My thoughts on Porter. It might be a bit long so apologies upfront.
Flew Sunday Feb. 16th, day of the big storm. We stayed overnight at the Sheraton Gateway so in the morning we only had to go across the little bridge and down the elevator. Upon getting off the elevator Porter was right there in front of us. It was nice to not have to go looking for them. We lined up with others, there were just over 30 in line. Most had carry on only, only two had luggage they would need to check in. We had two pieces to check plus one carry on. There were 5 open check in counters, which was nice. The line didn't go very fast because there had been a bunch of canceled flights the day before and staff was trying to rebook them. It was a bit of chaos but only one group was being 'Karens'.
It took about 45 minutes to get to the front of the line but once we were there a man came around the corner and asked us to follow him, which we did. He had one of those floating check in counters that was away from the others, sort of hidden in the back. In the time we had waited in line we never once saw him come out for anyone. He didn't smile at all but I assumed it was because they were busy.
The first thing I said to him was good morning and that it was our first time with Porter and we were excited to fly with them. He looked at me, again without smiling, and said 'well, lets just see if you get on the flight'. I replied with, 'yes, the snow may keep us from going I suppose' and he said, 'yes, that too' which I thought was a strange answer. What did he mean 'that too'? He took our passports and our information. Questioned us on why we were going to Orlando. Looked at our luggage, took our carry on and asked us to follow him. He took us back to the line and put the carry on beside the thing that measures your carry on and said 'hmmm'. Then he looked at us with a look that said 'you have a problem'. I looked back with a look that said 'what problem'. There was a few seconds before he said 'I guess you will need to put your carry on in there and you can see if it fits'. He had a smug look on his face that said 'it won't fit'. So I picked it up and put it in the carry on thing, it slid in with no effort, and I looked at him with a look that said 'now what'......then I smiled. He did not look pleased and took us back to his floating counter and asked us to bring our luggage back around to one of the other stations so he could weight them. We did that, neither piece weighed over 30 lbs. He then once again took us back to his floating station and printed out the labels for the luggage and our boarding passes. Passed everything to us and said 'have a nice trip' with a look that said 'I hope you get eaten by gators'. Okay, it didn't say that but he did not look pleased all the same.
Now, the part that REALLY bothered me was that in the time we waited in line till the time we left, not one other person had their carry on questioned and there were several that were obviously way to big. So, why were we picked out of the crowd and made an example of? Why was he so rude to us? If someone were to come into my job and say it was their first time there I would have gone out of my way to make them want to come back. This gentleman went out of his way to make me wonder what was so special about Porter. I can have rude customer service anywhere.
The flight itself was interesting. They made an announcement that we would be leaving 45 minutes early and they were starting to board right away. Good, maybe we will get off the ground. We boarded and then sat there to wait for someone who didn't feel the need to do as asked. We knew they were there because everyone had been accounted for before they made the request. They didn't bother to board until the very minute we were supposed to leave at the original time. They would have been late anyways. Then the captain made the annoucement that we would need to de-ice so we went over and they did that. Once that was over he said we were off and we left right away. You could not see out the windows for the snow that was coming down so good on the captain for getting us in the air. During the flight, when they came around and asked if we would like anything to purchase we bought two cheese and cracker boxes. I think they were $12.99/$14.99 each, not sure. She said she couldn't take our payment then but would be back. She never came back so that was free.
When we landed, which strangely enough was early, we had to wait on the tarmac for almost 20 minutes as there was no place to dock. No big deal, we were in Florida!!
The flight on the way home was great. Service at the airport, top notch. It made me question our flight down and what the difference was. I'm thinking the way down was a one time, where someone got out of bed on the wrong side, and we just happened to be the group he was going to be angry at. We will probably try Porter again if and when we get back to Florida but that first flight, it made me question why everyone loved Porter.
Sorry this is so long.
Flew Sunday Feb. 16th, day of the big storm. We stayed overnight at the Sheraton Gateway so in the morning we only had to go across the little bridge and down the elevator. Upon getting off the elevator Porter was right there in front of us. It was nice to not have to go looking for them. We lined up with others, there were just over 30 in line. Most had carry on only, only two had luggage they would need to check in. We had two pieces to check plus one carry on. There were 5 open check in counters, which was nice. The line didn't go very fast because there had been a bunch of canceled flights the day before and staff was trying to rebook them. It was a bit of chaos but only one group was being 'Karens'.
It took about 45 minutes to get to the front of the line but once we were there a man came around the corner and asked us to follow him, which we did. He had one of those floating check in counters that was away from the others, sort of hidden in the back. In the time we had waited in line we never once saw him come out for anyone. He didn't smile at all but I assumed it was because they were busy.
The first thing I said to him was good morning and that it was our first time with Porter and we were excited to fly with them. He looked at me, again without smiling, and said 'well, lets just see if you get on the flight'. I replied with, 'yes, the snow may keep us from going I suppose' and he said, 'yes, that too' which I thought was a strange answer. What did he mean 'that too'? He took our passports and our information. Questioned us on why we were going to Orlando. Looked at our luggage, took our carry on and asked us to follow him. He took us back to the line and put the carry on beside the thing that measures your carry on and said 'hmmm'. Then he looked at us with a look that said 'you have a problem'. I looked back with a look that said 'what problem'. There was a few seconds before he said 'I guess you will need to put your carry on in there and you can see if it fits'. He had a smug look on his face that said 'it won't fit'. So I picked it up and put it in the carry on thing, it slid in with no effort, and I looked at him with a look that said 'now what'......then I smiled. He did not look pleased and took us back to his floating counter and asked us to bring our luggage back around to one of the other stations so he could weight them. We did that, neither piece weighed over 30 lbs. He then once again took us back to his floating station and printed out the labels for the luggage and our boarding passes. Passed everything to us and said 'have a nice trip' with a look that said 'I hope you get eaten by gators'. Okay, it didn't say that but he did not look pleased all the same.
Now, the part that REALLY bothered me was that in the time we waited in line till the time we left, not one other person had their carry on questioned and there were several that were obviously way to big. So, why were we picked out of the crowd and made an example of? Why was he so rude to us? If someone were to come into my job and say it was their first time there I would have gone out of my way to make them want to come back. This gentleman went out of his way to make me wonder what was so special about Porter. I can have rude customer service anywhere.
The flight itself was interesting. They made an announcement that we would be leaving 45 minutes early and they were starting to board right away. Good, maybe we will get off the ground. We boarded and then sat there to wait for someone who didn't feel the need to do as asked. We knew they were there because everyone had been accounted for before they made the request. They didn't bother to board until the very minute we were supposed to leave at the original time. They would have been late anyways. Then the captain made the annoucement that we would need to de-ice so we went over and they did that. Once that was over he said we were off and we left right away. You could not see out the windows for the snow that was coming down so good on the captain for getting us in the air. During the flight, when they came around and asked if we would like anything to purchase we bought two cheese and cracker boxes. I think they were $12.99/$14.99 each, not sure. She said she couldn't take our payment then but would be back. She never came back so that was free.
When we landed, which strangely enough was early, we had to wait on the tarmac for almost 20 minutes as there was no place to dock. No big deal, we were in Florida!!
The flight on the way home was great. Service at the airport, top notch. It made me question our flight down and what the difference was. I'm thinking the way down was a one time, where someone got out of bed on the wrong side, and we just happened to be the group he was going to be angry at. We will probably try Porter again if and when we get back to Florida but that first flight, it made me question why everyone loved Porter.
Sorry this is so long.
