Was UA operating the boarding for this flight or one of the affiliates? This is pretty poor behavior of the gate agents to BOARD the plane and then look for volunteers. Sorry, 1500+ United Flights in my lifetime and only ever seen them ask for ONE volunteer once (and that was for a pax overbooking who had a family emergency - and in that case a bunch of us volunteered).

Not a good PR position for UA and to be honest the $400 comp is a bit insulting to then force people off, why didn't the comp go up instead of forced removal.

UA Insider or similar: These actions are why I stopped flying or suggesting UA to people.