between this and those who are, if you use this phrase then you are not and if you are you are taught to keep your mouth shut and buy the F*&^ company and "sack em" DYKWIA tend to put things on credit cards and those who are get accounts at the end of the month. As a FF you knew the procedure and followed it, the company failed to follow it's own procedure's, due diligence. I have read some of your blogs in the past where people claim things like this to be a union issue but purely and simply it's a management issue. Any wonder they are under Chapter 11. I still find that something in writing (by snail mail) gets the best results rather than email, especially these days, what your personal stationery isn't watermarked DYKWIA!

  14. AAExPlat Guest

    Another vote for DYKWIA. And this isn't the only post that screams DYKWIA as of late. Various tweets paint the same basic attitude. Nothing that a dose of real life experience won't fix in due course...

  15. Simon Guest

    Lucky, good for you. The 'DYKWIA' monkeys are just agitated because they've never been quite good at figuring out how to use the tools they have at their disposal. Proactive resourcefulness FTW.

  16. mark New Member

    MIA has, in my experience some of the rudest and most unhelpful staff - especially in their lounges oddly!

  17. Mike Guest

    Yep - this is exactly what I've experienced at MIA, too. Even Eagle is better than mainline there...

  18. al613 Guest

    Do you finally miss UA? :)))

  19. LarryInNYC Guest

    Can't speak to AA's service (and don't want to get involved in the DYKWIA fight).

    But _Apple_ has excellent service and you should probably contact them immediately to find out what to do (and not do) with the laptop if you hope to get it working again, or even to rescue the SSD unit.

  20. brahms77 Guest

    I see that both sides have valid argument. However, I don't think anything that lucky did was DYKWIA-type claim. If any of you were in lucky's shoes, I am sure you'd be posting a similar 'complaint' here or on flyertalk or any other travel forum about your experiences and ask for 'advice.'

    Indeed, lucky will probably get 'better' compensation (or perhaps not!) package than most of us, but that's probably because he made an...

    I see that both sides have valid argument. However, I don't think anything that lucky did was DYKWIA-type claim. If any of you were in lucky's shoes, I am sure you'd be posting a similar 'complaint' here or on flyertalk or any other travel forum about your experiences and ask for 'advice.'

    Indeed, lucky will probably get 'better' compensation (or perhaps not!) package than most of us, but that's probably because he made an effort to be one of the more recognized travel blogger. He's done a pretty good job here and the type of service responses he gets from the industry is an equation of his work and knowledge that has helped others who read his blogs. To me, most of lucky's 'tips' are not new, but I enjoy reading his trip reports and other insights about the programs. I am sure most you have benefited in some way from lucky's blog.

    True, at times, I find some of lucky's posts to reflect DYKWIA type of attitude, but part the way I feel about his posts probably has to do with me being 'zealous' for all the experiences that lucky gets to enjoy.

    At the end of the day, if you are not happy with what you see in his blog, you have the choice to not write nor visit his blog. Part of his popularity and industry recognition comes from his blog viewers. So, believe it or not, all of us (both those who are nice or hostile to lucky) are supporting what lucky is doing, how lucky gets treated by the travel industry. So, I think it's time to move on with this DYKWIA type of argument back and forth and see if lucky gets a response from AA and whether or not he can report to suggest how an average Joe can deal with similar issues when flying AA (or other airline).

  21. mike Guest

    Lucky needs to sing a song, "AA and OJ".
    AA has always had a problem with OJ

    Cue
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O045XYWdEVA

    Careful what you wish for.

  22. AS Guest

    It is virtually a given that using the visibility of this blog and blog post, that you will get compensated. But I doubt that would have been the case if you didn't publicly attack AA for this incident.

    I bet AA - or anyone - would treat you very differently (worse) if you didn't post your complaints to the blog and use the publicity to your advantage.

    I think it would be very instructive to...

    It is virtually a given that using the visibility of this blog and blog post, that you will get compensated. But I doubt that would have been the case if you didn't publicly attack AA for this incident.

    I bet AA - or anyone - would treat you very differently (worse) if you didn't post your complaints to the blog and use the publicity to your advantage.

    I think it would be very instructive to see how AA handles a different, and hopefully less serious, incident, where you engage the same communication channels (customer service agents, twitter, corporate etc.) but did NOT post on it to use the publicity of this blog to shame AA into action.

