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The Street
The Street
Jeffrey Quiggle

Delta Airlines Customers Angry as Familiar Problem Gets Worse

Delta Airlines (DAL) customers are continuing to find themselves frustrated over a familiar annoyance.

In April, the problem was more widely reported on social media than now, so hope does persist that it's getting better.

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The irritation centers around the carrier's long hold times as customers take to the phone to report issues or attempt to gather information.

"Been waiting on hold for @Delta for over an hour and a half," tweeted Michael Lane (@1MichaelLane). "I've probably been on the phone with them 5-6 hours over 3 calls involving an upcoming trip. This is frustrating!"

But one Delta customer had a particularly creative way of dealing with the challenge.

Maria D'Ambrosio, who plays French horn in Montana for the Bozeman and Helena symphonies, pulled her instrument out of its case and played along with the on-hold music.

The song was Harriet Goldberg's "My Time to Fly."

"I’ve done a lot of arranging in the past, and have also done a lot of transcribing by ear," she told MilesQuest. "This was a fun way to pass the time, and it was fun to share that with an online audience."

All airlines have their headaches, but phone service seems to a particularly difficult one for Delta.

"When bad weather hits, more passengers call in than normal, and overwhelm phone lines," wrote View From the Wing. "Of course bad weather is predictable most of the time. That’s what meteorologists are for. But while an airline may have overtime, they in general staff on averages (which include making customers, at least non-elite customers, wait). They don’t staff based on the days that customer needs will peak."

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