hawkxp

Going to start a new thread as to not sound like I am picking on a particular FT'er.

What is it about the desire for COMPENSATION?

I have heard about people "delayed 12 days, no luggage cannot get a hold of anyone" OK- compensation is deserved.

What is it about our system that makes people think that the smallest problem “An ""e-"" person used my lav" or such; that the response is GIVE ME MONEY.

Could rant on, but I think most of you know what I am talking about.

mgckhpns

Some of us just want what we started out with before being mislead by the airlines, no comps, no upgrades, no payout, just being made whole.... sad when even that doesn't occur.

lucky9876coins

hawkxp, I have a very simple answer. Why ask for compensation? Because UA gives it so readily...

You can't really blame people when UA gives it for such minor things.

'nuff said.

chicagorich

You know...that is the most honest answer that I have ever seen given to this question....

.

mlcrx2b

It seems that many here hope for some sort of dis-service in order to get compensation.

cepheid

Correction: UA gave it so readily. They have seriously tightened up recently, and have you noticed the backlash? People are now seriously upset that UA isn't giving them money for minor problems for which it used to compensate in the past. The fact that they asked doesn't necessarily signify a sense of entitlement... the fact that many people get upset does, however.

I might be disappointed that I can't get $150 for a broken reading light, sure... but I certainly wouldn't be mad or upset about it, especially since it was ludicrous to be handing out such compensation in the first place.

I have to agree with the OP in a certain sense, in that while there's not necessarily anything wrong with asking for compensation, expecting it (or demanding it) is unrealistic these days, and (depending on the severity of the malfunction) can imply a sense of entitlement that many find unattractive.

This is exactly what the skykits are for: compensating for problems. There's nothing wrong with asking for a skykit, but one has to keep one's expectations in line... $150 for a broken reading light is just not going to happen. (Yes, I agree with those people who bash UA for offering $100 or even less for a broken F suite... that's ridiculous on UA's part. But we're not talking about that, but rather about "minor" issues like what the OP describes.)

JWymer

THIS

lucky9876coins

I'm an honest guy, what can I say.

Seriously though, we read stories on here about people getting $100 e-certs for not getting ice cubes in their drink as a "gesture of goodwill." Unless one is so wealthy that money really doesn't matter (in which case I hope you're not flying UA), why would someone not do that? It sure seems to me like UA doesn't discourage it, or else they wouldn't consistently be so generous...

OK, maybe that was a bit too honest.

cepheid

That was a year ago, or even longer, back when UA thought it might actually end up profitable again. Not these days.

Witness what happened with skykits. Once they went to the online form, people have been getting much lower compensation. I've seen a lot of angry emoticons () when people describe the compensation offers... some of them are justified, like people in paid F receiving only $50 or $100 for a broken suite on a TATL flight. However, many are simply upset that it's not as (ridiculously) generous as it used to be, and that's almost as silly (IMHO) as a panhandler getting upset at someone for not handing out more change. OK, maybe that's a bit harsh... but I said "almost."

lucky9876coins

I disagree. That has not been my experience, nor the experience of many that I know. I'll leave it at that.

While I don't do any revenue international flying UA, domestic skykits still earn 5,000-10,000 miles as a 1K, which I find more than fair.

Fredd

As someone who rides up front only on upgrade certs or miles, all I can say is... Ouch!

cepheid

*shrug* What can I say? Maybe UA hasn't learned its lesson, or maybe you know some secret trick that I don't... of course, I'm nowhere close to being a 1K.

(Miles are a bit different; they're much cheaper for UA than real money.)

On those rare occasions I get to ride up front, it's also on certs... and I'm thankful for every minute of it. Maybe when I can expect to sit there regularly, I'll get more jaded.

hawkxp

And we are all worried about UA survival? My goodness stop bleeding them! Moved from DL 4-5 years ago, .4MM, 1K 3 years, have NEVER asked for compensation. Nothing worth trying to bleed the BIG company for.

TA

I have to admit, I was thinking exactly along the OP's idea a few days ago. (despite having been a beneficiary of UA's compensation largesse several times)

We were on Amtrak, BWI-Metropark, and 25 yards before Metropark, the train comes to a halt, and everything goes silent. Uh oh, not good.

Turns out the engine has malfunctioned, and after 10 minutes, they notify us that we will be transferred to another train. Huh, I wonder, how do they do that?

Well, they bring another train up alongside (already full and 2 hours late), and we are directed down to the tracks (gravel level) and the whole train boards this crowded replacement. And after 25 more yards, we get out and walk across the tracks again to get to Metropark. If they had failed 30 seconds later, it wouldn't have taken the hour it did to get going. I have no idea how it would've been accomplished if it hadn't been a double track in each direction.

Anyway, I was thinking to myself, if it were UA, we would all be writing up a storm, asking for certs/miles/etc. But I felt no need to write anything, wasn't greatly inconvenienced -- well maybe because I don't know how Amtrak works (like I do UA now), I wouldn't even know where to write.

Why the difference?

yofra

Excellent point, and one that I have been wondering about for awhile now. In no other industry (to the best of my knowledge) is there such a sense of entitlement. If our cell phone drops a call, we don't demand some free extra text messages. If your electric company has a blackout -tough, deal with it. Only in the airline industry do we seem to think that it is not only expected, but required, for us to be given compensation.

The only thing I can think of, similar to what lucky was saying, is that the airlines brought it upon themselves. By being so generous with trivial compensation for so many years, we have lost sight of the fact that it is purely a magnanimous gesture on their part, and instead treat it as a given and get upset when it is not offered.