Stuck in Africa; The Death of Customer Service!

I missed my flight because what was supposed to be sorted out wasn't. I will transcribe what I wrote down last night to adequately paint a picture of what I have gone through with Delta. From my journal, the second entry I wrote so far:

It is not that uncommon for me to miss a flight. Usually though, it can be attributed to some fault of my own, and Io am completely comfortable with it. This time, I am truly upset because of the amount of tike I, my sister, and my friends have spent trying to avoid this very situation.
Let me preface this story won the death of customer service in the U.S. by stating that when I came back from the airport at nearly midnight after having missed a flight, I was clearly frustrated, but broken, and briefly informed that my hotel was full. I am not sure if it was excellent customer service, or my silent look fo desperation, but I am now iuna bed that belongs to a student guide, with all o fhis personal belongings beside me. I di buy him a drink, and I believe he is sleeping in a tent tonight, but going above and beyond for a customer is what service is about, and they excelled at it here. With not a room available in the entire Meru House hotel, I received a bed at no charge when I needed it most.
Now let me give you an example of horrible customer service, bordering on illegal I believe. I discovered I was missing one solitary ticket about 3 weeks ago. Whether it was stolen, missing, or pulled by the agent when I came to Kilimanjaro (which is what I believe happened since it was written in my record) is not the point. The point is I proactively contacted KLM 3 weeks ago by visiting their office. They told me award tickets needed to be dealt with by the issueing airline, and that Delta in the U.S. simply needed to issue an electronic replacement since I had all the other tickets. They assured me the Delta online help desk was excellent and not to worry. As I was leaving for Zanzibar the following morning, I wrote a book of an email to the online help desk explaining I was in Tanzania mostly without power, that I would be away from phones and power for nearly a week, the situation, gave all my numbers, credit card info, etc.. I also explained how KLM had instructed me they could not help, and that I had personally visited their office. 3 days later I received a 1 sentence reply stating I needed to contact their “partner” KLM, and the details of their U.S. offices.
When I received this notice while on Zanzibar, I was a little bit upset, but decided to spend a fortune and call Delta, wait on hold, and speak to an agent. After some investigating and some more hold time, I was directed to visit the KLM office. After I once again explained I already had, she told me to visit the one at the airport, as if the head office of Tanzania was not capable of doing what a small airport staff could. I remained calm and asked the agent to put what she told me in writing and email it to me so that I could take it to KLM and they would be more helpful. She replied that she would, and I received a copy of my itinerary with no notes or statements emailed to me. This of course, I already had and was completely useless. I did, however, ask to be transferred to the international Frequent Flier around the world desk, which 9 out of 10 times has meant I get transferred to a different desk and waste more time on hold. She did manage to do this though, and the new agent I spoke with promised to contact KLM personally and sort things out. I asked for an email on the progress when she was through, but she mentioned she was not able to do so because they were not authorized, but that she would request authorization to do so. Again, I left with some hope, and a bill for nearly $50U.S.
When I returned to Dar Es Salaam, having not received an email, I returned to the KLM office. This time I stated Delta told me they could help, and was directed to an agent who specialized in reward travel, though she was busy for 45 minutes counting money. After she listened to my story, looked at my reservation, and saw the notes of the conversation with KLM, she instructed me to call Senegal, as the note stated that Senegal had Delta ticketing authority and that she could not help me. This made no sense to me, and meant more long distance calls and a third party, but I could not work with Delta because of the 10 hour time difference, so I called Senegal after leaving KLM with a print-out of my ticket notes. Both numbers listed were for a hotel in Senegal, which spoke only French, and had no ticketing info. Why Senegal was ever involved still confuses me, but I try not to think about it.
At this point I am wasting entire days dealing with this, and have even been to the airport in Dar Es Salaam. That evening, after convincing a call place to stay open late, I once again spoke with Delta, was cut-off, and tried again. Again a lot of hold time, but the last agent I spoke with was very positive, stating I could have a friend fill out a lost ticket form, and if I didn’t go to India, the entire thing could be ticketed electronically. At this point I was tired of traveling, and wanted to just go direct to China, maybe with a bit of a stay in Europe if possible, and asked the agent to figure something out and that I would email my sister to continue in my place. She gave my sister authority to do so, and said she would try and get me to China direct from Europe. I had a bus to Mbeya early the next morning, so I emailed my sister all the details, and left it in her hands.
The following evening I received an email from my sister stating that after hours on the phone, I needed to go to Senegal. Thousands of miles away, and I seem to remember something about visiting KLM. No progress at all whatsoever. This email prompted an email to my friend Brian about the lost ticket application, and my friend Adam chatted with me while I was online and also offered to help. Between the 3 of them, I ended up with an email stating KLM Amsterdam had faxed Kilimanjaro airport, I just needed to go there and fill out a lost ticket application, pay a fee, and they would give me a new ticket. Again, I felt positive, though I was a 15 hour bus ride from Arusha.
I arrived in Arusha on late Sunday night, and once again called Delta because it was my preference to just do the application the day I left, rather than pay $50US taxi to the airport, or take a bus for more than an hour to fill out an application. I was assured that I could do it the day of departure. I even asked if they could check on possibly flying from Zurich to China instead of India, and the agent promptly found an available flight. I asked him to change nothing, but to reserve the flight. Again, I got off the phone feeling positive, but skeptical, and emailed my sister to confirm what the gentleman said as I was going on a safari for the next 3 days. She did call them, and said everything was legit.
That brings me to today, the 13th of December, and the day of my departure. I actually arrived very early for my flight, and apparently Amsterdam never contacted KLM, and a new ticket would cost near $2000. I called Delta, they couldn’t help, so I asked them to note they needed to reimburse me. I was not able to buy a ticket however because they didn’t accept credit cards at the airport. My following Delta calls kept getting cut-off, or I was on hold while my phone credit ran out, or I was transferred to the wrong people. I left my sister a message to sort things out again, having spent nearly $300 U.S. on calls, internet, taxi, bus, hotel, etc…. I am still here.

Wish me luck. Thanks Michelle, Brian, and Adam for all your help. I am tired and looking forward to Christmas, or any resolution really. Tomorrow is another day.

Sorry for writing a book.
Thanks,
Christoph