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“Got a nice surprise from Northwest this morning”

November 21, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving, indeed. At a time of the year when bloggers and talking heads like to pile on the airlines for their substandard service, it’s refreshing to hear about a carrier — and particularly one with a so-so reputation for customer service — not just meeting, but exceeding its customers expectations. I’m talking about Northwest Airlines.

“On a flight from Detroit to Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago, we were delayed because of mechanical problems,” reader Mike Gauthier reported. “We had pulled away from the gate, so we returned, de-planed, and waited almost three hours for a replacement plane.”

Gauther wasn’t terribly annoyed, since he was on vacation. He didn’t ask for any compensation and the flight left without incident after the plane was fixed. All was forgotten until Gauthier opened his mail yesterday.

I got a nice surprise from Northwest this morning — a nice letter of apology from the director of customer care, with apologies and a credit of 1000 bonus miles to my WorldPerks account.

Nice! And totally unexpected. Maybe they really do care.

Maybe. Under Rule 72 of Northwest’s Domestic General Rules the airline should have offered Gauthier and his fellow passengers an amenity coupon offering “the choice of NW WorldPerks miles or a beverage on board the aircraft.” He didn’t know to ask — and Northwest could have just let this one go. But it didn’t.

This is a good sign. For passengers like Gauthier, it’s also something to be thankful for this holiday season.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

3 comments

  • Joshua Katt

    Sad to think that 1,000 miles (one fiftieth of what needed for a guaranteed seat) is enough to smooth all problems and generate news. FF miles are truly like crack. Better off with the drink!

  • Jasper

    A thousand points. That’s a value of roughly $10. By any means, it’s a pathetic reimbursement for three hours of delay. Quite frankly, I think it’s a bigger insult than giving nothing. A drink would have been equally pathetic. Giving nothing is honest in the way that at least they are admitting they don’t care. Now they are pretending they do care but in the end they give you (next to) nothing. It’s like getting candy from the dentist.

    [I like the editing option in the comments]

  • Meredith P

    I rarely have problems with Northwest Airlines. My Ex-Husband and I have been utilizing the Unaccompanied Minor program with no problems. We have been using this program for about 7 years now.

    The Gate agents I have been working with at PVD have been very helpful and I have had one incident with TSA over a necklace, but I learned.

    We always get in a couple of hours early to make sure we don’t have the gate issues you hear about. When Northwest was expecting their Strike a couple of years ago, they contact my Ex to make sure that she was on a flight home a week prior.

    I wanted you to be aware that there are more good customer experiences out there. ;)

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