It must be tough to be an airline when "thanks for your complaint" is the default
 

I had the opportunity to have an experience with Air Canada that warranted a compliment (a go around due to unsafe landing conditions).

There was some passenger griping and I thought it was worthwhile to signal to Air Canada that this passenger values pilots who want to ensure a landing is 100% safe despite possible passenger complaints.

The Air Canada system accepted my compliment by noting, "Thank you for sharing your travel experience. This is an automated response to let you know that we received your comments. A file number has been assigned and will be emailed to you shortly. Your feedback is very important and it may take some time to research and investigate your concerns. We will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience." (emphasis added)

It is a sad reflection on . . . something when this is the default response. I wonder if it is a reflection on the airline, its passengers, or something else.

Or it picked up on keywords like "unsafe" and went with the auto-reply that would work for 99.999% of messages with similar keywords?

"Something else" - human nature. People in-general are FAR more likely to take the time to complain in-writing than to compliment in-writing; although some studies suggest that social-media has changed that dynamic when it comes to public posting like this forum as opposed to contacting the company directly.

Also, did you pick the "Compliment" option in the feedback form?

Every other option seems like it would be neutral or negative, and the "concerns" statement would definitely make sense for almost every scenario.

Data point: I make a point of writing in when there’s something significant to compliment. I’ve always had a response in less than 48 hrs. Unfortunate the concerns aren’t handled as quickly.

I did pick "compliment". The subject line also says "compliment". I mean it's really just an auto response.

We'll find out if they actually read these when I get either a "thanks very much" or a "we're so very sorry - here's a 15% off code".

On the other side of the coin.
I made a complaint to AC in March about an IT issue that resulted in my return segments being cancelled without my confirmation. (Flights still operating, just my ticket being cancelled). And also a compliment for the agent that managed to finally solve the issue. Still no reply to either.
From my (granted limited) experience with AC it seems that IT is definitely not their strong point.

thanks for your compliment-here’s a 15% off code.

I know people who've received discount codes for compliments.

So I did get a fairly quick reply. It was, "Thank you for writing to us. We are really pleased to know how much you appreciate the service you recently received from Air Canada."

"We expect all our employees to offer courteous service at all times, and we’re thrilled when customers take the time to let us know we’ve made them happy."

. . . the "courteous service" was not crashing the plane* but I guess that is a nice courtesy.

My subject line to Air Canada was "Overdue Compliment" (the go around was pre-COVID). It goes on to say the compliment will be escalated to managers. I have my doubts . . . but I did my bit.

*I exaggerate - the compliment was to ensure Air Canada knew I appreciated pilots who wanted to ensure 100% confidence of safety before landing or taking off.

And Aeroplan miles, eCoupons, etc.

How much in miles or eCoulons do they give for a well written compliment?

I received a follow-up this morning from the airline apologizing for an automated response. If I had to guess there are some fans of flyertalk at Air Canada. I never mentioned an automated response anywhere but here! Nice to reconfirm they care.

Not much, but it's also not common.

Not the norm, but I’ve had codes ranging from 10 to 25% after some compliments. Generally not for a “simple” compliment but when it’s been a complex situation such as a flight cancelled right before take off.

Several years ago I had $100 voucher plus code for the cancellation of a Jazz flight (transborder) after complimenting staff for the way it was handled. The money came because someone at Jazz told me I was so nice and understanding 😇. Airline also picked up hotel and meals necessitated by cancellation in that instance. I am always quite specific in my compliment and give a staff name or particulars of the situation.

Another time, a large expensive gift basket showed up at my home (unannounced) with a card from the President’s office (pre Cailin). Those were the days. What I have right now is 3 copies of the September Enroute.