Southwest Airlines began as Air Southwest in 1967 in Dallas, Texas. Rollin King and Herb Kelleher began the airline to provide service within Texas.
In 1971, the company changed its name to Southwest Airlines Company. The company saw heavy losses in 1971 and 1972 and had to sell one of its four aircraft.
In 1984, the company purchased its first Boeing 737 plane. In 1985, Southwest purchased Muse Air and renamed the company TransStar.
In 1992, the company acquired Morris Air.
In 1995, Southwest became the first airline to have a website.
In 2011, the company purchased AirTran Airways which added 15 additional destinations to its offerings.
As of 2021, Southwest scheduled flights to over 100 destinations in 42 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Southwest Airlines is the world’s largest airline. The company operates over 3400 flights to 100 destinations daily.
In March 2023, an off-duty pilot had to fly and land a plane after the Southwest pilot suffered a medical emergency.
Despite problems, Southwest is still ranked as one of the best airlines, according to Forbes.
Southwest Airlines maintains a corporate office in Dallas, Texas.
Southwest AirlinesSouthwest Airlines began as Air Southwest in 1967 in Dallas, Texas. Rollin King and Herb Kelleher began the airline to provide service within Texas.
In 1971, the company changed its name to Southwest Airlines Company. The company saw heavy losses in 1971 and 1972 and had to sell one of its four aircraft.
History
In 1984, the company purchased its first Boeing 737 plane. In 1985, Southwest purchased Muse Air and renamed the company TransStar.
In 1992, the company acquired Morris Air.
In 1995, Southwest became the first airline to have a website.
In 2011, the company purchased AirTran Airways which added 15 additional destinations to its offerings.
As of 2021, Southwest scheduled flights to over 100 destinations in 42 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Southwest Airlines is the world’s largest airline. The company operates over 3400 flights to 100 destinations daily.
In March 2023, an off-duty pilot had to fly and land a plane after the Southwest pilot suffered a medical emergency.
Despite problems, Southwest is still ranked as one of the best airlines, according to Forbes.
Southwest Airlines maintains a corporate office in Dallas, Texas.
Maria Papale says
I was issues a voucher in error. I should have received a credit. My voucher was stolen and used for travel. I have had a case for well over 30 days with corporate and would appreciate this being reissued as a flight credit as soon as possible to plan future travel with Southwest. If not resolved appropriately I will no longer be a Southwest customer.
Dave Simmons says
Please tell your CEO that if he’s not going to buy Boeing aircraft I’m not flying his airline
Constance Boudro says
I’ve made numerous calls to get me and my husbands LUV Voucher extended. My husband passed away and they supposedly extended his Voucher. After the 3-4 call, I was then told to call back within 90 days of my future travel to get my voucher extended. When I called option 5 again on 7/30, with a reference number from the previous agent, this next agent told me that I can’t extend the voucher until it expires, which will be too close to my travel date to book. I called today, 7/31, to try to use my husbands voucher, that was supposedly extended through 4/20/2020, and the agent kept repeating my name talking over me until I finally just hung up. She needs to be FIRED immediately! She was so condescending repeating my name so I would just listen to her tell me that the voucher number I read out loud 3 times, was wrong!!!
What is wrong with these people! I’m not stupid. I’m a professional who is educated and deal with people for a living as an HR Manager, so am trained to be one of the most patient customers you will meet.
Seriously considering cancelling all of the 4 flights I made for my family. No longer a fan!!!!
David says
Had the same experience with an agent and her name was Amy …. Very unprofessional and spoke to me as a bother instead of a customer having a problem….
I had called to have Vouchers extended as mine were going to expire the first week of October… when I gave her Voucher Numbers she said they were $ 0-rd out …. When I tried to tell her something she said to write a letter to Corporate… tried to ask her if there was a Number I could called and she replied after cutting me off write a letter to Corporate… she did this to me twice… when I confronted her about how she was talking to me … she told me to have a nice Day and hung up on me ..
Love flying southwest but dislike how I was treated
Monica Lee says
I am beyond frustrated with Southwest Airlines (SWA) regarding travel funds, I cancelled a flight on the strength that funds would be place in travel funds account for future use. SWA was having flight promotion/sale and I wanted to take advantage of the sale, I found a flight, and when I went to use the travel funds, it said that trip exceeds expiration date…WTF. I was unaware of expiration date, so I phoned SWA for explanation and SWA policy was recited to me, the reservationist gave me hope and faith that customer relations would have a workaround that would allow me to book the flight using my travel funds, but to no avail. I spoke with three (3) customer relationship representative, who were well rehearsed and prepared to recite policy no bending, no compromising, no workaround to provide optimum customer service. Therefore, I complained via email, received a response from Ellie Gilmore expressing the following sentiments: “Our Employees are encouraged to find “win-win” solutions for our Customers whenever possible, thinking creatively to make the best out of a frustrating situation…We would cherish an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start anew with you on a future trip. We’re confident that we can WOW you with the Legendary Customer Service that has become synonymous with our name.” On the strength of Ellie’s comments, I phoned Customer Relations again thinking once I repeat those words, optimum customer service would be provided, the Rep would think outside the box and come up with a win-win solution, demonstrate that SWA valued my business, because I do have options, but no…I was met with more of the same reciting SWA policy and offering no solutions. I continue to be frustrated with SWA and I will defer to other airlines moving forward.
Disappointedly yours,
MLee
Adam B says
When you get a credit voucher it tells you that it’s only good for one year. I lost 100 bucks once because I never booked another flight within the 12 months. That’s on me.
ava says
People need to read the stipulations that are PRINTED on a travel fund voucher to see when the expiration date is. No travel funds are forever. I would also like to point out that Southwest is the ONLY airline that doesn’t ding you a “service” or “change” fee of $150 when issuing travel funds. You get the full amount. This mistake is totally on you.
Tony Putrino says
On May 26, 2019, I flew on Fl # 2557 from Phoenix to Burbank. Upon arriving in Burbank, I realized that I had left my jacket, which I was carrying with me, behind. I checked with TSA lost & found and Sky Harbor Airport (Phoenix) lost & found. They didn’t have it, so I realized I might have left it on board. On June 7th, I filed a Lost Item Report on the company website. On the report form page, it stated that I would be updated every few days, which did NOT happen. On 6/14/19 I called customer relations, but gave up after being on hold for 45 minutes, so I emailed a complaint via the company website. On 6/19/19 I called general customer service and received no help. On 6/20/19 I called customer relations again and was told to call Lost & Found Central and leave a message. On 6/21/19 I did so twice, and again on 6/25/19. On 6/26/19 I registered a 2nd complaint via the company website, which stated that I would receive a confirmation of my complaint shortly, which I did NOT receive. To date, I have received NO updates, NO confirmations, NO responses of any kind from anyone! If I were to rate Southwest’s customer relations, I couldn’t …it doesn’t exist! I may have lost my jacket, but Southwest Airlines has lost ME!
Esther Paul says
Maybe your new slogan should be “bags fly free, but so does your self respect “..
Esther Paul says
I had an unpleasant experience on Southwest flight 1780 on June 5th of this year. I just received 4 drink coupons and I thank you. However this does not take away the sting of the bad customer service I received. If this is the best you can do, then your customer service department needs to reevaluate how best to please your customers. What is happening here?? Honestly I believe that bad service is a training issue. What can your airline do to bring more customers to book with you..maybe ask your CEO Mr. Gary Kelly what he thinks and how long does he expect to keep his job with bad service.. this is what it all boils down to. Good luck on re-training your flight attendants..
Esther Paul says
I was flying from Ontario, California to Philadelphia on Wednesday, June 5, 2019. It was a flight that was to land in Phoenix, Az and transfer to Philadelphia. The flight was #1780. The flight attendant, female, was taking drink orders and when I ordered a Mimosa she informed me that the flight was only 45 min..to which I replied “i’ll Drink fast”. A few minutes later there was water pouring out of the overhead bin on me. I immediately called her back and told her of the situation to which she replied “ it’s probably just the air conditioning “ if the air conditioner is in such poor condition then maybe I should get a refund.. she laughed and opened the overhead bin and discovered that another passenger put her bag into the bin which contained a water bottle that was not closed. I just said bring some paper towels and let’s clean this up. She handed me the towels and said “be grateful it was just water”. When I told her I would be informing Southwest Corporate. She said “go ahead”. I have always flown Southwest and first time I encountered such a rude and uncaring person..
Alan KIng says
In lieu of the Russian flight tragedy where people in the rear of the plane could not vacate the plane fast enough to save their lives because people were getting their luggage from overhead compartments in front of them a message should be added to all pre-flight instructions on American flights. “In case of an emergency landing leave all overhead personnel baggage and/or belongings behind in order to allow people in the back of the plane enough to safely get off the aircraft.” I would love to see Southwest start the new policy.
Sholder says
To advise customer relations:
As anAlist preferred customer, I fly SW many many times per year. My recent flight DEN/BOI, I experienced the worst customer service The gate attendant, Bobby, pulled me from the boarding line to say my “lunch bag” was too large and I would need to consolidate boarding items. And I quote “not that bag of lunch sister, you’ll need to check your bag’. I gate checked my roll on and made it to the plane. I waited so long I lost my A list and ended up in back of the plane. While waiting for my gate checked bag receipt, Bobby entered the plane, came to my seat then before I could say thank you- she bent down and was in my face stating” you just write that letter!”. As I’ve never written a ‘letter’ to complain to SW, I am now. For a Customer first airline, this gal was incredibly rude and threatening. No wonder she is grounded off of planes and only a terminal attendant. She should not provide ANY service for SW. What a horrible experience. The passengers around me were horrified. As was I. What an embarrassment for SW with all the troubles you are having. My advise as an attorney- this gal needs to find a new job before she hurts someone physically. Flight# 409 DEN/BOI April 9th, 2019. Please respond to me ASAP with your solution to this SW employee’s behavior and your recourse.
Noel Corros says
This email is addressed to the top brasses of Southwest Airlines and to supervisor Alan B.
Last week, December 11, 2018, we flew back home from Cancun Mexico to LAX. Immediately on boarding, we were greeted by flight attendants Jenna L. and Ryan L. Both are LAX based flight attendants. Jenna treated me so courteously and respectfully. The lady I was with was very sick and balance impaired and with her professionalism it made it easier for me to care for her. Jenna was in tuned with what I needed and showed her compassion. When I asked Ryan L for coffee, he said he is brewing me a new one so it’ll be fresh and better tasting. I want the company to know that you have hired 2 good employees for your company. This is my way of expressing my gratitude and please reply to this email so I know that my message is received by the executives and their supervisor. My confirmation was M56DBY and flight # 341.
Barbara Windon says
Hmm, well I will try to be brief. On October 7, 2018 I was returning home from Sacramento CA to Ontario CA, having been at a funeral a day before, It had a while since I had been to Sacramento so I was unsure of the bagging process, After I reach the airport, I saw many Kiosk’s for passengers to check in, I attempted to use one, but my frame of mind was still on the funeral, so after fumbling thru the kiosk, I decided to ask for assistance by the agent standing by, I waited until he finished with another passenger, and he came over, I explained that I wasn’t sure If i had completed the transaction and at this point I only wanted to go to the counter for help. The agent became very agitated with me, I then said “forget it”. I’ll go to the counter, so I attempted to grab my luggage and proceed to the counter, The Agent then out of nowhere, punched me in my right upper shoulder, and repeatedly said “no you can do it”. I was so shocked, and dismayed. I just wanted to get away from him. I finally got assistance from the counter and reported it to the nice supervisor on duty “HAL” was his name.
A couple days went by, I heard nothing, I did call back and spoke with the supervisor, and he informed me that it was to handled, internally,
I called into the Headquarters to “customer relations”, the executive person I spoke with after explaining what happened to me, was very rude and condescending and told me that I will not speak with anybody else and she was the only one and in charge…”I doubt that”..
A week later, she sends me $50.00 travel voucher.. what for?.. I didn’t ask for that nor will I use that.. , I was “assaulted” by their employee, and by no means will that be suffice. ugh southwest I really used to like you.. now I am loathing you…………….I really hope they take interest in their feedback.
Diedra says
Barbara I understand these ppl lie and come up with all kinds of reasons for stuff. I would’ve called the cops and filed charges. We had to cancel a return flight due to a emergency and was guaranteed a refund either back to our card or in love bucks. Guess what still waiting & have called several times nothing diff story every time lol. This time it will take 30 days now and it’s because I spelled the name wrong bahahaha. Are you kidding me so they did a express on it and it will be 5 days now. And I said “Will I hope in 5 days the ticket is the same price since it’s Christmas.” Oh idk they are subject to change. I’ve heard they are the worst to fly with during the holidays and especially Christmas. I told the lady “ I didn’t get 30 days or 5 days to pay you guys for the ticket!” Makes me so mad and it’s expensive flying out from Ohio to anywhere and especially back to where we live. I’m so mad oh well horrible company.
Molly Jackson says
Hello.. I feel silly writing this email but I’ve contacted your customer service people several times and I can’t seem to get help. I’m very frustrated!! Here’s the problem.. I booked a flight .. I cancelled it and ended up rebooking it twice. When I finally booked it online the credit was never applied. I was told to call about the credit after my trip. I did but it’s been almost 2 months and I haven’t received the money back. $500.00. So what started out as a 275 flight became over $800 because the credit wasn’t applied. Can you please call me to resolve this? 917913XXXXX
Diedra says
Oh girl I know they are horrible at giving your money back. But they are good about taking your money and not caring
Erika H Parkes says
SOUTHWEST HAS TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE EVEN TO THE CORPORATE LEVEL. How would a marrried couple ( which we have been for 43 years), KNOW that when attempting to book flights with MY SOUTHWEST Rapids Reward account, that if you are buying a ticket for your spouse…you are unable to PAY for the ticket for your spouse because the form you fill out with the Passenger’s info, and try to pay for the flights, that you get an ERROR message. After three phone calls and being on hold for 2 hours, you find out that the account number AUTOMATICALLY populates, and you can not buy your spouse a ticket unless BOTH parties are flying….UNLESS YOU DELETE THE AUTOMATICALLY POPULATED ACCOUNT NUMBER OUT!! I lost out on the final seat at the lower price because I did not know to TAKE OUT THE ACCOUNT NUMBER, which is automatically placed in the online booking. If you buy a ticket for someone else, you have to ERASE your account number!! We always pay the extra $15 pp fee to board early bird…and Southwest would not credit the difference in the flight tickets even though any normal married person would have NO CLUE that you must take out your account number ! 2 hours and three phone calls I learn WHY my attempt to purchase did not go through, and this is why I lost out on the better fare! THIS IS A TECHNICAL ISSUE, AND THE ERROR MESSAGE DOES NOT INFORM THE CUSTOMER AS TO WHY THE TRANSACTION WAS NOT GOING THROUGH!
ava says
You cannot purchase someone else’s ticket using YOUR personal SW Rapid Rewards account. If you log into YOUR account it will only book YOUR ticket.There is no frequent flyer account on any airlines that allows 2 people to be on the same account. One person, one account. Kinda how an airline ticket works. The fact that you’ve been married 43 years is irrelevant. (And yes, a married (or unmarried) person would have known that you can’t book 2 different people using the same personal information that is stored in your Rapid Rewards account)
Meachell Cruz says
Please send to Customer Relations, Exec. Offs. Dallas, TX. Spoke with Tia, who ID’ed self as supervisor at the Exec. Offs. This contact was made on 4/16/18 to follow-up an re-request confirmation of gift card purchase 1/15/18 and compensation for mistake made by Southwest. Martin White finally did receive notification per email of $600 gift card on 4/11/18. Explain to Tia that I had a 5 mos. illness that require the assistant of my brother in Michigan. He was unable to come to NV due to Southwest mistake. At the time of my illness my brother was unemployed. I am well now and trying to follow-up on this grievous mistake of inadequate customer service. However, Ms. Tia thinks that an apology is sufficient and informed me the Executive Policy did not leave and room for compensation. My question is how could your business deduct money from my credit card without providing a product or service. I do think there s a legal term for what you did and your monthly or quarterly audits did not show an excess of $600. If I did not get well and start a research of the $600 would your company ever had found the mistake and rectified it. I requested Tia to bring this matter to her supervisor because her decision isn’t acceptable. Please submit conformation receipt to my e-mail address. Please review again and hopefully you will re-think your refusal of compensation of this egregious issue. I really hope you will settle this issue acrimoniously without further recourse.