  23. michael Guest

    I think there is a fine line here that needs to be distinguished. Lucky is one of the premier bloggers on the net and so obviously will receive special treatment over the Joe Schmo's of the world but what is wrong with that? Celebrities never pay for anything. Athletes are treated like Gods. It's the way the world works.

    The counter to this is that Lucky provides his readers, free of charge, very useful...

    I think there is a fine line here that needs to be distinguished. Lucky is one of the premier bloggers on the net and so obviously will receive special treatment over the Joe Schmo's of the world but what is wrong with that? Celebrities never pay for anything. Athletes are treated like Gods. It's the way the world works.

    The counter to this is that Lucky provides his readers, free of charge, very useful information that, oftentimes, is not found anywhere else (I refer to his "How to book" series at Travelsort). This valuable information more than offsets the occasional superb service and perks he receives from hotel (suite upgrades) and airline (upgrades, etc) social media's who want to stay in his good grace. It's a win-win as far as I'm concerned.

  24. lucky OMAAT

    @ Michael -- None of our Aman stays were
    comped. We received a travel agent rate which I had no part in. So the "perks" I got were as a result of being friends with a travel agent and not due to being a blogger.

  25. mike Guest

    Try dunking it in rice...

    I totally agree with Mark. I have stayed at an Aman Resort, and NO MY STAY WAS NOT COMPED. Lucky gets perks the general public cannot get.

    I'm guessing Lucky will get a new laptop. He may have to bitch to get it. LOL. Are you sorry you left UA(CO)?

  26. mark Guest

    @phil - When you say: "Enjoy all the extra comp you’ll get out of it because they want to squish out the online fire!" Bingo. Lucky will get better treatment than any Joe because he is a travel blogger. No one should think they will get the same treatment.

  27. ricardo Guest

    Sorry to read about this. MIA is TERRIBLE in every sense of the word. Good luck if you checked bags; at least 30min wait. I once waited over an hour for my "priority bag" after flying in from BCN via JFK = not fun.

    I hope you purchased your mac with your amex card.

    Keep us posted how AA handles this; after being plat with AA for the past 6 years and continually receiving bad service, I've been tempted to fly out of FLL and switch to continental (united). Thoughts?

  28. Dax Guest

    I'm guessing that AA will pay up, if for no other reason than to keep things kosher on the travel blog circuit while they're busy restructuring. The rest of us would probably be stuck with small claims court or a credit card warranty or renters insurance or the like. Interesting story to follow anyway.

  29. cbkcc1 Guest

    MIA has been a terrible place for years.
    whether that is why this particular issue has blown up is beyond me.
    never ever ever turn electronics on when they are wet. let them dry, try the rice trick etc.
    the issue with an air is that many components are soldered on and opening it up is very difficult. and you cannot remove the battery which is what one should do immediately after...

    MIA has been a terrible place for years.
    whether that is why this particular issue has blown up is beyond me.
    never ever ever turn electronics on when they are wet. let them dry, try the rice trick etc.
    the issue with an air is that many components are soldered on and opening it up is very difficult. and you cannot remove the battery which is what one should do immediately after it gets wet. worse being it was juice, sticky/sugary and such.
    hopefully AA will take care of this as they should.
    maybe you will get an upgrade as well. fyi, squaretrade has accidental coverage as well and they have 30% off coupons floating around usually.

  30. John Guest

    This happened to me a few years ago; AA is indeed liable, and they will probably pay up quickly. It'll be a pretty simple procedure.

    In any case, THIS is something to complain about, Lucky. Those "rude and lazy" flight attendants that bothered you so much the other day might be less irritating than "clumsy but nice".

  31. Phil Guest

    I give a modicum of credit to the fact that you may not have had a reference number on board the plane. But you did have all the details you'd need for customer service (name of FA, date/time/flight number etc)

    I quote: "I requested that they have someone meet the flight regarding the issue". This is total DYKWIA. Sorry. Maybe you think otherwise but IMHO this is comical

    It does raise an interesting legal point...

