So I'm flying this morning from ORD-ATL this morning and saw what I can only describe as a questionable customer service action that seemed penny-wise and pound foolish.
T-0 for boarding start time. GA
#1 is at computer clearing UGs and standbys. There are four seats in F available for UG (I bought into F so I'm not affected by the events about to unfold). Two pax walk up to GA
#2 asking the cost to buy up to F. GA
#2 pecks on her computer and gives them a price. They agree. GA
#2 goes t process and realizes that there are no longer available seats in F. GA
#2 turns to GA
#1 to ask if she is clearing UGs. She says yes. A quick discussion ensues. I look on the monitor and see that three of the four available seats in F have been processed for UG.
GA
#1 proceeds to quickly un-UGs the third pax that she had cleared. She reprints that unlucky person's boarding pass having been moved back to their original seat. Their name disappears from the cleared list and is put back on the UG list. A few min later said pax walks up to the counter to clarify that he had received a a notification on his phone that his seat was moved to F and then another moving him back to his original seat. GA
#1 apologizes and said there was "an error" and that he would need to take his original seat.
So, I get that the UG is complimentary and if the guy who lost his UG really wanted to be in F he should have bought a ticket in F. I also get that DL s a bit and this was an opportunity to generate more revenue in an industry where margins are on the decline again. But, I have to say, I really felt for the guy who lost his UG and felt is was kind of lousy that the GAs did this. It's one thing if the UG hadn't been processed, but it was.
I'll leave it to the peanut gallery to discuss.