So first our flight is cancelled...

[kenandlaura06]

and now our airline (SONG) is no more! We are trying to take everyone's advice and fly down the day before our cruise, but it doesn't seem to be going our way! AAAHHHHHH!!!!!

[rfische1]

Wow, I love that airline. Read where they are merging it into Delta and adding the entertainment to all Delta flights. Good luck with your new reservations.

[AmandaNS]

We have tickets with Song for 3 legs of our flight in January... and we hadn't heard that they're not running anymore. Where can I find more info? Are they honouring flights with Delta, reimbursing, or nothing? I was caught when Canada3000 went under a few years ago.

[AmandaNS]

Oops... never mind. Just found the story, and they're continuing to run as "Song" until May. No problem, mon!!

[kenandlaura06]

Problem for us, however, because our flights for our honeymoon are booked for July--two months after Song is no longer in existence. We called for more info and got someone who doesn't speak English and was NO help, whatsoever.

[AmandaNS]

kenandlaura, from the website it sounds like they're going to be rolling the flights into Delta, which might mean that some of their passengers will be accomodated. Like I said, I got stuck in Ontario when Canada3000 went under, and had no choice but to book a flight with 24 hours notice... and paid a ton for it, plus not getting any money back from the airline.

 

I really hope that they can sort this out for you!! :(

[over the edge]

Hi AmandaNS, I'm from Antigonish, NS. Seems we both like to cruise in January, but not on the same ship. lol January, 2005 we sailed on Voyager, this January on Radiance. I didn't notice where you are sailing out of. How did you do on your airfare?? :)

[Jan_In_Maine]

Laura - Hope everything works out (I'm sure it will) look at the bright side, at least it wasn't the day before the wedding that this happened!!. Are you flying out of Boston - Last I checked best flights for us went to Boston and then straight to FLL. Good luck with flights. Jan

[yogimax]

Problem for us, however, because our flights for our honeymoon are booked for July--two months after Song is no longer in existence. We called for more info and got someone who doesn't speak English and was NO help, whatsoever.

 

Delta has outsourced much of their reservations to India. You may need to ask specifically for a U.S. based agent

[kenandlaura06]

Laura - Hope everything works out (I'm sure it will) look at the bright side, at least it wasn't the day before the wedding that this happened!!. Are you flying out of Boston - Last I checked best flights for us went to Boston and then straight to FLL. Good luck with flights. Jan

 

Yes, we are flying Boston to FLL--we tried Boston to Miami, Manchester to Miami, Manchester to FLL, Providence to Miami, Providence to FLL--this flight is the only flight that leaves on 7/15/06 after 7 p.m. for Florida, so we really have no other options. I am happy this is happening now and not later down the road, however!

[rfische1]

Congrats on your wedding. I'm sorry about the cancellation. The way airline schedules are constantly changing, you may be able to book a similar flight down the road.

 

I laughed at your flight search plan because it is exactly what we do. Logan has the non-stops to FLA and good prices so we usually fly from there even though the Portland Jetport is within earshot of our house. The cost for the park-stay-fly at the Four Points Sheraton in Revere through our TA is just a few dollars more than a week of parking there.

[imsulin2]

Just an observation: There's a BIG difference between NOT speaking English and speaking English with an accent that is difficult to understand. Outsourcing has been going on for years, and is quite common, so please don't be surprised if you encounter someone who speaks the same language as you do, but with a very different accent.

[Jan_In_Maine]

Rich - wish that we could fly directly from Logan - would be so much cheaper - but the thought of getting off a plane and then having to drive 5(?) hoursis just too overwhelming!

 

Hope that your cruise went well ... we are going to try for 07-08 to take all three kids on Western. Jan

[Murphy]

Good luck rebooking Laura. Be forewarned however, if you get this resolved now, do not assume it will be the last change in your itinerary. Last January I booked our airfare for our Oct 2 cruise. The outbound flight got changed 5 times and the return flight was changed twice before we left! Keep an eye on your flight numbers and departure times. I checked ours weekly and was glad I did.

[kenandlaura06]

Just an observation: There's a BIG difference between NOT speaking English and speaking English with an accent that is difficult to understand. Outsourcing has been going on for years, and is quite common, so please don't be surprised if you encounter someone who speaks the same language as you do, but with a very different accent.

 

The accent was not the issue---the issue was that the person did not understand our questions and concerns due to the language barrier and simply kept repeating a script back at us that had nothing to do our questions. I am not surprised when I encounter someone who speaks with a different accent or for whom English is a second language. I am quite familiar with outsourcing--I did a semester of research on it during my graduate work, in fact.

However, the issue arises when language comprehension is at such a low level that they cannot respond to customer complaints or questions because they do not understand them. This person spoke just enough English to read a script--but they were not able to answer questions, and therefore were not helpful towards us.

I hope this clarifies my experience and makes it clear that I am not intolerant of those for whom English is not a first language or of those who speak with an accent.

[BJane]

My problem with trying to deal with someone whose primary language is not the same as mine is that although they may speak English, they often do not speak or understand "American". I ran into this yesterday and finally just gave up.

[rfische1]

The accent was not the issue---the issue was that the person did not understand our questions and concerns due to the language barrier and simply kept repeating a script back at us that had nothing to do our questions. I am not surprised when I encounter someone who speaks with a different accent or for whom English is a second language. I am quite familiar with outsourcing--I did a semester of research on it during my graduate work, in fact.