Meachell Cruz
North Las Vegas NV. 89081
1-702-541-XXXXX
meachellcruz@ yahoo.com
kaTHLEEN Carrasquilla says
this is my 4th attempt at reaching someone who is reasonable and responsible in order to receive satisfaction on a 4 person trip last year. I have posted on facebook, received an answer to please write privately, did that and not a single person has responded, period ! The situation that each of the 4 of us incurred an additional $1,500 (average) expenditure because Southwest was very delayed at the Oakland Airport, landing in Seattle, Wash with less than an hour to spare to board our cruise ship. We courteously requested to the steward that we be given priority off boarding in order to make our ship, he said “that wouldn’t be fair to all the other passengers”. As we were sitting near the back, it took almost 1/2 hour to offboard….grabbed our bags then we ran to our transport. This was a 7 day cruise to Alaska on Celebrity. Well, we didn’t make it to the ship in time since we were delayed about 2 hours in Oakland. Incurred a nights stay in Seattle, then a $600 per person flight to Ketchecan, Alaska, where we incurred another nights stay and waited for the ship to arrive the next day. By now, we had missed 2 days of cruising and had spent unforeseen monies on hotels, meals, extra transport, etc. Caught up with the ship, sailed away only to find out that because of an antique Maritime law….the ship could not take us back to Seattle since it hadn’t picked us up there. The solution for them was to drop us off at Victoria Island (one of our favorite destinations) but we had to immediately disembark the Celebrity line and catch the Skipper Fairy back to Seattle (another expense) and pay for another night in a hotel in order for us to make our Southwest Flight out of Seattle to Oakland without having to modify our return air tickets. Our departure date was August 4, 2017, at least that was the arrangements. One additional frustration was the attitude of the customer service rep at Oakland Airport …she had the nerve to tell me that we should have flown into Seattle a day earlier. and when the flight attendant wouldn’t let us priority off-board, knowing our dilemma, it was like being stabbed. Please get back to me asap since it has been 7 months since our initial complaint was registered. We are asking for compensation on all that was lost due to SW inefficiencies and may I state that each one of us is a senior citizen so needless to say…..the stress was unbearable. Sincerely, Kathleen and Rudy Carrrasquilla, Sandra Ewing and Gail Shinn.
Kathryn Miller says
I had the absolute worst flight ever 2-12-18 flight #202. Ground supervisor basically stole my violin from me, checked it without my permission and I had no idea if I would get it back because I had no personal information on it and she never asked where my destination was. I ended up waiting at the Indianapolis Airport over 10 hours for them to find it and get it to me. I was crying the whole first flight. The second flight I paid $8 for the 30 minute flight so I could try to email someone from southwest. That was a day from hell traveling. I wrote the Ceo a letter and sent it certified mail. Not sure if will even make it to his desk. I hope this never happens to anyone else.
Elizabeth Dunker says
Recently I purchase tickets for my husband, myself, my daughter, her husband & three grandchildren using my rapid reward card & paying for them on my SW visa charge card. But buying 2 tickets separately was cheaper than buying all 7 at once so I called and asked why. Roger said they offer so many at a cheaper price and when they sold the price goes back up. But at the time there were 2 left at that price so he said book 2 at cheaper price and the other 5 at the other and watch if it goes down. Then I can rebook the others if it does. Well guess what? They offered more at the lower price so I rebooked my daughters 5. Problem being I do not get the credit!!! I paid for all our tickets treating her family to a trip to Disney because they would never be able to afford it. SW says it cannot be transferred to my acct because credit is not transferable. I book and pay for trip by the suggestion of Roger but what he neglected to say is the credit would not be mine if prices go down. I don’t think I’m transferring credit since I paid for the trip in the first place. Unfortunately the $620 ($120 per person) will probably never be used by them because they just don’t have the money it takes to book round trips for all of them. So SW has $620 of my money that will probably never be used. How is that fair? It’s funny how they are so nice on commercials and when you’re traveling but when something like this happens no one wants to be so nice. A true customer service oriented company would go above and beyond to help and make exceptions. It’s no wonder their employees each received $1000 bonus. They probably have done this time and time again to other customers. I would even be happy with getting $124 for me and my husband but they wouldn’t hear of it. They were not willing to work with us at all on this. So now SW has $620 of my money that I will never see. Funny thing is I don’t even want the cash back but just $620 in credit to use within the year! Can anyone help? Is anyone willing to go the extra mile??
Brad Tipton says
Regarding your television advertisement featuring the “Adoption” of a baby girl. My wife and I agree this is absolutely one of the most classic and nicest advertisements to ever be televised. Your corporate ad decision makers and the Ad Agency that created it are to be commended. This ad is so effective toward people being “so human” and loving it absolutely must be considered as one of the “ads of the year”. Again, Congratulations, and please keep up the good work.
Additionally, if this attitude permeates your organization, we are sure it will influence potential customers to give your airline more consideration to be their travel “partner”.
Again, thank-you for a pleasurable experience just from watching a TV advertisement.
Clint Flinchpaugh says
Hello, I have a problem that I hope you can help me with. Earlier in the year i made plans for me and my dad to fly out to visit friends in Texas. We had to cancel our trip earlier this year due to his failing health. It turns out that he passed away and I can’t use the voucher for anyone else but him. The itinerary was (5XXXXX) and my fathers name was Ronald lee Flinchpaugh. I’m trying to schedule a trip for later this month for me and my brother to the same destination and I was hoping that I could use the credit for him…. Will you please help me? My cell phone number is 720-338-XXXXX. Thank you
Daffelyn Jackson says
I’m soooo pissed right now my sister and kids brought tickets four tickets from Southwest Airlines they had to rebook them do to the hurricane that was coming for Florida. So it totally messed up her son birthday and family trip but WE truly understanding that safety is first. So they rebooked them to a later date, so the day they was leaving out my sister son had a truly baddddd asthma attack he is only 3, he have asthma really bad, so they couldn’t make the flight. So when my sister tried to rebook the flight in a timely manner southwest have given her a hard time with the calling and started treating her terrible. What do this company expect from my sister???? , just let her three year old DIE and run for the flight she called in a timely manner and had to care for her son. Everybody at Dallas Fort Worth acting like supervisors when we are following the rules to customer relations issues and concerns to get our refund me and my family will get a attorney this is truly wrong. they have lost luggage in the passed never called or said anything ,we are truly shocked how this company treated our family. This have been a night mare for my family. We have always took Southwest Airlines but this experience have been the worst. Delta here we come. account number is150941422
Katie Rhoe says
I am a current Southwest credit card holder. I only use Southwest when flying. I book all rental cars and hotels through southwest. I have never had any problems with Southwest until recently.
My husband and I booked flights and a hotel stay in Seattle for our anniversary and his birthday. We had a terrible experience. Our entire vacation was ruined because of the hotel stay and even since being back home from Seattle all we can talk about is the horrible time.
We booked our stay at the Quality Inn and Suites Seattle center for August 6-9.
Upon checking in, the first room we were sent to was a 10×10 room win a double bed. The bed sheets looked dirty and the bed was laying on a piece of wood. There was blood stains on the wall in 2 different areas of the room. I booked a non smoking room, however the room completely smelled like cigarette smoke.
We immediately called to the front desk who gave us a new room. The new room did not have a working tv. The tv itself had a message displayed to call the front desk. When we went to the front desk and told the clerk, he said “I have comcast. I don’t know anything about this tv service”. There was a sliding glass door that led to a roof top access area. However the area was filled with piles of garbage. There was a black trash can that was full of smelly trash right outside our door. We called the front desk two times to request the smelly trash be removed, however it never was. There were no chairs or anything to sit on anywhere in the patio area, and seemed if it was just an area for trash. The first night we were in the room, I was bit by a spider that was in the bedding. My leg had several large spider bites all over them that was very painful. The spider bites were so large and painful, I couldnt wear any pants. The bites were large and red and bruised from the swelling and itching. The second day we were in the room, housekeeping never came. We did not have the privacy tag on the door, so we are unsure why they did not clean the room, so there is no reason they shouldn’t have cleaned the room. We got back to the room later in the evening when housekeeping was already off. We walked to the front desk to ask for clean towels and yet again we were told they couldn’t help us and requested we move rooms
This was now two room changes which was an inconvenience.
We asked the staff for late check out because we had a flight in the evening, and they told us (without looking at a computer) the hotel was fully booked, and late check out was not available. I know the hotel was not even close to booked because I saw several empty rooms on the second floor from the balcony.
I purposely booked the hotel because they had a gym. Every piece of “equipment” except the elliptical was broken. There was a “sorry for the inconvenience” sign on every piece of equipment.
Every time we went down stairs to ask the staff for something, they told us there was nothing they could do and we needed to speak to the manager. On our third day, we were told the manager Kala was in a meeting and we could not talk to her. We left our phone number and was told she would call us by 5:00. At 6:00 after no call, we again inquired. We were told Kayla went home early, and we could try back the next day.
On our final day, and day we were leaving, my husband talked to Kala. She stated since we paid through a third party, she could not reimburse us any money. She offered us 1,000 choice privilege points and stated we could use them toward a future hotel or to purchase gift chards.
My husband logged on the website and to this day there are 0 points in his account. when looking on the website, 1,000 points pretty much means nothing. One night stay in a hotel is 30,000. To redeem a $50 gift card you must have minimum 16,000 points. I want it noted I WILL NEVER stay at a Quality Inn hotel and I do not want their points. I want to get reimbursed my money for my stay.
It was an obvious tactic to just get past us and get us out of the hotel.
The next day Kala sent me an email stating the issue was resolved because she gave us 10,000 points (which we never received and I DONT want), she offered us late check out. We were told the hotel was fully booked and all they could do was hold our bags behind the front desk. If they look at their notes we checked out at 10:36am when check out was at 11:00am. She also stated we received two room upgrades. I do not consider our inconvenience of moving rooms due to blood stains on the wall, a non working tv, and a dirty room, a room upgrade.
The biggest mistake I made was having not checked the yelp reviews for the Qualitt Inn and Suites and trusting Choice Hotels would be a reputable business. After looking at all of the yelp reviews (because we did not have a working tv to watch),I realized that this is an ongoing problem for the quality and we are not it’s first victims.
Not only am I disappointed with Southwest that this is the type of business they are associated with, I am also frustrated they don’t post any of the bad reviews of the Quality Inn. If you look at any social media website you will see horrific reviews of this hotel. I trusted that since Southwest did not have any negative reviews, that it would be a good hotel to stay in.
We came in for a three day vacation to one of the most prominent cities in the United States and left not ever wanting to go back. Because of a horrible experience and huge painful bug bites all over my legs. I am very disappointed in the experience we had and that it ruined our trip.
I contacted southwest and complained and was told all they could do is reimburse me $75. The hotel taxes alone for my stay were $114. I can not understand how a multi million dollar reputable company is ok with only trying to give me $75 to make my complaint go away. I am very upset with this situation.
I do not want points toward my next travel. I want to be reimbursed. We can not afford to go on another vacation. We took time off work and used our vacation time. We spent money on food and travel for the whole week. I can not afford another vacation and points are useless to me. $75 is a joke. Again, it does not even cover the hotel fees and taxes.
If there is anyone affiliated with this establishment who cares, you can contact me at my email address listed, or
Ktrhoe15 at gmail.com
sftbal10kr at aol.com
Richard Mellini says
Would very much like to talk to the corporate guy who is in charge of “corporate strategy”. I have an idea that would bring more customers to fly Southwest. After flying other airlines and getting charged for bags…………we now fly Southwest. I even brought the kids down to Florida in April. My idea will increase more passengers to fly Southwest. And just getting people to talk about it and the news will cover it which is great advertisement right there. That slight incentive to fly Southwest will bring other customers to you. Regular flyers will spread the word too. I think it is a good idea and would like to discuss it with guy in charge of….corporate strategy. Thanx,Dick Mellini
David Barrett says
OK…Southwest strikes again. Set to take off at 3:20 to return back home. Plane has been sitting there since we got there 2 hours early. At 2:10 (time to board) they call for Pre Board passengers to board. Then stop. “oops” we dont have a pilot crew. We bought these tickets a week and a half ago. The plane was there before we got here, you didn’t realize you needed a pilot crew for this flight? So they tell us ” a crew is flying in from Chicago and will be here in about an hour. An hour passes…no pilot crew. Finally after almost 2 hours a crew shows up. OK….everythings good right? They tell everyone to line up to board. We finally walk thru the line and board….yeeahhh!!! Right after us boarding and we took a seat people stopped coming on the plane. They tell us “its going to be a full plane today”. Ok…cool, just get them on. A few people board and then it stops again. Southwest guy comes on the plane and talks to the lady in front of us. She needed to get off the plane and have them check her tickets as someone else had the same ticket. She said she bought hers in April….so off they go to do who knows what. Oh yeah…as we are sitting there the plane is hot and humid as hell. So, finally a few more people get on board (one of them being the lady they took off). I look back and only half the plane is full. Appartently a severe screw up in ticketing. So…they finally close the door to depart….(plane still only half full). I thought it was supposed to be a full flight. No updates, no explanation, the Stewardess apparently didnt know what was going on either. Finally after 2 1/2 hours we took off. Phew….I guess this isnt really that bad considering two flights ago we were delayed 6 1/2 hours due to computer problems and the flight before that it took us 29 hours to get home from Austin (had to switch from Southwest to Alaskan to get home). So…the last 3 out of 4 trips we have made were delayed pretty much to incompetence. The 29 hour trip was alot due to weather but could have been handled much more professionally. After 7 hours of waiting at Dallas Love we boarded, they taxied us out to the run way…then…”oops” our pilots have just passed the max amount of hours that they can fly today and we have to return to the terminal. WTH? You didn’t know this 10 minutes ago? Don’t know what the heck happened. Used to be so much better. I used to say “Southwest, the airline that heards you on like cows and throws peanuts at you like monkeys, but their always on time. Not any more. Yep, their on my companies that suck bucket. To be fair the company did comp us for the 29 hour flight. The other two, no.
David Barrett says
Oh yeah…this was flight 2916 from Houston to El Paso on 6/24/2017.
francine muscarella says
CANNOT BELIEVE THAT I AM STILL ON THE PHONE, AFTER SPEAKING WITH A REPRESENTATIVE , WHO COULD NOT HELP ME ANY FURTHER. SHE TRANSFERRED ME ABOUT 1.5 HOURS AGO. I AM STILL WAITING. MAYBE YOU SHOULD GET RID OF THE TOP HEAVY PERSONNEL AND GET MORE EMPLOYEES. IT IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS THAT SOUTHWEST CARES SO LITTLE FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS! HOW ARE YOU TO GET ANY HELP IF YOU HAVE TO WAIT SO LONG. MY LIFE IS NOT JUST SITTING AND WAITING ON THE PHONE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Paul Mermelstein says
How about a IAD – PBI non-stop?
Patricia Carioscia says
To Whom It May Concern,
I want you to know I have flown Southwest Airlines for several years but will no longer be a customer. I was thoroughly disgusted with your decision to support Planned Parenthood. You will not get any more of my money to send to the murderers of babies. I will also tell everyone I know to boycott your airline until you come to your senses.
Sincerely
Former Customer
Pat Carioscia
Oh Well says
Good Riddance
Richard Jones says
This is to advise all to stay away from Southwest Airlines. Biggest rip-off I’ve ever experienced. I will never fly with them again. In August of this year I missed my flight out of KC to Ontario CA. I needed to get there and found another airline. Then a week later I showed up at Ontario CA for my return flight to be told Southwest has canceled my reservation and that I could pay 556 dollars to get home. What a choice. There were 17 empty seats on my flight home. I fell SWA porked me good and I hope they all burn in hell the rotten bastards. I will tell everyone I know.
Glynnel Lawson says
I have been a satisfied customer with Southwest for a few years. I love the staffs politeness , the fare are always competitive. I have been fortunate to never have an interruption with a flight. This is a great airline. Recently I decided to apply for for the reward plus It was advertised on line for $69. annual charge with the offer of 40,000 point if you spent $1,000.
in the first 3 months. when I completed the request I was told that I didn’t apply for that promotion even after I sent the ad they said I applied under a different promotion So I went back to the internet and applied for the next card which was the premier card which offered the same offer of 40,000 reward points with this card received a note saying they can change the offer at any time ,so I requested the card to be canceled. I am requesting that I receive the 40,000 points that I was promised and, the offer be removed for false advertisement.
Glynnel Lawson says
glynnel at yahoo.com
Ruchira Lawrence says
My luggage was lost on Oct. 12, 2016. I filed a claim but no one has gotten back with me advising me of the next process. I’ve been calling very frequently to get updated status of my claim. As of today no one has reach out to me given me updated information etc: I am frequent flyer with the company and I’m a rapid rewards member and, with service that I have received up to this point I’m not sure if that will continue. I was never compensated for the inconvenience when it happened. I had to travel with no personal items, clothes, daily needs nothing. When speaking with your employee I was told to buy the items I need it and I would be reimbursed. I was later advised of $50 in items would be covered. I did not appreciate the response given. I have been very patient and respectful with the company process. However, I feel like my luggage has not been a priority in a sense no one has contacted in reference to this matter since the initial conversation. I will now be writing to the corporate office letting them know I am extremely dissatisfied with this manner in which I have been treated unfairly throughout this entire process. Even after this incident I still continued to book flights with the company because of how much I enjoyed the service prior to this incident. I feel as though my concerns have been taken lightly. I definitely understand the size of the corporation and the amount of lost luggage claims that are probably filed on a daily basis but, I also think my claim/issue hasn’t been handle in the best way possible and would appreciate some time and effort to get this resolve because my belongings are still lost and missed.
