TICKET SNAFU! OH YEAH!!

OR

Ticket…ticket…Who’s Got My Ticket – 

Cha-Cha-Cha.

The Departure drama has already started and 

We haven’t had the Packing Ballet Yet  

I just hate it when things get out of order.  

Grab a cold one and Sit back... this ain't gonna be short.

I swear...YOU CANT MAKE THIS $#!T UP!!

Here's how it went.

Maker of all reservations and dutiful Hubby that he is, Chucky promptly began the online check-in process at the appointed - 24 hours in advance with the DELTA APP on his phone.  He got HIS boarding pass on HIS phone but was having issues getting hers too.  In the past [with other airlines] he was able to get both their boarding passes on his phone.  DELTA on the other hand is a different deal.  So, he gets HER phone and starts the process all over and gets as far as…

We are unable to check you in online, you will need to do so at the airport.

He knows this ain't right and tries again, this time on his laptop and now he gets:

We're sorry. 

We can't validate your ticket.

Please contact your local

reservation office for help.

W.T.F ?!?!?!?

Panic Sweats and trembling hands notwithstanding and after 15 minutes on hold in the Delta Call queue, the Lovely Lucky gets on the line and does the clickety-click-click/typety-type-type stuff and says “just a moment and let me get my supervisor, something strange here, it shows a special request, no.. wait…it shows no ticket Wait...No… uh please hold."

And goes away.

3 minutes later here’s what Chucky’s told:

When Viking "Air Plus" [remember he had to pay extra to deal direct with them] made the changes from Air France to Delta, they did the proper "exchange thingy" on Chucky’s ticket but somehow…not on DL’s.

AND... if we had waited to do so at the airport tomorrow, the Dragon Lady would be waving ta-ta to Chucky as he jetted off to Paris by way of Atlanta - while calling someone to come take her and her overstuffed bag home. 
{well not over stuffed... YET}

W T F!!!!!

Now remember, Chucky had already gone online 2 days ago and paid for special seats, and Lovely Lucky can see the seats and an actual ticket number that doesn’t work.  And there is nothing she can do.  Chucky has to call Viking {who is the "Booking" agent} to get it sorted out and have THEM do the RIGHT "exchange thingy" on her ticket.

Well now, getting through to the Viking "Air Plus" department at 8PM on a Friday is like Root Canal - you know it’s necessary but there’s gonna be pain.

Soooo... after a 15 minute hold at Viking [not so "Air Plus"] the not so perky Elizabeth [you can tell in her voice it's Friday and close to "Quitin' time"] comes on and does the click-click-click/type-type-type stuff and says, 
“but she has a ticket… I can see It right here.”

"No, She Does Not" 
says Chucky

"Yes She does", 
says the now REALLY not so perky Elizabeth."

“No, he calmly says [and anyone who knows Chucky well, knows that when he starts to talk very softly, and very slowly, it ain't gonna be good for whoever is on the receiving end]

“Apparently... when... the... Delightful... Gwynn... made.... the... "Exchange Thingy" from... Air... France... to... Delta, 

SHE… D I D… i t… on… MY… t i c k e t… BUT… N O T… o n... MY WIFE’S ticket! 

P l e a s e…c h e c k… AGAIN!”

“Please Hold Sir.”

5 minutes later...

"Ok we think we see what happened. But the lady who has to make the change is on another call. When she's free, I'll call you with the new ticket number and you can call Delta back and they will have all the right "Exchange Thingies in their system."

Ok, now all this time he's been on hold with Delta playing scratchy music in his ear, waiting to be caller #27.  When he finally [45 minutes in queue] gets Rodney of the Thick accent and explains the situation, to which Rodney says...

Wait for it... 

"No... its YOUR ticket that has a problem, your Wife's is fine."

WTF!! no... DOUBLE W-T-F!!!!

A back and forth ensues and Rodney, of the ever-thickening Accent, finally convinces Chuck that Viking has now bollixed up HIS ticket in trying to "Fix the Exchange Thingy" and Chucky needs to call them back to re-fix it... AGAIN!

OK he decides... He'll wait for Not So Perky Elizabeth to call back, [you know he won't wait at this stage] and she is calling in while he is in the call queue at Viking [not so] "Air Plus". 

"OK, I have a new ticket number for you..."

"NO you Don't. I just got off the phone with Delta and they said NOW someone messed up MY ticket but The Dragon Lady's is now right."

"The Dragon Who?"

"Never Mind... 

My Wife's Ticket - Now Right! 

My Ticket - Now Wrong!"

"Cant Be" she says, "I have both new ticket numbers right here, maybe it didn't refresh in their system yet."

More, Soft, Calm, Slowly spoken dialogue and she finally says, 

"I'll call Delta, please hold."

We'll by now Chucky already has a call back scheduled from Delta just in case this happened.  
So now she comes back on and says while she was in the Delta call queue, she tried to check us in online but... before she screws that up too, she asks Chucky to try on his computer. So... He did.

Same $#!T, No Valid Ticket.

Just then, Chucky gets Delta's call back in his other ear - [Liz is still in Delta's call queue.] 

Cheerfully Articulate Ricardo [no accent] hears the whole story "One More Time"...

"Please Hold", but doesn't go away, rather we hear...

"Hmmm" 
clickety-click/typety-type,  

"OK... seems like a special request is holding it up... no... uh No... 
OK, I think I see what's goin' on... 
Please Hold."

But is back in a flash [Liz has hung up from the call queue and is now listening to all this on Chucky's speakerphone] 

"Go ahead and try to check in online", 
says Cheery Ricardo [still no accent].

Chucky does so on his cell phone... 

IT WORKS 
- he now has a new boarding pass... 
AND with the TSA Precheck logo in the upper corner. Yahooooo!

He now grabs DL's phone and checks her in too and... 

ALL IS NOW RIGHT IN THEIR WORLD... 

Wheeeewwwww!

"Thank you Ricardo, Thank you Liz" - and 

"Thank you Mrs Calabash... 

Where-Evah you are." 

[only the old timers will get that one]

Well Dear Hearts and Innocent Bystander, 'nuff for today, the Packing Ballet is about to start and he's already headed for the Scotch...

More Tomorrow... or maybe later tonight, ya never know...

Ciao Pour L’instant,

Uncle Chuck & The Happy she's Still Going to Paris

Dragon Lady