I had a delayed flight on US from LAS and the gate agent handled the situation very well. I did not get his name but I wrote a letter lauding him for his actions. US replied with a letter thanking me for my compliment and said that the employee would be noted. That is all that I wanted, for the guy to be appreciated for his work

When I receive exceptional service, I make a point of asking for the individual's supervisor (if he/she is around) and complimenting the great service I just received in front of the employee. Almost everytime I ask to speak to the supervisor, there's a fearful moment of hesitation on the employee's part, so I say, "I want to brag on you!" If no supervisor is around, I will write a letter.

I probably write more compliments than complaints.

Occasionally I'll write letters of complaints (come on, how many experiences are truly awful vs just small inconveniences - if you intend to answer that, please start another thread ). It takes a lot for me to write a complaint letter, and when I do it's deserved.

But I also believe that fair is fair. If I'm willing to complain, I should also be willing to compliment - especially when it's deserved.

I don't rely on karma in those instances, btw, or verbals. I put it in writing & address it to the vp-personnel, station and/or fa manager, etc, etc, so it gets documented & put in the employee's file. 2 reasons - one, they should be recognized when they 'done good' & by doing so, it will encourage them to keep 'doing good'.

Cheers.

Agree 100%, I've complained and they put up with my complaints and try to assist me, so when it is worth a compliment, I write it, started to do more of it lately. A couple months ago I got the contact of a senior person in CO, that I was in contact with directly after I had a big problem. During our conversations this person has told me that it is not that often that they receive compliments, actually the word used was "rarely." So when an agent or someone goes above and beyond the normal level of service I've started letting this person know about it directly in written format.

I recently had a lady from the Plat line do something for me that was way way way way above and beyond the job duties and it really helped me out. I'm told compliments go in their file and their supervisors are notified about it as well. So I was happy to write the message as she deserved to have what she did for me be known by her supervisor(s) and in her record.

This reminds me of umpteen years ago when I was a young supervisor in a call center (non-travel). One of my best agents stopped me as I stood up to go to lunch and asked me to take a call from his customer as it was a compliment. As that was one of my favorite things, I did.

The customer started off saying the guy he just talked to was good, but...

He chewed my ear for a good half-hour! Not about that agent, but other problems...

The very best customer service companies in the world have as a goal 1/4 compliments to complaints. Very few reach that. And the ones that do are generally in relatively simple businesses. I've never dealt with one yet that didn't value compliments very highly.

Interestingly, I had a voicemail this morning left by a hotel manager in response to a rather mild complaint I posted to the HH Diamond Desk. I would not have bothered if they hadn't sent me an email asking for reasons why my expectations weren't met (I get these after most stays). I've sent compliments as well as complaints. In this case, it's not the fault of management, but design flaws in the building. I'll feel bad if he's in any trouble over it.

He left a message on my office voicemail at 8:00 PM his time. It makes me wonder if he really wants to speak with me or just wants to respond that he had called. He says he'll call back this afternoon. We'll see.

its very rare for me to receive service that exceeds my expectations by a significant margin. I very often receive service that signifantly falls short of my expectations, and when that occurs I sometimes write a letter.

I expect adequate/good service. Sometimes I get very good service. Can't remember any exceptional service.

I definitely write more compliment than complaint letters. United's "Going the Extra Mile" program makes it easy to do in person; I will also send an email to the 1k Desk and supervisor of any United employee from whom I get great telephone service.
Kate

I am an equal opportunity complimenter and criticizer. But, these days, with the poor customer service, in general, with hotels and airlines - I rarely get acknowledgement for either from the response lines. Oops - another criticism.

I do write complimentary letters.And will Send a seperate letter to the HQ if the service is really great.
Unfortunately these work a little too well and the person gets a promotion to back office or a transfer+promotion -but that is what these small gestures(on my part)are meant to do.Still,,,,,,,
I also am famous for the"other"sort of letters

Don't worry, not just you . I'm sure Mark Erwin hates me.

Yes to both.... A couple of months ago I was on a flight with a flight crew that served me about a year back... Both time she provided a polite and professional service... so she got a letter... ^

Complements work much better than complaints.......

Hotels generally have the best response, Car rentals are the worst. Airlines right in the middle.

With hotels, I frequently write reviews on Tripadvisor. When I am giving a place a great review, I send the link to the hotel manager and I try to name particularly stellar empoyees if I feel they should be singled out. I frequently hear back from hotel managers who appreciate sharing the compliments because they help employees to stay motivated when they know their good work is being recognized. I rarely send complaints unless I really feel short-changed.