Well, looking at the "airline angel" thread a few days ago gave me the idea of posting this thread.

In my situation, it appears that I have a "devil" at NW who has nothing but pleasure for the suffering of people at the hands of the carrier. His name is Greg Havlicek, and he is a Customer Service Supervisor at NW. When I wrote to NW via e-mail about a problem that I had while fying the airline, he gave me nothing more than a super-bland form e-mail which addressed none of my concerns, and sent a voucher of menial value to my house. I promptly wrote back to NW saying that the overall response was unacceptable. And lo and behold, Mr. Havlicek sends me back another form response.

Well, after this point, I finally lost it with NW. I will not tolerate this sort of treatment from anyone, and especially not a carrier that we could all do without. So now I have no choice but to report my problems to the Department of Transportation, so that the government may be aware of the "goings-on" of NW. I also wrote CO, who, ironically, gave me a much more personalized response that NW ever did. (BTW, they said this matter will be brought directly to the CO/NW alliance Dept., so that situations like the one that occurred to me will not happen again.)

Does anyone else have an "airline devil" working against them, especially on NW?
And, given the nature of this thread, please mention the names of the employees, so that ALL FTs can beware.

No - but I would know some FlyerTalker devils ...

Ditto, Rudi. Cmon Avek00, they're really not out to get just you. My experience with NWA CS folks has been excellant. Ever wonder why sugar is sold in 5lb bags & salt by the lb? I think because people use more of the sweet stuff!
Take a walk around the block & consider editing your post to delete names, etc.

Can't delete names on this one, guys. This is a situation in which names need to be named, in part because we are not talking about the innocent...

Nice post... how about some details as to what this guy did that was so bad you feel it necessary to post his name for apparently doing nothing more than acknowledge your complaint with a standard corporate non-answer.

TW

Good advice here just above. May I too politely advise a more temperate approach? When I posted the now defunct "Northworst or Northwest" thread I had an ongoing problem for two years, involving three family members who were also Elite (Preferred) including me, with no response no less a voucher, even after going up the corporate chain and finally writing the CEO, Mr. John Dasburg twice! Yet I was still restrained. That's because I was genuinely seeking a solution, not trying to vent or hassle anyone. I hope you'll do the same.

The situation in question has to do with a recent trip I took on NW. The trip was was nothing more than a slew of rude (and painfully slow) agents, understaffed desks, worn-down aircraft, seats in such disrepair that they caused me considerable back and neck pain during the entire trip, and nearly missed connections for reasons squarely within NW's control. I have posted the original form letter by Mr. Havlicek below:

Dear Mr. xxxxxxx:

Thank you for your efforts to inform us of these experiences that you
encountered while traveling on Northwest.

We want travel on Northwest to be pleasant and enjoyable. The numerous
elements of air transportation provide us with many potential
opportunities to gain the confidence and loyalty of our customers. Correspondence from our passengers often forms the basis for improved operations. Candid feedback like yours enables us to identify specific
areas of concern. I can assure you that every effort will be
made to avoid receiving another letter like the one we earned from you.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact us. Your continued
support means a great deal to Northwest, and I hope that we will have an
early opportunity to restore your confidence.

Sincerely

Greg Havlicek
Supervisor, Customer Relations
Northwest/KLM Airlines


A few days later, I received a TCV of menial value from the carrier. Disgusted, this was my reply to the airline:

Mr. John Dasburg
Chairman & CEO
Northwest Airlines, Inc.
P.O. Box 11875
St. Paul, MN 55111-0875

Dear Mr. Dasburg:
Recently, I wrote to Northwest Airlines concerning the horrific
experiences that I had endured on a trip to Orlando, FL. A few days ago, I received a form letter response from NW, along
with a voucher of menial value.
The response that I received from NW is totally unacceptable. The
response letter did not address any of the major issues that I had faced
while traveling on Northwest Airlines. And considering the magnitude of
the situations that I had encountered, it is my opinion that NW should
have offered nothing less than a complimentary round-trip ticket. As a
NW shareholder and patron, I am shocked and frankly offended by the
response of the carrier to my concerns.

Sincerely,
xxxx xxxxxx

Mr. Havlicek wrote back:

Dear Mr. xxxxxxx,

I have received your reply letter. It is my view that the compensation that NW provided was just considering the circumstances. Therefore, Northwest is unable to provide you with any additional compensation. Thank you again for taking the time to contact us.

Sincerely,

Greg Havlicek
Supervisor, Customer Relations
Northwest/KLM Airlines


And my final reply to NW:

Dear Mr. Dasburg:

I have received the reply concerning my letter to the Company. I am
extremely disappointed yet again by the NW response. Considering that
this
was not the first time that I had incurred major problems with NW, I am
surprised that NW did not try to do more.

At this point, I am very frustrated with NW. However, I am finished
dealing
with a corporation that does not seem to have any true concern for the
customer.

Therefore, I will shortly send a written complaint letter concerning my
encounter with NWA to the U.S. Department of Transportation, so that the
government will be made further aware of the problems of NW. Second, I
will
be sure to inform my boss, Representative xxxxxxx xxxxxxx of New Jersey, of
the
horrid experiences I endured, so that he may cast an informed vote when
the
issue of passenger rights reaches the House floor. And finally, I will
write
letters to the officials of Continental Airlines, a corporation in which
I
also hold equity, so that they, too, are aware of the treatment NW is
giving
to their customers. They may want to take this information into
consideration before entering into any further agreements with NW. Since
I
could not get a sincere message from NW, it is my hope that others can.

