I started writing the same thing. Cabbing over to Grand Central and picking up Metro North worked for our daughter every time.
^^ And the cab ride from LGA to Grand Central would have been less than $30.
I probably would have asked the airline for assistance as it is their issue that caused the problem. I know that sometimes they will put you up in a place to stay. I would write them a rather sharp note explaining what happened and the bill you had to foot- perhaps they will give you flight credit for a ride home another time. As for what I would have done- I agree that I would have made my way over to grand central as soon as I landed to see what my options were there. Even if I missed the last train back, there would be more options earlier if he had to stay up the night.
I think we can also talk to our kids about checking with others around them to see what the options are. My D had an Amtrak train stuck in NY and after 2 hours they announced that they should take Metro North. She was texting me asking what to do and how to get there. It was late at night and she had extra bags so walking or taking the two unfamiliar subways did not seem like good options. I told her to ask all the passengers around her what they were doing. She ending up finding a nice person to share a cab to Grand Central. This was fall of freshman year. Now she is a pro at navigating around NYC.
Interestingly (frustratingly) DS DID send them a complaint through their website. But American, while polite, only offered him 5000 frequent flyer miles which will expire in July. It would take 25,000 to get a ticket home - which is still only about half the cost of that cab ride. A friend said they’d had better success tweeting their complaint rather than contacting them through their website - on social media they become aware of the bad experience while also experiencing the bad press. Maybe I’ll try that.
I’d try again. I had an experience with Delta where I arrived “just in time” at the gate to take an earlier flight (my flight was very very delayed as I discovered when I reached the airport) but there was no room for my carryon. They more or less grabbed it and pushed me down the jetway. I only remembered later that my laptop was in the outer pocket. Needless to say it was broken when I got it back from baggage claim. I thought I was out $1000 but decided to complain that they never even asked me if I had a computer in there (laptops aren’t supposed to go in the hold because of the battery). No questions asked other than for the receipt (it was a new computer) and they paid. I was amazed. Using social media and playing up the “young kid” angle is a great idea.
I would call and then speak to someone rather than email them- Play the kid card and how upset you were and that its not like he was stuck at small regional airport but a major city. Get the cost of the uber paid for and then ask for the ticket as well. If nothing else, they might cover the cab fare- 5000 points seems like a standard payoff.
Hi everyone – new to this group and was hoping for some advice. I’m finally getting started on gift shopping and I was thinking about getting my daughter either a gift certificate for a massage or a pass to a yoga studio to help with her stress (it was a tough semester). Does anyone have any recommendations for places near campus? Breathing Room Yoga and Elm City Wellness have a lot of good Yelp reviews but I was wondering if anyone knows more about them before I purchase?
There have been some posters touting Smartwool socks here, and there was an interesting LoR for Smartwool in this Sunday’s NYT magazine: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/magazine/letter-of-recommendation-smartwool-socks.html?_r=0. As I’ve said before, I personally prefer Point6, but they’re both made of merino wool, and iirc, both companies were founded by the same people.
@HollyDC, I wish that I could help you. I will ask DS to ask his not-officially-a-GF if she knows :)) Re tough semester: my advice is to be prepared to adjust your parental instincts to choppy waters. I know that it’s easier said than done.
There are yoga sessions available on campus, open to all, so the massage might be a good way to go–but don’t have any personal recommendations to make. More local parents might be able to help here… @Tperry1982 ?
Off topic here but I’m beyond frustrated with the laundry service at this point. This was a ‘gift’ to my dd from her brother to make her first year easier. So far she has had a dress, two shirts and now a skirt ‘disappear’ from her laundry upon return. She has been told they have a $99 limit on refunds for ‘lost items’. These are not ‘lost’. They were in her laundry when she turned them in and NOT upon return. Anyone else had this experience because at this point I’m ready to report it to the college myself.
I don’t recall there being a limit on reimbursements for missing items; DS had some stuff not appear. He now does laundry himself.
