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Where is the LUV???

RoseM
Explorer C

I've always been a fan of SWA after reading Nuts! in college and was happy to have them become our #1 airline choice after moving to the BWI area a few years ago. Somewhere along our many travels, we managed to be issued three $200 LUV Vouchers for travel inconveniences last year. We recently decided to take a much needed vacation, and that is when the nightmare began.  😞 

 

12/21/2017 – I called in to book flights with the LUV vouchers because they were showing up “invalid” on the website. After being on hold & getting shuffled around for about two hours, it turns out the vouchers were expired. I let the rep know I think one of them was used. She said, “No worries I am going to issue you THREE brand new ones.” YAYYYY!!! Southwest lives up to their customer service again!

 

12/22/2017 – No email with the vouchers yet so I call to follow up. I explain the situation, “I had three Luv vouchers, they were used/expired, I was promised three new ones (even though I may have already used them).” I was told it can take up to 21 days (inset heart attack here). I explain we are traveling to Jamaica 1/22/18-1/26/18 and I have an appointment at the passport agency on 1/9/18. My fears were soothed by a wonderful woman Cathy who said she would expedite the process and I should get them 24-72 hours! YAYYYY!!!

 

12/27/2017 – Still no vouchers. I am getting nervous, so I call back (30 min call). Oopps, I have to call customer relations (1+ hour hold time). I explain the situation, “I had three Luv vouchers, they were used/expired, I was promised three new ones (even though I may have already used them).” They have been processed and will be sent 24-48 hours! YAYYYY!!!

 

12/28/2017 – EMAIL @9:02pm: You Have Received a Southwest LUV Voucher! Excited & relieved, I do not open the email and head to bed. YAYYYY!!!

 

12/29/2017 – I finally sit down to book my travel, open the email to find ONE Luv Voucher for my daughter. Confused, I call back (1+ hour hold time). Speak to customer relations, explain the situation again… “I had three Luv vouchers, they were used/expired, I was promised three new ones (even though I may have already used them) and I only received one back.” I was told that the other two could still be processing. I convey the urgency of needing to book flights and was told they will put another request to expedite the situation was promised a 24-48 turnaround... YAYYY!!!

 

12/30/2017 – 12:49pm…getting nervous because flight prices are changing. I call back and get transferred to Funds Management. I explain the situation again, “I had three Luv vouchers, they were used/expired, I was promised three new ones (even though I may have already used them) and I only received one back.” Rep says “Supervisor has authorized two new vouchers be sent 24-48 hours.” I say, “Thank you so much, this is greatly appreciated. Will they get sent straight to me or does it have to be approved by a third party or another department?” Rep says, “Not at all, they will come straight to you.” YAYYY!!!!

 

12/30/2017 – Two EMAILS @ 5:00pm : You Have Received a Southwest LUV Voucher. One was for me and says $0 balance, expired, the other for my daughter $0 balance, expired. Now I am frustrated and utterly confused. My daughter's was the only one that was sent correctly on 12/28/2017. I call back, transferred to funds management and explain the situation AGAIN “I had three Luv vouchers, they were used/expired, I was promised three new ones (even though I may have already used them) and I only received one back.”  At this point, I am told Customer Relations is the only department that can issues the new vouchers but they are closed until Tuesday. Now I am starting to lose my patience and my cool. I ask that very detailed notes be put into my RR account so I can call first thing on Tuesday to be issued the two new vouchers I was originally promised on 12/21/17. I specifically ask the notes to indicate that I have been promised TWO $200 Luv Vouchers regardless of the previous usage or expiration dates. I was assured the notes were taken.

 

1/2/18 – I call Customer Relations and speak to Roscio M. ID# L3286. After 1+ hour on hold and 1 hour on the phone with her, she “apologizes for the miscommunication and the misinformation I have been provided” and refuses to deliver on the promises that were made for the past TWO WEEKS! She claims the notes do not reflect such promises. I explain that I specifically requested the rep to note “I had three Luv vouchers, they were used/expired, I was promised three new ones (even though I may have already used them) and I only received one back” but I have no control over what the reps choose to notate and I ask her to review the tapes from my previous conversations. Why would I continue to call and follow up on promises that were made nearly two weeks ago if there no such thing occurred? She tells me I need a SUPBOENA!!!! Are you kidding me, a subpoena to review customer service tapes? She refuses to transfer me to her Team Leader Crystal Franklin, she refuses to provide any contact information for her superiors, and offers to put in a request to speak to a different supervisor at her same level but assures me that they will not do anything different than she is offering to do for us. She offers us a $50 Luv Voucher for our troubles. $50!!!! Are you kidding me, the $50 should be in addition to the $400 in vouchers for the 5+ hours (literally, I added up all the time) I have spent on the phone over the past 13 days! Not to mention, I will not be able to use the $50 voucher towards my flights that are on hold because it will take weeks to arrive.

 

I am beyond disgusted with SWA at this point. There were MULTIPLE people over the past two weeks that could have told us that we were not going to receive the vouchers, but every single one of them assured us we would receive TWO NEW COUCHERS for the inconvenience regardless if the previous ones were used. This is an example of such piss poor integrity and customer service. My husband’s entire team of 15 employees uses SWA at least twice a year for business travel and it has been our number one airline since moving close to BWI a few years ago. When he asked her if it was worth losing that business over $400, she sighed and still refused to provide a compromise of issuing one $200 voucher that we suggested. I cannot get over the disingenuous treatment from Roscio this morning. She was basically calling us liars! I would NEVER expect anything from anyone that was not promised! This is not what I expect from SWA and I sure hope this is not my last impression of the company.  I look forward to the situation being remedied as soon as possible so I can continue to book my travel from FLL-MBJ 1/22/18-1/26/18 before the rates rise even more than they have since all of this started two weeks ago!