Sincerely,

xxxxx xxxxxx

[This message has been edited by avek00 (edited 10-15-1999).]

I think since you've named names, which is your right, I think you should give us some details about what this guy did.

Obviously, you quite angry at NW and this one person in particular. How about giving us some specifics.

Without details we can't judge the situation.

As for the policy of naming names, I think this is an individual issue, however I'd come down on the side of not naming names unless an extreme situation warrents.

It would help as well if you told us the amount of the NW TCV you received. I have found they range from say $50 to $150 for all airlines in general regarding complaints to customer service. Also typical corporate responses tend to be vague as yours was. They usually just say they are going to "take appropriate action," or something like that. Or, "we will contact the station manager," where your problem happened, etc. Again, some more details on your situation and the TCV amount given to you would add much perspective to the matter.

Rudi

Since many of you have asked for more details, I will provide them. Thi is the initial letter that I wrote to NW concerning my experiences with them. Here it goes:

Dear Mr. Dasburg:

In late August, I traveled on Northwest Airlines from Newark,
NJ, to Orlando, FL. I can honestly say that it was one of the
worst experiences of my life.

When I entered the NW terminal at Newark International, I was
amazed at the spectacle before my eyes. There were more than 200
people waiting in a single line to be helped. Apparently, NW had
cancelled one of its flights. However, there was just ONE AGENT
trying to help everyone. And the agent was rude to everyone. At
several points, she unjustifiably screamed at everyone waiting
in line over the loudspeaker, telling us to "shut up and wait".
After waiting (and not moving an inch in line) for 20 minutes,
and refusing to take such treatment, I proceeded to the gate.

However, the situation at the gate was not much better. This
time, close to 100 people were waiting in line to be checked-in
by the one agent that was on duty. Finally, I received my
boarding pass and proceeded to board.

The next major shock occured once I was aboard. The aircraft
interior was old, decrepit, and appeared to have never been
cleaned for as long as the plane was in service. I had to keep
reminding myself that I was travelling on a U.S. carrier. My
seat, in particular, was heavily torn and bent. And since the
flight was nearly 100% full, I had little choice but to sit
there.

Because there was only 1 agent checking everyone in, the cabin
door did not close until 25 minutes after departure. During that
25-minute period, the flight attendants were most unhelpful.
They had no information as to when the delay would be over, or
as to what would be done if any connections were missed. After a
certain point, the attitude that they had taken towards the
passengers could be classified as unprofessional at best.

After another 10-minute delay due to an aircraft weight problem,
we finally departed from EWR. Being forced to sit in that broken
seat for so long caused me hitherto-unexperienced back and neck
pain. Once I arrived at MEM, I had to dash across the terminal
to make my connecting flight to MCO, which was moments away from
closing.

Once I boarded NW954, the situation onboard was the same as it
was on NW791. In fact, the interiors were poorly maintained and
decrepit on EACH of the four aircraft I flew. Fortunately, the
seats were in a slightly better condition.

As a NW shareholder and patron, I am appalled by the level of
service I experienced. Considering that this was not my first
horrific experience with NW, I am all but ready to give up on
the carrier. It is my sincere wish that no person flying NW will
ever have to go through what I went through on this trip.

Sincerely,

xxxxx xxxxx

BTW: As their so-called "compensation", they mailed me a $75.00 TCV, which, in my view, is far less than the h*** that they put me through.

No offense to your personal experiences or feelings, but your peeve doesn't seem to be that bad.

On a Continental flight once (last flight of day), PBI-EWR, we were delayed 6 hours with no food services open, no President's Club, and one very unhappy agent.

When I wrote to them about it, I wasn't expecting a huge compensation - just something like $50 voucher or upgrades, etc.

Think about it: If you owned a business, and you were not doing so well performance wise, would you want to shell out $200+ to each of about 1000 customers??

In my book, if employees were rude (as they apparently were), they should be dealt with. But I'm not sure why you believe you are entitled to compensation, when (despite having to stand in a couple of long lines and dash for your connection), it appears that you landed in Orlando on schedule. You don't really expect NW to compensate you because the plane was dirty, do you?

Moreover, in this day in age, when people will litigate over just about anything (watch Judge Judy if you don't believe me), you don't really expect NW to acknowledge that it somehow contirbuted to a back injury.

If you went to a doctor, send them the bill and ask them to pay it. But for the inconveniences you appear to have suffered, I would say that NW's response was reasonable, and that neither of Mr. Havlicek's responses warrant the attack he has suffered here.

BTW, what additional compensation do you want from NW?

Very Interesting.

[This message has been edited by Punki (edited 10-16-1999).]

I visited NW corporate HQ on business and it was the rudest, nastiest experience I have had in many years of business.

I would never fly NW given a choice and I think that this sort of attitude permeats from the top down. In fact, I am sure of it. But if you continue to fly NW you shouldn't be upset about the results.

That said, many NW people I am sure are nice people and many FTers will have good experiences on NW. But I do not plan to be one of them.

These complaints take a toll on you. They are very unhealthful. I wouldn't bother, personally. I'd take my biz to another airline and save myself the bother and the upset.