{"id":4506,"date":"2013-06-17T08:19:11","date_gmt":"2013-06-17T14:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/?p=4506"},"modified":"2014-08-05T06:58:16","modified_gmt":"2014-08-05T12:58:16","slug":"how-to-write-a-complaint-letter-to-an-airline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldwanderlusting.com\/?p=4506","title":{"rendered":"How to Write an Airline Complaint Letter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Runway Rage.\u00a0<\/strong> Flight Frustration. Airline Animosity.<\/strong> We\u2019ve all felt them.\u00a0 As convenient as air travel might be at times, there are occasions in which the negatives far outweigh the positives.\u00a0 On those occasions, we practice our yoga breathing, realize that to at least some degree these problems are part of flying, and, most importantly, we plot our revenge in the form of extorting future free flights.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"square-plane\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Some might say that it\u2019s unethical to demand compensation after a frustrating experience, but I don\u2019t see it as anything more than giving an airline another chance to redeem itself and earn back my business.<\/p>\n

When there are failures, airlines can best compensate for them with superb customer service, but often the stress of the situation leads to customer service failures, as well \u2013 compounding the problem.<\/p>\n

When that happens, we owe it to the system to alert the proper people to ensure that customer satisfaction demands have been met. \u00a0I’d urge you to use the online forms that most airlines have available – this is the surefire way of getting your message to those people qualified to act accordingly – no sense in telling the story 6 times, just tell it to the right people once – and this is how you tell it:<\/p>\n

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  1. \u00a0Be brief and direct, including all pertinent details<\/b> \u2013 Don\u2019t ramble on with irrelevant details about why you took in the first place.\u00a0 You might think you\u2019re personalizing it, but keep in mind that whoever reads this, also reads hundreds of these messages a day. The Customer Service feedback forms have character limits for a reason.\u00a0 Include your full name, loyalty number, the flight number, departure and arrival cities, dates, and record locator. Usually the forms have places for most of these, don\u2019t repeat them.<\/li>\n
  2. Don\u2019t wait too long to submit it \u2013 <\/b>A complaint that comes more than 2 months after a flight comes off as an illegitimate grievance \u2013 something contrived.\u00a0 Your immediate feedback demonstrates your genuine sentiment and keeps you inside acceptable timeframes for compensation.<\/li>\n
  3. Identify your loss, and quantify it \u2013 <\/b>If you don\u2019t have a quantifiable loss, the airline will have a hard time justifying any form of reparation.\u00a0 You need to state clearly what the problem cost you, i.e. \u201cAs a result of these delays, I was forced to pay for an additional night in a hotel and had to take an extra day of vacation \u2013 I value this loss as more than $200 in personal expenses.”<\/li>\n
  4. Don\u2019t expect too much, but ask for enough \u2013 <\/b>If you ask for the moon, they’ll write you off as a “free-stuff-complainer.” \u00a0You want the person on the other side of your letter to see you as someone like them – someone with a legitimate complaint that can be reasoned with. \u00a0Also, you don’t want to find yourself in the situation when you get what you asked for and then feel like you undersold yourself. \u00a0Find the happy medium there.<\/li>\n
  5. Say something memorable<\/strong> – The idea here is just to leave some kind of positive, memorable impression on the customer service representative. \u00a0Include a single non-pertinent detail that makes you identifiable – an example in our letter below is a reference to begging for information like a child begs for cookies. \u00a0That way your letter becomes remembered as the “begging for cookies” letter, or something along those lines.<\/li>\n
  6. <\/b>Don\u2019t mention the weather<\/b> – The moment that you start talking about rain, cold, fog, snow, or anything of the sort, they click a button that sends your letter to purgatory, and you receive a form letter explaining that they regret your misfortune and obliterating any form of recompense. If weather had a role in the problems that befell you, ignore it altogether. \u00a0Your letter must focus on their controllables.<\/li>\n
  7. <\/b>Don\u2019t be rude, but let the facts speak<\/strong> – The person reading your letter is not the same gate agent who told you they weren’t concerned about your meeting. \u00a0There is absolutley no sense in berating them for it. \u00a0What you want is for the letter to communicate the ways in which the company failed to live up to your expectations. Allow the facts to tell the story in a way that justifies your dissatisfaction.<\/li>\n
  8. Include a compliment or two\u00a0<\/strong>– If constructive criticism works on spouses and children, it ought to work with Delta CSRs, too. \u00a0No one wants to feel like a total failure, and the moment in which someone feels like you are implacable, they’ll be less than inclined to offer you the slightest smidgen of sweetness. \u00a0Include a mention of the small fraction of the experience in which you were satisfied – this tells them that you’re not a hopeless case.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Now that you have these helpful guidelines, here’s an example of a note I recently drafted for Sheldon’s wife who had a series of misfortunate events on her American flights. \u00a0Shae and her cousin each received a $200 voucher for their troubles.<\/p>\n

    An example of a 1500 Character Airline Complaint Letter<\/h2>\n

    (All of the pertinent details were entered into separate fields, otherwise I’d have needed to include them as well).<\/p>\n

    There were 5 letdowns on this flight experience:<\/span><\/p>\n