Even though Aleece returned safely and on time from Cyprus, her bag did not make it. Having never had lost bags before, neither of us knew what to expect. Naturally, we assumed in a day or two, her bag would arrive.
Wrong.
Sunday night, we were both sound asleep at 11PM. Her phone rings. In my groggy state, I sit up and list to her sleep filled voice, "Uh huh. Ok. Yes. Yes. Ok" In my mind I start thinking that someone has either been in an accident or worse, who else would be calling in the middle of the night?
United Airlines, that's who.
United Airlines just called to say they would be at our house in two hours. How thoughtful. Apparently, if you are a big company you don't have to work on Monday morning. So here we are, laying in bed, half asleep but unable to fall asleep. The most important question I had was who on earth do they get to drive luggage from the airport to our home at 11 PM (1AM arrival time)? What kind of person is going to take that job? Maybe I am being a little judgmental, but the mental image I have of this person is not all that positive.
At any rate, we both drifted in and out of sleep. 1 o'clock comes and goes. I was obviously worried about being asleep while my wife goes upstairs to deal with this stranger whose best career option was late-night lost baggage deliverer. Aleece spent some time upstairs with one of the dogs but eventually came back down to bed. At four am the phone finally rang, the driver from the airline had just dropped the bag off on the front porch and left our driveway. Three. Hours. Late. Yes, it was raining pretty hard at our house during the night, but hard rain does not turn a two hour drive in to a five hour drive. I'm bothered by tardiness in general, so three hours is a big deal, especially in the middle of the night. Maybe I'm not being judgemental, I'm just being right. Maybe this guy was so chronically late for all of his other jobs, late night delivery was the only option left. How does late night delivery save the airline money? Don't employers typically end up paying more for nightshift because nightshift sucks? Even if that isn't the case, what traveller wants to be woken up in the middle of the night after any kind of trip? Shouldn't there be a box you can check when you search for your ticket?
Aisle Seat [ ]
Window Seat [x]
$10 snack [ ]
In-flight wifi [x]
Airline willing to follow you home in the middle of the night to deliver a bag they lost [ ]
Who the hell would check that box?
It is almost like they are punishing you twice for their mistake! Not only do you not get your bag when you land, but you do get to have it while you are in the middle of sleeping! The sad part is there is some executive somewhere that thinks this is a great idea. Granted, the guy probably had a bag once or twice and needed his stuff back. Ok, I get it. I realize CEO types aren't normal people and don't need to sleep like the rest of us, but come on! Use some common sense and refrain from sending a creeper to my house at 4 am. At the very least they could wait until the sun was up, at least that way the creeper wouldn't have to work nights.
Anyway, after 5 hours of fitful sleep, we could finally get some rest. Between Aleece's jet-lag and my anticipated long week (concerts were on Monday and Tuesday, both ended up being 14+ hour days) we were both ready to sleep. In two hours, my alarm clock went off and I got up to start my day.
How is it ok for this to happen? I mean, thanks for delivering the bag and all, but my sleep is way more important than some clothes and souvenirs. The next time they lose a bag, I think I will just volunteer to pick it up later in the week myself.
I know some people who have done bag delivery and they differ from the type of person you describe. They are immigrants who were working two or three jobs to support their families, plus they were taking college classes on weekends and the only time they could deliver bags were late nights.
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