Carl Altman says
I have been an avid Southwest loyalist for more than 10 years, and I have been A-List or A-List Preferred for the bulk of that time. I have always chosen Southwest unless there is no other option to get to my destination, and I can only remember one or two negative experiences from my many flights. Our most recent trip to San Diego was predictably uneventful, even on a day where Southwest apparently canceled a record number of flights. We arrived on time, and our luggage arrived with us. Unfortunately, my brother, who did not book the same flight as us, was not so lucky. He arrived at the airport in St. Louis for an early flight, only to discover that his flight was canceled. After waiting in line for two hours, the best available flight was scheduled to arrive 36 hours after he was supposed to be here.
I could stomach this disruption to our family vacation, because at least he was rewarded with 200 in credit. But when he finally arrived in San Diego, his bag did not arrive with him. Apparently, it was mistakenly tagged to Houston, where he had his connecting flight. The bag has now been in Houston for three days, and no one there seems to be capable of putting it on a plane to San Diego. Our entire family has been calling for three days, and this has become ridiculously appalling. This is possibly the single greatest breach of customer service I have ever seen. Not only has this seriously crippled our vacation and caused us undue stress, but he is now in a situation where he needs hundreds of dollars worth of medication that will not be reimbursed by insurance because the prescriptions were just filled. He only had enough in his carry-on to get through a few days. The rest was with his toiletry kit in his checked bag.
As of the most recent update (a full 72 hours after his flight landed), neither us, the San Diego Baggage Claim, nor Southwest Corporate can get anyone at the Houston Baggage Claim to answer their phones and verify that someone is putting the bag on a plane. Southwest Corporate’s helpful suggestion (dripping sarcasm) was that if we know anyone in Houston, we send them to the airport.
I can’t even fathom how a company that has always treated me so well could suddenly be so inept. Has something happened to Southwest? The kind of uncaring, bumbling incompetence that we have been subjected to is the kind of customer service I would expect from your competitors. You need to fix this!
robert myers says
Worst consumer experience of my life, member since 1995, credit card holder, no longer interested in ever dealing with this company again. Attempted to book flight through more rewards department, purchased 30K points in order to complete order, told order did not go through, NOW being told I cannot reverse my point purchase.
This whole thing has take 4 hours…now on hold.
Will someone in authority with knowledge contact me?
Nancy Theall says
We traveled to Denver from NC in May 2016 arranging our flight and car via SW Travel Service. We contracted the car via Payless which we used before. My husband, who is 81, hard of hearing / seeing and is soft spoken, had to go to the rental desk to process the paperwork because I was injured on the way to the airport and could not walk to the desk both picking up the car and returning it. Neither of us glanced at the paperwork until we were waiting for a shuttle back to the Denver airport. We had been charged $590.91 for the car use instead of the arranged $149.00. Payless had marked extra insurance when my husband had not agreed to anything extra. We went immediately to the desk and tried to settle the problem, but were told we would have to file a complaint, etc.
This we contacted both Payless and Southwest and are still waiting to hear where this case is going. SW Reference # 2117215221721
Cam Copley says
I had been a loyal customer for almost 5 years. I have achieved A list for the past 4 years and unless you fix my issue I will never fly your airline again. On May 9th I had a direct flight from Raleigh,NC to Orlando FL. I was going for work and I work in the golf industry so I was taking my clubs with me for a round at the Ritz Carlton. I checked my clubs with a lady at the curb side counter and as a thank you I handed her a $10 bill. When I arrived in Orlando my clubs never arrived. No big deal, these things happen but almost 6 weeks later my clubs still haven’t been located. The only explanation for this is that they were stolen. I am an avid golfer playing multiple times a week so waiting over a month was out of the question. I went to my local club pro and ordered everything that was lost in my bag. The total value was $3600. When I filed my claim and told the values of everything to be at $3644. Your Bag Claim service reviewed my claim and asked for receipts verifying that I actually purchased the items that were in my golf bag. I have neve saved a receipt for any purchase of golf clubs for longer than a few months. I told the baggage claim central that I had no receipts but would offer to help verify my purchase in anyway I could. After several weeks I get message that since I didn’t have receipts they would only reimburse me for $2400 instead of the original $3644 I claimed. Now no one will respond to my demands to further discuss. We are talking about leaving me out to dry on over $1200. If you do not communicate with me very soon I will be forced to pursue legal action. I fly your airline roughly 15 to 20 times a year and I will take my business elsewhere if you do not make this right. It’s a shame that in a situation where my clubs were essentially stolen that I am being treated like the bad guy for not being able to provide receipts. My claim # is mcown01022223. Please respond and reach out to me. $1200 for a single income family is a great deal of money to me.
Cam Copley
Rand E. Tanner says
Bravo Zulu to Erika (Employee #81716) in the baggage office in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. My bag was misrouted from Orange County, CA to Nashville, TN and I was leaving on a cruise the next day with only what I was wearing! Calming and professional, Erika found my bag in the system and personally coordinated its arrival to my stateroom door prior to the ships departure the next day. While there is much more to this story, SWA came through for my wife and I all because of Erika’s dedication. I hope a positive post in among all the above unhappy endings will start to shift the bell curve back toward the middle!
cynthia ornelas says
We have been a loyal customer to southwest for thirty years and never had such a terrible experience with them until now, we missed a flight due to my husband falling off roof and injuring his back minutes before leaving for airport, I was so worried about him that I didn’t even think about calling and cancelling our flight so today I get a email saying we were a no show and that our round trip was cancelled and southwest was keeping our money, this is not how we know southwest, it seems now southwest has a stealing policy and is the worst airline, we will never use southwest again and hopefully no one else will either.
WE ARE VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH SOUTHWEST!!!!! DO NOT USE SOUTHWEST THEY ARE THE WORST AIRLINE IN THE WORLD!!!!
Bill LAnzarotta says
Hi Southwest Airlines,
I currently am having a very urgent issue with your Rapid Rewards Center. We Booked a 2 night stay at a hotel for this weekend for our Honeymoon in La Jolla California using 60,000 of our points. Due to a glitch in your system from what your customer service center has told us no reservation was made and we have to wait 48 hours for our points to be returned to us and we can try to rebook. Unfortunately by the time the points get back to us we will already or should already be in the hotel we have booked. This is not something I would have never expected to be handled by Southwest Airlines customer service. We have spent over $50k in two years and saved all of our points so that we can be able to cook this stay. In no way has your customer service team tried to help besides saying that we have to wait 48 hours and that we can try to rebook the hotel once the points are returned. So due to a glitch in your system my fiancé and I no longer have a hotel to stay at for our honeymoon and we are now scrambling to see what we are able to do. I would appreciate and explanation and help if possible to fix this issue. As before I would have never expected this type of nightmare from Southwest airlines. Please either call me or my fiancé with what we can do to fix this at
Bill Lanzarotta 708 710 ****
Melinda del Rosario 858 225 ****
Rapid Rewards number 2002366*****
Karen Hanson says
To Whom it Concerns,
I have traveled with Southwest when ever possible for thirty years. I have never had to cancel a flight during that time. Until last month when my plans changed at the last minute. I called and canceled my flights 24 hours before my schedule flight. The agent seemed very districted but assured me that the flights were canceled to and from my destination. I asked her several questions since I had not done this before. Again she assured me everything was taken care of. Then the next day after my flight I received an email saying I had not cancel my flight 10 mins before the flight so I wasn’t going to receive a refund or money for flights. I called southwest within minutes of receiving the email.
I then spoke to a very nice agent that informed that he couldn’t help me. Southwest Corp in Texas is who I needed to speak to on Monday this being Saturday. He also stated that he would make a note that I called (which he did) but he also said that they could look up my call to cancel the flight, which would help with getting my refund.
Monday called Corp waiting over an hour to speak with someone. THEN was made to feel like this was all my fault because I don’t know that when you cancel a flight you receive an email confirming cancelation minutes later and if not they didn’t cancel your flight. Which meant I should have called them back. THEN I WAS TOLD I NEEDED TO PROVE THAT I CALLED TO CANCEL THE FLIGHT AND THEY COULDN’T TRACY OR FIND MY CALL THAT THE AGENT MISSED SPOKE. When asked what I needed to prove this she just said we need doXXXXention of the call and then fax it to Corp. and it will take 30 days to receive a refund. Also tell that there wasn’t anyone that I could speak with after to make sure my fax was received or if my refund was approved.
Be this time I was over the top upset one agent didn’t do their job, another miss spoke about what they could do and another made me feel like it was my fault that they didn’t do their job.
I called to make a formal complaint and received a call within an hour. This person was very nice and said she would be my point of contact. I have made many calls to this person in the Corp office. She stated “we have received your fax but they have not gotten to that date of paperwork.” She reassured me that I would receive my refund in thirty days and they had recieved my faxed with the proof of my call. I am now passed day 30 and have called to check to see what is going on and was told they are running behind and she was sure they had received my fax if I received a confirmation on the fax machine. But the refund had not been approved has of that date. That I should email the information and she would tried to get this approved another way. I still have not received a refund.
The person from Corp did apologize but in turn also said the agent that started this 30 plus days of hell for me will not be found or dealt with. In this day and ago they can’t find the call and the person that received it.
Con# 8HNVSS
Matthew Bean says
Your customer support and recognition of Veterans is equally terrible. Rene, employee 78, exemplifies this. I hope she sleeps comfortably and feels safe.
Delores A. Walker says
August 13, 2015
Southwest Airlines
P.O. Box 36647-1cr
Dallas, Texas 75235
Dear Sir/Madam:
I am a Southwest Rapid Rewards member who was looking forward to my travel on your airline. I’ve always held Southwest in high regard. Friends and family rave about your service-warm welcomes, snacks, check-ins along the way. When I booked my flight from Phoenix to Pittsburgh for a memorial gathering for my sister who passed away this year, I knew I could relax because I would be in good hands. Sadly, my experience was anything but comforting. I am so troubled by what happened that I am still recovering.
The problems started upon my arrival at the Southwest Gate for my departure flight on Thursday, July 30th. My flight (28) left Phoenix at 5:40 a.m. for Baltimore ad was to connect with flight 2411. I was scheduled to board that flight at 4:15 P.M. and arrive in Pittsburgh at 5:15 P.M. When I got to Baltimore, though there were repeated gate and time changes. Customer service agents were curt with passengers like me who wanted to know the status of the flight. Hours later, we were told the plane never arrived. No one offered an apology or explanation for the lateness. Exhausted, we
boarded the flight for Pittsburgh and landed at 9:15 P.M.
With that rocky start, I was unsure what awaited me on my return flight to Phoenix, but I hoped for the best. I arrived at Pittsburgh International Airport over an hour and a half early for my 5:25 P.M. flight on Saturday, August 8th. Upon check-in, I was told that my flight was changed and I had 30 minutes to get to the plane. I immediately began to stress. I had to go through the airport security (tsa) and make it to my gate. I am a 64 year-old woman with asthma. Wheezing and trying to catch my breath, I hustled and arrived just in time. If the plane had not had to wait due to a clearance problem, I would have missed it.
My plane was diverted to O’Hare Airport in Chicago. When I arrived my flight was change. Customer service agents stated I was not on the departing flight even though I had a boarding pass. Instead I had to take a flight from Chicago to Las Vegas and then to Phoenix. My stress started building again. I asked the agents in Chicago three times, “is the plane going to make the connecting flight to Phoenix?
they insisted that it would and even got a little upset with me for checking repeatedly.
When I arrived at the Las Vegas Airport, my heart sank as I was told that I would not make the flight for Phoenix. I checked on line and noticed that the plane was boarding. Not knowing how far the gate was, I began to run to catch the plane. but had to stop because I had an Asthma Attack.I made it back to the Ticket counter in tears and found that my luggage was sent ahead to Phoenix on the 7:30 P.M. flight and that the flight had three open seats..
Management and customer service could not offer an explanation why I was told that I would make the connecting flight when they knew in Chicago that the connecting flight would not be held therefore missing the plane…they also told me about the three open seats and could not give me an explanation as to why I was not given one of those seats. I then asked about the next flight and was told that there wouldn’t be one until Sunday at 7:00 a.m. I asked about vouchers to maybe eat or get a hotel/motel room and was told they could not give me that courtesy.
Crying and miserable, I flopped into an airport seat and pulled out my phone, I thought, things couldn’t get any worse.. But it did, there was a convention in Las Vegas that weekend (August 8-9) so after many calls and no vouchers or assistance from Southwest, I did not find a room.. I had to spend the night in the airport. During the night, I got Laryngitis and due to freezing conditions and because I had no luggage to retrieve a sweater or lap blanket. Uncomfortable, stressed out, hungry and shivering, I sat
up the entire night.
At 6:00 a.m., I expected that a Southwest Representative would show up at gate 12, twenty minutes went by with no one appearing so I went to another gate. Thank goodness for your customer service agent Faye who was on duty. I informed her of the horrible situation I went through and she made sure I got on the 7:00 a.m. flight to Phoenix. Not only that, she ensured that I was with the proper boarding group. though I booked my flight and paid extra to board with group A, my boarding passes for the
flight from Pittsburgh to Chicago and Chicago to Las Vegas put me in Group B and C.
This is the Thursday after my flight and I am still recuperating from swollen ankles and high blood pressure from the stress of sitting up all night in the airport. I am happy to finally be home, but am disturbed with how I was treated.
I spoke with a Southwest Flight Attendant and a Southwest Pilot in Las Vegas and they encouraged me to write this letter. I spent a total of $475.00 for my ticket. I did not receive good or even average service. The flight Attendant and Pilot felt I should be compensated. I feel the same way. Please let me know what you can do.
I would appreciate a timely response.
Best,
Delores A. Walker
*. 24th Drive
Phoenix, Arizona 85023
Confirmation #8JMEJ4
Rewards Member
Amy says
The worse airline ever, my daughter and I flew almost one year ago to phonix Az where the airline lost my luggage, I can’t get a single call back for someone to explain to me what happens to my stuff, never got reimbursed, my flight turned into nightmare. I had no one that applogogized about my luggage, the attitude was “oh well shut happens” wow I haven’t been able to go see my sister ever since because I developed anxiety thinking that every time I fly I won’t have my stuff when I get there. I have spent days crying because I had a lot of things that was in my luggage very personal to me that was lost. I have my own personal believe that the airline stool my luggage. I wrote complained everywhere but no answer. I am almost sure that no one will ever pay for my things. Shame for such a big company to treat me this way I will spent all my energy to put a negative review about the airline. I have discouraged all my family members from using the airlines.
William Allen says
I was scheduled to fly to Raleigh/Durham from Seattle on June 18th to spend four days with my two daughters, son-in-law and two granddaughters, one two months old, whom I’d not met, returning to Seattle June 23rd. Thanks for a poor job by Southwest Airlines,
I lost a day with my family – it normally requires a day to fly out and a day to return. Let me explain:
Upon landing in Atlanta and after an hour between flights, boarding for Flight 169 began at approximately 3pm with an ETA to Raleigh/Durham around 5:00pm. However, the plane was held waiting for passengers to arrive from connecting flights that had been delayed elsewhere. We sat on the tarmac for about two hours, until passengers from connecting flights finally boarded, got in queue for takeoff for about a half hour and then began to taxi back to terminal.
We were informed the crew had “timed out” – I’m sure you know what that means. After multiple stalling tactics [announcements] that included “…. the crew is on its way to “….. we’re looking for a crew”, they finally cancelled the flight at approximately 8pm and told us to get our luggage out of the plane. After that, we were pretty much on our own. They didn’t announce what would happen to the luggage that had been checked. Didn’t suggest where to go to find another flight that might be available. They just hung us out to dry. They could have/should have used the A 1 thru 30 etc to maintain order retrieving luggage from the plane as well as lining up at the ticket counter to book the next flight out.
Southwest Airlines must have known the original crew had only a few hours legally left in the XXXXpit and rather than hold the plane for maybe a dozen passengers, they should have allowed them to fly to RDU. As a result, they not only severely altered the plans of the connecting passengers, but the 120 or more passengers originally on the plane! Not a very wise choice, in my opinion. And it appears someone who had this information wasn’t doing their job.
After standing in line at another ticket counter for nearly an hour, only to find out the only other flight out at 10:15pm that night was sold out, myself, along with several other passengers were put on standby. The only flights available the next day were in the evening. By this time I’d gotten acquainted with several of the passengers, one who had asked one of the ticket agents to get him a car and he’d drive to Raleigh. Around 11:00pm we found out that there weren’t any seats left – once again we were left to our own devices. Since none of us were interested in spending the night and the following day in Atlanta waiting for a flight out, we ended up renting a car and driving all night, arriving at the Raleigh/Durham airport around 6:30am!
