Originally Posted by
Beckles
This is all that matters as far as I'm concerned, if the GA for your flight got all the volunteers they needed for your flight for $500, what any other person got for any other flight is meaningless. If $500 was not enough for you, you should not have accepted it. They are not obligated to give you whatever you ask for.
Honestly, your whole post comes off as arrogant and entitled to me. GA's do not have the luxury of time to hold complex negotiations with passengers. You are certainly entitled to try and negotiate with them, but if they are unwilling to do so, I don't see anything unreasonable about that. If I was a gate agent I would have probably just thanked you for volunteering and said I'd call you back up if you were needed, then put your name on the bottom of the list.
As for those who think the offer you make at check-in is meaningless, I don't understand that. The only time I've been bumped in recent years I had put in an offer of 'just' $300, knowing that if I took a bump from the early evening flight I was already on I wasn't going to accept more than a few hour delay (i.e., I wasn't overnighting anywhere). At the gate they never asked for volunteers, but they called me up, they gave me the $300, and gave me a boarding pass for the flight at the next gate over that was already boarding, the connecting flight they put me on was scheduled (and did in fact) arrive earlier than my originally scheduled flights. I've seen several claims that the bidding process is for 'data only', but in my experience that is not the case.
See here's the issue - I was just fine with the $500. What comes off to me as stupid on your part is the supposition that having a brief negotiation is somehow entitled or arrogant. I'm not sure if you really read my OP. My negotiation with the gate agent lasted less than two minutes. I asked if they still needed volunteers. He said Yes. I asked how much? He said $500. I asked about my rebooking options. He clicked on his computer and then answered. I asked if he could go any higher since it was a significant delay, he said that $500 was as high as they were giving out for ANY FLIGHT THAT DAY. I accepted. He asked me to wait. I sat down. He called me up a few minutes later and processed me. We wished each other a good day. End of interaction. If that makes me arrogant and entitled than so be it. In my opinion not asking for more than they are offering is stupid and sheep like.
Had he said "$500 is as high as I'm willing to go" there never would have been an issue.
Things didn't get heated till I spoke to the Red Coat several hours later. It started out as an inquiry and her attitude caused it to escalate. I didn't demand to see her supervisor to complain about the gate agent I demanded to see her supervisor to complain about her poor customer service skills. There are any number of way she could have easily diffused the situation had she any skill whatsoever at dealing with the public. Something along the lines of, "If the gate agent said that, I apologize but there's nothing to be done after the fact. Here is the policy we follow.... If you'd like to submit a comment to Delta regarding the policy here is how you do that...." Pretty much customer service 101 stuff that any airline employee should know on their first day.
Let's remember - the Airlines make a small fortune overbooking and with out us entitled people "playing the game" they'd be handing out IDB compensation and dealing with the regulators. Believe you me, Delta needs people to take these deals. You won't blame them for trying to get me or someone else to take it for a little as they can, why are you so upset when I try to get as much as I can?
And while I do not post often I read this board quite a bit and I know that there are many of the same people who consistently jump all over anyone who dares to question the wonder of Delta Airlines. What is truly amusing is the way these same people bristle when someone call them a Delta Apologist. The truly great part is that if you try to explain away the actions of someone or some group that is the very definition of apologist.
In closing - if you think that attempting a brief VDB negotiation, inquiring after the fact to a read coat, and then speaking to that red coat's supervisor when when she behaves in a way you find objectionable to be silly, entitled, arrogant then I'll accept that title gladly. Its better than being a stupid sheep.