Customer service FAIL...

Trying to sign up for Coaster Celebration, SFGAdv. Three phone calls, not a lick of results.

First call was answered in a timely fashion by a nice lady who gave me a secondary fax number for Group Sales (who apparently handle all events), since there was no answer at the main GS fax number. Resumed trying to fax, neither answer at either number. Called back again, no answer on the phone at all (might have been lunchtime).

After lunch, I call back again, and after a 5-minute hold, the next main-line operator pushes me through to GS without allowing me to ask any further questions.....result: Noone picks up the phone at GS (fax and phone not operational).

Long story short, I'll snail-mail it in and HOPE that someone picks up the mail. Frustrating? You bet! Get on the ball, Marky-Mark, whip some tails in Jackson.... ;)

That's insane if you're not even getting a voice mail or anything. Group Sales is the bread and butter of those parks. If you can't get ahold of them then neither can people calling to inquire about corporate events. That could mean several thousand dollars lost because they can't get their act together.

Did you try e-mailing the park at all to explain the problems you're having? Seems strange that 2 fax machines wouldn't even connect. They may be having a problem with their lines that they're not even aware of. Or else it's the people at the other end of the lines that are the problem.

Maybe Six Flags can't afford fax paper? ;)

They need to name an "Official Fax Paper Partner" for the chain.

^^^RGB - After failing to raise anyone at the number listed on the event flyer, I went to their website for the "main GAdv phone number". Guess I should have included that in my initial rant, LOL.

No e-mail addys are listed on flyer or website. Contact us? Don't bother. ;)

I swear, I was just trying to sign up for an event - ended up with snail-mail. This whole fiasco just felt whacked, and not in the good way. It's was almost like Moosh and late-90s SFMM had collaborated to make registration for the event as much of a hassle as possible. The $9 processing fee was just a bonus... :)

If I was trying to keep you from an event it would be the one I'm travelling to with you this weekend, lol! Those Delta flights better be on time, Bill...we're leaving Columbus early Friday morning - with or without you!

;)

^I've given up on the Delta (Dis)connection, I've flown with them once since Rye - Gainesville Regional is kinda limited, LOL. SWA may not have all the amenities, but they *generally* get me there on time. If not, I can always land at CMH at 4am like I did at BWI last year. Got in a nice nap before....the party palace that is SFA. ;)

I love flying Southwest and have been a satisfied customer of theirs since 1992. The only problem I've had is one incident of lost luggage...ironically on the same trip that Delta made you late to Rye ;)

Southwest is great. I used to love flying so much, but then it became some arduous chore. Southwest makes it fun again. The people there really seem like they enjoy it. They have the perfect balance of funny and rude.

It also doesn't hurt that I fly to Chicago for $39, Orlando for $59, and San Fran for $89, but I digress.

RatherGoodBear said:
Did you try e-mailing the park at all to explain the problems you're having?

A quick email may work but then again who knows exactly where that email went or even who had received it. A few years back I was watching our local ABC TV station and they did a story about a woman who had uploaded on You Tube a video she had taken at Hersheypark of her daughter only to have the clip removed over "copyright violations". If that wasn't strange enough, she received an email "from Hersheypark" ( according to the report the email ended with Hersheypark dot com or something close to it ) saying that she needed to pay them a $500 fee if she wanted to re-upload that same clip back on You Tube otherwise Hersheypark would sue her. Very weird !! She contacts our local TV station who in turn contact sHersheypark. Not only did the park deny the taking down of the clip but Hersheypark went on to say it is not their policy to do such a thing much less ask for money and even less threaten a guest with a lawsuit over a silly matter. In other words..a hoax. Hersheypark was supposed to look in the matter, that I am not sure if they ever did but they did give the woman and her family free season passes for their troubles.

Seriously? I hate Southwest in the worst way. The least leg room, and God forbid that you get on late in the cattle call and want to sit with your significant other. Everyone on the plane acts like you don't exist. If it means paying an extra ten bucks to pick my seat at the front of the plane, I'll pay it.

I've never had a problem getting on the plane late as I always check-in online 24 hrs before the flight. Group A every time.

I've never been in group A, and I do the same thing.

You are in the minority Jeff when it comes to Southwest.

As a seasoned flier due to mostly work and occasionally vacations, I am on Southwest a bit. While it is semi easy to get an A ticket you have to be within the first 3-5 minutes within the 24 hour period, unless at a busy hub, then its less.. And then theres only 40 "A" spots within that 24 hour period as the first 20 are reserved for "Business Select" and "A-list" passengers.

Since Southwest business model strives to have each plane in the 90% occupancy minimum to the point they will cut number of flights to obtain that, (one of my friends flies for them), it makes the A group fill up quick. Check in Passenger #61 is bumped to the head of the B line behind the Family with Kids.

So Jeff's "Minority" is not hard to accomplish if you are in an airport where there are frequent fliers (BWI), or few flights out... Landing an A ticket becomes very difficult. Not impossible.. Just difficult, unless you are obsessively refreshing the "check-in" page on southwest right at the 24h period.

However since the planes have about 137 seats, you could theoretically be in the B group fairly deep and obtain an Window-Middle or Isle-Middle seat for 2 people successfully.. Once you hit the tail end of B, beginning of C start staring at the middle seat.

Jeff: As for spacing there are some decent seats (other than exit row) on southwest and on other airlines there are worse seats.. Spacing for all the seats arent equal on any plane in the fleet, mostly due to the bulkhead and exit rows. I enjoy this site when I fly any airline when I make my selections. www.seatguru.com.

Try getting in A-group leaving Vegas. That's the worst.

At the end of the day, because they all react to each other's fares, it makes little sense to fly anything other than Continental out of Cleveland, where I consistently get in the front bulkhead row for the same price (and I have a bazillion miles). And they actually have food now and then!

Continental rocks. Pick your seat, check-in, have a meal on us. They just get it.

Having a hub in Cleveland doesn't hurt, and as such, may they never cease to exist at the C L E. :)

I'd be willing to give Southwest a spin, but from DTW, they don't have direct flights to anywhere that I want to go *and* they never seem to be competitive in cost. I need to pay *less* to connect, not more, and I don't care how funny your flight attendants are.

^^I don't need a meal on any domestic flight I take. I can wait to eat. The fact that Southwest is now the only airline to not charge first or second baggage is a plus. I also like the no-seat assignment. First come, first serve is fine by me. I was aggravated when I had to assign a seat online for another carrier and they wanted to charge me 10 bucks.

Glad you guys find Continental good because I have yet to find a reasonable fare with them when I am looking for flights.

And seeing flight attendants dressed up in suits is just silly these days. The days of having to be wealthy to fly or the prestige of flying are over.