The 9580 miles credited to my Rapid Rewards account is insulting and hardly adequate compensation for loosing a day with my family as well as the cost of the rental car! You need to do better! You offer 50,000 miles just to sign up for a new credit card!
On the bright side, kudos to the SW personnel at the ticket counters in the Atlanta airport! They worked their tails off trying to find us a decent way out of town, although one of them said SW doesn’t work with other airlines, such as Delta, to find other flights, which, in my
opinion, is disappointing and short sighted.
jim clemmens says
SWA USE to have fantastic customer relations. Now they don’t. Way Too long of a wait on the 214 customer relations number now plus the Escalation Department does not resolve issues like they use to . I asked the Assistant Director ( Barbara Frank) of the Customer Relations Department to call me back about a complaint that I have and was told ” She does not speak to customers”… Ah, SWA, we have a MAJOR problem!!!!!!
I say Gary Kelly needs to seriously look into this or bring back Herb.
miko says
i agree i am from the bwi location. i had the worst experience ever. they lost my luggage and gave along with others from my flight. I felt disrespected because it was me (im black) another black female and a white lady; we are all there for the same reason but the white lady get an apology and a free duffle bag, where is though me and the black lady got nothing. Not even a apology and it took 45 mins with only 1 person in front of me. i called and recorded 5 conversation about this issue and got nowhere fast. They gave me a number to call incase i had some concerns or if i wanted to keep updates on the situation, but when i called i got so pissed because they was reading the information of a message board and for every question i asked the answer was the same “I don’t know”. so was like if you don’t know anything why is this the number to call for information? these people wasn’t even in Baltimore and where nowhere near, i think they said they was in Ohio or somewhere like that. so i asked to speck to a manager of some sort. when he got on the phone he was disrespectful and sarcastic. when i told him about the white lady getting a free bag he said “what was her name”. i said in response “why would i know her name?”. he was being sarcastic he stated i can’t compare situations if i don’t have her information. i told him for one why would you be sharing her information with me anyway. its bad enough when we was getting the unprofessional help they had everybody name, phone numbers, address and etc. out for everybody to see. like where do you see that at, oh my fault only Southwest, now thats me being sarcastic. anyway, i was told the my bag would get delivered the same day. when they get it someone will call me and then send it out. well i got the call a 4:30 pm and i called them back at 10:00pm and they said it was never set up to be delivered. i was pissed off because i had all my medication in that bag and i told them that and that they said i would get it today. i told them in 1:59hr min it would be the next day and its bad enough you guys are not trying to give any type of perts out for you guys mix up. they lady stated i would have my bag today i said whatever i can’t believe that. no later then 5 mins someone from the baltimore office called talking about we can’t ship your bag to you today. so you will get it in the am i sorry for the inconvenience. i told her ok what time would that be because if its going to be after 11:59am it will be the afternoon. i asked her would it be safe to say sometime tomorrow? and she kept saying no tomorrow morning. i asked her 5 more times i said im trying to not be upset of disappointed tomorrow as well, so i would it be safe to say sometime tomorrow? she insisted to say the same thing i gave her a chance. to make a long story short because its much more to this story. my package came after 12pm and they was just going to leave it on my porch. when i got outside the guy was about to pull off, im was like damn what would have happen if someone wasn’t home and it would have been stolen. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND SOUTHWEST TO ANYONE BECAUSE OF THIS ONE MIX UP EVER. THEY DON’T CARE ABOUT YOU OR YOUR LUGGAGE, CLEARLY…..
Wanita Hinkle says
I have just spent 1.5 hours speaking to 5 seperate representstives in regsrds to my rapid rewards points disappeared. Since June of 2012 I have been fighting Transverse Mylitis, an auto imune desiese. Over the 7 years prior to this surprising diagnosis I had traveled
SWA exclusively. I have driven up to 120 miles from my destination to fly with SWA. During my illness I spent 90% of the time in hospitals. I had 18,000+ SWA points which my husband and I promised each other we would take a trip.
After speaking to the unhelpful representatives I was assured the CEO and VP of SWA had given that department “carte blanche” in refusing to assist SWA loyal passengers with issues such as mine. I read the front cover where SWA assures customer satisfaction.
Has Southwest Airlines learned from other airlines on how to treat loyal customers? Where is the old SWA who were loyal to their customers?
Respond requested to * Cedar Creek Circle
Cedar Creek, TX 78612
Patricia Greer says
To Gary C. Kelly
On Monday June 8th, 2015, my husband, adult son, and I were flying out of Rochester NY back to Denver after attending my mother-in-law’s memorial service. Our afternoon flight was delayed due to weather in Chicago, our connecting city. Passengers were loaded on the plane, the plane got onto the runway, and we waited for 15 minutes or so. We were brought back to the terminal for an hour which stretched to 1.5 hours. Passengers were again loaded. Then the flight was cancelled. The flight leaving behind us to Baltimore was cancelled before our flight.
There were about 400 passengers who needed their flights rebooked. Many people stood in line, while holding on their cell phones for the reservation lines. One person actually reached them. Our stay in line was over 2 hours, and we held for the reservation line that entire time.
The line would have been far less if four of your employees had not announced they were at the end of their shift, got their coats and left, leaving three professional and dedicated employees to handle all the rest of the rebooking. My husband asked them where they were going and one of the departing employees said he had been a work since 4 and it was time to go home.
The next day, we used the call back feature on the reservation line to check on our flight, which was rescheduled 26 hours later, going through Baltimore. We are still waiting for the return call. Fortunately we are safely back at home in Denver.
We understand weather issues when flying. We could even understand the loading and unloading, and loading again of the passengers, since everyone was working on getting passengers to their next and final destinations. What the three of us, all who work in the public sector, two police officers, do not understand is why the employees left, leaving a large number of stranded passengers and overworked coworkers. This email is definitely not a compliment.
I thought you might want to see my husband’s blog about our experience:
https://bikecopblog.blogspot.com/. The title is Beginning Our Descent into Mediocre,
All of this fun for roughly $650 per ticket.
I hope you can go back to the fun, responsive airlines you used to be. Your airlines has the same crummy and non-caring service just like all the other airline.
CAROLYN CABARDO says
SUBJECT: MBILFK UNUSED TRAVEL FUNDS $876
TO THE CEO OF SOUTHWEST AIRLINES;
MY NAME IS CAROLYN CABARDO. I’VE JUST TALKED TO YOUR CUSTOMER RELATIONS FINALLY AFTER CALLING 2X, 33 MINS & 19 MINS WAITING TIME BEFORE THAT. I HANG ON THE PHONE BECAUSE I HAVE THAT MUCH PATIENCE BEING AN RN AS A PROFESSION. I CALLED BECAUSE I HAVE UNUSED FUNDS TOTAL OF $876 FROM MY CANCELLED BOOKINGS DUE TO GRAVE HEALTH REASONS OF MY PARENTS WHO ARE THE OTHER TWO PASSENGERS ON THESE BOOKINGS. MY MOM WAS DIAGNOSED OF BREAST CANCER LAST SEPT 2013, HAD BILATERAL MASTECTOMY, 6 MONTHS OF CHEMOTHERAPY, 7 WEEKS OF RADIATION AND THEN HAD OPEN HEART SURGERY LAST NOVEMBER 2014, PRACTICALLY FROM SEPT 2013 TO THE WHOLE YEAR 2014 WAS JUST THE WORST TIME IN OUR LIVES PLAGUE BY LIFE THREATENING ISSUES. I HAVE ALL PROOF TO SEND YOU IF I NEED TO. I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO TIME TO THINK ABOUT TRAVEL, WHICH IS ACTUALLY MY PASSION, NO TIME AT ALL TO THINK ABOUT MYSELF SO TO SAY AND ABSOLUTELY NO TIME TO REMEMBER THAT MY TRAVEL FUNDS ARE EXPIRING. THIS IS MY ISSUE WITH YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE, IF IT IS CUSTOMER SERVICE. THE WAIT ON THE PHONE IS AGONIZINGLY LONG LIKE CALLING TO DOCTORS FOR APPOINTMENTS? AND ALL I ASKED WAS TOTAL CONSIDERATION OF TH ISSUE. I KNOW YOU HAVE POLICIES TO FOLLOW, BUT THERE IS ALWAYS AN EXCEPTION TO THOSE RULES, IF YOU UPHOLD THE SERVICE TO YOUR CUSTOMERS. I TALKED TO 2 REPS AND THE LAST ONE WAS THE SUPERVISOR, IM SORRY BUT SHE IS NO SUPERVISOR TO ME. SHE NEEDS MORE CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINING. IF SHE WAS SAYING, “WE DONT NEED TO BABY OUR CUSTOMERS TO TELL THEM THAT THEIR FUNDS ARE EXPIRING”, THAT FOR ME IS TOTALLY POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE. THAT’S FREE MONEY YOUR COMPANY’S GETTING FROM ORDINARY CITIZENS HANDWORK. WHAT’S A SINGLE EMAIL REMINDER A MONTH OR A WEEK BEFORE IT EXPIRES? WHAT KIND OF A CORPORATE AMERICA ARE YOU ROBBING HARDWORKING PEOPLE’S MONEY?
Ellen Steele says
I am in the same situation. I just wonder if the few hundred dollars they keep is worth it to this airline. They made a rule that gift cards don’t expire so I think it is time the airlines get with it. I am so disappointed !
Veronica Gonzalez says
I have been on hold for over 1 hour and a half and still cannot get assistance in scheduling a flight and hotel. The Lady that did answer transferred me and the line convinently disconnected. Also the website is down so we are not able to book anything online. This is very disappointing. How can you have a flight sale and have the website down and no one to answer calls. Conviniently the sale ends today so not many people can take advantage of it. Very disapointed with southwest airlines….
Bernie Vorndran says
Hello Southwest Airlines, Customer Service, Marketing, Sales and VP’s
My name is Bernie Vorndran from Cleveland Ohio. I will be traveling back home from San Diego (work conference) to Cleveland on June 11th starting on flight #4393 from San Diego and catching a connecting flight #3318 from Vegas to Cleveland.
The reason I’m reaching out to you is because flight #3318 on June 11th will be in transit from 4:50pm Pacific time till 11:45pm Eastern time. During that time frame you are going to have a entire flight of Cleveland fans without the ability to watch Game 4 of the NBA finals. As you may or may not be aware, it’s been 51 years since our city has had a sports franchise championship so these games are very important to the city and its’ fans.
I’m asking Southwest to acknowledge this email not for my sake completely but because you’ve read this email and realize the significance and importance of this dilemma to Cleveland fans and the city.
If whoever reads this first has their doubts of the importance of this email and scenario, all that I ask is you present this email to any high ranking manager/official or VP within Southwest Airlines that is from Cleveland or is a Cleveland sports fan I’ll be a happy camper because I know Southwest will understand this scenario and the importance!!!
As a fellow Sales and Customer Service employee in the work world I believe there are way too many positive business outcomes to pass up on the request of making it possible for passengers of flight #3318 to watch game #4 of the NBA finals on the plane which could also turn out to be a series clinching win for the championship!!!
1) The Flight experience for customers will be off the chart
2) The marketing advantages (news and media)
3) The financial revenue of fans renting the TV service
4) The most important part, the fact that Southwest airlines listened to their customers
Thank you
Bernie R. Vorndran
Angela Timmen says
We have booked groups with SWA for a long time for our volleyball club.
I called last week to make a name change for locator FYMF6R – from me to Melissa Monaghan, 01/04/1966.
We have three people not traveling, and we are simply asking for one name change. I called this morning
to advise of the other two not traveling and discovered the name had never been changed.
The group desk, Nelda specifically, was very very rude and unhelpful. She refused to make name changes
because everyone was “checked in” even though our parents can see on screen no one is checked in.
Not only could a name change not be made, they refused to re-sell us one of the tickets we ARE NOT USING.
Is it SWA’s normal policy to double dip like this? This is not customer service and SWA should be ashamed of
themselves. Now, the parent chaperone for these girls is not booked on the plane and being told to show up
at 530AM and hope for stand by. How is this customer service?
I need to get this woman on a flight tomorrow.
Timothy Brennan says
DON’T BUY SOUTHWEST GIFT CARDS.
I recently purchased tickets using two gift card and Southwest cancelled my flight. I called Southwest and asked for a refund but was told I could only receive a credit because I used gift cards. The credit also came with an expiration date. I was able to adjust two upcoming flights with the credit but I still have $100.00 of credit left that I will not be using. Southwest will be stealing (keeping) that $100.00 for themselves. So, once again,
DON’T BUY SOUTHWEST GIFT CARDS.
James says
You’re just another one of those people that want something for nothing. And no, the customer is not always right.
jenna says
you need to publicly shame them on their Twitter and Facebook pages, that is the only way to get things done in this day and age.
I booked 2 flights for coworkers about a month ago, since then 1 of them is no long with us, SWA is telling me they want to charge us $100 to use the fees from the fare of the person who is no longer with us. . . what kind of CRAP is that ?
Gerri-Ann Hopkins says
Anyone interested in filing a Class Action Suit against this policy of Southwest…..READ FURTHER….This is unbelievable. I called today because I was booking reservations before my year voucher expired, only to find out that they were taking $100.00 of my credit away because my original booking date had expired…why is it the booking date and not the date of the reserved flight? I only cancelled my flight because of the impending snowstorms in both Kansas City and Chicago. Who wants to fly when you’re going to be in a storm? Not me. So, here I am, flying in February, once again, trying to beat that deadline, and well, “will give you a transferable $118.00 credit that can be used within the next six months. What if I have no plans to fly in the next six months? I’m not going to subject any of my family or friends to the policies of Southwest. You’ve made money off of me, because you’ve held my $218.00 for a year; and now you’re taking $100.00 of that money to keep for you and I only get $118.00. In order go fly anywhere, I will have to give you additional money. It just isn’t fair. Yes, Southwest is getting rich off of our backs. I am not going to fly Southwest ever again, after we resolve this issue. I would rather fly some other Airline than to be treated like a second class citizen. In the past, I have only flown Southwest. I swore by Southwest. I only swear to not use them ever again after today’s fiasco. And oh…don’t let me forget to tell you, had this policy of taking $100.00 from the credit happened 9 months ago; my money would have all gone to Southwest, because this policy of holding $100.00 of your credit started recently came in to being. Shame on you Southwest. You’re eventually going to miss a lot of people because we will be flying the friendly skies of….NOT SOUTHWEST.
s. jones says
I submitted a comment on 1/26/15. Do you respond. I have been checking my email.
Brandi says
I am extremely disappointed and angered by the agent I spoke with today in customer support. I used to love southwest until I had this conversation with the representative that she and her company are trying to steal my money. MELISSA informed me that in order to reinstate my credit she would have to take $100 from my expired credit. What? I paid my hard earn money for that credit and now you are telling me that I have to just give you $100 in order to get a part of my credit back. After asking her if she thought that was fair she said ” I read everything and all the policies before I sign into a contract with someone” I said well yes If I was scamming people and taking their money I would read the policy’s too. I could not believe her response but it gets better. I asked her if she purchased a pair of shoes for $50 but she never wore them and wanted to return them but I told her I would take $20 of that 50 and she could $30 towards something else how would she feel? She said “well I have 2 (TWO) degrees one in business and one in marketing and I am a very analytical and I would never purchase anything unless I was aware of the contract I was getting into with them.” My mouth dropped so not only are you trying to take my money but now you are insulting my ability to understand policy and you are insulting my intelligence. We can toss degrees in each other faces all day but the fact of the matter is Southwest is money hungry and are trying to take my money so now I have to wait for a call back from her supervisor since she insist that there is no supervisor there to take my call.
Nikki M says
i had the EXACT SAME CONVERSATION today! except in my conversation our credit hasn’t expired yet but they won’t let me use it for a flight after the expiration date. then i tweeted about it and had a different person tell me that there is nothing that this multi-million dollar company can do to help me. “policy” prevents them from making any sort of change. they are basically going to steal $200 of my dollars once the credit expires so that i can use it for the july trip. i am beyond disbelief! i cannot believe that a company treats their customers this way. we are, after all, your bread and butter. fool me once shame on you… fool me twice shame on me. there will not be a second time because i will never fly your airline again and i will absolutely tell my story to others. you think that it won’t make a difference, but it will. word of mouth is very powerful.
Terri Crockett says
I would like to start off with I love Southwest and have been a loyal customer for over 20 years for personal and business. When I’m making my reservations I always use Southwest, but this may change.
I had to cancell a reservation that was purchased last year (February 24 to be exact) for a June/July flight. I understand the one year expiration of travel funds, but in the past when this occured I was able to obtain an extension and use the funds for another flight.
Apparelntly the policy has changed. I was told that once the funds actually expire on February 24th I can call back and an EXCEPTION would be made where they can give me $51.00 out of the $151.00 that I have a credit for. An EXCEPTION? I didn’t realize taking a $100 of someone’s money is an EXCEPTION. The representative I spoke to, Crystal, felt that the EXCEPTION that Southwest bending over backward to take $100 of my money was something I should be thankful for.
