Why Southwest has my loyalty

[kevin47881]

As some of you may know, I am flying SW (WN) to MCO or FLL every week.
I find their flight crews to be extremely accommodating and friendly. Never mind the fact they don't stick me for checking baggage. And fair pricing, did I mention pricing?

So, why this rambling you may ask. Here's what happened today which SW deserves public kudos for (hence this post):

My flight is scheduled to leave tomorrow at 9:30 am. At that time this morning I signed on to check in. Kept getting a message stating I was outside the 24 hours or inside the 1 hour mark. Hmmm, recheck my calendar and it shows a Monday flight at 9:30 am. Confused as to what the snafu may be, I call SW about 9:45. Erica answered the call and listened to my state of confusion.

I provided her with the confirmation number and she punches it into her system. Erica proceeds to tell me I was booked on the flight this morning and it has departed. D'oh! I am the snafu lol. I explained the reservation should have been for tomorrow and could she help change things around. Within 90 seconds I had a confirmation on tomorrows flight. She also confirmed my return and we left that alone.

Not such a big deal is it? Well, as Paul Harvey would say, here's the rest of the story...
The flight tomorrow was the same price as when booked. There was no change fee applied. When she validated the return flight she stated the price has dropped and she was going to refund me difference of what I paid and the current rate. What a minute...did she just voluntarily reduce my fare and credit me the amount??? You bet your a** she did!

That my friends, is what customer service is all about!

We are quick to ***** and moan about things that don't go well but often reluctant to give an attaboy when deserved. SW deserve this public attaboy.

 

[ScottM]

Kudos to SW for fixing your mistake at no additional cost. The two majors I fly on would have probably had no problem charging me.

 

[kevin47881]

Kudos to SW for fixing your mistake at no additional cost. The two majors I fly on would have probably had no problem charging me.

I have 750k miles on one of the majors and they would have fee'd me to death with a smile.

 

[ScottM]

I have 750k miles on one of the majors and they would have fee'd me to death with a smile.

I have a million on one and almost 3 million on the other. The one where I have a million still treats me pretty poorly even under the best of conditions. The one where I have almost 3 million does treat me better but on something like this I most likely would have had to pay at least $100. On rare occasions I have been able to get the latter airline to waive that fee. But that usually only happens when it is for their convenience.

 

[CT Arrow]

Kevin, I too use SW 90% of the time for Domestic travel and love them! Their pricing is great, flex seating is awesome and customer service is stellar! Could be just a few reasons why SW is so succesful!

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Southwest is great! I wish the company would book me on them more. Last year, I somehow printed the bording pass for the second leg of my trip twice, didn't print the first leg. I get to the airport 2 hours ahead and find a 1 hour TSA line. The TSA guy at the top of the line checks boarding pass & ID, didn't say anything. The second check point when you enter the secure area- no boarding pass for the first leg- won't let me in. Go to the SWA machines, get new boarding passes. Top of the line again, I explain the situation- you must stand in the line- no jumping ahead. I got to the checkpoint just after my flight leaves- the foolish TSA person lets me in (remember- my flight just left!! Also note- not much of a rant against TSA since the original mistake was mine- just a comment on their consistancy). I go to the SAW podium at the next gate- the nice person said they may be able to reroute me on the flight that is just leaving (in 5 min!), but it is overbooked. I asked how come she may be able to board me- she replied that a lot of the people are still stuck in the same line that I went through. I shut up and stepped back- they had me rebooked, got to my destinaltion only an hour later than anticipated, no change fee.

In contrast, I flew NorthWorst through NYC. There was a late Nor'easter later in the week- I called, found out there were seats available, the customer service rep knew about the storm. The mayor was on CNN explaining evac plans for the shore areas of NYC, ships had to clear the draw bridges by 4PM since they were closing them all, etc. NWA charged me a $100 change fee, I got out ahead of the storm. The next day, it was on the news how all the NYC airports were closed. I complained to NWA- they didn't refund the money- I got a voucher only good on the NWA web site and had to be used within a year. It was a pain using it (since it was corporate travel I gave the voucher to our travel coordinator).

Now if SWA could do something about their rules concerning scantily clad women...

 

[Skip Miller]

Now if SWA could do something about their rules concerning scantily clad women...

Evidently they have something against scantily clad men.....

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Authorities say a St. Louis-bound Southwest Airlines flight was forced to return to Oakland International Airport after a male passenger stripped, hit another passenger and fought with crew members.

Alameda County sheriff's deputies say flight 947 returned Thursday morning after 21-year-old Darius Chappille of Oakland allegedly exposed himself to the female passenger sitting next to him and punched her in the face.

Lt. Howard Jacobs says flight attendants and other passengers then subdued Chappille, as he disrobed. He was apparently completely naked when sheriff's deputies arrested him.

Chappille and the woman were taken to the hospital for minor injuries.

 

[wsuffa]

Yep, Southwest is great. I was flying them almost every week when I moved from San Antonio back to DC.

Like Scott, I've got about 3 million miles on one major carrier, and nearly a million on another. And I'm top-tier status on both (already renewed that status through 2010). IMHO, that buys me the service that everyone should get.

Those airlines have no problem charging me for a change, and our mandatory travel agent really *****ed the pooch for me last week by losing both my seat and upgrade on a return flight from LAX. Even if you PAY for "service", it's lousy.

If I want to fly Southwest for work, I have to justify using them over using the corporate carrier (spare the explaination, I've negotiated corporate deals and painfully know why...).

