The Right Way To Write An Airline Complaint…
Posted on July 23rd, 2010 by TWS
This never ceases to amaze me.
First off, if you’re any sort of road warrior, your plans will have come to grief at some point in your flying career. It’s only normal. And to be expected.
How you handle the “inconvenience” and the level of compensation you get is quite another thing.
If you want to get a glimpse into the insanity of human behaviour, head on over to FlyerTalk and start trawling around any of the airline forums and do a search for “never flying X airline again”, or “I was treated like a criminal” or “X airline ruined my life and as a result of our lost bags episode, my wife/best friend/gay lover ran off with a hamster”
Or something like that.
Here’s an example of what not to do. Reading this nearly made me lose the will to live.
Look, the first thing to understand when writing to an airline is they actually don’t care about what happened to you, how loyal you’ve been or how much you or your company spends with them. I know it sounds harsh, but it’s true.
What they care about is getting you off their backs. For example, a company such as United Airlines runs 3300 flights per day to more than 230 destinations. It’s safe to assume that they probably receive their fair share of complaints. And its safe to say that the day your letter/email arrives, it will be one of many.
So, if you can separate the emotion of what happened to the plain facts and then do just one simple thing, you’ll make your life easier and it will, nine times out of ten, be resolved in your favour.
You know what that one thing is. Every kid has this skill. It’s a pity we lose it when we grow up.
ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT!
Don’t leave it to the airline. You’re wasting your time.
Here’s what you need to do. Ensure your letter is ONE page (or a brief email). And include the following:
- Name
- PNR/Locator
- Frequent Flyer number and status (if any)
- A “brief” summary of what happened. Remember, the airline can see what happened to you by looking up your itinerary, so if your issue is about a delay, missed flights, or any other operational issue, there’s no need to type this out in full.
- What you want. Be specific. Cash works. So if its a refund, ask for it. If it’s for a travel credit, ask for an amount which is line with what an airline offers (for examples, go to FlyerTalk and look under the United Airlines forum. You’ll see that UA give out $250 vouchers, 10% off domestic fare vouchers etc.). Also, make sure what you’re asking for is in line with your experience.
Above all, don’t threaten them (yet). Be nice. Be specific. And make it easy for them. Start out positively and use words such as “disappointed” a lot.
Phrases such as “the useless cow spilled coffee all over me” or “the agent was a real bitch/bastard” will probably not result in an outcome you’ll be happy with.
Remember, you’re complaint is going to get all of 30 seconds spent on it. And the person reading your complaint wasn’t the person who caused the problem. But they will be the person who can probably fix it.
And while this example broke every rule in the book about writing a complaint, it managed to spread virally via the web and was actually responded to by the CEO himself. The only mistake this guy made though was not asking for something specific.
Because of the power of the web, and if you are creative like this guy, sometimes the result will go way beyond your expectation. But this example is the exception, not the rule.
If you have an airline or travel related story which went pear shaped, I’d love to hear it. Or if you have an unresolved issue, send me a note. And no, not unresolved issues with your parents, children or estranged partner. Travel issues, ok?
*Image courtesy Hugh MacLeod, Gapingvoid