Is this even legal? I know in California that gift cards can not expire. If a company is going to take a consumers money they have to turn it over to the state (ESCHEAT). I’m sure there are certain restrictions on this, but it seems like stealing when a company won’t give you a refund, they give you a “travel credit” then you have to use it by a certain time or lose it. I bet Southwest makes millions with this particular company policy.
I would like to recommend that you inform your represenatives at reservations of this. I was told to contact customer service and they would provide the extension.
I have worked for USAA they are the epitome of what customer service should look like. I had always thought Southwest was in the same league.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Terri Crockett
Service Request Number: 259135378174
s. jones says
Mr. Kelly,
I too am about to loose $100 to Southwest. I had a $253 credit from a fligt to Aruba that I booked in February 2014 for July travel. I booked a flight to Atlanta and Detroit in November 2014 but because I became ill, I made a change and ended up with another $132 credit. Since I used funds from the $263 credit to book my original Detroit trip, the $132 credit took on the experation date of February 2014, the date I booked the Aruba trip. My November trip to Detroit(that I did take) cost $422, which is far more than my $263 Aruba credit was. Your representative that changed my flight didn’t bother to tell me my new creit would expire in February instead of November when I was booking the Detroit flight. I thought I was good since I used the $283. I might could see a credit expiration if I didn’t use the entire Aruba credit amount within a year of booking the Aruba trip. How is this fair or doing the right thing as you indicate in your commercials and your committments. Why isn’t it really fair by requiring customers to book a trip and use a credit within a year of the booking date and travelling by the original travel date. You are not really giving people a year to use their credit this way.I followed your rules and used my full original credit within one year of bokking my Aruba trip and you are still taking $100 from me.Why do companies use fine print rules that are more advantageous to the company than the customer. Espeically in this case when I took a trip that cost more than my original credit.
Redina Morgan says
Message:
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Laura says
When I start flying with Southwest, I have had nothing but great experiences with flights, check-ins, flight attendants/crew, and overall customer service via the 800 number. In 2011, Southwest paired up with Chase Credit Card to offer their customer, who were approved, a Southwest/Chase Credit Card with 2 FREE Round- Trip Flights. It was never stated that they would expire. In 2012, I decided it was time to try and take a trip. I called the corporate office of Southwest (via the 800#) and was told that the 2 FREE Round-Trip tickets had expired and in order to have them reinstated, I must write a letter and pay a $50 fee for both tickets (once the letter was received). Unfortunately, the letter was never received by Southwest Corporate Office- so essentially, I (the customer) am out of 2 FREE Round-Trip Flights because Southwest did not receive my letter. Now, Southwest has transferred to a new system and only uses “points” and no longer honors “vouchers”. It saddens me to know that Southwest is losing a lifelong customer over 2 FREE Round-Trip flights. It is a lack of respect for their customer(s). I hope that my attempts online are seen by the correct person so that this may be reconciled.
Laura says
If anyone from Southwest does see, this my RR# #587107371
Larry Butterton says
Thank you for taking the time to read my email.
This is my third email to you; the other two (including one sent directly to your CEO, Gary Kelly) have apparently been ignored.
On October 30, 2014, my wife Pat and I flew Southwest from Raleigh-Durham to Las Vegas. As usual, the flight was orderly, comfortable and on time.
One of my bags did not show up at the luggage claim, so I went to the Southwest luggage claim office to report this. While waiting, a Southwest baggage handler showed up with my missing piece of luggage. She was a bit distraught; my bag had fallen of the luggage cart, been run over by two wheels of the cart, then dragged across the tarmac before it was discovered. The office employees put their full attention to this problem and walked me through the procedure to immediately handle this problem. The bag and my rain jacket (both honeymoon gifts) were completely shredded; my GPS system and stand, Nikon battery charger, Nikon camera light shade, “Jawbone Jambox” speaker system, and the wires connecting all of these things were either completely crushed or damaged beyond repair. I was really happy that my Nikon camera was not crushed: the purpose of our trip was to take photographs in the Nevada desert!
The Las Vegas baggage employees could not have been nicer: they issued me a check for my bag and raincoat on the spot, but explained that the ruined electronic equipment problem would have to be reimbursed by the Southwest corporate in Texas. They explained, in detail, how to get in touch with corporate (they gave several phone numbers), how to explain the situation, and that I would be asked to photograph the damaged goods and send these photos to the claims office. We were very pleased by their professionalism, courtesy, and kindness.
When I returned home, i called the number for baggage customer service in Texas. It was quite a shock when they told me that Southwest did not reimburse for damaged electronic goods, even if the problem was totally the airline’s fault! On top of this, the phone employees were very rude! I called twice; both employees were sarcastic and curt. I asked to speak to a supervisor, and was brusquely told that there were no supervisors for me to talk to – end of discussion. i was told that MAYBE I could receive a “voucher” for future flights. I was told that if i did not want a voucher, I could present my case by email and that I would “probably” get an answer within 30 days.
30 days!
When I asked why the Las Vegas employees told me I would get reimbursed for my ruined electronic equipment, I was told that the Las Vegas employees were probably new to the job, and did not know the rules(!).
I sent the email and have not heard back from your company – or Mr. Kelly.
When we fly in the United States, we ALWAYS try to fly Southwest. My wife and I both own Southwest frequent flyer credit cards and, at our recommendation, both of our daughters and their spouses (all professionals) own (and use) these cards, too. We always thought Southwest was a bit different: courteous but professional with an easy going attitude. However, we have changed our minds a bit with this episode. There is no call for rudeness when dealing with customers, especially LOYAL customers! We are not greedy people who want something for nothing; we simply want to be reimbursed for our damaged goods.
The report number on my Damaged Report Receipt is: LASWN00289555. My baggage claim number is: 0526044044. I will be happy to send you the photos of the damaged goods; the kind Las Vegas folks wrapped them for me so i could bring them home.
Thank you for reading this letter.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Larry Butterton
* Olive Street
Apex, North Carolina 27502
919-387-***
AHSHAE says
SWAL STOLE 100 DOLLARS FROM ME ..YOU NEVER STATED ANYTHING .ABOUT 100,00 CHARGE FOR USING A VOUCHER IN A YEARS TIME………YOU HAVE BE COME THIEF’S……BY FAR NOT THE SW THAT YOU USED TO BE…….IT ‘S SAD…..AND I ‘M DONE…I WILL TAKE THIS TO THE NEWS MEDIA ….CEO’S COO’S…..AND ALL…..PISSED
Darlene Best/Darnell Lemos says
I am in total disbelief about how my friend and I were treated by Southwest Airlines Agents! My friend and I have been flying with Southwest Airlines for many years, but now we will be paying the extra money to fly another Airlines! I really don’t know what has happened to this Airlines, but they are going downhill fast! I personally feel that Southwest Airlines are getting greedy! I had booked a ticket for my friend to fly out from Utah, which I have been doing for years and I am a bit OCD about all information given and taken with me! Anyway, I wrote down all of the information, as I always do, going over everything a dozen times and then called my friend to give her all of the information, even talked to an agent a few days before the flight home to confirm! When I took my friend to the Airport to go home, Southwest Airlines informed her they had no flight for her and that she was to fly home the day before and missed her flight! This WAS NOT TRUE! Now, of course they wanted another $132.00 extra to fly her home that day! Just so happened they had the exact day, time and flight number as the day before! WOW! Southwest made a HUGE mistake and didn’t want to admit it! To add insult to injury, someone had gone through my friends luggage and stole her prescription for Cymbalta and her past 2 flights have been total nightmares with over booking, huge layovers, holding up a flight just to wait for one flight attendant that was running late! Are you kidding me???????? I will be contacting Corporate as well and I will not take no for an answer!!!!!!!!!!! Southwest Airlines will not easily treat me like this and get away with it! I will go as far as putting the Airlines on the media, as well as retaining an Attorney to sue the Airlines!
Lil says
I can’t believe this is happening! Before we bought another flight for our senior citizen mom, we cancelled a portion of her flight over the phone because you cannot cancel a portion of the flight online with one confirmation number only. We talked to a live SW agent over the phone and confirmed with us that the portion of the flight was cancelled then a credit for future flight is saved. Unfortunately, we received a “no show” cancellation email which means SW cancelled it completely without a credit. It was really disappointing and frustrating! We’ve done our part to cancel the flight but the SW agent that we spoke with over the phone did not do his job correctly by cancelling and applying the credit for future use. Now, we have to fight with SW for the one-way flight of our senior citizen mom. How stressful!!
Darrell says
When an agent tells you they are going to do something for example ( give you cashiers type check to take to any bank and cash as a were sorry we screwed up apology) then the company should oblige that agreement. I was told a cashiers type check would be given to us by the agent who started our claim. Her shift ended and a New person took over she verbally told him what was going on. After waiting at the air port for 5 hours we decided to go home, at that point the New agent told us he would give us voucher for money off our next flight. Which is not what was agreed upon by the first agent. The second agent told me that losing our baggage was a rare thing to happen, which was funny to me because I waited those hours and all the missed placed luggage come thru that room and many different people show up to claim there missing luggage. This was our first time flying you lost our bag and then lied to us about the voucher so XXXXX YOU southwest no we don’t want a discount on our next flight with you because there won’t be one. I own a time share in Orlando fl. I will be giving a special discount to anyone who rents our room as long as they don’t fly southwest. You had your chance you do right by US your managers I spook with chose not to, this is my way to thank you assholes back. A bundle of bananas will be in the mail for your monkeys. You call them employees. Maybe it will be an incentive for them to do there jobs right and be honest about what was said. You have my email fell free to contact me.
Kelly Cabrera says
I’m not sure whom to contact about this as I’ve sent multiple emails thru
Southwest’s website and no one has responded as well as I can’t get help on
the phone.
I still have not received my Rapid Rewards points after switching to
Everything Energy.
These are my bill totals for Everything Energy for the past 3 months.
August 15, 2014 – $294.49 (I received 2x my bill here (589 points),
shouldn’t it be 3x?)
July 17, 2014 – $361.84
June 17, 2014 – $82.45
I received 389 points from Everything Energy, but I’m not sure what this is
for as it doesn’t match my bill amount for 2x or 3x. Please explain.
Also, I’m still missing my sign-up bonus of 7,500 points. Can you help me?
Maybe you can send this email to someone that will answer my concerns.
Thanks!
Kelly Cabrera
R.R. # 424305571
Thomas Hennigan says
Very unsatisfied customer. I have flown with SW for over 10 years. They broke in half my brand new golf clubs and damaged my bag. Not just a scratch or dent, serious damage that you would have to exert extreme force to inflict. I went to the atlanta office and was taken care of and told to call back. Last monday. They stopped answering my calls so i called from a different number of course they answered. Left several messages for any supervisor, they either didnt get the message or chose to ignore me. I have never experience such horrible service in any industry. I will try to contact the corporate office and then I will follow a police report on Tuesday. I am done with the lack of customer service offered. It is almost as if they were racist, I felt like they purposely were doing this to me. to be fair I was as polite as ever for the past week. I am now over being polite. May as well let a judge handle this in small claims court .
Helen Haynes says
I am really impressed that Southwest publishes these comments.
I have a relatively minor complaint that I am trying to get a better response to.
But rather than rail on about it here, I will say that Southwest is the best airline out there.
Flights are on time, people who work for the airline are usually friendly and always polite and hard working, and it’s efficient as heck. I have really enjoyed flying SWA for many years and despite my current problem with a ticketing situation, I will likely continue to do so for many more.
Good job.
Jessica Darke says
I recently completed my name and gender marker change and have two flights coming up. I contacted SouthWest Customer Relations back on July 25 and was given the instructions and steps to have my information updated. Everything was sent the same day and I made sure the fax at least connected. It is currently August 5 and no changes have been made. When I contacted support, your agent kept calling me Sir and did not seem all that concerned that my first flight is coming up on August 12. I was given another fax number to send it to and told 72 hours. Thats Friday. If it isn’t updated, then what?
I am already anxious enough travelling as a transwoman, now I am more so that I may not be able to board my flight. No one seems to care, and in fact kept calling me sir during the call, or feel like it is important that this is resolved.
Dona Rauzi says
On Aug 2, 2014 I came home to a message on my answering machine stating that my flight from Jamaica to St. Louis had been change and I needed to contact Southwest. Now as I sit here WAITING OVER 1 1/2 HOURS to speak to someone in the international dept. I find this TOTALLY UNCALLED for. I am so mad at this point! IF your going to change my flight and tell me to call you show have enough people to answer the PHONES! I have always recommended Southwest to my clients BUT now with this experience I am not sure I will again! For some UNKNOWN reason I was transferred back to your booking dept only to be told they can NOT help me and the young lady was very RUDE and said well the international dept is busy! REALLY? Well now young lady I am getting ticked off because I now AGAIN have to be transferred to the international dept. AGAIN! YOU may not REALIZE BUT I AM REALLY MAD AT THIS POINT! AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! I am also going to put my feeling and comments on my facebook page so that my friends and customers know what type of service I received from your airline!
Thomas Crystal says
Here’s one you cannot make up.
My wife and I just sent our oldest, who is 12, on his first unaccompanied flight from New York to Denver to see his grandparents (to make the story complete, his grandfather has late stage Parkinson’s, so the trip was important).
Yesterday, due to an error by a Southwest agent, my 12 year old was bumped, at the airport, because the airline oversold the flight.
Who bumps a 12 year old who is flying unaccompanied (BTW, Southwest policy is unaccompanied minors will only be escorted on and off the plane, for a fee, between the ages of 2 and 11).
His bag made the plane, though.
So there is my 12 year old, fortunately with his uncle. But no change of clothes or toothbrush.
To make it better, he is (note, please, the active “is”) on a flight today, which was diverted to Pittsburgh because the plane did not have enough fuel to manage the airtime for traffic control due to inclement weather (BTW, weather.com or The Weather Channel let everyone else know there were going to be storms in the NY area).
So, my 12 year old son, alone, is sitting on a plane in Pittsburgh, panicked because his phone is running out of charge and Southwest customer service can’t tell me what they will do or how they will manage the situation if the flight does not leave tonight.
Shame on my wife and me for letting him fly alone. Shame on me for letting him fly Southwest. Shame on YOU, southwest.
Corinna Maggi says
I am sad to say that I have flown with Southwest twice this month and twice my bags have not returned with me. This second time however, my bags have been gone for 5 days. I am at the point (with 4 hours remaining) that I can file a claim, which I will do. But how is love still your field, Southwest, if I can’t even trust you with my bags? I was so unaware of how vulnerable I was when dropping my bags off at the counter. You care not about my valuables, my jewelry. I have been told I will only receive depreciated value of my items despite the fact that I will have to pay full price to replace them. I am not compensated for the time it takes out of my life, the grief and stress it tolls. (I have a severe anxiety disorder… do you have any idea what this has done to me??) My question is, does your heart say you are being fair to your loyal consumers? What’s the worst that would happen if you employed better care of our luggage? If an item goes missing for longer than 5 days, a customer can’t fake that. You’re not going to get false claims. At least let it be widely known that I cannot trust you with my jewelry, with my video camera, with my hair straightener. What are you so afraid of? Why do I the consumer have to work hard just to get a tiny amount of money back? Why stress me out because of your mistake? I would like to make these policies more widely known to everyone, and I plan to use all forms of media to make sure the consumer knows how vulnerable they really are. Is there really somebody up there who loves me??? I think not.
Sylvia Uhrig says
Dear Ashlee,
Copy: Gary Kelly
I hope this reaches you, as you provided no contact information. I hoped the response to my husband’s two page letter to your CEO, was replied to in detail and taken seriously by the Executive Branch of the company. Clearly, it was delegated to an intern, and your reply is condescending and does not reflect the facts. The flight information you referenced below is not even correct.
Please re-read the letter that was sent to your CEO and reply appropriately, otherwise I will write again to the CEO of Southwest the FAA and the Board of Directors until I receive a proper answer and heart felt apology. I will also post my displeasure on social media.
Your stock symbol (luv) clearly no longer stands for it’s acronym.
Sincerely,
Sylvia Uhrig
Begin forwarded message:
From: no-reply@customercommunications.southwest.com
Date: July 24, 2014 10:53:15 AM EDT
To: csuhrig@aol.com
Subject: Southwest Airlines Response to Your Inquiry (SR #237680767868)
Dear Sylvia,
Thank you for contacting us in regard to your June 9 trip to Tampa. I appreciate the opportunity to respond.
Southwest Airlines has long been recognized for the quality of our Employees’ characters; therefore, we take allegations regarding Southwest Employees’ conduct seriously. We have identified the Employee in question. As a former Flight Attendant, I am sure you are aware the most important responsibility of our Flight Attendants is the Safety of our Customers, which includes determining the eligibility of Customers occupying designated exit row seats. As such, Passengers must comply with Crew Member instructions as our Flight Attendants are responsible for enforcing regulations as well as our policies. From the information we received, Charles did not feel that he needed to listen and follow our Flight Attendant’s instructions regarding exit row seating. A decision was made that he would need to be reseated. With that said, we realize that your recollection of the events differs from that of our Inflight Crew.
