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.
