October 16, 2017 11:54 PM
I’m having a terrible experience at London Heathrow. We landed at terminal 3 but my flight to LAX will leave out of terminal five. I ride the shuttle bus over there; it takes fifteen minutes. I get to security and am told my flight is the next day so I can’t go in; only terminal 3 is open to transit passengers.
So I ride back to terminal 3. I decide to go from a half marathon walk-a-thon to a full blown marathon distance.
I start at just before 10 pm because the airline lounge, though listed online as closing at 2230, actually closed at 2145.
And so I walk. And I put on my headphones and start listening to the Dirty John true crime podcast Steve recommended to me.
At 11:45 a guy tells me the airport is closed and all passengers are confined to gate 7. When I get to gate 7 I ask about just walking and the guy’s response is, “You can if you want to die.” I did a double take. He continued, “There’s workers all over and if you get hit in the head with a hammer after I’ve told you, we don’t even have to fill out the paperwork. It’s not my problem.”
I was astonished and had the good sense to tell him that I found that comment bullying and verbally abusive and inappropriate. I asked for a complaint form. He said he’d call a supervisor. His name is Mo. So far another member of staff has approached me. I asked if she was the supervisor and she said all the supervisors were busy but
she wondered if she could help; she asked me what happened and I relayed the story to her saying I found that comments from Mo totally inappropriate and upsetting.
I felt like she too was taken aback by the death comment. It really was an unnecessary and excessive escalation by Mo. I really, truly did feel verbally abused and it did and remains very upsetting to me. I’m still waiting for a supervisor.
Who threatens a customer with death? I mean, really? And how does an international hub of an airport close? What the heck is happening to this world? I guess I should have gone through immigration and customs and just walked around outside. You’d think this would’ve been easier and safer; instead I actually feel threatened. I say again, what the heck?!
Two supervisors show up at 12:15 am. I tell my story and one of the supervisors reply was, “yes, that’s true for health and safety, you could die.” THAT’S their stance? The other guy said it could have been phrased differently. They then lectured me on how for security that’s what they had to do, to confine us and my only other option was to land myself and exit the airport. Well if I did that now I’d have to be back here in five hours to give myself time to get through security and get to my gate. This is madness.
I’m actually quite shaken and upset. I don’t care if health and safety risk assessments are that I could die by walking – that’s not how you phrase it. Security, safety, all kinds of words you can use. You don’t lead with, “you can if you want to die.”
Ugh. This place! Who treats people like that?
***
12:27 AM
The supervisor says the gate agent has apologized. To whom I don’t know. He didn’t apologize to me. I guess to the supervisor for getting him involved?
I did receive a complaint form so I’m sending that along next.
So now I’m stuck in a shitty seating area with snoring passengers and the inability to move.
Sigh. I guess I should’ve gotten a hotel room. But I didn’t want to sleep… I wanted to walk.