Without a doubt, there is more than one way to communicate and ensure compliance, and we expect our Employees to be kind, professional, and LUVing when addressing these situations. We apologize that we disappointed you, and we have shared your concerns with the appropriate Inflight Leaders.
We are grateful for your taking the time to inform us of your concerns as we realize the usefulness of Customer feedback and its purpose to sharpen our operation. We hope to have the privilege of welcoming you and your husband on one of our LUV jets soon.
Sincerely,
Ashlee Duncan, Southwest Airlines
Shannen says
I had bought three tickets and have plans to travel to Disney world in October 2014 with my foster daughter who will be two this month. My husband and I thought our foster daughters case was going to adoption being we had already had her a year. Then unexpectedly on July 17th our worlds were shattered when a great grandma showed up out of the blue wanting custody and the judge awarded temporary custody to her right then and there!
I called Southwest who told me to call the customer relations number which I have several times with no luck it’s always busy!!! So then I was told I could email corporate which I did, I wasn’t asking for a refund for my foster daughter ticket only that her funds be transferred to my name so I could use them in may when we fly again being I have court doXXXXentation showing I no longer have custody of her and she will not be traveling with us. The email I got back sounded generic like a automatic response to a general question. I am beyond furious as I’m loosing over 250.00 dollars for something that is totally out of my control as a judge made this decision for me. Basically the email said the funds could be transferred to my foster daughter who is two who I no longer have. As if losing her want hard enough now I must eat the cost of a plane ticket too? This is totally ridiculous some things cannot be controlled!
Jackie Loehlein says
Miracle Flights,
In response to your request for feedback on our Miracle Flight sponsored trip to Boston Medical.
I would first like to thank you for your help and the generosity of those who donated and made it possible for my son Alex to visit the clinic at Boston Children’s. Although we have not yet received the medical results from the doctor , I have the comfort of knowing that I am doing everything I can to help my son Alex.
My 7 year old son and I had traveled to Boston Children’s for my sons fatal diagnosis of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. We traveled with donated vouchers through Miracle Flights on Southwest Airlines.
There are however a couple of issues which I think you should be aware of that made our experience very difficult and should not have occurred.
On May 28, 2014 we flew on Southwest Airlines from Minneapolis to Chicago where we were to board our connecting flight to Boston. Our flight from Chicago to Boston was delayed 4 hours at Chicago Midway Airport. We were given the excuse of bad weather in Boston, which we all knew was real. Southwest Airlines please do not insult our intelligence by giving us ridiculous excuses. We finally got to Boston at 9 PM.
The following day we made it to my sons appointments at Boston Children’s Neurology department for another opinion on my sons devastating diagnosis of DMD. So, as you can imagine this was already a highly stressful and anxiety filled trip to begin with.
After the appointments, on the day we were ready to fly back home after 5 days of being out in Boston away from home with only myself and my son, we arrived at Boston airport for our flight to leave at 5:05 to Kansas City and then board our connecting flight to Minneapolis. About 15 minutes before our flight was scheduled to depart Boston, Southwest Airlines canceled our flight to Kansas City and told everyone that if Minneapolis was our final destination out of Kansas City we needed to get in line to discuss our options for getting home.
When it was our turn in line I got up to the Southwest Airline counter and gave them our flight itinerary and the attendant at counter laughed and said “Well your not going home tonight” I asked her to look for other flights going to Chicago or Milwaukee (which was our halfway point to Minneapolis). The attendant Miracle Flights,
In response to your request for feedback on our Miracle Flight sponsored trip to Boston Medical.
I would first like to thank you for your help and the generosity of those who donated and made it possible for my son Alex to visit the clinic at Boston Children’s. Although we have not yet received the medical results from the doctor , I have the comfort of knowing that I am doing everything I can to help my son Alex.
My 7 year old son and I had traveled to Boston Children’s for my sons fatal diagnosis of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. We traveled with donated vouchers through Miracle Flights on Southwest Airlines.
There are however a couple of issues which I think you should be aware of that made our experience very difficult and should not have occurred.
On May 28, 2014 we flew on Southwest Airlines from Minneapolis to Chicago where we were to board our connecting flight to Boston. Our flight from Chicago to Boston was delayed 4 hours at Chicago Midway Airport. We were given the excuse of bad weather in Boston, which we all knew was real. Southwest Airlines please do not insult our intelligence by giving us ridiculous excuses. We finally got to Boston at 9 PM.
The following day we made it to my sons appointments at Boston Children’s Neurology department for another opinion on my sons devastating diagnosis of DMD. So, as you can imagine this was already a highly stressful and anxiety filled trip to begin with.
After the appointments, on the day we were ready to fly back home after 5 days of being out in Boston away from home with only myself and my son, we arrived at Boston airport for our flight to leave at 5:05 to Kansas City and then board our connecting flight to Minneapolis. About 15 minutes before our flight was scheduled to depart Boston, Southwest Airlines canceled our flight to Kansas City and told everyone that if Minneapolis was our final destination out of Kansas City we needed to get in line to discuss our options for getting home.
When it was our turn in line I got up to the Southwest Airline counter and gave them our flight itinerary and the attendant at counter laughed and said “Well your not going home tonight” I asked her to look for other flights going to Chicago or Milwaukee (which was our halfway point to Minneapolis). The attendant stated that she only had one seat available for the Chicago flight and nothing to Milwaukee. So, naturally the Chicago flight wouldn’t work since there was two of us. The attendant then told me that they would give me a Hotel voucher for us to stay the night in Boston and take the only two seats left to leave Boston to take a connecting flight in Milwaukee back to Minneapolis at 6:30 AM the next morning. The attendant advised me to hurry up and decide if that’s what I want to do because those seats would probably be taken soon. I said yes, if that is my only option.
The attendant printed out our new itinerary and gave me two flight vouchers in the amount of $200.00 each and asked if I wanted my luggage back or if I wanted it sent before us. I told her that I needed my luggage if we were stuck here another night. She said ok go get your luggage at customer service and they will get your cab or shuttle to the hotel. I tried to ask her if they could somehow keep the voucher for the flight and just pay the cost to take Sun Country which had a non stop leaving for Minneapolis that evening at 8 PM. The attendant just looked at me and said no while laughing and called out “NEXT” to disregard me.
Next, we found our luggage and got the reservation booked for the hotel and had the shuttle called to pick us up. We went outside by the hotel shuttles and the airport attendant asked where we were going and I explained the scenario about the voucher and that we needed to go to Holiday Inn Express, they are sending a shuttle for us. The airport attendant said just get in the cab they will honor your voucher and take you to the hotel now. I asked if she was sure and she said yes and told the cab driver where we needed to go and said it was about 7 minutes away.
My son and I got into the cab and after ten minutes of driving I asked the driver if we were almost there and he stated that the hotel was 20 minutes away and I said I thought it was only 7 minutes away and the cab driver said that the airport attendant was wrong it was 20 minutes away. So, I started having anxiety about whether anybody knew what they were doing.
After about 25 minutes of driving from the airport we arrived at a Holiday Inn Express and the cab driver said ok your cab fare is $33.00. I stated that it was supposed to be complimentary since Southwest Airlines canceled our flight. The cab driver got upset and told me to take it up with Southwest Airlines for reimbursement. I paid the cab driver because I didn’t want to argue anymore, I just wanted to get into the hotel and get my son some dinner since we hadn’t eaten and it was already 8:30 PM by this time.
We got to the check-in desk and the hotel attendant checked us in and took the hotel voucher and handed me the room keys and asked what time we needed to go to the airport in the morning I said our flight departs at 6:30 Am. He stated that they had a shuttle that would take us back to the airport at 4:00 AM and asked if I would like a wake up call at 3:45 AM. I said yes that would be great.
We got into our room ordered dinner from a nearby restaurant, ate and got ready for bed. We finally got to sleep around 11:00 pm. At 11:30 PM the hotel room phone started ringing I got up and answered it, on the other end was the front desk attendant telling me that we were at the wrong hotel and I either had to pay the room rate of $250.00 or we needed to leave. I was so upset by this, I asked if he was kidding me that I was supposed to wake my son up to go to a different hotel? The man said yes sorry mam, we can give you a ride back to the airport, but that’s it. I couldn’t afford $250.00 for a room, so my only option was to be kicked out of our room in the middle of the night in a strange city with my sick 7 year old boy.
We got down to the check-in desk and the man said the shuttle will be here in about 10 minutes to take you back to the airport and I asked the man what hotel we were supposed to be at and if he had their phone number. He got irritated with me, but gave me the number. I called them and got our new room reserved and the shuttle to come get us at the airport.
Finally, we arrive back at the airport after another 25 minutes and waited for ten more minutes for our shuttle to arrive. We get to the other hotel at 12:30 AM and proceed to the check-in desk once again and the front desk man was very rude telling me I was lucky they were able to send a shuttle at this time of the night. I explained to him the story and he just said oh. He checked us in and I asked him what time we could get a ride back to the airport for our 6:30 AM flight and he said 4AM. I asked him if we could have a wake up call at 3:45 AM because I was afraid if I got to sleep for 2 hours I wouldn’t wake up. He arranged a wake up call and we went to our room. I got us ready for bed once again and now it was 1:00 AM.
I could not fall asleep because I was reflecting on the whole experience, and I was worried and anxious thinking what would happen if we missed our flight or if it was going to be canceled again and what I was going to do. I finally fell asleep after 2:00 AM.
We got back to the airport my son on a total of 2 and a half hours of sleep and myself with an hour and a half of sleep trying to function and just wanting to be home and out of Boston away from all the rude, unhelpful, terrible people we had encountered in the last couple days. This was the worst travel experience I have ever had, very traumatic and stressful.
I am appalled by the lack of respect and the total disregard for human existence and compassion we experienced through Southwest Airlines, the Boston airport and Holiday Inn Express combined. I am so completely disgusted and humiliated by this entire experience that I will never fly Southwest Airlines or step foot into a Holiday Inn Express ever again. I also have no desire to travel to Boston for the rest of my life, that was the worst experience a person could ever have.
I wanted to share this experience with you so you are aware of the people you have representing these companies and how cruel and inhumane my terminally ill son and I were treated by them. Again, I would like to thank Miracle Flights for the assistance in getting my son medical treatment. I hope you consider your relationship with Southwest Airlines and Holiday Inn Express.
Sincerely,
Jacqueline Loehlein
Gary Brunk says
This is the letter I mailed to Southwest Airlines on April 15, 2014:
April 15, 2014
Southwest Airlines
P.O. Box 36647-1CR
Dallas, Texas 75235
To whom it may concern:
When I tried to pick up my roller bag at Orlando after my flight from Kansas City I found the bag at your baggage office totally destroyed. Also destroyed was my toiletry bag,
I was offered a new roller bag, but I did not accept it because I felt it was not a fair substitute for the Eagle Creek roller bag that I used. They then told me they would check online for the cost of my bag, told me that it was $150.00 and gave me a check for $100. I had no way of checking myself on the cost, but told them that I thought $150 did not represent the true value of the bag. In fact, when I later checked on the REI website the cost of a comparable Eagle Creek roller bag is $290.
I told them that I did not think either of the options they offered was fair and the response was that I should take the check and call customer relations with my complaint.
After my return I called customer relations and I was told that since I had “agreed” to the “settlement” at the Orlando airport all they could do was send me a check for an additional $43. The thing is, I did not agree. I was not presented with any additional options at Orlando and had no other choice than walking out with an inferior bag or a check.
As you can tell I am very unhappy. There are many thinks about traveling with you that I appreciate, but this incident is not one of them. I am writing hoping that you can make this right.
My confirmation number: ZC4SKP
My baggage claim: 1005816296
Sincerely,
Gary Brunk
About 10 days after mailing the letter I received a postcard saying that a representative would be in touch with me shortly (the postcard may have said they try to respond in five days).
On May 1 I received an email:
Dear Gary,
We are truly sorry that your bag was so severely damaged when you traveled with us. We received your correspondence and have forwarded it to our Central Baggage Services Department (CBS) for consideration of reimbursement. They will be in contact with you soon. In the meantime, should you have any questions or concerns, CBS can be reached at 214-560-3600.
Again, we apologize for the inconvenience you experienced. We sincerely hope that your most recent travel experience with us will neither be your last nor overshadow the more pleasant memories we’ve shared. We look forward to welcoming you onboard again soon.
Sincerely,
Stephen Rogers, Southwest Airlines
The file reference number for your e-mail is 22194961.
By June 1 I still had not heard from Southwest Airlines, so I sent them an email and got this response the next day:
Dear Gary,
Thank you for taking the time to contact Southwest Airlines. We sincerely regret the inconvenience that prompted your correspondence. Your business is important to us, and our goal is to research and resolve your concerns as quickly as possible. As such, you will receive a personal response from a Southwest Airlines Customer Relations Representative addressing the specifics of your e-mail. We will do our best to respond to you within five days. The file reference number for your e-mail is 235080684268.
This is an automated note, so please do not reply to this e-mail. If your correspondence is regarding travel scheduled within the next seven days, please call us at 1-800-435-9792, or check out our Frequently Asked Questions on southwest.com.
On June 23 I am still waiting to be contacted by Southwest Airlines.
M.R. says
I am now on my 2nd day of phone calls after being promised last night by a SW customer service manager that my problem was solved. After trying to book online, the site said my card was declined. I called in to SW and the agent tried again on her end and said it was declined again. I call my bank and they had 3 charges for the amount SW wanted. I was not out over 800.00 for 4 days of processing and had no flight i could book at another airline. I called my bank several times and finally had a 3 way call with the bank and a SW manager rep. The manager at SW apologized that their system was I was promised by that manager with my banking agent on the phone listening, that when I called the “Jackpot Deal” call center in the morning when they opened, that the problem would be solved and I would have a flight and hotel room. When I called I spoke with Sara at the Jackpot center, who completely ignored my problem and recited her limited information and training. She refused to make a call to SW, saying they are separate companies. She refused to call her manager at Jackpot. I have never dealt with a person so rude and unwilling to help out in any way. I asked if she could call anyone to help and she refused. I asked if she could call Southwest and she refused. I am a tour manager for musicians, sports athletes, and corporate executives. i spend over 100k in flights through my business yearly. Although SW is not our normal carrier, it will never be again under any cirXXXXstances due to the fact they have a poor management team in place dealing with customers who have issues when their systems are out of order. No fail safe planes for their equipment errors. No sense of urgency from their customer service employees. Everyone wants to pass the buck. Not someone you want flying you around. Its just plain dangerous.
Doug Rosenbauer says
I have been very frustrated with this airline since Mother’s Day. We had an issue which was Southwest’s fault [admitted to us by two employees]. A flight was missed due to the issue and all we wanted was someone to deliver our baggage to our home so we would not have to drive 1 1/2 hours round trip to get them on Mother’s Day. No one must be running this airline because all we have received is emails telling us they will call within so many days or people transferring our call to another number and that number trying to give us the original number we called as the number we need to call. We have flown twice since Mother’s Day and have not used Southwest even though we have their credit card. Guess we will look for other airlines who appreciate their customers. We will be flying 10-12 time in the months of Aug thru October. Unless this is handled promptly and to our satisfaction they will not be with this airline. I want to fly, using another airline, to the Corporate Office in Texas and have them explain why my wife was crying off and on for about 4 hours on Mother’s Day. Happy belated MOTHER”S DAY Southwest, it is one our family will remember.
Elizabeth Parrillo says
I have flown on SW for over 20 years and have been a RW member for nearly that long. I booked a flight that I cancelled last Sept. I recently went to use my rewards…I have done this many times throughout the years without incidence, but this time I was unable to use them. After calling, I was told I was a no show. This is not correct. I called and cancelled my flights 2 days prior to the conference. I was given a phone number to call and was told by Kristin, a 24 year old girl in the Customer Relations Dept that they only way they would consider reinstating my funds was if I were to get my phone records and prove I called to cancel. I nearly laughed as I am calling from my home phone, which is through my cable service provider and is basically VoIP – no way to get my phone records. It’s almost ridiculous to even be asked. I was told that someone would call me back within – get this 5 DAYS…I am seriously going to never fly on this airline again. I am a very principled person and out of mere principle alone I will not fly an airline that doesn’t take a very loyal and long-standing customer’s word for it considering my history over the years. It is certainly sad. SW used to be such a customer service oriented company. It isn’t the money…it’s only $340. It’s the principle. I live in Atlanta and there are many choices. I don’t have to fly an airline that rewards their customers in this fashion. I’m saddened by their purely unattainable request. My call reference number is 236675252956. This call occurred at 2:25pm CST or 3:25pm EST (my local time). I suggest someone go onto your system and use that call to retrain this CSR. If you would like to contact me, you have my email.
