Well my luck definitely ran out. Sorry for the long semi-rant post. Decided at the last minute to take a cab to EWR (stupid bellman... I'm a former NYC flight attendant who knows better), which cost me almost $150; I had budgeted for the $40ish train ride. I got a notice that our flight was delayed about 20 minutes, no big deal.
This was my first time flying Polaris and I was really excited. Polaris check in at EWR was terrible. They made us use self check kiosks and the woman putting the tags on my bag wanted to be anywhere but at work. Didn't tell us which way to security, didn't tell us where the lounge was, she literally said nothing. I had to ask which security check point for Pre-Check. When I checked myself in, a message popped up about volunteering for a later flight etc. but I said no (spoiler alert, big mistake).
Got to the Polaris Lounge about 6:00 and it was packed. None of the videos I had watched about the lounge came close to last night's numbers. We checked in at the restaurant and they were on a 35 minute wait, which wasn't bad considering the crowd. As we were waiting, I said I was going to go to the desk to get more details about the volunteering option, but I never did (again, big mistake). Restaurant definitely lived up to the hype: the Polaris burgers were amazing and the chocolate chip skillet cookie was to die for. Our server started talking to my nephew about his Yankees hat and she ended up talking to us a long time, her service was excellent. She offered us all 3 deserts when we debated on which two we wanted.
We took advantage of the shower rooms, which were also nice. After that, it was time to head to the gate. I saw the pilot and FA crew sitting in the waiting area and I knew we were in for a longer delay. Again, I am looking forward to skipping dinner and sleeping in my lie flat seat so no big deal. Then I overhear that the previous 2 or 3 LHR flights had cancelled and they were putting deadhead FAs on our flight. Again, no big deal because our plane is definitely leaving. After about 30 minutes, I went to the restroom and came back to my nephew gathering up our belongings because they had called us to the desk. Get to desk, guy confirms who I am and is doing the comical airline agent task of typing a gazillion words without saying anything to me. After about 5 minutes, I finally asked if we were getting bumped, and he replied that we were getting downgraded to Premium Plus. I was very nice but said how I disappointed was, and he just said "well, you booked on points so you're getting downgraded." No mention of compensation. So I asked if there would be any compensation available and he rudely said yes we would get $500 each.
It was a complete mess. The poor older couple who had booked on pts in Premium Plus got bumped to economy and they put us in their seats. The woman was fairly nice about it, but she wasn't happy because she heard the gate agent tell me our new seat numbers. Boarding begins and we are still standing there because he can't get the vouchers/credits to print/email (or however he was trying to get them to me). Finally, he gave up and just said "go ahead and board and you should have an email with your vouchers when you get there because I have sent this to customer care and noted it in your acct. If you don't have your credits by the time you get there, reach out to customer care." We were the last ones to board Premium Plus and we were in the exit row (yay for leg room, boo for literally being right next to the bathroom). Someone apparently swiped one of our amenity kits on the way to the back because we only had 1 for our 2 seats. I told 3 different employees (not realizing 1 guy on the plane was a gate agent( that we needed another kit. They all looked at me like I was crazy, and no one ever brought it.
So of course today I have no communications from United and had to submit a complaint. I used to work for Delta, have flown SWA almost exclusively since leaving that job in '04, I went through the SWA meltdown of Labor Day 2021 and Christmas meltdown this past year when I had to drive home 14 hrs alone. This experience was hands down the worst due to the complete lack of customer courtesy. As a former airline employee, I fully understand all the ins and outs, but there is just zero reason for employees being non-communicative and/or downright rude. I experienced both.
So.... if you are still reading this and you ever get the "do you want to volunteer" message, explore that option preemptively. Especially if you booked all points and have no airline status! Had I done so, I probably could have gotten a later flight in biz class (or maybe the next day with a hotel room paid for). Anyone had United promise them vouchers/credits and not get them on the spot?
ETA: KLM biz class both ways last August was amazing. I now know why everyone ranks U.S. airlines at the bottom. I forgot to mention that the breakfast they served us this morning was inedible. Literally. My nephew is a college kid who will eat anything. So when he says its inedible, you know its bad. (How do you mess up waffles??).