    I give a modicum of credit to the fact that you may not have had a reference number on board the plane. But you did have all the details you'd need for customer service (name of FA, date/time/flight number etc)

    I quote: "I requested that they have someone meet the flight regarding the issue". This is total DYKWIA. Sorry. Maybe you think otherwise but IMHO this is comical

    It does raise an interesting legal point regarding liability. As has been said by myself and others, you will be taken care of just dandy anyway as the PR firm will make sure of that. Let us know how many miles and eVIPs you get on top of your money for the laptop and paint it as "great customer service" :) But I am curious what the standard is. Back in the old days worst that would happen is the OJ would have gone on some guys suit and AA would offer to pay the dry cleaning bill. I am pretty sure under the contract of carriage though you basically go on at your own risk. I've not even remotely looked into it but would bet there is no obligation on them to do anything

    And to the point about if this happened with some random stranger... all I know is if I accidentally bumped my OJ on someones laptop and it broke as a result... hell I'd apologize and do my best to help up but unless anyone can point to some law I am breaking ain't no way in hell am I paying them for it. They can go file on their travel insurance and when they ask for mine I will just laugh and say I don't carry any. Last time I checked there is no legal requirement to carry third party liability insurance a la driving. You could try suing me, if you could find my details.

  32. Sean Guest

    Lucky, sorry for your misfortune with your Macbook Air. Thanks for posting this as it gives the rest of us a great how to guide for these types of situations. I'll be really interested to see what AA ends up doing.

    Thanks!
    Sean

  33. JL Guest

    Lucky: What's surprising to me is that you're surprised by this response by AA. This is not an issue unique to AA, or to Miami. I sound like I'm whining, but I don't mean to -- to the average traveler, it's just a fact of life that airline customer service leaves quite a bit to be desired.

    How many of us have been given a similar runaround when an airline has lost our bags, or...

    Lucky: What's surprising to me is that you're surprised by this response by AA. This is not an issue unique to AA, or to Miami. I sound like I'm whining, but I don't mean to -- to the average traveler, it's just a fact of life that airline customer service leaves quite a bit to be desired.

    How many of us have been given a similar runaround when an airline has lost our bags, or when we've missed a connection through no fault of our own? This probably happens less to you than it does to some of us, since you are a savvy traveler who can see trouble coming, you rarely check bags, travel solo, and have few work or family obligations, leaving you a very flexible schedule. Not to mention you are a top-level elite, so you no doubt get treated a little better (on average) than those of us without status.

    This situation is not so different from someone having their checked bags damaged by the airline. If I picked up my bag at baggage claim and discovered that my laptop inside had been smashed, I wouldn't expect someone to immediately come to me and remedy the situation. I'd expect to have to wait in line with all the other schmucks with lost or damaged bags. It would suck, and it'd definitely be nicer to have someone just come meet me and fix the problem right there, but that's just not realistic.

  34. GMAB Guest

    "To the critics of lucky posting here, I think we should all realize that he is just trying to get proper documentation and ensure that the damaged laptop will be fixed."

    As one of said critics, my question is whether or not AA is responsible to fix the laptop or pay for its fixing? I (perhaps wrongly) assumed that they were well within their rights to tell a customer in such a situation to go...

    "To the critics of lucky posting here, I think we should all realize that he is just trying to get proper documentation and ensure that the damaged laptop will be fixed."

    As one of said critics, my question is whether or not AA is responsible to fix the laptop or pay for its fixing? I (perhaps wrongly) assumed that they were well within their rights to tell a customer in such a situation to go pound sand. (Whether or not it is good business sense is an entirely different matter).

    If they are indeed under some type of obligation to remedy the situation, then yes, there should be a clear process of filing an official claim and incident report.

    If not, then I don't see why the inability file an incident report on-location and immediately is so critical. A report filed ex post facto would be just as good.

  35. hobo13 Guest

    Bah, it's a MacBook. Not worth crying over.... now if it was my Dell, I'd be pissed!

    bwahahaha. Let the flames begin!

  36. Aaron Guest

    Pax should not be directed to baggage claim area in order to file a claim. Whether pax is met at plane or not, an AA rep should be available in the sterile area. Heading to baggage claim means having to leave secure area, which may not have been practical for someone on a tight connection (as surely this was a mileage run).

  37. chitownflyer Guest

    To the critics of lucky posting here, I think we should all realize that he is just trying to get proper documentation and ensure that the damaged laptop will be fixed. I also do not think AA has a very good procedure for handling this: it should be a clear and easy process to get a claim.