 

[citationxjl]

I fly SW whenever possible. Called a few times to cancel a reservation for a couple of our pilots. Phone call was about 2 minutes long. Told me I had that amount credited to use within 2 years (had purchased a non-refundable). No fees for checked bags, no fees to change flights, happier ticket and gate agents.

 

[ScottM]

I will not make 1k this year. I am sorta glad. Next year I am going back to flying AA. Even though UAL is our contract carrier I can often times find a cheaper AA flight and with my permanent platinum status and multi-million mile level I still am getting free upgrades.

 

[mikea]

I will not make 1k this year. I am sorta glad. Next year I am going back to flying AA. Even though UAL is our contract carrier I can often times find a cheaper AA flight and with my permanent platinum status and multi-million mile level I still am getting free upgrades.

You guys oughtta try teleconferencing.

 

[ScottM]

You guys oughtta try teleconferencing.

We do that too. But it really, REALLY sucks being on the phone for 5 hours in the middle of the night. I do get a lot of PoA posting that way but other than that I cannot think of an upside!

 

[wsuffa]

You guys oughtta try teleconferencing.

We do that too. But it really, REALLY sucks being on the phone for 5 hours in the middle of the night. I do get a lot of PoA posting that way but other than that I cannot think of an upside!

What Scott said. For me, it frequently runs over drive time and happy hour, which is suboptimal.

There is a LOT of stuff that is best done face-face.... especially in deal making.

 

[ScottM]

There is a LOT of stuff that is best done face-face.... especially in deal making.

So much of the work I do is political that the real deal making is in the hallways and during coffee breaks. Teleconferencing does not allow that and it actually seems to delay consensus form happening.

 

[murphey]

There was a time when I worked for a major aerospace company, we were required to fly UAL unless there were no other options. I hit premier status over 2 weeks. And UAL decided to trash all my miles without telling me - afterall, I went
18 months with no activity...no amount of discussion would change it. Of course I stopped flying UAL when they stranded me at Oshkosh (wed of the show) due to weather. When I say stranded, that's what I mean. Ever try to find a hotel on Wed? Anything? At least I could get the rental car back. Ended up spending over $200 in Appleton. Then they shipped me to Cincinnati to go back to Colorado. Of course someone at UAL screwed that one up, too. Delta or whoever had no record of me altho I had the ticket in hand. And they lost my luggage for 3 days.

What did I get for my troubles? 5000 frequent flyer miles. I haven't flown UAL again. But I was going to gift the miles to my cousin - nope, no can do, they're gone.

I remember SW flight attendants in hotpants back in the 70s. I used to commute from Austin to Phoenix and Houston to everywhere....

 

[tdager]

So much of the work I do is political that the real deal making is in the hallways and during coffee breaks. Teleconferencing does not allow that and it actually seems to delay consensus form happening.

So many do not realize that. They think teleconferencing/video conferencing is the way to go.

Too many people seem to forget how much work is done in hallway/break room impromptu meetings.

BTW, I will fly SW once they allow assigned seating.

 

[flyersfan31]

I luv SWA. It's amazing what a contrast it is, flying Southwest vs the majors. Service with a smile, instead of a snarl.

 

[wsuffa]

So much of the work I do is political that the real deal making is in the hallways and during coffee breaks. Teleconferencing does not allow that and it actually seems to delay consensus form happening.

BTDT in Geneva and Washington. And still do some of that....

 

[SCCutler]

So many do not realize that. They think teleconferencing/video conferencing is the way to go.

Too many people seem to forget how much work is done in hallway/break room impromptu meetings.

BTW, I will fly SW once they allow assigned seating.

Since I rarely have the luxury of booking much in advance, I find Southwest's opens eating a substantial benefit; never yet stuck with a middle seat.

Also, if I board and find a particularly offensive person in the seat next to mine on a traditional, assigned-seat carrier, with flights as full a sthey are these days, I am usually stuck; not so on SWA.

Finally, since I live at the main hub of AA, if there is any weather irregularity, I (as an O&D passenger) am likely to be thrown under the bus, schedule-wise. Because it's weather, they have no obligation to do anything for me, and they avail themselves of the opportunity to do nothing. I don't fly all that terribly much, and yet I have been stranded (1) at SNA on a Sunday, flight canceled with no explanation (AA: "... "no available flights will get you there..." - here I am with wife and (then) 4-yr-old son; had to be in court in the morning; bought $1150 tickets on America West); (2) at SFO, weather in Dallas on a Friday (AA: "...no flights available until Tuesday..."; I found one on UAL the next day, AA rep :"wow, we didn't see that..."); (3) stranded at Baton Rouge, LA- there was a *brief* clump of thunderstorms at DFW, AA (like the do) canceled their entire schedule for a re-start next day, said that they could get us home "in a couple of days" - we ended up renting a Hyundai and driving home, got home about 3:00 a.m.; (4) WX in Dallas area caused flight from FLL to DFW to be diverted and held on ground at SAT (kudos to cockpit and cabin crew for their exceptional service that time), when we finally flew to DFW, we held just short of the gate for 45 minutes (gate was open, no personnel to marshal the plane in), and bags took 1.5 hours.

When ops get irregular, SWA dispatches extra customer service personnel to the gate area to assist; AA closes the podium, refers all inquiries to the telephone, which is inevitably overloaded, "...due to excessive call volume, your wait time may be excessive- you may want to use our web site... "then, after 40 minutes holding, it dumps the call.

It is how you handle the unusual and exceptional that defines corporate character and in vastly more flying on SWA than AA, they've had dramatically fewer disruptions, and have handled all with grace and respect for the passengers.

I much prefer an unassigned seat that gets me where I am going, than an assigned seat that does not.

---

Of course, I most prefer my own plane.