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Business Select Drink Ticket Indicator - fail

barclayaz
Explorer C

So, this is my second Business Select flight in a row where I have irritated a flight attendant by trying to use my drink coupon.  On the last flight, the flight attendant told me she could not accept the mobile view with the "YES" flagged under DRINK COUPON.  She gave the same story to the guy in front of me and said she needed an actual drink ticket or an image of one because people were "faking" these screen shots.  (I wondered why someone with that kind of energy wouldn't also "fake" a drink ticket... but whatever.)  She gave in, but made us feel like we were getting away with something and we better be prepared for next time.  Seemed so strange that I shrugged it off.  That had never happened before.

 

So... today before getting on this flight, I looked up the correct way to get a drink ticket when you buy a Business Select flight.  Everything points to exactly what I see on my boarding pass.  The same boarding pass this flight attendant pushed back on.

 

I got on this flight and when I ordered my drink the flight attendant acted very put out when I showed her my boarding pass.  I even enlarged the screen so you could see the "yes" an the flight number clearly.  She shook her head, sighed, and asked someone else to verify the flight number.  I told her I didn't see another way to get a "proper" drink ticket from the mobile app and that this is what Southwest's web site says I should use.  She wrote my order down, shook her head again and moved on.

 

Here's the thing... I just don't want to feel like I am inconveniencing someone or not following the rules when I actually am!  Also, I pay twice as much for the Business Select ticket and should not be made to feel bad over a $5 drink.  I was A1 on this flight and was the first non-pre-board on the plane.  Sat in my favorite emergency row seat right next to this flight attendant who then acted very put out.  Wouldn't you at the very least realize the first guy on the plane, with an A-1 boarding pass, did not "fake" his drink coupon?

 

So - help me out here.  Aside from going to the website and printing an actual coupon what is my option here?  The older mobile boarding pass actually had a drink ticket you could scroll down to.  Can we get that back if it's such an issue with the flight attendants?  I like the convenience of using the mobile app and adding that graphic shouldn't be very hard.

 

Thoughts?

10 REPLIES 10

Re: Business Select Drink Ticket Indicator - fail

jksobonya
Aviator A

Hi,

 

This isn't something I have any experience with, so hopefully someone else can chime in. 

 

I've been hoping Southwest will eventually do away with paper drink tickets altogether and send them to us electronically (accessible via the app) when we reach 10 one way flights/year, so I would hope they could do something similar for Business Select passengers who have free drinks. If you already had a drink ticket 'image' that got taken away, that seems like a step backward, but maybe they are moving toward sending you actual electronic drink tickets that you can scan. That's what I'd like to see, in any case. 

 

--Jessica

Re: Business Select Drink Ticket Indicator - fail

chgoflyer
Aviator A

To @jksobonya :

 

Just in case you're unaware, the 10 paid flights needed to trigger receipt of drink coupons do not have to be in a single year. 😉

Re: Business Select Drink Ticket Indicator - fail

jksobonya
Aviator A

@chgoflyer wrote:

To @jksobonya :

 

Just in case you're unaware, the 10 paid flights needed to trigger receipt of drink coupons do not have to be in a single year. 😉


Thanks @chgoflyer! I did think it was per year, but for clarity, it's per rolling ... period? There is no time limit where the flight count would ever reset? 

 

--Jessica

Re: Business Select Drink Ticket Indicator - fail

bec102896
Aviator A

Sorry to hear of the troubles you experienced in trying to use the drink coupon from your mobile boarding pass. I recommend sending a message to Southwest on Twitter or Facebook so they can document this and use this for training Flight Attendants. I could see how people would take a screen shot and try to use it on other flights because not all people are honest so maybe that day the FA has some people trying to take advantage. of course that’s no reason for them to think your trying to do something wrong when your not. Are you showing them the coupon as a screen shot? If so maybe try to show it live on the app using the WiFi (you can access the app for free in flight as long as the WiFi is working) but have the screen shot just in case the WiFi is down. 

 

-Blake 

Re: Business Select Drink Ticket Indicator - fail

chgoflyer
Aviator A

To the OP (the quote function is sadly still unavailable on mobile):

 

Assuming you're following the instructions here?

 

If so, it sounds like an FA training opportunity. I suggest you reach out to customer relations directly, I recommend via Twitter for the quickest response. 

Re: Business Select Drink Ticket Indicator - fail

SWDigits
Aviator A

@barclayaz wrote:

 

So - help me out here.  Aside from going to the website and printing an actual coupon what is my option here?  The older mobile boarding pass actually had a drink ticket you could scroll down to.  Can we get that back if it's such an issue with the flight attendants?  I like the convenience of using the mobile app and adding that graphic shouldn't be very hard.

 

Thoughts?


@MarkHursh FYI.  I may have missed other reports like this in the forums but it's the first one I've seen.


Customer | Home airport DCA

Re: Business Select Drink Ticket Indicator - fail

chgoflyer
Aviator A

@SWDigits :

 

The instructional link I posted is very recent, and it makes it seem like the digital image of the drink coupon may be operationally gone now. Hopefully we'll get some official verification here, as I agree that it does initially sound like a problem with the app versus a "feature." 😉

 

The newest printed drink coupons now include a scannable QR code. I haven't seen any flight attendants scan these yet but presumably that is on the horizon. So this makes me think that a scannable QR code should also be included at some point on the digital coupons. Perhaps we're just in transitional phase?

Re: Business Select Drink Ticket Indicator - fail

MarkHursh
Employee
Employee

So sorry for the confusion.  The "Drink = YES" indicator on the mobile boarding pass is indeed a valid way to obtain a complimentary drink while onboard.  We have published this information internally but we may have missed someone.  I have followed up with the right people in Southwest to ensure our Cohearts are all provided with the same information.

 

Again, my apologies for the trouble but thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Re: Business Select Drink Ticket Indicator - fail

mtmass1
Explorer C

I purchased Business Select and boarded A1. When I ordered a drink I showed the FA my Apple wallet boarding pass and it had NO for drink ticket? I routinely fly BS and ALWAYS have YES under drink ticket. This is the first time I have ever encountered this? Any ideas as to why my BS ticket did not come with a drink ticket?