    @lucky, how does United handle these types of incidents?

  38. dnspade Guest

    wrt the macbook air, STOP turning it on until you have had the chance to clean and dry the unit internally. The circuitry is exposed, so current, plus moisture, plus electrolytes (anything other than water) will promote corrosion and arc circuits, which will blow your components. At a minimum you are looking at $755 for a depot overhaul, add $249 for a new keyboard assembly, $455 for a main board and $400 if you need...

    wrt the macbook air, STOP turning it on until you have had the chance to clean and dry the unit internally. The circuitry is exposed, so current, plus moisture, plus electrolytes (anything other than water) will promote corrosion and arc circuits, which will blow your components. At a minimum you are looking at $755 for a depot overhaul, add $249 for a new keyboard assembly, $455 for a main board and $400 if you need to replace your memory module (equivalent to Hard Drive). Hopefully you have been using time machine as a backup.

    Not a geek, just have spilled water on mine a couple of weeks ago and went to the Apple Store and did the research. Not under warranty and the insides are basically four components (battery, motherboard, keyboard/top case, and solid state drive)...none of which are cheap. Likely AA will need to purchase you a new one.

  39. gobluetwo Guest

    1) Wow, why the hostility? The FAs told him the flight would be met, so that's a reasonable expectation. If I were a nobody and the cabin crew couldn't help me, I'd expect someone at the gate to be available to help me, also. I would NOT just go on my merry way assuming someone had filed some sort of incident report without confirmation.

    2) If a fellow passenger damaged my property, I would expect...

    1) Wow, why the hostility? The FAs told him the flight would be met, so that's a reasonable expectation. If I were a nobody and the cabin crew couldn't help me, I'd expect someone at the gate to be available to help me, also. I would NOT just go on my merry way assuming someone had filed some sort of incident report without confirmation.

    2) If a fellow passenger damaged my property, I would expect them to pay for repairs or replacement. I would do the same. Now, if it's a work laptop, that's a completely different story. I've had a soda spilled on my work Dell, but work handled repairs (which was basically replacing a sticky keyboard). Sure, "accidents happen," but that doesn't mean I should be on the hook for your mistake.

  40. Richard Gold

    Except for some specially made laptops any of them are susceptible to being damaged by liquids. Dax's examples are rediculous.

    In many cases once it dries out it will be ok but the stickiness may be the bigger problem.

  41. Larry Guest

    Wow -- lots of hostility. If the people on board can't tell you how it's going to be handled, and that someone will be at the gate to tell you the drill, someone should be at the gate. Being bounced to baggage claim after your computer gets ruined, where they do nothing, is unacceptable. For travel writers or anyone else.

    As for the advice never to turn on an electronic if it gets wet, what...

    Wow -- lots of hostility. If the people on board can't tell you how it's going to be handled, and that someone will be at the gate to tell you the drill, someone should be at the gate. Being bounced to baggage claim after your computer gets ruined, where they do nothing, is unacceptable. For travel writers or anyone else.

    As for the advice never to turn on an electronic if it gets wet, what good does that do? If you can't turn it on, it really isn't much good. Seems to me I'd rather take a shot at turning it on and seeing what's what than playing it "safe" by turning my laptop into a forever paperweight.

  42. lucky OMAAT

    @ Oliver2002 -- I realize that, and documentation is what I was trying to get. I wanted more than just someone's word.

    @ GMAB -- To clarify, it WAS communicated that the flight would be met. At first the flight attendant told me the request would be made and as we approached the purser informed me that it was "confirmed."

  43. lucky OMAAT

    @ Dax -- Exacty, to clarify I had no issue with the flight attendant's mistake. It was an honest mistake and I was nice to the flight attendant. She even said "I feel so bad it happened to such a nice and understanding guy." What I took issue with is how poorly it was handled from there.

    @ Mike Nash -- The laptop was actually on when the juice was spilled on it.

  44. Mike Guest

    Karma, can be a bitch

  45. brianna Diamond

    meh, my macbook air fell out of my backpack going 70+ mph on my motorcycle and it started right up when i doubled back and found it. "fragile" is definitely not a word i'd use to describe it.

    your experience here does really reinforce my conclusion that Twitter is really the only way to get crappy customer service problems addressed these days....

