American Airlines Apology
May 29th, 2008 @ 3:16 pm
i usually don’t answer my phone when i don’t recognize the number, but since it was a DFW area code, i figured…
what the heck?
on the other line was a very nice gentleman from american airlines. evidently they thought my online complaint from april had been resolved (because of this post).
he was super nice, apologetic, and even posted some miles to my american advantage account. and he told me my email to them was the first one to really ever point them to a blog post. and now they are going to pay a little more attention to their online reputation.
so…i wanted to share the happy ending with you guys. maybe there is hope for airline travel after all.
Travels
Godzgal said,
May 29, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Yeah!! I’m a little surprised that they took some action and called! That is great. See what a big influence you have with your blog! :)Can they give you a lifetime supply of peanuts and pretzels also?
Brad Ruggles said,
May 29, 2008 at 3:49 pm
I’m hearing more and more of those kind of stories lately. It’s about time companies start waking up and monitoring what people say about them online.
Brad Ruggles // http://www.bradruggles.com
nicky said,
May 29, 2008 at 3:59 pm
maybe you should blog about their ridiculous per bag charges they just started? :)
Charlie Neese said,
May 29, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Anne,
Glad it worked out for the best. Now, even American Airlines reads your blog! You must be doing something right when you’ve grabbed the attention of corporate America along with everyone else… Good job!
Jenni Catron said,
May 29, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Impressive, but seriously… it took them that long to figure out they needed to pay attention to their “online reputation”??
Jason Cole said,
May 29, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Its unfortunate that almost every airline in the US is so poorly managed from the mid level down, even the much praised Southwest. They have all forgotten why they are in business. What really drives me mad is when I see the begging by airlines for financial help from the government.
Its probably going to take a serious collapse of the industry before they realize that customer service is king. Overbooking has to stop. Loosing bags has to stop. Seats so small only people under 5′6″ can think about being comfortable. And to finally realize that using my iPod during takeoff and landing will NOT mess up the plane’s electronics!
Heidi Reed said,
May 29, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Uh no.
American Airlines is DIRT in my book. I don’t know your story, but I’ll bet you mine is worse. And it also had to do with DFW.
NEVER will I fly that airline again.
Mud to me. Poop even. I want to spit now!
Julie P said,
May 29, 2008 at 4:41 pm
I’m glad to hear that you got a positive response and action from AA, but I’m with Jenni - they’re just now realizing that they should consider their online reputation?? That’s crazy.
DaveAllen said,
May 29, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Wow. Maybe your next book can be, “Effective Complaining: Initiating Corporate Change From the Back of the Line.”
David Wayne said,
May 29, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Interesting that this all seems to be a part of the culture at American Airlines. I saw this at the Mavericks at Work Blog -
http://www.mavericksatwork.com/?p=130
Apparently AA treats their employees like dirt, so it trickles down to the way the employees treat their customers.
Glad you found a friendly face, er voice. If AA starts paying attention to their online reputation they may be in for a shock.
Texas in Africa said,
May 29, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Great! I got a voucher in exchange for my AA travel nightmare in March. Turns out if you take pictures of their employees’ woeful neglect and mail them to the CEO, stuff happens. :)
Jim Henry said,
May 29, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Can you get them to do something about their coffee? It’s the worst in HISTORY! :)
Jordan Like the River said,
May 29, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Well that’s nice… but your experience added to my bad experience AND the ridiculous new checked baggage fee means I’m still switching allegiance to Delta or someone - anyone - else. I guess my grace and forgiveness muscle is weak.
Scott Williams said,
May 29, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Sweet! I think you have just inspired me to give some customer service/experience posts. Holler!
IFlYSWA!
Heidi Reed said,
May 30, 2008 at 6:46 am
@ Texas in Africa: I got a voucher too. I will not use it. In fact, I just paid for airline tickets on Delta because I will NOT fly AA ever, ever, ever, ever again.
tony said,
May 30, 2008 at 7:03 am
why AA and not SW - c/mon Anne fly with a winner!
Janel said,
May 30, 2008 at 8:38 am
Oh, very positive outcome with that situation!
JudiFree said,
May 30, 2008 at 10:32 am
About time! Yeah for blog influence over a major corporation!!!
SolShine7 said,
June 2, 2008 at 10:08 pm
That’s super. Anne, you totally rock!
evan said,
June 4, 2008 at 10:05 pm
i recently had a problem with Jak Prints, so I blogged about it, and they changed how they dealt with me.
The blog community is amazing.