Once again, a FlyerTalk community member who is also an airline employee posts with the real scoop. Thanks for the information, Vegas Agent. Not all of us find the employees to be "spoiled." Keep us updated on the outcome of your situation, Industrial Patent.

It's great that the avek00's of the world haven't overrun all of the airlines with spiteful, idiotic policies.

[This message has been edited by TransWorldOne (edited 05-05-2003).]

Thanks for the explanation, Vegas Agent! As always, your input is appreciated.

[This message has been edited by IndustrialPatent (edited 05-06-2003).]

I believe you will find that it is your responsibility to check in with enough time to clear security. I think they're still saying 90 minutes for domestic.

Summary: I spoke with an NW Consumer Relations Manager who refused to listen to my whole story, bluntly telling me that many of the points I was bringing up were �none of my business� � we did agree on one thing: perhaps it would be better off if I took my business elsewhere. Recently I�ve been very happy with AA�s product and service� I think it's the beginning of the end of my relationship with NW.

[This message has been edited by IndustrialPatent (edited 05-06-2003).]

IP:

As always, I hope you can take the time to summarize the situation and both email and hard copy mail the key folks at NW. I'm sure that they would like to know that yet another good customer is on their way to another airline!

Steve

I don't know how many employees ("managers") NW has working in Consumer Relations, but I find it odd that when I type in the name (on FlyerTalk) of the one rep. I spoke with his/her name appears negatively in FOUR threads (including the archives).


[This message has been edited by IndustrialPatent (edited 05-06-2003).]

It's quite common for people in these positions to use aliases -- no real cause for concern (imo.)

IP,

you should definately escalate your issues to higher powers at NW. Unless you prefer to change to AA anyway, it's a shame to let a couple bad apples spoil the bushell.

There are good employees and bad employees at all airlines (check the AA board where they discuss plenty of those)...whenever done wrong by a front-line employee, or even a customer service "supervisor", dont hesitate to escalate the issue to upper management if it's fairly severe like this one.

VegasAgent said that you were in "the right" here, so you should give some senior NW folks a chance to make it right.

I am outraged by this story - it is not permissible to accommodate non-revs before stand-by paying customers, no matter which class of service is available and no matter what the computer tells them to do. They can always get an override by a supervisor and do the right thing.

I appeal to any NW lurkers to rectify the situation; IP, if you do not get an apology and your $100 back, I suggest that we write a group letter protesting the wrongful NW policy (or if the policy is right, it's lack of enforcement!).

I will not step foot on an airline that will offer a privilege to one of it's employees before fullfilling its obligation to the customer. That's like the delivery guy eating your pizza (because he was hungry) and then charging you for it!!! NW advertises stand-by travel, on the day of ticketed travel, FOR NO FEE - both before and AFTER your scheduled departure. Nowhere does it say that you would loose your boarding prioirty over non-revs if you stand-by!

Let me know if we need to make phone calls or write a letter or two!

I would also get on the DOT website and write a letter of complaint. This is a great way to get some sort of response from the airline, and actually counts against NW in its monthly DOT stats.

------------------
I am not real smart, but I can lift heavy things.

I�ve decided to make another attempt at contacting NW. To be frank, the situation I was originally peeved at has been overshadowed by the response of NW�s �Consumer Care Team.� The person I spoke with was persistent that NW did not offer complimentary standby when you missed your flight. Obviously, this isn�t true (I do this all the time) so I asked to speak with somebody else. The rep refused, insisting that he/she was as �high� as I could take my case [nor would he/she let me talk to another rep]. The conversation ended with me being told that perhaps I�d be happier flying with another carrier, and that a separation might be best for both myself and NW as I seemed to be a chronic whiner (my words). Since I began flying NW regually in ~1993, this is only the second time I�ve called their Consumer Care team.

Thanks for the support! I might need to take you up on your offer, BackOfTheBus!

[This message has been edited by IndustrialPatent (edited 05-07-2003).]

Outrageous...

Seems the 1000s of layoffs NW is experiencing aren't affecting the right people...at least from your experience so far.

IP :

Did you try emailing NW via the NWA website? In my experience and the experience of several others on this board, the customer service reps at NW who respond to email are very helpful and accommodating. And they respond very promptly. Give it a try if you haven't already.

I agree the customer service response in this case has been totally unacceptable. Did you record the name of the person(s) you have spoken with at customer care?

I think a detailed letter, with names, dates, and times needs to be written and sent certified mail to the VP of customer service...and he especially needs to be aware of who in his staff is telling you to take your business elsewhere. Sounds like some staff need "help" finding alternate employment where they dont need to stress themselves out with having to deal with customers.

The VP of Customer Service, Dirk McMahon, recently resigned from NW...abruptly. His succesor was appointed but the name escapes me.

Mr.McMahon was generally well-liked and respected by employees.