  46. GMAB Guest

    Matt,

    Firstly, it wasn't communicated that the flight would be met. One FA said that she would request that the Captain make the request. (Perhaps the Captain was busy with other things. Flying the plane, perhaps.) Another FA in fact communicated quite the opposite; that there should be no expectation of being met at the gate.

    Secondly, good luck making your seatmate pay for a new Macbook. Accidents happen; particularly in small, cramped metal tubes....

    Matt,

    Firstly, it wasn't communicated that the flight would be met. One FA said that she would request that the Captain make the request. (Perhaps the Captain was busy with other things. Flying the plane, perhaps.) Another FA in fact communicated quite the opposite; that there should be no expectation of being met at the gate.

    Secondly, good luck making your seatmate pay for a new Macbook. Accidents happen; particularly in small, cramped metal tubes. Unless the guy looks you in the eye, picks up his drink, and pours it over your computer, have fun collecting.

  47. Frequent Flyer Collector Guest

    wow that's terrible...I know I'd be pretty upset in that situation! I backup data fairly often, but it would be annoying nonetheless.

    I hope you get the situation resolved and another laptop soon. Best of luck!

  48. Mike Nash Guest

    With all due respect, you are partially at fault. From what you described, the laptop was powered off at the time. You then voluntarily choose to re-power. Bad choice. Liquid and electronics do work well together. It should have been left off a long time to ensure it was fully dry - but then again you would still have orange residue on the insides :-(

    If the Apple Store can resuscitate, you may still have a laptop with internal future problems :-(

  49. Matt Guest

    GMAB: if it was communicated that the flight would be met, it's not unreasonable to expect that happen.

    If a seatmate broke something of mine through actions that were "their fault" yes, I would expect them to make me whole. I fail to see where that is at all unreasonable.

  50. Dax Guest

    I'm not sure who to be more upset with. American Airlines for being clueless as to their own operations (which I think is the main issue that Lucky was upset with) or Apple for building a laptop that can't handle being used out in the real world. I've had a Compaq laptop that survived being run over by a car. An HP laptop that survived a serious fall on a hard surface. And Acer that...

    I'm not sure who to be more upset with. American Airlines for being clueless as to their own operations (which I think is the main issue that Lucky was upset with) or Apple for building a laptop that can't handle being used out in the real world. I've had a Compaq laptop that survived being run over by a car. An HP laptop that survived a serious fall on a hard surface. And Acer that survived something heavy being dropped on it. And a Dell that survived a whole soda being spilled on (and through) it. My current workplace computer is a Lenovo laptop that is also designed to withstand bumps, drops, and liquid incursions should one ever arise.

    Meanwhile, my Macbook Pro stays at home. On a desk. Away from everything that could ever harm it. Which is basically anything. Because despite its portable size it's not really meant to be taken anywhere in the first place. It's a fragile little computer that does a great job looking pretty, but an even better job self-destructing the moment anything at all goes wrong.

  51. Susan Guest

    Don't know how I would handle such an incident, but as an EXP I'd expect AA to make things right. Without status, not so much.

  52. oliver2002 Guest

    A true frequent flyer knows that legacy carriers have a liabilty insurance for such things to cover their employees, so just document the incident and take it up with airline when the extent of the damage is clear. First and foremost never ever try to switch on equipment that got wet, it just makes it worse!

  53. GMAB Guest

    Demand to be met at the gate?

    Upset that an agent on the ground didn't know the full details of your broken gadget??

    Where service goes to die???

    This whole situation screams DYKWIA! Accidents happen; that's the risk you take having valuable electronics out on a plane where open beverages are being passed around.

    If your seatmate had spilled the drink, would you have demanded he replace your Macbook? If he balked, would you demand...

    Demand to be met at the gate?

    Upset that an agent on the ground didn't know the full details of your broken gadget??

    Where service goes to die???

    This whole situation screams DYKWIA! Accidents happen; that's the risk you take having valuable electronics out on a plane where open beverages are being passed around.

    If your seatmate had spilled the drink, would you have demanded he replace your Macbook? If he balked, would you demand someone meet you at the gate? Maybe even a police office?

    What if a drink accidentally spilled due to turbulence? Would you insist on having a word with the captain? Would you demand a report be filed, and an explanation be provided by ATC?