However, the issue arises when language comprehension is at such a low level that they cannot respond to customer complaints or questions because they do not understand them. This person spoke just enough English to read a script--but they were not able to answer questions, and therefore were not helpful towards us.

I hope this clarifies my experience and makes it clear that I am not intolerant of those for whom English is not a first language or of those who speak with an accent.

I could not have said it better. As a customer, I have a higher comfort level when the representative can understand my predicament. Sometimes I'll engage the CSR in conversation to increase my comfort level. If this goes nowhere I go to plan B.

[yogimax]

Just an observation: There's a BIG difference between NOT speaking English and speaking English with an accent that is difficult to understand. Outsourcing has been going on for years, and is quite common, so please don't be surprised if you encounter someone who speaks the same language as you do, but with a very different accent.

 

What's interesting is that many companies have been training their phone reps in India to speak with regional U.S. accents, feigning, for example, a southern drawl. With Delta, the problem has not usually been one of accent but, as was noted, reading from a script and not being able to accurately answer questions.

[firstcruise05]

I'm confused...so Delta is no longer offering Song flights?

 

We flew down to Orlando on Delta and we were on a Song plane. I loved it...I watched TV (news and the NFL pre-game) while my DH watched the GPS channel (to see exactly where we were and how high/fast we were traveling). It was definately more entertaining than our US Air flight on the way back.

 

I'm sure you'll get there, one way or the other :)

[wrp96]

What Delta is doing is integrating Song into their regular service. Only the Song name will be gone after next summer, most of the flights will still be there. They are planning to add most of the features of Song, like the seatback TVs etc to all of their aircraft.

[yogimax]

What Delta is doing is integrating Song into their regular service. Only the Song name will be gone after next summer, most of the flights will still be there. They are planning to add most of the features of Song, like the seatback TVs etc to all of their aircraft.

 

Actually, Song will be gone BEFORE next summer and most Delta frequent flyers are rejoicing!

[kenandlaura06]

Song is no more as of May--and Delta will pick up some of the flights and routes, but some may be eliminated.

[imsulin2]

Problem for us, however, because our flights for our honeymoon are booked for July--two months after Song is no longer in existence. We called for more info and got someone who doesn't speak English and was NO help, whatsoever.

 

Sorry, kenandlaura. Guess I misunderstood you when you said that you called for more info. and "got someone who doesn't speak English". Thanks for the clarification. They actually did speak English, but just weren't able to help you. Sounds like you're more frustrated with the lack of help than with the "got someone who didn't speak English" issue. You're also used to your kind of "English", which took a few hundred years to evolve.

 

I think that if you were ever lucky enough to travel to the "wilds" of Scotland, or to Dingle, Ireland, or to the East End of London, they might just say that you couldn't speak English! "English" has only been spoken in the U.S. for about 350 years...and that's being generous. Traditional "English", including Old, Middle, and Modern, has been around for over a thousand years. So, (just a hint) before accusing someone "who doesn't speak English" for not helping you, think about how this language has evolved, where it's been, and how you ended up speaking it.

 

Off the soapbox. For now.

[kenandlaura06]

Sorry, kenandlaura. Guess I misunderstood you when you said that you called for more info. and "got someone who doesn't speak English". Thanks for the clarification. They actually did speak English, but just weren't able to help you. Sounds like you're more frustrated with the lack of help than with the "got someone who didn't speak English" issue. You're also used to your kind of "English", which took a few hundred years to evolve.

 

I think that if you were ever lucky enough to travel to the "wilds" of Scotland, or to Dingle, Ireland, or to the East End of London, they might just say that you couldn't speak English! "English" has only been spoken in the U.S. for about 350 years...and that's being generous. Traditional "English", including Old, Middle, and Modern, has been around for over a thousand years. So, (just a hint) before accusing someone "who doesn't speak English" for not helping you, think about how this language has evolved, where it's been, and how you ended up speaking it.

 

Off the soapbox. For now.

 

I am not quite sure how to respond to this. I am not expecting people to speak my "kind of English"--I didn't when I was in the East End of London. I am simply expecting that when I call a company that does business in the English language to ask questions and find out information, that the employees would be able to answer questions and comprehend questions in said language. I personally can read Spanish and could repeat a script in Spanish--but that doesn't mean that I would claim to "speak" Spanish! I guess the issue here depends on what your definition of "speaking" a language is--and I simply don't believe that being able to read a script in a language makes you fluent in it! I do not feel that the person that I spoke with could be described as a fluent speaker of the English language--they could not engage in a simple question and answer exchange, nor do anything more than continually read off of a script during the conversation. In my opinion, being able to read some words in a language/repeat some lines is not equivalent to being able to speak a language.

 

And with regards to the evolution of the English language, I am familiar with where our language has come from and the fact that it is continuing to evolve. Nevertheless, as I was communicating with a company that appears to do business in Modern American English, I don't think it is asking too much for employees to be able to understand and answer the question, "Is my flight cancelled?". A "Yes," a "No" or an "I don't know" would have demonstrated that the service representative could comprehend the question, as opposed to the "Would you be interested in a car rental?" that was repeated over and over throughout the call, including in response to the above question.