All,

I don't know if I'm bearing old news (probably) but I just wanted to say that I was a bit surprised a month or so ago to receive a mysterious 3,000 mile bonus 'Customer Service Compensation' added to my OnePass account for no apparent reason. Never complaining to get more miles, I accepted them as either a fluke or a gift.

But on Friday I received a letter from Houston (I live in the UK so maybe that's why it took so long) apologizing for a flight I took back in March where a DCA-EWR delay due to weather made me miss my overnight connection to London and made me stay overnight at a Newark hotel. I was irked at the time but it's Newark and it's weather--I wasn't at all incensed by the incident.

I found it a very nice touch, and things like that remind me why I keep flying on Continental.

Nice to hear you received some compensation. I've only ever complained to CO twice and both times it was due to this route (non weather related). Their response to me has always been "go yourself."

That's why I fly DL between NY and DC. :-:

I have never gotten any compensation from CO for complaining.

You're already a zillion miler. What more could they give you?

I recently received one for an ATL-EWR flight that was delayed due to weather. It was 2 months after the flight so I had to think back to connect it to the past experience. It's funny, I never get compensated or an apology when CO has seriously messed up but I get compensation when I know that weather was obviously the problem and know it was beyond CO's control. I'll never turn down the gesture or the miles but it does seem to be random. Maybe just a good manager somewhere going the extra mile for customer service?

In the OP's case it also involved a missed onward international connection. In your case just more to get home. I'm guessing that contributed to the comp.

Fair enough.

Although my complaints weren't about the chronic delays on that route. More along the lines of the unprofessionalism of the FA. If anyone wants to know which reserve Colgan FA gives in the crew room at EWR, I can tell you.

It's either that or the message "BONUS MILES OR ELSE" I left in the shape of a noose from the Pres Club cheese wrappers.

HAHA! ^

I got a 500 mile bonus in early June. My flight went mx and delayed for about 90 minutes. I had no concerns about making my next flight as it was the exact same plane/crew as part of a MR.

I wouldn't even think to complain about that, but they proactively gave me 500 miles within a day. I'll take it!

Hopefully this is a new trend. Working in customer service myself, I've been DISSAPPOINTED with CO and their recovery system for 'service failures.' This is an easy way to generate goodwill without spending too much of their money.

Perhaps I just got bad CSRs when I tried to resolve the issues? An automated "here are some miles for the trouble," will help people like me who get bad service and don't have the time to call back again and again.
3000 miles wouldn't have made up for some of my issues, but it would have been better than the nothing I received.

Small miles award for weather inconvenience is cheap for CO, and gives some goodwill with FTers. Ma and Pa Kettle will be upset no matter what, but the regular travelers know weather delays are a valid excuse and will appreciate the token gesture of 500 miles.

CO, or any airline, should never have to excuse, or provide compensation due to weather, or factors legitimately outside of their control

The only time I've ever proactively received compensation from an airline was AA when the flight went mechanical ( Dog). It was a nice gesture and really minimized any negativity I was feeling.

I'm not a fan of airlines throwing vouchers at customers. There was a while when you could write US praising an employee and you'd get a apology form letter in reply with a voucher (no joke). This was insulting. If I take the time to contact a company its because I care about their business and want to make it better. I'm taking time out of my day to provide feedback. I'd like an assurance that it was heard and being addressed. If they want to throw me a bone, I'll gladly take it, but I never ask or expect one (unless their problem created a financial burden on me).

In the case of CO however, my very limited experience of their customer contact center is that they really, truly, don't care. And that's not good for their bottom line.

Someone, somewhere, should recognize that when I will no longer fly CO on a route, no matter the price or time differential, and will always go to the competition -- that's a problem. A problem that potentially could have been averted.

Their path of least resistant has sent my business between NY and DC to DL. And every time I fly them, it's an opportunity for DL to capture the rest of my business.

Thesis: good customer service can create revenue.
Bad customer service can disenfranchise customers (case-study: UA and their ICC. Of all the bone-headed decisions that airline has made, that has to go up there as one of the worst).

I received 3,000 miles and a letter as well for an EWR-SFO flight in June that was delayed due to weather. Not expecting anything, but very happy to see the miles. I was seated in F (upgraded). I wonder if that had anything to do with it.

I agree with you. I would like to point out that if they choose to go the extra mile, here, it will help them stand out.

More importantly, it could help start a culture of customer satisfaction. If their CSRs know that a weather delay is worth giving a minor comp to the customer, maybe they'll start thinking 'keep the customer happy, when they need to call us for resolution.'
This would help better recover from service failure for screwups which are not beyond their control (did you know only one cab driver in BTR will accept their travel voucher? Don't expect him to be near BTR).