A true apology should NOT have a expiration!

[cadreaming]

I'm very disappointed in you, Southwest!  Your CEO @BOB Jordan sent a "personal apology" email, to credit passengers 25,000 points for the terrible experience, but then says that apology is only good if you redeem it by 03/31/2023, or nearly three (3) months after the email was sent.  I expected you as a company to do better than this.  An apology shouldn't "expire" and shouldn't come with conditions.  It's an apology!  

My family and I were part of the entire SWA situation back on Christmas 2022 and were delayed, not terribly like some, but still delayed.  I thought it was cool that the CEO, Bob Jordan, seemed to be doing the right thing by sending an apology letter with a code for 25,000 points.....until I tried to redeem them (9) nine months later.  In that email, there is a line that says "All points codes must be claimed prior to expiration on 03/31/2023".  SWA knows I flew that day, they knew I was delayed, they even sent me an apology email, so why would you not just deposit the points into my SWA account?  Even worse, y'all put an "expiration" on an apology? This is crappy business and unethical in my opinion. 

The appearance this gives is that y'all did this with the hope that busy, trusting people like me would not go through the entire email and the extra steps of claiming these points because we trusted SWA would do the right thing and just deposit them into my account.   We thought that y'all were "so sorry" and that this was a true "gesture of goodwill".  Instead, this screams like a situation to hope that several people don't claim them, then this mistake and inconvenience won't cost what you what y'all announced as "good will" to the public. 

The excuses you'll get when you call customer service just confirms the crappy approach to this entire mistake.  I was told "well some people wanted them deposited into different accounts" and "we we're not sure where people would want those points deposited".  That's a horrible excuse and how about you just deposit them to the account that was inconvenienced! 

This is unfortunate because you as a company really had a chance to make this right.  Now, because of this stunt, all you're doing is giving people another bad experience and another untrustworthy situation as a company.  Shame on you!     

[DancingDavidE]

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@cadreaming wrote:

This is unfortunate because you as a company really had a chance to make this right.  Now, because of this stunt, all you're doing is giving people another bad experience and another untrustworthy situation as a company.  Shame on you!     

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Just to clarify, did you try reaching out if there could be an exception? If not, use the Contact Southwest Customer Service options listed down below.

I don't know all of the motivations I'm just a fellow passenger but there is some part of the process that they want you to actively acknowledge claiming the points, as opposed to sending out the deposits automatically.

I'm sorry that for whatever reason you haven't tried to claim them until now.

[cadreaming]

Thanks @DancingDavidE , yes I reached out to customer service and was told "there is nothing I can do" but that "well some people wanted them deposited into different accounts" and "we we're not sure where people would want those points deposited".  That's just lame excuses.  

Again, I can only assume what their motivation was because on the surface it appears that way.  An acknowledgment in my mind is when I try to use the points.  Nine (9) months after the email was sent or six (6) months after their "expiration" date does not seem like an extended duration of time.  If it was several years, I could understand.  Limiting it to three (3) months, does appear to be self motivating and self beneficial NOT accommodating or truly apologetic.   

[bec102896]

Did you call or email? Calling your not going to get someone who can just make that exception it would need to be made by the executive office (used to be called customer relations called something else now) emails will go to the right department or you can also send a message on X (known as Twitter) and maybe they can help 

I will say I think 3 months is quick maybe it should have been a year as I know some had issues getting the code in the first place like myself and they had to manually add the points 

With the deposit in to different accounts that’s a thing because not everyone has a RR account and kids may have been on the once in a lifetime trip where the parents paid so the parents can still take and use the points