03-24-2011
06:02 PM
8 Loves
I tried to attach this to my original post, however it never seems to appear. Let's hope it works this time.
I wanted to provide an update to my experience.
Issue #1 - I called to book a companion pass for my wife and spent almost 2 hours to complete the transaction. I asked the representative when this functionality will be available again on the website and was told “it should be available soon” Today it is more than 3 weeks past the rollout date and it is still not available. Given that , by definition, I have flown over 100 trips (mostly full fare by the way) and presumably one of Southwest’s more valuable customers I have been asked to pay almost two additional hours for each instance to use a previously available benefit. I truly can’t understand how SW could rollout this revised program knowing full well it would harm their most valuable customers.
Issue #2 – You have rendered previously issued Rapid Rewards worthless. I have six Rapid Rewards sitting in my account. I tried to book one for a reward trip from Sacramento to Las Vegas two months in advance ON A TUESDAY both ways and THERE ARE NO SEATS AVAILABLE….nor can I can exchange them for a freedom award. Amazingly I can book a trip with points, even though I can’t imagine who would possible have accrued enough points between the beginning of March and now to use them. WHY WOULD YOU MAKE THESE SEATS AVAILABLE FOR THOSE WITH POINTS AND NOT FOR THOSE WITH PREVIOUSLY ISSUED REWARDS??!!! No one has yet accumulated any points, nor can you exchange “old” rewards for “new” points. This is seriously wrong and simply inexcusable. You tout “no red tape” in your advertisements, yet that is so far from the truth for anyone with previously issued Rapid Rewards. You simply must make more award tickets available or allow customers to exchange old rewards for new points.
Issue #3 – The highly marketed “new” benefits (Cruises, International Travel, Hotels, etc…) are a joke. I did some cursory investigation on how many points are required for an economy trip to Europe from CA and discovered that it required 140,000 points. This was for a trip two months in advance on a Tuesday. The equivalent on virtually any other carrier is 40,000 – 50,000.
In summary; you have severely inconvenienced your most valuable full fare paying customers, made previously issued awards worthless, and played a shell game with your new improved program….it is crap and the points are significantly less valuable compared to you competitors. Southwest does have a wonderful corporate culture, but that alone will not be enough to keep full fare customers using your airline. Management must back that culture with programs and processes that support that culture….this is a significant failure of management. Your only competitive advantage now is that there is little to no competition on many of the routes you serve, particularly between Northern and Southern CA. I can only hope that United, American, US Airways, Jet Blue, and Delta will re-enter this marketplace and provide some real alternative. Once that happens, you will see a significant decrease in travelers…your value proposition is significantly worse than your competitors with the new program and new customer experience.
Postscript – I just noticed that I received a new companion pass in the mail which extended my pass through the end of 2011. My previous pass was valid through the end of November anyway so you have only extended this courtesy for one month. However, from what I can surmise, I think you vaporized my earnings from October 2010 through March 1 2011 in the process of extending this by one month. If this is true it is beyond just poor customer service and we are approaching class action lawsuit territory. I hope there are some savvy lawyers out there who can make you do the right thing. If there are any lawyers reading this who would like more info on my circumstances my email is williamfra@gmail.com
... View more
03-11-2011
07:57 PM
5 Loves
I think I am one of those business travelers that Southwest covets. I have had a companion pass for over 10 years. My schedule is very chaotic and I fly at least twice per week, typically paying full fare. Southwest in many instances is the only carrier that flies the routes between S Cal and N Cal that work for me. I really never considered flying another airline.
My criticism is more basic. How do you book a f**king companion pass ticket on the new website???!!! My wife doesn't travel with me all that often, but when she does It was super easy to just book her ticket on the website with mine....NOW I CAN'T.....!!! Given the recent mess with the transition to the new rewards plan calling has been a disaster ....F** You Southwest!!.
For people like me, TIME IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN MONEY....don't make me waste time....this was a key tenet for Southwest and seems to be lost in this new program.
... View more