Originally Posted by
channa
This type of attempt to placate a customer can actually agitate them further.
You have no access to inventory or rebooking systems on the plane. And with load factors these days, for all you know, he won't be rebooked for 2 days. And for all you know, he has an important meeting or event to get to.
I'm not trying to justify his behavior, it was clearly inappropriate. But it's also worth noting that from a customer standpoint, blowing off a customer by telling him he'll be rebooked on the next flight when you have no access or ability to do this for him, is very frustrating.
I actually gave you the condensed version of that story, in fact, I did check with the Gate Agent BEFORE I gave him that info and they had already taken care of it for him. He shared with us that he had tickets to a show that night, not an important meeting to attend....I know the frustration of being late and/or missing a flight, trust me. He had a couple of drinks that I believe agitated his behavior....and before you ask....the Captain told him he would not be served anymore alcohol during flight. This also took place some years ago.