Comments on: “We really feel cheated on all levels”

By: Charles Clarke

Charles Clarke — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 15:18:06 +0000

I hate all the registrations, but it has usually been obvious to me those times I’ve needed to register. Of course, I’m a very good reader. Lots of folks can’t make sense of some of these offer and registration requirements. Those requirements should be in larger font than the offer, in my opinion.

By: Paulette Baker

Paulette Baker — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:47:12 +0000

@Mike: Carver clearly explained the why. Having to sign up for such promotions is the norm rather than the exception. I automatically get air miles every time I dine at certain restaurants, but I have to sign up for special promotions to receive bonus miles. Registering takes all of 30 seconds. I always read such offers thoroughly rather than assuming anything. (I read for a living — can’t help myself!) I’m glad Delta made an exception and Noll got her miles, but the onus was on her, not Delta or Amex, to understand how the promotion worked.

By: Shari

Shari — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:00:26 +0000

@IT Guy – If you’re so offended by Chris, why keep reading his blog? I’ve never seen Chris do anything unethical, no have I seen him take advantage of companies. He fight for the customer, but is always polite and courteous. Perhaps you feel that it’s right for customers to get done wrong, or that we should all just “suck up” everything bad that goes our way. I don’t, and I’m glad that Chris doesn’t think that way either.
@ Mort – either you work for Delta, or you have issues. Saying someone sucks because of an innocuous comment? Really?

Nancy, I’ve had nothing but bad experiences with Delta. I’ve told my friends and family to avoid flying on them unless they have no other choice. There are websites out there dedicated to how bad Delta is. I’m glad to see them doing something nice, but it hasn’t changed my mind, and I completely agree with your sentiment.

By: Alan Nimby

Alan Nimby — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:29:54 +0000

Slightly off topic: Why does it take so doggoned long (six to eight weeks?) for a major corporation to do these things. I’d guess 90% of these things could be taken care of on the telephone with the customer. (If not, they need a new IT staff!) Only two reasons for the delay come to mind: a) income from the float – in other words the customer gives them an interest free loan for 2 months or b) they hope that in two month’s time the customer will forget to follow up

By: LadySiren

LadySiren — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:28:12 +0000

My only comment for the OP: if Delta doesn’t treat you right, head over to Continental. ;)

By: Jackie

Jackie — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:27:52 +0000

I’ve had the same issue with having to register before being able to benefit from a promotion, and the problem I’ve had is that it takes very close reading before you realize that it’s the PROMOTION you have to register for. It’s all too easy to be lead to believe that being registered for Sky Miles (or another airline mileage plan) is what the promotion requires. It’s extremely frustrating to make an effort to do something (such as book a flight with a particular airline for a particular time-frame, sometimes for more money than a competing carriers) and then find out that since you didn’t register for the promotion, you just lost the advantage you sought to gain. Yes, you should read the fine print, I get that. But to me the vague terms they use are disingenuous. It could and should be made more clear. Just my two cents.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:07:44 +0000

I have read this a half dozen times and still cannot figure out why Jill would have had to sign up for anything new. She ALREADY applied for the new AmEx card. She ALREADY HAD the delta flyer card with plenty of miles, and she transferred the points between the two. If this was a Delta promotion as was suggested, she already had the card, so why sign up for something new? If this was on AmEx, she had just signed up for the new card and transferred the points and AmEx had all her info. So why would they not just sign her up for the appropriate account since it allowed for the transfer to take place.

I find it odd that people would need to continually register for every promotion. If you are part of the group and you use the services or rewards benefits then any new promotions should be applied automatically to existing cardholders.

By: Sarah Di

Sarah Di — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:30:55 +0000

I can’t speak about Delta, but I lost miles on American because they expired. No foul and my fault because I didn’t check and knew they would. I’m sure if I contacted them, they might try to do something to reinstate them, but I don’t expect them to because I didn’t check them. It certainly doesn’t make me feel cheated.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 03:25:52 +0000

In three words, Viola, I heart you.

By: Duke Nukem

Duke Nukem — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 22:07:55 +0000

IT Guy, Mort B, Delta, American, you all SUCK!!!

Nancy, you Rock!

Chris, LOL!

By: Christopher Elliott

Christopher Elliott — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:56:54 +0000

@Mort, @Nancy — five minutes in timeout!

By: Mort B

Mort B — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:43:25 +0000

In one word, Nancy, you suck too.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:12:58 +0000

Delta just sucks.

By: LeeAnne

LeeAnne — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:01:22 +0000

@IT Guy – clearly you haven’t read enough of his articles, or you wouldn’t be making these rediculous comments.

Christopher is one of the few people advocating for the CUSTOMER in the travel industry. He is out there fighting the good fight on our behalf, often dealing with situations in which a behemoth, profit-driven corporation is trampling on the “little guy.” We customers often have no recourse – we get screwed, they get paid, and we don’t have the resources to fight them. Christopher has the power of the media to keep these companies honest. They know that if he shines a light on their bad behavior, they’ll lose PR, customers and money. Many times that’s the ONLY thing that motivates them to do the right thing. Because it sure ain’t due to any sense of ethics.

Are there some customers who try to take advantage of him and use his power and skills to get more than they deserve? Yes, I’ve seen it happen a couple of times. But those cases are a tiny fraction of the travel-troubleshooting cases he’s written about. And keep in mind, we probably only hear about a small fraction of the requests he gets. I’m sure he declines to help way more than he accepts, for just that reason — people trying to manipulate the system, or use his muscle to squeeze something out of a travel company to which they are not entitled. And the few times he has written about these types of cases, he didn’t know that’s what they were doing until he pursued it and heard from both sides.

The vast majority of Christopher’s travel-troubleshooting cases involve some poor beleaguered customer getting ripped off, screwed or stepped on by a corporation. They have tried everything, gotten nowhere, and have no options left except to bend over and take it…or contact Christopher. And it’s not until Christopher “looks into it” that the company – SURPRISE! – suddenly does an about-face and does the right thing. Funny how that works.

Your attack on him is ridiculous, not to mention disingenuous. Do you REALLY think it’s a good idea to attack the one guy any of us (including you!) can go to when we’ve got a travel company screwing us? What kind of bozo puts down “the good guys”?

You also clearly miscalculated the number of fans he has. Get ready for a good, solid skewering.

You are either a plant from some travel company that was forced to do the right thing by him…or you’re just a [insult deleted].

By: Carver

Carver — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:13:35 +0000

@IT Guy

That’s really uncalled for. It would be one thing if Chris were threatening lawsuits, and smear campaigngs and the like. But it is never unethical to simply ask for an exception to the rules.

Personally, I have no doubt that Noll was adequately informed of the rules. But what’s more important is that she acted in good faith and attempted to follow the rules as she understood them. Therefore, it was appropriate to Chris to get involved.

Now, had Noll tried to cheat the company, or was trying to pull a fast one, then I am sure that Chris would not get involved.