 

Update: SWA Twitter responds to my tweet & suggest I send a DM. I copy/paste the above only to be told "Unfortunately we are unable to send additional vouchers for the inconvenience of calling to track these funds." They completely missed the entire point of all of this! 

 

I made the very first rep aware that the funds may have been used and she said for the inconvenience of being shuffled around and put on hold for hours on end that very first day, I would be issued new vouchers for that inconvenience. The inconvenience I was being compensated for was not me calling for two weeks to track funds (even thought that is also an inconvenience), it was tracking vouchers I was promised from the very first call regardless of the status of the old vouchers.

 

When SWA makes promises to customers, they are held to that promise. I was honest from my very first call that the funds were partially used and I was assured by at least 5 other reps that I would be issued new vouchers for the inconvenience. I'm not so sure why this is hard to understand. On top of all of this, the treatment from Roscio on the phone this morning was so disgusting, that alone should warrant some sort of compensation, and I'm sorry but $50 is just a drop in the bucket and in no way comparable to the damage that has been done. I've asked them to reevaluate this situation, listen to the tapes, listen to the promises made, and please deliver. I really want to continue to fly with SWA but if something is not done to satisfy this situation, I'll be sad to walk away and be sure to share this experience with my friends, family, celebrity clientele and corporate partners. 😞 

 

#wherestheLUV

8 REPLIES 8

Re: Where is the LUV???

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

I don't know why Southwest would offer you anything if the original vouchers were expired, or even previously used, especially without charging you a reinstatement fee. Sounds like getting anything was a nice gesture. 

Re: Where is the LUV???

RoseM
Explorer C

@TheMiddleSeat That is the thing, I didn't ask nor expect anything at all...but was offered the vouchers as an inconvenience for the ridiculous amount of time shuffling from department to department and for dealing with people not being able to properly tell me if they were used or not used, how to get the unused vouchers reinstated, etc. on Day 1. Once promised the compensation for my time and frustration that day, I feel they have a duty to deliver! It became a customer service issue and not a voucher issue at that point. I waited two weeks and have already experienced a fare increase due to this disaster. Speaking of... on 12/30/17 I have a voicemail (my phone died while on the phone with them) from a booking agent that my flights are on hold until the 7th with a detailed note to allow me to purchase at the fare on that day. Guess what, those flights are not on hold as promised either...I wish I could upload the voicemail! This is just the biggest customer service disaster I have ever experienced.

Re: Where is the LUV???

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

I guess I can understand your perspective that if a company says they are going to do something they should do it. I however take a different attitude about these sorts of things. If I contact a company knowing I'm entitled to nothing and they say they'll give me something, I still don't believe I'm entitled to it and if it does show up that's great, if it doesn't, oh well I asked and no harm done. I certainly wouldn't declare it a customer service disaster. 

Re: Where is the LUV???

chgoflyer
Aviator A

On Southwest, the responsibility for tracking voucher funds is up to the customer. If you had accurate info regarding your vouchers and their balances (if any) I think you could have avoided a lot of hassle and, ultimately, disappointment.

Re: Where is the LUV???

RoseM
Explorer C

This forum sure seems like a bunch of brown-nosing SWA customers. Regardless of anything, SWA prides itself on customer service and it has failed in this instance; when you promise, you're expected to deliver. Point. Blank. Period.

Re: Where is the LUV???

chgoflyer
Aviator A

Bad customer service is not the same as not getting what you want. 😉

 

I'm sorry you've had this experience. But, again, if you have tracked your funds and are due something you'd have a case here. Otherwise, you're just creating frustration and disapointment for yourself by expecting something you are not due.

 

(And, if you read more of my many posts, you'll see that I am as far from a "brown-nosing SWA customer" as can possibly be.) 😉

Re: Where is the LUV???

DancingDavidE
Aviator A

Customer service is surely emphasized, but Southwest is also a business. The response to re-issue one of the vouchers for $200 seemed pretty great to me when it was accidentally allowed to expire.

 

I'm not surprised that they can't/won't reissue all three, especially if one or two of them were used, there must be some internal checks that don't allow $200 vouchers to go out the door without some reviews.

 

It is very disappointing for someone to have said that you could get them re-issued when that doesn't seem to be the case, and some sort of horrific cascade of phone calls after that which are difficult to navigate since they are all by phone, and with the first person saying something that they apparently couldn't actually do, or they misunderstood the situation. Then finally someone there seemed to be authorized to say "no" they wouldn't do it.

 

I feel bad for you that you've spent all of this time on the phone, but I wouldn't see any company giving you $400 for it. They offered an extra $50 if I'm understanding the situation, I'd take it.

 

Home airport MDW, frequent visitor to MCO to see the mouse.

Re: Where is the LUV???

Vegas_Jule
Explorer B

If this ever happens to you again...for airline tickets or ANYTHING else involving money...put the phone on speaker when you get a representative and record your conversations. Not that it would guarentee you get the money promised, but you could replay the recording(s) on subsequent calls and it wouldn't be a he said/she said situation. You should let the rep know you're recording.