Horrible Southwest Experience

Any of you who know me or have read my blog can quickly determine that I am a passionate advocate for free-market capitalism and business. I am an honest believer in the ingenuity and ambition of uninhibited entrepreneurship and the enormous benefit it brings to each and every one of us. There are times, however, and this is one of them, that I become frustrated, exasperated, and truly disappointed, when I see a company deliver an awful product or provide extremely poor customer service, to the point of contempt for their customers.

Yesterday, I started early in the morning, departing the airport in Los Angeles at 7 a.m. bound for home in Spokane, Washington, on a full-fare ticket. Flying through Oakland, my flight to Spokane was cancelled after an hour delay due to heavy snow in Spokane and I was eventually re-booked through Seattle. Five hours after my original scheduled departure from Oakland we were airborne once again only to be informed by a flight attendant minutes before landing in Seattle that Spokane International Airport had closed for the remainder of the evening. I could see this was going to be a mess. And to make matters worse, the snow fall had been so heavy that the pass between Seattle and Spokane had been closed to all traffic.

Walking out of the jetway I immediately knew I had walking into a customer service disaster. The lines were already hundreds of people long and far too few gate agents to assist customers. I immediately headed for Alaska Airlines where a helpful gate agent diligently juggled multiple customers' reservations. Despite my best efforts, no flight was available into area cities but I appreciated the efforts the agent provided.

Back to Southwest Airlines. Standing in one of the ridiculously long lines, I called the Southwest Reservations number to expedite getting re-booked. I was told at that time, to my astonishment, that the first flight available for them to rebook me was on December 22, a full 4 days away!

"Okay," I said, "book me on another airline."

"I can't do that. We don't have any agreements with other airlines to do that," the customer service agent on the phone informed me.

"Okay, then get me a hotel for next four days." That seemed reasonable to me.

"We can't do that. We can't be held responsible for the weather," was her reply.

"Hold on a second," I retorted, "No, the airport in Spokane was closed because of the weather. You aren't re-booking me for four days because Southwest cancelled all the flights and made no provision to get your passengers to their destination when the airport opens." After speaking to two successively higher supervisors on the phone I could see I was never going to get anywhere with them on the phone.

After another hour of standing in line I eventually came to a Southwest Airlines customer service agent. To add insult to injury, the agent informed me that she would happily rebook me for the next available flight...on December 23, five days away! Here we go again. Okay, book me on another airline. "We can't," was the immediate reply. Do you know what "we can't" means to Southwest Airlines? It means "we won't because you don't mean enough to us as a customer to make it worth our while to do so." Okay, then pay for my hotel and meals for the next five days. No? Okay, then pay for my hotel and and a rental car until the pass opens. And to each and every request, the response from Southwest Airlines was "No, we can't. It's not our fault. It's because of the weather."

Do you know what? No, wrong answer! Again, the airport in Spokane was closed because of the weather. I am stranded in Seattle for five days because Southwest Airlines cancelled all the flights and deemed it was an acceptable response to not add any flights to get their passengers to their destination! I am stranded for five days in Seattle because Southwest won't take the steps necessary to rebook me on another airline because they don't care that much about their customers! I am stranded in Seattle for five days with no compensation for a hotel, meals, or a car, because Southwest has absolute contempt for their customers! Tell me: What good is an airline that has no commitment to providing that service they are supposedly in business to provide - flying their passengers safely, in a timely manner, to and from their destination and not just somewhere, anywhere, in between? What good is an airline that thinks it is an acceptable answer to strand their passengers and with no regard for their well-being? How can a company with service like this still be in business? How can such poor business people maintain gainful employment? Unreal!

"We can't" is not a solution to a customer's problem. Look, I am a pilot for a well regarded major foreign airline. My company doesn't do that. Though they are by no means infallible, they respect and value their customers and it shows. If passengers are stranded due to weather, they take whatever steps are necessary to get them to their destination in a reasonable period of time, whether it be booking them on another airline or scheduling additional flights. For example, just a couple of weeks ago, protesters in Thailand took control of the airport in Bangkok and shut it down for days. Immediately my company began working on contingency plans. As a result, when the airport was eventually opened some six day later, an unscheduled aircraft arrived to pick up our passengers as well as passengers from other airlines, and fly them Hong Kong so they could continue their travels. It is because of a commitment to service like that that my company is considered one of the best airlines in the world. It should be no coincidence then that they are also one of the most profitable airlines in the world.