Jinabe, while I understand your frustation with this situation, I must voice my agreement with Channa, Steve64 and themicah. They give you a good comparison of a purchase at an airline vs a clothing store. They have provided you with a good analogy to the situation.

To make the case even stronger, the sweater on sale could be on the store shelf for weeks or months and never be purchased by anyone...and you could go back to purchase it if you want....with risks of course. This does not apply to the airline industry because you can not use your ticket on a product that no longer exists. (and if you know how to refund the full fare on a ticket you bought at a discount rate 10 days ago, please let all of us know.)

For some strange reason, we travelers expect more from an airline than we do of our favorite restaurant, clothing store, car dealer or most any other for-profit business. I have never understood this point of view. You are not alone in this situation...there are many other travelers and Flyer Talk members that are guilty of this heightened perception of the travel industry than of the imbalance in our expectations.

Bottom line....I agree with Northwest on this one. If you believe and expect good customer service everywhere you spend your money (including the airlines), you might consider calling NW back and asking if they can tell you the name and city location of there NW agent that changed your ticket on the specific day you mention in your posting. An apology to the agent for being so difficult would be appropriate here. (No, I am not a NW reservation agent.....just a regular traveler like others on this site.)

If you get through to the NW reservation agent that assited you on this transaction, let the person who assisted you with your reseveration if you can speak to his/her supervisor and give a positive review of the agent. I know this is a time-consuming suggestion but this would not only sets your concense free of guilt for the anger directed at the NW agent, but it also tells the airline that they need a better explaination of this policy...and lastly, its possible that the service from this particular agent might improve if you let them know your current feelings.

I am aware that this a late add to the thread but felt it was worth contributing my opinion to the group.