Originally Posted by pinniped

I guess that's where I'd disagree.

When something goes wrong with my travels, I appreciate the airline agent or hotel clerk who thinks and solves problems, regardless of what the T's & C's say. The last thing we want to hear is someone parroting a corporate policy and not using their brain. I can remember at least a half-dozen cases over the past 10 years where an airline agent ignored some sort of rule to fix a problem for me. Probably another half-dozen (or more) cases where a hotel manager did something in my favor beyond what my elite level called for.

So I guess I'm saying that when they have a "problem" and come up with a solution that actually works out vastly to my advantage, it's hardly fair for me to whip out the T's & C's and say "You owe me $350 more because you technically 'walked' me" when no reasonable person would consider it a walk at all. It would be almost like arriving at the airport, discovering that you've already been op-up'ed, and then demanding IDB comp because your original coach seat has now been reassigned.

Life must be pretty good if this type of event represents profound sadness and insult to you.