I am in Arizona. Mark and I, in fact, are going to the Fiesta Bowl tomorrow (I don't really care about the game, but it's an "event", a "spectacle", and I do want to see that cool new stadium).
I arrived yesterday morning around 9:30 am.
My suitcase, at this writing, is still in Chicago.
I spent a ridiculous amount of time on the phone yesterday with United baggage reps who are, as you might have guessed, in India. I had a great deal of trouble understanding them; their accents are too thick. Plus, they really didn't seem interested in doing anything but reading their prepared scripts, "apologizing" for the problem, and then moving on.
That's what outsourcing has done to our economy, unfortunately. No wonder United has such a bad reputation for customer service.
So, this morning I drove back to the Phoenix airport to see if I could get some help there. I spoke to a very helpful United employee named Mary Jo, who took my information and promised to call me. I have a local phone number I can call, and got a form I can fill out for compensation if the bag is never found, or if I have to buy things here. She also told me that United employees in the US are just as frustrated when they have to call the people in India -- they can't understand them either.
Anyway, tonight I'll stay in and watch the Bears game. Hopefully, my suitcase will be here by then. End rant. Happy New Year, everyone.