6000 miles for the hassle. That’d be the equivalent of Airtran giving you 4 A+ credits.

Needless to say, I’ll be booking my flight to Singapore on NWA.

———–
Dear Mr. Ward,
RE: Case Number 6621013

Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding the broken seat while
traveling with us a couple weeks ago. On behalf of everyone at
Northwest and Mesaba Airlines, I sincerely apologize for the discomfort
you endured during this trip.

I am very sorry and certainly understand your frustration with the
broken seat, which did not recline. I can only imagine how
uncomfortable it must have been. I am sorry the rest of coach cabin was
full to give you another seat. Be assured that Northwest aggressively
competes for the opportunity to serve you and your comfort is of
paramount concern. Please know that feedback like yours will help us to
improve our overall customer experience. I also want to assure you that
I have forwarded your comments to our Line Maintenance leadership team
for internal follow up.

In an effort to express how sorry I am, I have added 6,000 WorldPerks
bonus miles. Please allow three business days for the miles to appear
in your account.

As our WorldPerks member, I hope I have been able to at least alleviate
any concerns you have about our service. Your business is important to
us and given the opportunity of serving you in the future, I am
confident Northwest will not only meet but exceed your expectations.

Sincerely,

Meggan Brandt
Customer Care
Northwest/KLM/Delta Air Lines

Original Message Follows:
————————-

NW/KL Customer Care Form:
Title: Mr
First Name: Brad
Last Name: Ward
Reply-To Email Address:
WorldPerks Number:
Street Address 1:
Street Address 2:
City:
State/Province: IN
Zip/Postal Code:
Country: US
Flight Date: 11/05/2008
Flight Number: NW3468
Origin City:
Destination City:
Ticket Number:
Confirmation Number:
Response Required: Yes
====================
Message:
I was in seat 7C, which I found out upon entering cruising altitude had
a broken seat. It would not recline at all, no matter how much myself
or the flight attendants tried. Being 6′3, 220 lbs, this made the
flight extremely uncomfortable and unproductive since I could not open
my small laptop after the person in front of me reclined.
There were 8 business class seats on this flight, I believe. All were
empty. Before we left, a younger student who improperly boarded as a
standby without being cleared at the gate was moved into a business
class seat.
When I asked if I could move into one of the 7 remaining seats (the rest
of the flight was nearly full, and the remaining window seats at that
point had been taken over by slouching/sleeping passengers who made
themselves in both seats), I was refused the opportunity. This was
extremely upsetting to me, knowing that I was a mere 4 rows from being
comfortable.
After I expressed that I did not need the free drinks or food and I just
needed a seat to be more comfortable in, I again was told that this was
not a possibility and I would have had to pay the $120 at the gate (now
1+ hour into the flight) to be afforded the opportunity to sit there.
I have flown NWA for nearly all of 2008 business travel, and have
already scheduled travel to Santiago, Chile in January. With a looming
flight to Singapore, Singapore in February, I want to book the tickets
but just can’t get myself to do it knowing that a MUCH longer trip might
potentially result in a similar situation with an equally dissatisfying experience.

Brad J Ward

Dear Mr. Henderson,
On behalf of AirTran Airways, please accept my apology for any less than satisfactory service you received from our Atlanta customer service agent. All of our crew members are instructed to professionally perform their responsibilities while providing the highest level of customer service and I regret any failure in this instance. A copy of your comments has been sent to the department head for review and correction as needed.

All reservations are subject to cancellation without notice if the passenger is not present at the boarding gate at least ten minutes prior to the original scheduled departure time of the flight. In the event that a passenger is delayed by AirTran in arriving to the gate within ten minutes of departure time, we make every effort to accommodate that passenger.

Please understand that prior to push back, the cockpit crew must determine the weight of the aircraft according to passenger load. The ten minute rule was designed to allow ample time to calculate these figures prior to departure. When a significant number of passengers are added to the flight, the numbers must be re-evaluated, which can cause a considerable delay.

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to hold our flights for delayed connecting customers. This is an example of the complex decisions that must be made when customer service is weighed against a timely departure. Please understand we are trying to achieve a balance between the two.

Your continued support is important to us. We hope to have an opportunity in the future to better serve you and regain your confidence in our airline.
Sincerely,

Stacy Stevens
Customer Relations Department
AirTran Airways

I think they would’ve been better off just using the first and last paragraphs. The other two remind me when I try to justify to my wife why I screwed up. That always gets me in deeper trouble

You bring up good points. I readily admit I could have called the number and asked for the manager. But at that moment, I felt like AirTran’s system was broken, not just the two people I had dealt with.

I did fill out the contact form on their website. It has a message that says:

“Due to the large volume of email we receive, we may not be able to respond to your message immediately. If your comments and concerns are time-sensitive, please call our reservations center at 1-800-AIR-TRAN (1-800-247-8726) or 678-254-7999.”

Since my complaint isn’t time sensitive, I’ll wait for their reply.

I twittered because at that moment, I knew my voice could be heard and that someone would empathize with me. (They did, by the way.) I blogged about it because I realized it was a good example of the risks companies face by not providing great services/products and not listening to their customers.

Who knows where this will end up. If AirTran won’t listen, I know someone who read this blog has gained insight they can use to improve their business or organization.

So, looking at the other side of this, what did you achieved by sending those messages? Is Barbra still giving horrible customer service? Did AirTran change their hiring procedure?