For your records, I have contacted Comcast in the past to see about getting my phone records for business purposes. They simply do not keep this information. You are lucky to download today’s call history. I was told they do not keep past records for customers and do not customarily provide them. If someone at SWA has some secret to getting phone records from Comcast other than via a subpoena, please let me know. Otherwise, requiring a customer to get phone records from 9 months ago is basically saying to a customer you have no intention whatsoever in working with them in getting them credit. That is how you lose customers.
Jovita Alphonse says
same experience here Elizabeth…
Why fly Southwest anymore.
Elizabeth Parrillo says
Oh, I wanted to add that I have contacted Comcast in the past to get phone records and they simply do not have that information. You are lucky to download today’s call history. I was told they do not keep these records and do not customarily provide them to customers. If someone at SWA has some secret to getting phone records other than via a subpoena, please let me know. Otherwise, requiring a customer to get phone records from 9 months ago is basically saying to a customer you have no intention whatsoever in working with them in getting them credit. That is how you lose customers.
Kelly Cali Bama says
Have been a Southwest flyers for over 20 years… Booked recent flight to SFO and rec’d the an email promotion for in-flight Live and on Demand TV on my mobile device compliments of Dish Network.
Was about to download the app but decided to click on “reviews” first. I hope Southwest is reading the reviews of users… Lots of disappointed SWA faithful out there from this app. Might want to drop the app and just give a link to the SWA onboard website.
Sorry, if this is a Dish/SWA partnership deal, it is a bad way to promote it.
Teanna Hrinko says
Dollar Contract UM6902312, Carl J. Jones.
Hello, I booked a flight and car through Southwest.com. The car was through Dollar in Phoenix from Southwest. We requested an economy car from 6/3/14-6/8/14. The southwest confirmation said estimated $244.76. Upon arrival the only small car they had was a smart car, however that won’t go through the mountains and rep said all he had was a Nissan Altima. A smart car is Compact to say the least not even economy. The man said that is all I can offer you, this is what you can use. What are we supposed to do, stuck in AZ with no choices. He does the work and it is $817.43. Which is ridiculous. He charged fees of $552.00. One of which was an upgrade fee and we did not want upgraded. He had no Economy car that was to be rented. Why should we have to pay b/c they didn’t have what he was supposed to have. He never told us it was going to be an upgrade. Upon calling both Dollar and Southwest, nobody would help or could help they said. The man at Dollar said that Southwest lies to the customers b/c the fees they show are not accurate. They get a kick-back but 4 x the cost? He said Phoenix is the highest State to rent cars in. We could go nowhere else and get it cheaper. Not traveling nor renting a car for 30 years, what choice did we have. I have checked both southwest and dollar website to try and rent the Altima and it is in fact a full-size premium so more fees applied. Not only did the man say it was mid-size it is not but two levels higher. The fees on the websites are anywhere from $163.92 to 290.00 on southwest for this same car for a week. Upon calling Dollar to try and investigate, I again requested a car mid and full, they said it was anywhere from $155 to 189 a week plus options at the counter. I asked what options, he said that is like GPS, baby seat and insurance. I said if I don’t do anything that is my cost, he said YES! I spoke to Cyril and Ashton last Friday. So, I believe that Southwest and Dollar are misleading the clients. I budget we couldn’t afford this. The plane tickets were cheaper than a week car and gas. Someone owes money for this hassle and apologies. I don’t understand why a car would cost $552 in addition at least to what was on my confirmation. If the man did not have an economy which we were guaranteed, he should have given the bigger car for free. No charge. I am also going to report to the Better Business Bureau how this happened. We got back to AZ on June 8 and was told by Dollar that the Manager would refund at least the insurance they charged even after I told him I had insurance. The same man that charged me was at the store, he could not do anything. He said that it had to be done via customer service. Which is now again, lies. Who is telling the truth. The man also stated that your car insurance would not cover you in AZ. Another line of lies! My car insurance would cover me in any car or state, I specifically called my rep the day before we left on June 2. So to date, I have not received a call from Dollar Corporate like I was told, I have not received any info from Southwest in 5 days like I was too and here we are again, still out $710 now, not $817, not $244.76 with no help! I will tell everyone I can about how bad this went down on both Dollar and Southwest. This is terrible customer service and all I can get is “I am sorry”! I would like a refund credited to my card in the amount of $340.00. That is the cost of insurance which I had for myself and the upgrade that was not my fault. Again, nobody from Southwest can help me they said and only sorry and I have filed now three email complaints! SR 235338613598, 235928821558, AND 236046599718. Please help me! This is a southwest issue. I booked a car, never got what I booked through Southwest and now nobody wants to help refund money. The first lady said it was unheard of and ridiculous and transferred me but that lady was useless. We are a good honest people getting the shaft! HELP. Here is a website for the car rental place with 195 complaints. All like mine! https://dollar-rent-a-car.pissedconsumer.com/dollar-rent-a-car-rip-off-20140521489001.html 195 complaints, all about the same issues!
Complaint filed on-line for Dollar Rental Company, June 10, 2014, Pittsburg, http://www.dollar-rent-a-car.pissedconsumer.com: Beware of Lori, she will be extremely rude and try to force you into upgrading, while she pretends that they are out cars. She tried to put us in a Fiat, even though we booked a car that was to hold five passengers and two bags of luggage. When I asked where the luggage was supposed to go, she claimed that people who rent cars in Pittsburgh are all from Pittsburgh, so they don’t actually need room for luggage.
Tip- call her bluff, you will waste time but at least you won’t spend hundreds of dollars upgrading to what you booked in the first place.
Better Tip- Use a different company.
46055b5
Complaint filed on-line for Dollar Rental Company, June 4, 2014, Vancouver, http://www.dollar-rent-a-car.pissedconsumer.com My daughter rented a car from Dollar rent a car in Vancouver. When she returned it there was no one available to check the car in so she went to the rental counter and asked what she should do. The attendant told her to just leave the keys with him and not to worry about it. Three weeks later she got a letter of claim for $1,000 of damage to the car that she had rented. Their policy states that they will contact you as soon as possible if there are any issues regarding the condition of the vehicle. This did not happen. Instead, they repaired the alleged damage on the vehicle and three weeks later sent a bill with no other notification of any claim.
So now we are facing a situation where we have to defend ourselves after the fact and after the repairs are “allegedly” done. They tell us to pay up or else.
I called the claim department to ask about the possibility of a discussion of the claim. The woman that I spoke to was hyperventilating and rude and hostile. I asked her in a calm and patient way if she could explain our options. She became enraged and said that she would serve me papers and hung up on me. I was stunned by this. This behaviour is well beyond abhorrent and needs to be investigated. If the fine people at DRAC would like to follow up, their rep is Vicky L. Totally the wrong person for the job!
4605726
Complaint filed on-line for Dollar Rental Company, June 3, 2014, Orlando, FL, http://www.dollar-rent-a-car.pissedconsumer.com I called to extend the dates of my rental.They charged me $79.95 late fee.
I was not late. when I signed initial agreement I was not informed of this. Women at front desk reviewed with me contract before I initialed items. Never did she mention this.
They also charged me $9.89 for fuel even though I returned the vehicle on a full tank, which receipt states. After talking to their customer service she pretty much told me too bad. The car was not well mantained either. It smelt like dirty socks.
The drivers wheel made a wrapping sound. Lot’s of scratches and dents. The Chrysler was a hunk of junk!
I will never rent from Dollar again!Costumer service is terrible too…
4605b68
Complaint filed on-line for Dollar Rental Company, May 29, 2014, Sanford, FL, http://www.dollar-rent-a-car.pissedconsumer.com We flew from the UK into Sanford Airport, Florida on 25 April and stood in a *** to rent our car, which had been booked and paid for in full in the UK, so we had nothing else to pay upon collection.
After standing in a *** for ages and after a long flight, when you sign the rental agreement at the counter, you have to sign that many times and initial that many things that you just assume that you are signing for what we had actually paid for.
Anyway, when we received our credit card statement at home we discovered that they’d charged us $171 for a toll pass and roadside assistance.
We were not even aware we had a toll pass (by the way how is this given to you as we didn’t have any sort of card or anything) and in fact we paid $10 cash in tolls on our way from the airport. We also did not require the roadside assistance, knowing full well that Dollar are not going to leave one of their vehicles by the side of a road are they?
I think all their sales people are trained in conning people into buying extras when they know they’ve been on a long flight and are losing the will to live after standing at one of their customer service desks for an eternity as they search for car keys and then don’t even know which keys fit what vehicles (as happened to us, that’s probably why we ended up with a scrap heap of a car).
After much wrangling with the company in the UK we booked through and them not being able or willing to give me Dollar’s direct contact details, I eventually got a response from Dollar customer services via the power of Twitter (it’s amazing how quickly they respond when someone’s giving them bad reviews via social media).
I am now awaiting the outcome.
4605cdc
Complaint filed on-line for Dollar Rental Company, May 24, 2014, Detroit, http://www.dollar-rent-a-car.pissedconsumer.com Wife rented a Dollar car through Spirit Airlines and when picking up the car at Detroit Metro Airport, she indicated that she did not require any insurance since our car insurance covers rentals.Come to find out she was charged for insurance in the amount of $194, which almost doubled the rental cost.
The agent pushed the rental agreement in front of her and told her to sign it, and apparently the agent had checked that my wife accepted the insurance.These agents know that people picking up cars at airports are in a hurry and don’t really have time to read the rental agreement prior to signing, so they slip the charges in after you tell them you don’t need the insurance.
4606033
Complaint filed on-line for Dollar Rental Company, May 17, 2014, Iowa, http://www.dollar-rent-a-car.pissedconsumer.com I ordered the rental car from the priceline and I takes my car at 4/28
I didnt notice the extra charge until my son reviewed it yesterday
I found that they charged me for the insurance that I declined which almost double the cost!
they didnt told me anything about it and just tells me to press agree.
also they gives me a different car from what I ordered
they folded it so that the real total charges is on the back of the recipt.
they takes 3067.11 from my account. I am now having serious trouble with my credit record
46062c7
Complaint filed on-line for Dollar Rental Company, May 6, 2014, VA, http://www.dollar-rent-a-car.pissedconsumer.comRented a car through a 3rd party company, paid in full for the car rental and hotel, when arrived to get the rent a car from the airport, I was told they were out of vehicles.What???
How are you out of vehicles when I reserved AND PAID for a rental car? They left me standing at the rental car place, refusing to find me a rental car, basically telling me I am on my own. Then they proceeded to lock the door after we left.
Unprofessional, so is there customer service.Buyers beware, I wouldn’t trust this company again.
461f3a4
Bob Castellana says
Trying to book a flight for Friday October 10 from Atlanta to Aruba and returning Friday October 24. Looks like you are only offering Saturday flight. Why aren’t you offering daily flights from Atlanta to Aruba? Are you aware that most of the timeshares in Aruba run from Friday to Friday? This lack of service is causing a lot of concern as we as owners of timeshares cannot get to Aruba on Fridays. We all thought that when you took over Air Tran that you would continue the past service and flight availabilities that Air Tran offered.
Hopefully you would immediately offer this service or you will ose many customers jumping to competitors
Liana St. Bernard says
PLEASE CONTACT ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! in regards to my complaint. If I am not contacted in less than 48 hours, I will be creating a video on You Tube, posting a blog ,naming it the THE REAL SOUTHWEST EXPERIENCE while posting pictures and videos of what I have experienced.. This is by far the worst experience I have had with this company and I am not going down without letting the WORLD know if nothing is done!.. With the wonderful invention of social media , this will make headlines quick enough.! Hoping to talk to you SOON!.
Judith Foley says
Dear Mr. Kelly,
This is concerning a disparity in available ticket prices for those Rapid Rewards members (since 1994) who use IMac desktop computers. The “Ding” option suddenly quit about a year ago. On the numerous times that I have contacted customer service and talked to many levels of management, the calls have been dropped during transfer or ended with the answer that “they are working on it”. On my most recent call, after being dropped during transfer, I was told that I would be called by someone in technical services. This did not happen. Either SWA is discriminating against IMac owners or customer service representatives are not accessing the appropriate departments for this concern. I would appreciate executive management give attention to this issue.
Sincerely,
Judith Foley
Debbie Bailey says
I had always believed that customer service was Southwest Airlines #1 priority. Always touted that for the many years that I have used Southwest. That no longer seems to be the case. I had a cancelled trip for 4 in 2013. I received only one email regarding that cancellation and had to research for the travel funds which would be available to me. I couldn’t use them on the rescheduled trip for whatever reason the system wouldn’t allow, so I decided to save them. I received no subsequent emails regarding the travel funds that I paid for and received no service for and am now told that they expired. The trip I was planning is now no longer going to happen. My husband has used the service enough over the years that he finally became an A-lister. But trying not only to find a customer service representative to help or the number for customer service (214-932-0333) has been a trying process. Not only that – I am told that I will not get a response for 24 to 48 hours from someone who I was told will say, “that there is nothing they can do.” It is not about what you can’t do but what you are willing to do to benefit your customers – because no matter what – customers will always be customers, whether they are right or wrong – and what is best for an airline is to keep customers using their airline instead of going to the competitor. Its that one sour experience that will ruin a customers thought about a company and I am thinking I need to change my mind about using your company.
amber says
I was to fly out on April 15th, throughout the day I would receive messages starting at about 2 in the afternoon from Southwest changing my flight time my flight time was 630 pm they would switch it to 8:45 p.m. Then back to 7:45 p.m. Then back to 845 then 745 then 845 wEll finally I’m at the airport I’m in the parking area I got another message my connecting flight from Las Vegas to Seattle was going to be leaving at 945 that meant I would not make my connecting flight from Chicago so I call them And they give me another flight for the next day April 16 well they gave me two options a 1 o’clock in the afternoon flight or 635 I explain to them that the reason I made the flight for the 15th at 630 was because I’m here with my daughter in Chicago she’s my only transportation we’re new here she is in the Navy well I tell them we made the reservations for the 15th then she took the day off in order to take my granddaughter and I to the airport so in order for my granddaughter and myself to be able to fly we needed an evening flight the latest they could give us so I’m thinking it was going to be 845 or 815 but unfortunately they only gave me two options noW I said they gave me two options the 1 o’clock in the afternoon or the 630 so we had to take the 630 I told the lady over the phone we would definitely try very hard to make it because my daughter gets off of work at 5 she’s An RDC here at Great Lakes we live on the base 57 minutes away from the airport about an hour with traffic about an hour and a half we tRied very hard to make it I realize we’re going to be late so I call the airline I explained it to them now remember they inconvenience me the day before I was at the airport on the 15th ready to fly they gave me no other options I tried to change my ticket when I got inside the airport to get on another flight the flight attendent was great she tried to help us she was going to put us on a 715 flight for the 17th April 2014 the next day she needed to speak with her supervisor before she gave me the 715 flight the supervisor came out to speak with me she told me it was my fault that I missed all those flights and that by regulation she should put me on a flight next morning early and as she put it she was trying to make the whole situation my fault she said she was going out on a limb breaking all the rules And was going to put me on the flight for the next day at 630 which I tried to explain my Navy daughter was going to be unable to take another day Off she politely told me that was my business that I missed my flight so I need to deal with it and take what flight they were offering I asked to speak with her manager the manager came out she began to yell at me I politely told her don’t yell at me because I will yell back well the manager decided she was going to be ugly so she told me the only flight she would change me too was the next day early morning there was no way I could do that so then she decides after many times of telling me there was never no such flight as an 845 in the evening she says and now this time mind you it is 735 she tells me well I can put you on a flight and get this at 845 it will take you to Las Vegas but you won’t get a connecting flight to Seattle she says so what we will do is put you up in a hotel until the next day when you can get a flight to Seattle this made no sense to me so I told her this makes no sense to me just give me the 715 flight for tomorrow no she says if you want to fly out of here Chicago tomorrow it will be in the morning other than that you will have to pay an extra 250 for you and your granddaughter to fly in the evening we went back and forth she treated me and my granddaughter and my daughter like we were trash they all huddled in a group the manager the supervisor and employees from the attendance to the people who deal with the baggage to 2 security guards well I was on the phone with booking spoke to a wonderful young lady named summer she was helping me with the problem she proceeded to change my flight to 715 when the manager at the airport got smart she realize what I was doing she contacted the 1-800 number spoke with the ladies supervisor young lady came back to the phone after about 15 minutes and she says I’m so sorry I was called in to my supervisors office and I was informed to stop what I was doing because the airline at the airport had just called her and they told her supervisor I was offered a hotel room in Las Vegas for the night and to fly out to Seattle in the morning or an early morning flight next day so she told me she was sorry but she could not help me any further or she would lose her job I was so upset and humiliated me and my family in front of hundreds of people at the airport then they called me a liar told me I was trying to do something underhanded and trying to get something for nothing I have flown southwest many times out of many different airports the experience was always pleasant Chicago is the worst Airport I have ever been in where their customer service needs training they were so utterly rude disrespectful insulting pick one and add it to the list after I settle this I will never and I will tell all my friends colleagues everyone never ever fly Southwest
Bernadette Verdugo says
On Feb 19,2013 I purchased 5 tickets to fly to San Fco. my trip was on July 10,2013. When it was time to make the trip my son was not able to take the trip(he is firefighter and was sent to a big forest fire) They told me I would get a credit and I tried to us the credit in December, I was told I could not use it that Oscar had to use it. I explained that I had purchased the tickets not my son. I spoke to a man in customer service and explained the whole thing to him. I had to prove that I paid the tickets with my credit card and the numberof the card I used. I did and he told me that they would make this one time exception. Oscar Sr would use the credit instead of Oscar Jr. I told him I wanted to use the credit in Dec. to go visit my son in San Fco. He told me I had to wait for the new confirmation number , that I would get a email with the new number. My refund experation date was in Feb.2014. To this day I have not recieved a email from Southwest. I have called and I have to argue with every person I talk to because I get no where. They claim they sent a email and I ask them to what email address they sent it to and there response is ” can you verify your email address. Really if they sent an email why do I have to verify my email to them. To them $236.00 is not alot of money but to me it is. Why should they keep my hard earned money. I have tired to talk to them and I get no where. I think I should get me money back not a credit because I dont plan on traveling any time soon and do not plan on traveling with Southwest. They claim I can not transfer funds to another person, I am not transfering funds, funds used were my in the first place. I brought the ticket for my son because he could not pay for it. I truly hope someone will help me out. It is not fair that they keep my money.
