WestJet complaints up 150% !!

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WestJet's customer service is declining! Complaints to the government are up 150%

Air Canada's complaints have DROPPEDby 21% so they must be doing something right!

http://www.cta-otc.gc.ca/cta-otc2000...ndings3_e.html

Before I get slagged with emails yes I know Mark Twain's quote about Statistics
FlyerAl must have shifted his flying preference to WestJet!

Seriously, based on x% complaining (weather, time, service) on any service, and the shift of load from AC to WestJet, a good (bad?) portion of the statistics is merely a shift from supplier A to supplier W of those who will make official complaints.

Don't want to seem pat about it, but no one at AC should be grinning about it just yet. What does help is the thank-you's that some staff are now dispensing, which also helps lower the static level.
A lot of the complaints to AC earlier are due to the problems from integrating the 2 airlines (reservations, lugguage...). It's not surprising that the complaints at AC are dropping as things are starting to work its way back to the way it was supposed to.
Back seat,I don't get it.From July/Dec00 there were 2(Two) complaints.From Jan/June01 there were 5(Five)complaints.Agreed that the numbers have gone up.It hardly seems worth the effort.
You will always have someone unhappy.I would rather wait for the next numbers out to see if a trend is developing.
Personally,I belive that WJ seems to be doing a good job.Look to the rest of the complaints,there are/were other carriers with bigger concerns.
I think back seat was kind of joking with this thread by saying that complaints at Westjet went up 150% when the truth is that it only went from 2 to 5.
My personal wealth just went up by 150 percent as well.....5 whole dollars. What to do, what to do!
Actually I was referring to the percentage change. .. I see Westjet has .2% of the complaints and then increased to .3%!!!

And yes I was joking. Its amazing what you can do with numbers and the point you want to make.

This is my "poke" at the earlier survey I saw from a certain pilot group. Without some of the details you can draw what ever conclusion you want.

[This message has been edited by back seat (edited 11-29-2001).]
Let me guess - catering complaints?

These figures can be misleading - for example AC is not moving as many passengers as before, so it would make sense that their complaints would go down in proportion to their passengers. Westjet is flying more passengers so it would make sense that their complaints would proprtionately rise. Is it really 2-5 complaints that we're talking about here??? LMAO, if this is the case the precentages really throw things out of perspective in this example!
The transat and royal jumps are very interesting.

[This message has been edited by skofarrell (edited 11-29-2001).]
I'd bet the Canada3000 complaints would be *very* interesting...
There's just more things to complain about at AC: food (not offered on WJ, and perhaps not on AC now); lounges (definitely never on WJ); front cabin service (creates expectations you know); more locations to fly from (WJ is still only flying to a handful of places)
Huh? From the CBC:

Air travel complaints up sharply
Last Updated: Thu Nov 29 18:19:25 2001

OTTAWA - Canada's air travel complaints commissioner is recommending legislation to force airlines to publish their service records. Bruce Hood issued a report on Thursday, the second since his job was created more than a year ago.

Hood says complaints, particularly against Air Canada, have sharply increased - 33 per cent - in spite of the company's commitment to do better.

When former NHL referee Hood took on the job of air travel complaints commissioner, he expected to hear a few hundred complaints. He's heard 3,000.

Hood's second report only covers the first six months of this year. His first report covers the last six months of 2000. And what Hood found was that from one year to the next, complaints went up, mainly about Air Canada.

"For those who thought Canadian consumers would have fewer complaints once Air Canada has completed its integration with Canadian Airlines, think again," said Hood.

The main issues with all airlines are about quality of service: rudeness, flight delays and lost baggage.

While Air Canada has introduced a customer service plan that promises faster response, Hood says in his attempts to help travellers resolve their disputes, there's still a problem.

"In particular, Air Canada will spend a lot of time and money to defend their reasoning, and in the beginning they could have taken care of it at the instance it happened."

Hood estimates he only hears two per cent of the total complaints airlines get. He's recommending all airlines in Canada do what's already law in the United States and make regular public reports on the complaints they receive, including their on-time performance and lost and delayed luggage. Failing that, he says Ottawa should legislate it.

"If carriers are unwilling to voluntarily disclose their records, then I suggest legislation be considered to require them to do so."

So far Westjet is the only carrier willing. Air Transat and Air Canada consider the information proprietary and confidential.

Hood has eight other recommendations including giving frontline airline employees the power to resolve disputes and increasing information to passengers about delays, seat prices, and airline compensation policies.

And while he says the events of Sept. 11 created a lull in the flow of complaints, passenger expectations are now back to normal.

Written by CBC News Online staff, bolding by me.
West Jet Doesn't Let Me On
Due to unforseen circumstances, I get to my gate 5 minutes late. 25 minutes to go before the plane leaves. I've pre-checked myself the night before. 2 bags need to go through. I'm ready. But, West Jet says I won't be let through. They say it's the gate's fault. West Jet won't make a case for me. Instead of West Jet putting the bags through and sending me on my way, I'm left pleading with them. They tell me that AS A COURTESY I will have to pay for 2/3 of another ticket for a plane leaving 3 hours later, AND THAT WILL BE STANDBY, no guarantee of getting on. I've never been treated this way in all my 30 years of flying. Never. I've waited seated on a plane for 25 minutes for late customers. 5 minutes late at the gate and not let in? Appalling. This is the clincher for me. Let's let as many international carriers into the domestic market as possible. Between West Jet and Air Canada (losing bags on a regular basis) it's a gong show in this country. Where do I sign a petition to crush this monopoly?
First, welcome to FT.

Second, something doesn't quite make sense to me...

Did you show up at the gate, or the check-in counter 25 minutes before the plane was to depart? I ask because you talk about 2 bags needing to be put through (and a reference that someone said it was the gates fault).

If it was the check-in counter you showed up at 25 minutes prior to departure, then you were late and it is you, not WJ, who is in the wrong.

If you were at the gate 25 minutes before the plane was to depart (assuming cut-off 10 minutes prior to departure) then WJ should have allowed you to board or offered IDB compensation.

(Also, it probably would have been more appropriate to start a new thread in the WJ forum than to revive a 7 year old thread on the AC forum).
Its so weird, considering that I liked the food on my flight going home from YVR to YYC two days ago. The FA gave me one tray containing a nice crossiant sandwich (ham and cheese) - very tasty and well accounted for.

Other than that, the only things I could see on the flight going to HNL from YVR was that plenty of trim was falling apart on the 767-300ER and the bulkhead screen was coming apart on take-off(!)

Oh well, the things I get for flying AC!

Sanosuke!