I am especially sorry that your D’s brother had the disappointing experience of wanting to make things better for his sister and having it be otherwise. Sometimes it really is the thought that counts.
The thought that counts is great… but she can’t afford to replace good clothing, nor should sfe have to. I will insist that DD report it but considering it appears this isn’t an isolated situation why is it allowed to go on with a business affiliated with Yale? I wouldn’t brush off 4 dry cleaned items going missing in a month any where else.
@Suemomsie, I didn’t mean to say that you should let it rest at “the thought that counts,” I was just sympathizing with your DD’s brother. Someone on this thread might know where to address your letter. I’d be tempted to see if “The Haggler” of the NYT could be tempted to make a story of it; I read him consistently, and I don’t recall this topic coming up, so it might be of interest to him.
Good luck.
@Suemomsie My daughter has a roommate that has lost a few items as well- apparently its a common thing. She does her own laundry and its not much better- you have to commit to sitting there waiting for it to dry or you take the chance of others “shopping” in your dryer as she put it. She has lost 3 pair of yoga pants, a Yale sweatshirt and a Yale shirt. She has resorted to drying it mostly and then letting it air dry in her room if its something she fears would be taken.
My daughter had her first ever finals meltdown yesterday morning- it was actually silly in the long run. She was at a meeting in Milford and had arranged a ride there but was paralyzed over how to take the train back to NH. She was so overtired that she could not think rationally and she was embarrassed about it so she wouldn’t ask the parents there for help. It was kind of funny to me. It was so out of character for her. I ended up driving out to New Haven (an hour away) to give her a 15 min ride back to campus. I have to admit that it made me feel good to be able to do that. She paid me back with dinner on her guest swipe. I think she is so used to us helping her through the stress and lacking sleep that she panicked. She was laughing about it later (especially when I showed her she was only a block away from the train platform and how easy it would have been to just get back).
@Memmsmom, I have to admit that I was tempted to drive the nearly two hours to NH to drive DS to the airport for his internship interview flight. He didn’t know that it was the last direct flight of the day, and while he’s brilliant in many ways, he’s also dizzy in a way that only teenaged boys can be (I have children of both genders, trust me on this). Sanity prevailed, I stayed home, he made his flight, and apparently rocked the interviews even without me :))
It’s a good thing we are 2 hours away. In your shoes, I’d have done the same thing. 
That’s a sweet story @Memmsmom! There are so few opportunities to “be the savior” as our kids get older that they become minor treasures. And how wonderful for your daughter to know that you will be there for her, and have a story to laugh about later.
I was gardening last May while listening to one of those radio stories about parents who “do too much”. At that moment my newly-graduated daughter called me and said that she needed to write a deposit check for an apartment “now” and wasn’t getting her first paycheck for a few days. I chuckled then transferred money to her account (of course she paid me back a week or two later). When you can swoop in to help, you do.
My son used that service for four years at boarding school. Nothing ever got officially lost, but a few items got mixed up with other students’ laundry. It was high school so we parents labelled EVERYTHING–and most of the mix-ups were within the dorm so easy enough to sort out. I suspect someone else now is in possession of your daughters’ items and doesn’t know who to return them to.
The EandR bags are “guarded” by a Yale work study until they are picked up (I know because this was my son’s sweet job one semester!), so I doubt they are being stolen on site. I’d raise a fuss with E&R–the service a lot of schools, and don’t want bad reviews on line, so I suspect they’ll reimburse your daughter if pushed.
And I’d advise anyone getting laundry service to buy iron-on tags that include a name and cell number or email address. It’s actually not a bad idea to label clothes in general, especially for guys who often forget what their own clothes look like (further support for @IxnayBob 's smart but dizzy boy theorem).
@classicalmama
I love the iron on labels but do you think the ditzy set would protest? I label all of my ditzy son’s crew gear and I get eye rolls. Mind you whenever we are at a regatta and there is a pile of wet clothing on the ground nine times out of ten the items belong to my kiddo!
BTW-how many kids make use of this laundry service? Do most just do their own laundry?