Amber says
Was surprised and disappointed to learn that you are funding Planned Parenthood conference. Since you have chosen sides in the political/social arena by this and also your funding of AFTAH (Americans For Truth About Homosexuality which promotes the “homosexualization” of Christianity as well as transgender activism, I will no longer be flying your airline. Further, I will make every effort to get this information to the forefront.
matt says
Amber – individuals such as yourself are why I am so disappointed in our country. Go promote your inequality elsewhere.
Melissa Lieberman says
Mr Kelly-
I have been flying with SW for over 20 years. I have been a companion pass holder for 9 years. In my opinion, SW Air is the best in the business & I am usually very happy using SW for all my travels. However, I was quite upset to learn at SW is refusing to end their partnership with SeaWorld since all the injustice done to the Orcas has been brought into the eyes of the public. I realize this is just a business decision for the airline-but what SeaWorld is doing to these highly intelligent, thinking, feeling, living souls just for profit is so wrong. Southwest has gone from a small airline servicing just a few cities in Tx to what it is today by thinking & doing outside the box. I would like to think you may evaluate this situation & not just be another corporate giant willing to take money made off the imprisonment of any living thing. Imagine going from the ocean to a “fishbowl” for the rest of your life! Please, get a new partnership with another “family attraction”. I think the public would stand up and cheer for SW dropping SeaWorld . I hope you will consider this. Thank You-
Bobby Moore says
Sea World Rocks! Don’t believe every falsified doXXXXentary you watch.
Edward Meydrech says
Dear Mr. Kelly,
I live outside of Jackson, MS and have enjoyed flying on Southwest Airlines for almost twenty years. My wife and children made their first flights on Southwest. We flew many times to Florida to tend to ailing parents. We always received excellent service at a very competitive cost.
The local newspaper has reported that Southwest will be terminating flight service to Jackson later this year. Please reconsider this decision as Southwest is a wonderful airline. Many loyal customers will be at the mercy of a couple of less desirable airlines.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Edward Meydrech
David says
I live in Key West and we are “off the list” as well, beginning June 6. This move flies in the face of everything SWA vows it stands for….they can make more money using the planes to fly in and out of airports with gates they are acquiring due to the AA/USAir merger. It’s about money.Period.
Michael Smith says
My situation is a little different than those already mentioned. I am a disabled veteran with a limited amount of income. I purchased a ticket to fly my 15yo daughter from Colorado to Virginia (Confirm # ZNQ819) so that I could spend time with her for Thanksgiving. She did not get on the flight, long story, so I called Southwest to apply the funds from the ticket towards one to fly her out for the holidays. Southwest Reservations and Customer Service both told me that my funds have been forfeited as I did not cancel or change her reservation in time. Customer service did explain to me that they can put in for a refund but that it could take up to 2 weeks to receive a response and then I would have to wait until my next billing cycle, the first of January, to receive the funds. This of course is only if the refund is approved.
I cannot afford to fly my daughter out to Virginia for the holidays without those funds. I have not seen my daughter in over 10 months and now I have no way of knowing whether or not I will be able to purchase her ticket.
Southwest has truly stooped to a new level of callous disregard for its customers.
Steve Fortuna says
I wanted to bring attention to an incident of sheer customer service ego and caprice which occurred on 11-19-13 at the gate of flight 95 between Newark and Chicago, connecting to Minneapolis. My confirmation is # ZOX9X2 and seating group B-2. The plane was NOT full, and I waited in line behind all the A ticket passengers until they had boarded, and the dreadlocked gate attendant named “Bailey” arbitrarily kicked me out of line saying I jumped the line. There were no more A’s in the group, and after A I thought came B. Perhaps I’m mistaken and you don’t use an alphabet system? I waited until EVERYONE had boarded – he wouldn’t let me board the plane. When he did this I stated “you don’t have to be a dick about it” and of course, this was what he used as an excuse to void my ticket. Supervisor Indira Perez, who did not see the ‘incident’ sided with this ego tripping Rasta and issued a ticket to Minneapolis through St. Louis, which landed 5 hours after my original flight landed in Mnpls. I don’t know what kind of ego pills you are feeding your staff in Newark but they seem to have a need to exercise arbitrary retaliations against customers by denying them access to seats paid for AT A PREMIUM. I had recently flown Southwest for the very first time and liked the fairness of unassigned seating. The downside is you set yourselves up for lawsuits and abuse of customers by gate personnel who think they are arbiters of personal taste and judgment.
This happened 10 minutes ago, and I’m still in Newark airport. I am now actively seeking legal council and will pursue litigation against Southwest for inconvenience, lost opportunity and punitive damages for capricious disregard of customer rights to travel freely on paid routes, and arrogant display of personal power. Amazing how what appears to be a good idea can be so frighteningly abused by customer facing personnel who value their ego and power over customer service and rightful use of purchased services.
Best Regards,
Steve Fortuna
s*******@yahoo.com
Henry says
Customer service is a joke! They have no authority to do rectify the problem and are not even interested in finding out what went wrong. Fly Jet Blue, their service is much better.
Susan Clifton says
Southwest Airlines,
I was one of the many terrified passengers aboard your Tampa to RDU flight that was convinced I was going to die on 11.12.13. I fly Southwest several times per year for business and for pleasure as you have been my favorite airline primarily for the friendly staff and the roomier seating. This email is to provide you the benefits of my perspective to a company that I adore.
I am the COO of a healthcare analytics company and I would like to provide you with my thoughts surrounding the event and my advice on how Southwest Corporate, and specifically your Risk Management department, can do a much better job.
This incident has now gone national and Southwest has had several other similar events that have been made public. Events of this type can be tied to the age of the airplane. Your older models of the 737 (300 series) I believe you should strongly consider more for retirement instead of juggling the risk-benefit of getting more flights for your purchase dollar.
The pilot made a significant error but did a great job with handling the emergency and preventing serious injuries. Unfortunately the behavior of one of the attendants further convinced me we were going to die during those 15 minutes of terror. The highly anxious plead to the Captain to let down the air masks and then repeating herself showed me that someone who knows see things are out of control. Either she does not know they automatically drop when needed or worse that they also were a maintenance failure that could have resulted in physical health consequences.
It appears your policies do not permit the attendants to speak to the passengers on the PA system during an emergency except “on script” (e.g. tighten your seatbelts, place air mask). We overheard one attendant explain to a seriously panicked and shrill woman with clarifying information….that we are going “down to a lower level.” This information should have been shared on the PA immediately along with the air bag instructions.
However, your risk management department with the comfort of time & security had the worst judgment failure. Better to offer nothing than a letter that spins life-threatening terror using words like “confusion” and “uneasy feelings.” It struck me as very dismissive to the passengers real experience and about being far more concerned about CYA. Definitely not in line with your LUV branding.
In addition, the measly $200 voucher is like salt in the wound when most would expect a heartfelt apology and at least a free round trip ticket which are so frequently doled out when finding volunteers during over booking or two roundtrip tickets when someone sign up for a SW credit card.
I too have read the malpractice studies showing how being proactive can mitigate lawsuits but your Risk Management Dept. missed the part about being genuinely sorry and regretful. The words in the letter and the LUV voucher fell flat.
I have talked with several other passengers. One who has given numerous interviews to local and national news outlets. As a licensed psychotherapist I have been asked by one of her media contacts to speak with Charlie Rose on CBS to share information regarding the effects of mental trauma in relation to this near-death experience.
I would hope that you will take back to the appropriate leadership the need to think about the passengers as people with very real trauma related to this experience. All things are not about physical injuries and lawsuits.
Jon Marquand says
I have been writing books for years and selling them on from my web site. Now, with the new regulations in place for the usage of computers on board the air crafts, I think I might have a good idea for your fine company. With my books, all are G Rated, give each passenger the opportunity of reading as soon as they board the plane and exit upon landing. Through a simple wifi system on board these books will keep the passengers occupied and relaxed by reading the time away throughout the duration of the flight. My books take from two to four hours to read, which is about the normal time for a domestic flight. These books would cost the airlines pennies a flight and would be a good advertising campaign. Quantas has been doing this for a few weeks and the passengers like it. I have over forty books for the passengers to choose from and I am writing more.
Please let me know if you are interested in my proposal.
Thank you
Jon Marquand
406-363-XXXXX
Regina Archer-Muzquiz says
Mr. Kelly
I have never been more disappointed with southwest then I am today. Booked a flight from flight # 340 San Diego to Boise Idaho with a layover in Oakland this was on October 23rd 2013. I arrived in Oakland flight # 1642 only to be grounded due to weather then I had to wait in line for 45 minutes to get a flight change. I was re- routed to Phoenix Arizona only to arrive there and yet again another flight delay for connection to Boise Idaho. I finally get my flight to boise Idaho mind you I arrived in boise 8 hours after my scheduled arrival only to get to boise Idaho and have no luggage in a strange city. This was totally unacceptable to me the minimum that should have been done was to make sure my luggage was there I go to baggage services to be told oh your luggage is on the carousel twice until I finally told the woman that my luggage wasn’t there I had to travel to Oregon by car with no change of clothes and missed my husbands layover which was the point of my whole trip. I was taken way out my way had to take an extra flight and spend the whole day into the evening traveling. I am very disappointed in the way a customer (me) was treated. Confirmation # Z2IWX3
Customer Regina Archer- Muzquiz
Jerry W. Henderson says
This comment is one of appreciation. I was prompted to write it, not by a recent flight with Southwest, but instead by a disastrous recent flight with Spirit Airline. It may seem strange, but I felt my time would be better served showing appreciation for your airline than complaining about an airline that I will never fly again.
I thought you would be pleased to hear what the overriding remarks were in the terminal during our three delay going and two hour delay coming home. Over and over again the disgruntled Spirit passengers stated that they should have taken Southwest Airlines and that this lack of customer service would never happened on a Southwest Airline. Story after story of how Southwest out performs other airlines were voiced.
We typically exclusively fly Southwest. This trip to Las Vegas the scheduled times did not work with our business schedule needs. We wanted to find a red-eye back from Las Vegas in order to add additional time at the end of our trip enjoy Las Vegas. Southwest no longer offers a red eye back to the east coast. We made the mistake of choosing Spirit Airline. Needless to say, it was a very poor decision.
In conclusion I wish to thank you for the free baggage that you offer, complementary beverages, adequate leg room, reclining seats, and great employees who know the meaning of customer service. I will never again take those valuable services for granted and I will continue to be a loyal customer.
Doug Rosenbauer says
I hear you and would of said exactly the same thing until Mother’s Day. Maybe they hired some Spirit employees, because my last experience sounds like the one mentioned about Spirit Airlines.
wilkins says
Southwest stops minor from 1 st day of school. Genius mom booked trip 2 months early on line. Through the journey, customer service reps presented themselves as managers, they researched previous flights, they (john &lori) ORF had no information about me the mom. Beware of southwest airlines. They come up w/all kinds of crap at the ticket counter. We were offered to reschedule until a fee of 50us could be paid. That’s why we booked early to avoid this type of confusion. Southwest is a nightmare come true. Consumers like to travel ob the weekends when conveniently no real management works. Now southwest has merged w another co and they will be so large no one will knoe what the hell is going on. Well we all know how ridiculous flight travel has gotten.
joseph says
I just want to say that I am extremely disappointed and disgusted with the level of service I have received from SW/AT…
Last night I discovered that I was booked to leave PHX on Tues (7/15) on flight 501… Not flight 501 leaving on today(7/15)… I called Customer Service and explained the problem, the lady said it wouldn’t be a problem to get this corrected and advised me to show up at the airport early and just ask for “Standby” and it would be resolved…
I have no issue with being a 2nd tier customer and persons with the correct itinerary receiving preferential treatment… However, when I arrive at the airport 10 hours early to sit & wait for an opening, but met with much resistance from the ticket clerk Mgr, “Ellen” (Employ #4362) stating that I have to pay to be a 2nd tier customer and fly stand-by… ???Southwest is on its way to financial troubles, just as other major airlines have….
Southwest build a name on customer service, accommodating and going the extra mile… Its this reputation that drew customers from other airlines sick on the treatment of American, Delta, United, Brantiff… etc Now, the very thing that nitche that southwest depending on to grow rapidly, now they find it policy to conduct themselves in this very manor…
I will not pay for another ticket with southwest and am going across the hall to United to give them my $$ to get back to Dallas. I will now pay an extra $40-50 more to fly on one of the major carriers, as I find no value nor pleasant experience with the product Southwest currently offers….
Brian Williamson says
Here is a YouTube video about a Reality Life Coach that really has made a tremendous impact in the Hospitality world. Please contact me if you are interested in more information.
https://youtu.be/rAZqv15yGf0
Hello Mr. Kelly–
My name is Brian Williamson and I came across a video that you might like to watch and a company you may be interested in. Recently we have begun to work with Deloitte University in Dallas and Houston and really are fascinated on how Southwest Airlines operates and impressed by your leadership abilities. With that in mind we really would be interested in performing a free program while in town to let your staff listen to Mr. Andy Stangenberg, who is a wonderful speaker that focuses on customer service training in the hospitality services. If you were to visit our website you will learn more of what we do and a list of our current partners.
I appreciate your time and always feel free to contact me for any additional information about our company.
Below is a brief explanation of who we are and what we are about.
Thank you,
Hugh Cooper,MD says
Dear Mr. Kelly,
My name is Hugh cooper, M.D. I have been a loyal southwest customer for many years and have always enjoyed superlative customer service. I regret that I must share the most disastrous failure in customer service that I have ever experienced.
My wife and 3 young children including our baby had just finished the best vacation of our lives aboard a disney cruise on 4/21. We came to Orlando airport to fly home to Hartford 3 hours early and checked in for our flight home. Upon arrival at the gate we were told the flight was overbooked and our seats were given away. Our luggage was onboard. We were not allowed to get our luggage back and we had no baby food, diapers or my cardiac medications. My wife was in tears as was my young son who saw her breaking down as she didn’t know how we would care for our baby with no formula or baby food. As a surgeon with 8 operations scheduled for Monday 4/22 with patients taking preoperatively mess and their families coming to care for them, the domino effect of your overbooking was affecting more people.
Although supervisors Tim Weakley and John Brody gave empty canned contrived apologies while educating me that they can’t create seats that don’t exist, a fact I am well aware having achieved an honors grade in physics many years ago. Meanwhile, with multiple flights going to Hartford on 4/21 and 4/22 I was told I could not be on any of them as they are also overbooked. My only option was to spend the week here in Orlando or fly 4/23 to Boston late at night from where I would need to somehow arrange my own transportation with my family to Hartford to get our luggage and car.
Calling customer service was absolutely useless as there was nothing anyone could do.
I was even threatened to be arrested after I became frustrated with the southwest ticket supervisor after finally being able to no longer tolerate the cold callous way we were being treated by senior southwest reps. How embarrassing for me. The perfect ending to this nightmare experience. “Doctor arrested after Southwest Airlines turns perfect Disney vacation into Nightmare from Hell”.
I have booked a flight home on Jet Blue for this afternoon for my family. We are so thankful Jet Blue is there to help us. I am forever grateful to Jet Blue. I am also thankful to all of the wonderful passengers at the airport who were so kind to us and offered diapers and other essentials while looking on at southwest with utter disbelief at how my wife was dismissed so callously.
A pilot witnessed everything and later came over to me and advised me to contact corporate headquarters and not to take no for an answer. You need to know what you are doing to families.
Sincerely,
Hugh m. Cooper, md