    You write a nice popular blog, and you'll no doubt be compensated by AA solely because of that. But dude, get over yourself.

  54. lucky OMAAT

    @ Phil @ Tim -- I think there's a bit of confusion about the timeline or maybe I wasn't clear. I received the case number about 30 minutes after getting off the plane. When I requested someone meet the flight it was because the crew had no solution for me and wasn't sure how to handle the situation. The only thing the flight attendant assured me is that she would file a report, though she didn't give a timeline for it.

  55. michael Guest

    Phil, you are pretty astute.

    Lucky benefits because of his huge presence online. Certainly, a nobody would be SOL.

    On the other hand, we benefit by having Lucky as a great travel blogger, so this cuts both ways.

  56. Tim Guest

    I agree with Phil that there is a touch of DYKWIA to this. Although a bit inelegant, you got the documentation that you needed and you'll almost certainly get reimbursed. Even so, you had to tweet about it so that more people could respond to you.

  57. Carlos Guest

    MIA is a shithole.

  58. Phil Guest

    I still think it's DYKWIA. Armed with a reference number I'd have just called customer service when I got home. I would never expect anyone at the airport to be able to help

    Of course AA Twitter is helpful. They are run by outsourced AA PR to manage their social media presence. If someone blogs about "troubles" it is there job to try put out the fire.

    Enjoy all the extra comp you'll get out of it because they want to squish out the online fire!

  59. hobo13 Guest

    COdbaUA would probably have given a skykit good for 1000 miles.....

  60. winemama Guest

    you have now entered one one Dante's rings of hell!!!! Jeremy i laughed out loud at your story..i know it wasn't funny at at the time

  61. lucky OMAAT

    @ Phil -- For what it's worth I've seen it happen dozens of times for much more minor issues. The point is that I was inconvenienced because of what happened, and I don't think I should have to run around like a chicken with my head cut off to figure out what needs to be done. Do you think it's reasonable I should have to be pushed around from agent to agent because no one...

    @ Phil -- For what it's worth I've seen it happen dozens of times for much more minor issues. The point is that I was inconvenienced because of what happened, and I don't think I should have to run around like a chicken with my head cut off to figure out what needs to be done. Do you think it's reasonable I should have to be pushed around from agent to agent because no one knows what's going on? The idea of someone meeting me would be to explain the procedure and show a bit of proactiveness.

    Though I'm happy to report the AA Twitter folks were pretty quick to respond and are now trying to help.

  62. Phil Guest

    You have a reference number from the flight. You have the flight number. I am sure you have the FA's name. Don't you think it's a wee bit DYKWIA to expect someone to meet you at the gate??? This made me laugh. Honestly what did you expect? Someone at the gate with a check to reimburse you?

    As Parag pointed out you may be just quicker going to your credit card. Personally I put all...

    You have a reference number from the flight. You have the flight number. I am sure you have the FA's name. Don't you think it's a wee bit DYKWIA to expect someone to meet you at the gate??? This made me laugh. Honestly what did you expect? Someone at the gate with a check to reimburse you?

    As Parag pointed out you may be just quicker going to your credit card. Personally I put all large purchases like this on my Amex Platinum for this exact reason as the insurance coverage when things like this happen is top rate

  63. Parag Guest

    Lucky, depending on what credit card you bought the Macbook Air on and how long ago it was, you more than likely are covered by your Credit Card. I wouldn't put much faith in AA in reimbursing you.

  64. dmodemd Guest

    Yikes, the downside of travel rears its ugly head. Since you need to keep working, pull out the hard drive, buy a new MacBook and then pop it in (if you can do that kind of thing, I'm not a Machead). As for the repair cost, I am sure they aren't going to be able to tell you how much without shotgunning by replacing suspect components until it works again. Anything and everything could be...

    Yikes, the downside of travel rears its ugly head. Since you need to keep working, pull out the hard drive, buy a new MacBook and then pop it in (if you can do that kind of thing, I'm not a Machead). As for the repair cost, I am sure they aren't going to be able to tell you how much without shotgunning by replacing suspect components until it works again. Anything and everything could be shot, so the replacement cost would be what to request.
    As pointed out above, there is what you would get as a common person vs. what you could get by playing a press card :)

  65. bmvaughn Guest

    Better get a repair before they go bankrupt!

