When we watch the nightly news, it’s mostly about bad things happening. Similarly, I am aware that many Tripso.com posts are about when things go wrong. So here’s a post — with comments invited — about a couple airline issues that have actually gone right.
First was a flight from Chicago to San Francisco on United Airlines last week. The flight attendant was clearing the cabin and dropped a mostly empty cup, which had contained a Bloody Mary. The cup hit the airline floor and splashed a bit on my skirt. As the skirt was washable, no harm done, and with soda water from the flight attendant, I was able to get the marks out.
Before we landed, however, the attendant handed me a card, which apologized for the inconvenience, and asked me to go to the airline site with a code and select something for compensation. The choices ended up being a discount on a future trip, bonus miles, or a few 500 mile electronic upgrades.
I wasn’t upset about the spill and wouldn’t have thought anything much of it. As it turned out, I got a nice fuzzy feeling — and with luck, a future upgrade.
Another story is from a travel agent point of view. One of my clients had changed, and changed, a reservation to Washington, D.C. And somehow I accidentally ended up issuing two identical tickets for her, which neither she nor I noticed until she returned and got her credit card statement.
So I called United, explained the situation, and was given an email address to explain. I wrote an email, sent it off, and got an automatic response that they would respond in approximately five business days.
I wasn’t exactly optimistic, but in three business days, I got an email back saying that they had refunded the second ticket in its entirety. No penalty, no delay, no nothing. And a delighted client.
It’s unfortunate that good service seems like such a surprise these days, but it is out there. Both of these stories were about United, but since we can all use some positive stories, would love to hear more from readers.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
This was about 10 years ago or so, but does involve United: I had been flying on United quite a bit during this time period going between Chicago and Denver. On my last flight before Thanksgiving (I can’t remember if it was the week of Thanksgiving or the week before), during the early stages of descent for landing, a flight attendant woke me up and said that, to thank me for being a loyal customer of United, they wanted to give me a bottle of wine.
While I do not drink and kind of was bothered that I was awakened, I thought the move was very nice, and my in-laws liked the wine I got. I think I still have the empty bottle around here somewhere…
As for more recent times, I unfortunately do not fly as much as I used to, but I have found the people I interact with (gate attendants and flight attendants mainly) always nice and helpful–but then, I also do my best to be nice to them and not a boor.
While I have a lot of “Bad Stories”…(Airtran..Sigh)… I was VERY IMPRESSED with Continental. I took them last November when going home to visit. I had never flown them that I can recall, and did not know what to expect. I however figured, they were the cheapest and offered a nonstop flight. Why not go for it and see.
Let me tell you, I was ecstatic about my experience. The steward / stewardesses were very friend. I asked for a couple extra snacks ( I was hungry for some reason) and they brought me them with a smile. They were very polite and accommodating. I didn’t any grumbling from my request. A matter of fact, they even gave me a few extra packets of peanuts, just in case. Overall, it was an enjoyable ride. To top things off, we even arrived at the destination EARLY. I mean how often does that happen these days?
Kudos to Continental. Next time I fly, I will be using you again. First impressions mean everything, and I have to say, mine was fantastic.