Since nobody has pointed it out... the highest offer the kiosk will accept is actually $800, not $500. You just have to put it in manually. $500 is just their highest suggested offer.

Over $800 it gives you an error.

The amount you type in at checkin doesn't matter. I've only had one GA ever even mention it. Once you're at the gate everything is up for negotiation.

Which is how it should be, the amount of money it would take for me to move is highly variable and can easily change even just from when I check in to when I get to the gate. Not to mention being dependent on what the other flight options are, which you won't know until you're actually about to be VDB'd.

Tough crowd here. I can definitely understand where the OP is coming from - I'd feel turned off if I was accused of lying. It looks like the OP was just confused about why another gate had higher offers, and was trying to explain that to the red coat, who in turn escalated the situation. If the red coat had explained nicely that those who filled out the VDB amounts in the kiosks were limited to that amount, and apologized, I'm sure the OP would have accepted that answer and moved on.

It's all about attitude and delivery, and the OP, to me anyway, doesn't seem to have done anything wrong.

First time I have ever heard of the kiosk or online bid actually being used. I always thought it was for their own metrics rather than to actually use it.

They should pay what the market will bear not try to trick people to bid lower. I have seen 30 minute flights go up to $800 because no one would volunteer.

I don't respond to the kiosk question. Once or twice a year I take one at the gate.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

If you do not know what the protection is, you can't give a good bid. If you bid $500 and then find out it requires an overnight, should you not be able to get more if that is the going rate? Makes no sense to cap you at what you bid.

I think that's a good summary.

As far as I can recall, the FT wisdom to date has been that your bid at check-in is not binding or limiting. Based on that, it is hardly out of line to negotiate at the gate. And I would have been peeved to be told that no flight leaving today would be paying a higher VDB, and find that statement to be erroneous.

But it seems that the check-in bid is now limiting. If that's the policy now, that's an important change.

David

One agent, one flight, all according to one FT person who was so angry that s(he) went up two levels of complaint over it.

That doesn't "seem" anything.

Bottom line is that VDB is a reverse auction. If the GA had four offers at $500, why on earth would the GA offer OP more if all the GA had to do was say no to OP and move on to the next passenger?

The sole reason for dealing with these things with the passenger in front of the GA is that the GA is evaluated for getting the flight out on time, not for paltry VDB's. If DL wanted to make something of this, it would offer a bonus to GA's who can get out of an oversell for less than some specified average.

There are probably a lot of people out there who would be thrilled to wait a couple of hours in return for a $50 meal voucher they can put on a tab at the bar across from the gate.

Agreed, but there is no requirement or right that the GA engage in the negotiation. If the GA thinks $500 will get the needed seat, he doesn't need to offer the OP anything else. He can open the offer up to the passengers at the gate, and will likely get volunteers. The OPs expectations that DL must negotiate with him and that his seat/flight is worth as much as another flight's seat are unrealistic.

Maybe the GA misspoke about what was happening at other gates. Maybe the GA thought that was the case, but something changed at the other gate. All of that is irrelevant.

Isn't it up to the GA's discretion what they offer?

Was bumped off a flight last week LGA->PIT. I agreed to $500 but with 6 pax too many they went up to $800 (which I received as well). My next flight out was also oversold and I asked the GA what the offer was, to which he responded "i don't effing care, i just want to get this flight out and go home so its the max allowed $1300." He probably could have gotten takers for less but its his discretion.

If you're willing to take $300 and get $300 you should be happy. It's irrelevant whether another flight gets $200, $500 or $1200. Sorry.

No excuse for a GA/redcoat being rude but i can see how theyre quite overwhelmed during these oversold situations.

You can always negotiate at the gate; just turn down their offer. "I bid $500 thinking I could take another flight that arrived only two hours later, but you're offering me one that arrives 4 hours later so I want $800." If they say they'll find someone else who'll take $500, let them. Maybe they will, but you don't want to VDB for that so you lost the auction.

At check-in, when bidding, I seldom accept an amount they suggest, I type in my own (higher, of course).

My interpretation is that the GA made up the line about there not being any offers over $500 that day to save time, even though it was a iie, but OTOH it wasn't a credible statement because there could have been bad IROPs later in the day.

There is no cap. Sometimes, you get what you bid.

On a mileage run earlier this year, I showed up for the first return (oversold) flight at T-1 (when the GA arrived) and asked about the overbook. Because the flight was the last of the day (so VDB would probably require a hotel stay) and I could re-route to a non-stop, I got processed immediately for the amount I'd bid at the kiosk.

All of my other VDBs have been at whatever amount the GA ended up giving everybody, completely independent of any bid I made.

$500, the compensation, is only half the deal. The other part is the rebooking. I would $500 would be great compensation for certain situations and insulting for others such as 24 hour delay.

The only accusations of lying were made by the OP.

OP has also "defined" lying to be any false statement w/o regard to intent.

But of course it is OK to call out employees for "lying". They are just slaves anyway.

There's no obligation during OCI. If the gate agent thinks he/she has the upper hand, try saying you'll decline the offer and board when it's close to departure time. If you haven't agreed to a new routing and amount, you can't be forced to volunteer. Volunteers have all the power until they say yes to an amount and a new itinerary.

Edit: the GA in OP's story promised something he/she couldn't personally deliver. I never tell a customer what my co-workers will or won't do unless I'm personally speaking with that coworker. Promising what 60 GAs in your airport will or won't do is bad business.

I "define" lying the same as the "Oxford English Dictionary." For those of you without access to the OED it's also definition #3 on dictionary.com

If it will make you semantically more comfortable we can change the word lie to "factually incorrect statement or utterance". Feel better?

As far as the "slaves" thing - no idea what the heck you're talking about.