She blamed automation and said she can’t do anything about it. Technology is more and more prevalent in our personal and business interactions. We thrive on it; we love it when it works and hate it when it doesn’t. We still seek human contact and interaction.
This presents a business opportunity. If we can make it right, while it may not increase lifetime loyalty, it subsides the doubt or desire for one to place their business with someone else.
I booked a roundtrip airfare to Mexico with my two kids. I’m a platinum member but if you are traveling with more than one passenger and book all together, then you are no longer eligible for an upgrade to any cabin; the next best thing is an emergency exit but my daughters do not meet the 15 year old age requirement.
I was still able to book a ‘preferred’ row which just mean it was near the front of the main cabin which allows for quicker exit upon landing. On the return I booked us directly in the Comfort cabin for only about $15 additional per person which I felt was well worth the fare.
Less than two weeks later, I was notified from Delta that there was a change to the departure time. I didn’t think to much of it immediately but then thought I should go confirm my seats given it could have been an aircraft change.
To my surprise and disappointment, they had separated my seat from my two minor children. How could this even happen? How does it make sense? It’s booked as one reservation and Delta knows their ages. I decided to spend extra on Comfort and of course find three seats together and now what has happened?
I thought to myself no problem. I’m a Platinum member and have found their customer care team to be responsive, knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. After just a four-minute wait, I thought I’d take care of this quickly. My expectations feel drastically short.
The first individual I talked to said she could not make any changes and offered to transfer me to a supervisor. She said I’d need to wait to handle this at the airport on the day of departure. There was nothing else she could do. She empathized but given Delta made the change, Delta needs to make this right. She offered me an alternative flight. I even asked about Main Cabin availability and the back of the plane was all that was available. She didn’t offer anything to me for the inconvenience.
I wasn’t traveling alone. It’s bad enough to randomly assign me a new seat but to separate me from my children on an international flight is unacceptable.
So, what does Platinum status and airline loyalty get me? When it works, it works. Delta Comfort cabin upgrades are prevalent, mile accumulation is good, upgrades are rare and when things go wrong, they may or may not be able to make it right for you.
