AugustusM

The supervisor didn't hear this until after the GA pulled the comp but did however affirm that there would be no comp for B.

Look, I understand it makes very little sense but I watched it unfold over the course of about 30 minutes and have zero reason to embellish. The whole thing was like a slow motion train wreck.

txaggiemiles

AugustusM

It was a bit surreal, when the GA called B back over I pretty knew she was going to pull his comp. I still think the supervisor could have fixed this but as I said earlier, the pilot came up twice and was anxious to push so it was 'too bad, so sad' time from her.

BThumme

I agree. For a lot of us in this thread, the VDB reports have gone way down. I know now is summer time and there's less business travel, but ever since Dao, the reports are way down of VDBs. These are (fun?)/relevant discussions relating to this topic. While of course I would much rather hear about people negotiating some pretty sweet deals, the truth is the airlines are better about this and we are getting less reports, and this is one way to live vicariously.

AugustusM

I thought the $1,200 for CVG-EWR was a great number and I would have taken it but it was Friday and I wanted to get home for an event and the next flight was also looking to be delayed/oversold.

BThumme

So this was all YOUR fault

AugustusM

Hah, totally. I could have gotten a sweet $1,200 voucher and those guys wouldn't have been stuck in Covington.

sexykitten7

I think B and C were at fault for separating from each other. And the language barrier probably didn't help.

And what is this paperwork you speak of? IIRC a VDB simply requires a signature since UA already has your ticket info. Is there more to it? Why would B have to sit down to complete the form?

And I don't have a problem with the GA's behavior. They're an agent (literally) of United and not a slot machine! The story could have just as well been told as three unrelated people: A volunteers and is bumped, B volunteers and is in the process of getting bumped, then C volunteers for free. The moment C volunteered, B was no longer needed. End of story. Too bad, so sad. B was always a lady in waiting. He had no valid contract (at least written). In fact, since C was rebooked before B, the GA could have told B to get his butt on the bloody plane or at least charged him the applicable change fees. If they want to pursue damages against United, be my guest. I'm quite a litigious person myself but I wouldn't do more than write a nice letter to customer care.

And while GA would have been particularly "savvy" in hosing A too, that would have likely been illegal since the ink was dried on A's contract. While clearing a SBY sounds silly, A was likely long gone and would not have forfeited his comp anyways.

jsloan

Who knows why they separated? There are plenty of reasons to be on separate PNRs, including some that are out of their control (e.g., a CPU at any point in the journey).

You have to fill out your name and address on the VDB form. It takes a few moments -- longer if you have the audacity to want to read the four pages of terms and conditions. Especially if you're a non-native English speaker.

That's a ridiculous counterfactual. For one thing, C was trying to fly with B, which both B and C presumably tried to make clear. But, to take your counterfactual at face value -- why would C do that? C, who has been waiting around patiently to board a delayed flight, hears them offer $1000 compensation to take a later departure, and thinks, "Golly, I think spending another night here would be fun! I'll go up and volunteer to change for free so that United won't have to pay any VDB compensation!" No reasonable person would act in this fashion.

There's simply no excusing the GAs' (and supervisor's) behavior here. They essentially defrauded one of their customers out of a $1000 voucher. The fact that they may have taken advantage of a language barrier to do so puts it further beyond the pale. From the bottom of my heart, I hope that this was a misunderstanding and not a deliberate attempt to take advantage of the passengers, but still, there were only two reasonable options: VDB B with comp and allow C to change for free, or refuse VDB comp to B and solicit another volunteer.

It's actually rare for the vouchers to be processed while the boarding door is still open. I have seen stories from the "good old days" of people getting VDB comp and then successfully standing by for the flight they just got VDB'd from, which is probably part of the reason for that. I doubt it would be "illegal" to rescind the comp -- I think the fine print probably gives UA an out -- but the optics would be even worse than they already are.

sexykitten7

I meant physically separated.

So B can't read or write while standing?

I agree C likely made the decision to rebook under the false belief that B was already rebooked too. So what? That isn’t UA’s fault.

I agree. UA could have unbumped A. Then called him to the boarding area (forgetting to use the loudspeaker). Then autocancel his itin and burn the ETC without his knowledge. But "No reasonable person would act in this fashion."

AugustusM

B went to sit down at one of the charging/work stations to fill out the form. He was only 20 or so feet away if you've ever been in CVG. C was still at the podium having it explained that they didn't need anyone else to take a VDB with voucher when he offered to join his friend the next day on the same flight for free since he didn't want to fly alone that day.

jsloan

I've sat to fill out the form before. It never occurred to me that I might be giving up my rights by doing so.

I will tip my cap to you; at least you're consistent. Caveat emptor, and all that. I would not want to do business with a company that thinks that this is a fair way to treat their customers. If I believed that this were anything but an isolated incident, I'd be seriously rethinking my travel plans. If C says "I want to travel with my friend," then C is not indicating a preference to change flights for free in order to allow B to travel on the original flight. I don't know how much clearer this could be.

I'm not entirely sure why you're mocking my words, because you're right -- no reasonable person would act that way, either. That's why I'm inclined to chalk this up as a gross misunderstanding rather than outright deception -- because I think a deceptive GA would have tried to do exactly that. (Well, maybe without the loudspeaker part). But, if you assume the actions of the GA were intended to clear a spot on the plane without comp, then I would argue that the GA was not being a reasonable person.

joe_miami

I'm not at all accusing you of embellishing the story. To the contrary, it seems like something is missing, for the reason I mentioned a couple times yesterday — the GA changing C's flight so he could fly with B, but then telling B to board the original flight, makes no sense at all. Clearly, there was a miscommunication somewhere.

AugustusM

I don't have much of an understanding how the United computer system functions but I am curious to know that if when the GA VDB'd C if it automatically revokes the voucher offer for B or if that's manual.

prometa

I have a hard time believing a GA would essentially defraud a customer out of a $1000 ETC in the way one possible explanation for what happened has been described. You'd be creating two pissed off customers (B&C) who feel they have actual monetary damages to claim ($1000 ETC) and will therefore probably raise hell either at the gate or afterward, in a circumstance (VDB) where UA has already taken a significant PR hit. I can't imagine the GA wants to deal with pissed off customers to save $1000 ETC in the first place.

It's a lot easier for me to believe B & C coming up to the podium separately combined with the language barrier misled the GA into thinking B & C weren't travelling together, and by the time the GA realized what had happened, the system wasn't going to allow a new $1000 ETC to be generated for a third unnecessary VDB, the pilot was pushing to board, so they just persuaded B & C to take what already happened as the way it is and started boarding.

At that point, the supervisor should have walked B & C to the nearest customer service counter (or empty UA gate) and done what it took to generate the $1000 ETC. If he/she didn't, then we're witnessing another example of UA customer service shooting themselves in the foot, but without any malice attributed. A $1000 ETC, after taking breakage into account, is the cheapest possible way to avoid another major PR hit.