esterday we had a flight leaving from MAF airport at 6pm. We arrived 40 mins prior without any bags to check. It's a small town airport and pretty easy to get through security. Our boarding passes printed out but stated Southwest couldnt give us a ticket to the flight yet. We went through security and asked the gate agent for the tickets like the instructions said. The agent told us the flight was overbooked and because we were the last two to check in, we may not be able to make the flight. The flight then boarded and we waited. We were told there was only one seat left on the flight. We told them we were not interested in flying separate, We said we'd agree to fly on the next flight, some 3 hours later.
For this we didn't receive any voucher and that was fine, we were more concerned with seating. Our seating priority for the next flight was very bad, and we asked the gate agent if it could be higher priority, we were placed in spot B33. He then told us if we wanted better priority we should've checked in 24 hours prior to the flight and not been the last two to check in. I told him that since we missed the flight we booked due to overbooking it was fair for me to ask for a little bit of a better seating priority. He then told me it was my OWN fault we missed the flight. I reminded him we were not late, we were there prior to boarding, and that it was not our fault the flight was oversold he said "well technically you were late, we ask for you to arrive over an hour prior."
I again reminded him that we were not late, we arrived before boarding, checked no bags, and regulation doesnt state that I agree to lose my seat if I am the "last two" to check in, that I made it in plenty of time to catch my flight.
He then repeated about the 24 hours ahead of time thing and I just asked for a customer service number to call. To that he began laughing at me. I told him it wasnt funny and he laughed more and said "yes it is because you aren't listening to me". I told him I was but there was nothing I could do about 24 hours ago and being the "last two" to check in doesnt make it ok that there were no seats on the plane ride I paid for.
Still laughing at me, I took the number he gave me and walked away, as I walked away he kept yelling "YOU SHOULDVE CHECKED IN 24 HOURS AGO"
I have never been treated so horribly and laughed at by some power-obsessed man with "clerk of the world" syndrome. I can't believe that southwest would overbook a flight, and when they had good customers agreeing openly to take the next flight, to not even accomodate them and even BLAME them for being the last ones there, like some 1st grade race of "last one there is a rotten egg".
My 2 cents
Dora
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