Flying DL 131 ATL-LAS today, was at the gate about 1hr early to volunteer for bump (traveling alone). The GA told me that they would "certainly" need people, said comp would start at $400 for me and would go up if any subsequent volunteers got higher comp. It sounded like she was expecting to have multiple bumps. I asked if she wanted me to stay close or if it would be alright to go to the club, she said it was fine to swing back 30 min prior to departure. She took my BP and wrote #1 on it.
Came back at the prescribed time and the boarding area was packed
. Visited the GA who didn't remember me at first but then the lightbulb went off and she said they didn't need me after all. I was a bit surprised as I was told by club agents it was oversold and (not sure of it matters) according to the screens there were still around 15 names on the standby list.
All in all it's fine since I'm enroute to LAS as planned right now but I definitely would have liked the opportunity to pick up a voucher today. I've never had much experience with VDB; is there anything I could have done to facilitate it? Is it possible that someone else was bumped before me if they happened to be at the gate? Would appreciate any tips!