  66. bluto Guest

    I think the main risk when liquid meets electronics is that things get short-circuited. So, I think you're supposed to remove the battery (not sure if this is possible on an Mac Air -- another drawback) and leave the computer off until you are certain everything has dried out. The above commenter's suggestion to try rice is one I have heard before for cellphones.

    This, of course, would have meant that you would have...

    I think the main risk when liquid meets electronics is that things get short-circuited. So, I think you're supposed to remove the battery (not sure if this is possible on an Mac Air -- another drawback) and leave the computer off until you are certain everything has dried out. The above commenter's suggestion to try rice is one I have heard before for cellphones.

    This, of course, would have meant that you would have had a less-than-solid claim against AA if you found out 2 days later that the Mac Air was broken after you dried it out and turned it on.

  67. deltagoldflyer New Member

    This is part of the new security measure to be unfolded fleet wide to prevent Award Wallet from ever getting to AA data - dunk all laptops asap to keep your data safe - err - secure - uh... never mind!

    Hope they give you a new one.

  68. mark Guest

    Being a widely read travel blogger, I am sure AA will bend over backward to help you.

  69. gavinmac Guest

    I'd say this is indicative of AA customer service, not Miami airport (although AA dominates Miami airport).

    I flew AA to and from Bolivia lat week in J. Pretty unimpressed with the service. No pre-departure beverages, expect water and orange juice on one of the four flights. One of my meals was dropped on my tray at kind of a 45 degree angle as the attendant couldn't bother to line it properly, even though I was on the aisle.

  70. JetAway Guest

    You should be OK now that you have documentation and a case number. I doubt that anyone at the airport has authority to settle a claim of this magnitude--AA's legal/claims division will have to take a look at it. In the meantime, get a quote from Apple for a repair or, if it can't be repaired, a replacement. AA will ask for this info at some point and don't settle for anything less.

  71. DrG Guest

    The issue is likely not the moisture but the stickiness of the sugar in the OJ. Rice will not help here.

  72. Paul New Member

    Do you have access to the AC? Go to the location at D30 (I find the reps at the D15 location to meet all of the above adjectives, but they're very proactive at D30) and see what they can do. That's where I experience the bulk of the best service in MIA.

    Good luck.

  73. jeremy Guest

    Sorry to hear about your laptop. I had mine soaked by diet Coke, but it luckily survived the assault.

    As long as we're sharing MIA horror stories... I was flying to Bolivia out of MIA and had a clueless rep refuse to check me in without having a 3.5 inch x 5 inch (or something like that) photo of myself for Bolivian customs. I showed him the much smaller photo that I had (passport size)...

    Sorry to hear about your laptop. I had mine soaked by diet Coke, but it luckily survived the assault.

    As long as we're sharing MIA horror stories... I was flying to Bolivia out of MIA and had a clueless rep refuse to check me in without having a 3.5 inch x 5 inch (or something like that) photo of myself for Bolivian customs. I showed him the much smaller photo that I had (passport size) for Bolivian customs according to the instructions I had. Still, no luck. A "supervisor" agreed with the rep and pointed me to a Walgreens. I took a cab and returned with the ridiculously sized photo, but was too late to be checked in for the flight (though it hadn't departed). The new rep looked at the photo and said "what is this for?" and I explained the previous hour of my life. He said "Those idiots read centimeters as inches. Your passport photo is the correct size."

    Three days later I was able to get to my destination. I have not flown AA in the three years since.

  74. bludevil New Member

    when you get home. Buy lots of rice and stick the laptop in a bag of it. The rice sucks out the liquid... sometimes.

  75. Brian Guest

    Sounds like they need to go to ATL and learn about Red Coats.

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Gumnaam Guest

what happened to this one.....I having sitting at the edge of my seat (not really)...but still good to know

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Mike Guest

i don't work for these people, nor do I get a ref feral (i.e your credit card sign ups), but you may want to give this a shot. This one is based in NYC http://www.tekserve.com/service/spill.php

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beachfan Diamond

The reason it's DYKWIA is that almost no experienced flyer would have an expectation that someone would be met by staff at the gate, absent an injury or medical reason. They just don't have staff available for that. Let me phrase it another way; has anyone had someone meet them on request at the gate to deal with a property damage claim?

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