I've always enjoyed the fun, friendly front-end customer service of flying with Southwest. Little did I know their back-end customer service is misleading, non-responsive and totally unprofessional.
I booked a trip last year, then had to cancel my flight when the date drew closer, realizing I couldn't afford to take that whole week off from work as planned. Southwest website allowed me to keep a travel credit for the $385 spent, which I could use any time until a full year after original flight booking date.
When I contacted my friend who I'd planned to visit, she urged me to contact SWA customer service and ask them to extend my flight credit for 6 more months--a service they offer on their website, for a non-disclosed fee. I heard this offer repeated several times as well when I was on long holds with their general Customer Service number.
I contacted them a month or two before the credit was due to expire, to have them help me pay the change fee and extend my voucher. However they said "The only department who can help you do that is Customer Relations in Dallas. Oh, by the way, they're really hard to get a hold of." Really!!?? One rep told me I had to call ON the expiration date. Repeated calls to customer service on the expiration date led to a busy signal...Only one of my 20 calls went through to their voice mail system, and I was put on hold for 45 minutes before the call spontaneously disconnected.
I called back the general Customer Service number and another rep told me she couldn't help me in any way--that I just had to keep trying Customer Resolutions until I got through...And she said "I'm pretty sure you have to call day after it expires, not on the day it expires." She didn't make any effort to check with a manager, however, so I had to take her "pretty sure" as the last word. I called repteatedly--every hour--on the day after my credit was set to expire--and only reached a busy signal all day long. I know I did not misdial, because I was hitting the Recent Calls button of my iphone, which had reached the endless hold message the day before.
I called BACK to regular customer service over the weekend. The nice lady on the phone reassured me they'd been having technical issues with the phone system all week, and that I could call back at 7am Monday morning...So I SET MY ALARM clock for Monday at 6:50 am...When I called back at 7, 7:15, 7:30 and 7:50, guess what I got? That's right...BUSY SIGNAL.
SO, it looks like the 40th birthday trip I was planning to visit one of my best friends in Seattle this summer has been canceled. Ruined by Southwest's sloppy, unprofessional handling of the Customer Resolutions Dept.
Icing on my birthday-fail cake? When I tried to send them a complaint letter through the website's Contact Us link, I was led to a dead-end of FAQs and links to the Customer Resolutions Dept phone number. I guess they really don't value their customers the way they love to advertise they do...
SO very disappointed in what used to be my favorite airline. I will make a point in the future to shop for airline travel elsewhere.
I purchased tickets two months in advance from southwest airlines I tried to change my itinerary with Southwest Airlines thought of their website because there was no way I could make the return flight using the reservation they gave me. I tried to tell them on the phone with customer service that I would not be able make that flight but they did not give me the option of canceling my flight. So when I did not show for my reservation they forfeited all my funds for my ticket I later then read their policy on flight cancellations they forfeited $332 for a no-show.I tried to ask them why they did not have anywhere on their website where you could cancel a reservation online they did not have an answer at all they did was apologize.so anyone reading this report should stay away from Southwest Airlines and pay a little bit more money for your ticket rather than getting ripped off by this company you pay for what you getso in this lesson I've learned I will not be flying Southwest Airlines ever again they are deceptive,rude and unresponsive to their customers.
They should not be in business treating customers like they treated me.even if it was posted that that you would not receive a refund for a no-show I could even understand a fine but not all your money lost due to a no-show. I know there will be a lot more people that Southwest Airlines will take money from, but that doesn't make it legal nor moral, to their customers. I have notified the attorney general in my state of Colorado and I have yet to get an answer from him but I urge anybody and everybody that fly Southwest airlines to do the same, so good luck if you have purchased southwest airlines tickets they are a company with no respect or customer service.
I found out the hard way today that Southwest has a "No Show" cancellation clause in small print on their tickets. I had a meeting that was canceled due to a death in the family (not mine) and didn't realize that I needed to call and cancel. I know that there are almost always people flying standby and did not realize that that Southwest has changed their policy.
I understand the no show policy for the leg of my trip that I missed - but what I was furious about is that they took my return trip ticket money as well. I could have rented a car and driven to southern CA and returned on that flight had I missed and I feel they had no right to cancel the entire trip. The CSR I spoke with was very condescending and rude and I may contact an attorney to see if they legally have the right to revoke my return trip. I basically paid them money and got nothing in return.
Southwest Airlines ""no show"" policy is a ripoff. The company had a long time policy that you could take a different flight and apply the money you used for the ticket to the new flight with no change fee. Now, in some fine print on the website, the company changes its policy so that it will keep your money if you don't show up for your flight and fail to call and give them notice more than 10 minutes before the flight leaves. This notice has NO BEARING whatsoever on Southwest's costs.
There is no difference whatsoever between a person who ""no shows"" and a person who calls 11 minutes before a flight takes off. In either case, Southwest simply gives away the seat to the standbys. Southwest doesn't sell your seat in the 11 minutes between your call and take-off, so the notice has no effect whatsoever. Also, and outrageously, Southwest will keep the money you paid for your return trip even if you give notice well in advance of changing it (or even if you show up to take it). What's up with that, man? That's just stealing. Southwest is now just another sleazy airline.
Southwest Airlines Reviews
I've always enjoyed the fun, friendly front-end customer service of flying with Southwest. Little did I know their back-end customer service is misleading, non-responsive and totally unprofessional.
I booked a trip last year, then had to cancel my flight when the date drew closer, realizing I couldn't afford to take that whole week off from work as planned. Southwest website allowed me to keep a travel credit for the $385 spent, which I could use any time until a full year after original flight booking date.
When I contacted my friend who I'd planned to visit, she urged me to contact SWA customer service and ask them to extend my flight credit for 6 more months--a service they offer on their website, for a non-disclosed fee. I heard this offer repeated several times as well when I was on long holds with their general Customer Service number.
I contacted them a month or two before the credit was due to expire, to have them help me pay the change fee and extend my voucher. However they said "The only department who can help you do that is Customer Relations in Dallas. Oh, by the way, they're really hard to get a hold of." Really!!?? One rep told me I had to call ON the expiration date. Repeated calls to customer service on the expiration date led to a busy signal...Only one of my 20 calls went through to their voice mail system, and I was put on hold for 45 minutes before the call spontaneously disconnected.
I called back the general Customer Service number and another rep told me she couldn't help me in any way--that I just had to keep trying Customer Resolutions until I got through...And she said "I'm pretty sure you have to call day after it expires, not on the day it expires." She didn't make any effort to check with a manager, however, so I had to take her "pretty sure" as the last word. I called repteatedly--every hour--on the day after my credit was set to expire--and only reached a busy signal all day long. I know I did not misdial, because I was hitting the Recent Calls button of my iphone, which had reached the endless hold message the day before.
I called BACK to regular customer service over the weekend. The nice lady on the phone reassured me they'd been having technical issues with the phone system all week, and that I could call back at 7am Monday morning...So I SET MY ALARM clock for Monday at 6:50 am...When I called back at 7, 7:15, 7:30 and 7:50, guess what I got? That's right...BUSY SIGNAL.
SO, it looks like the 40th birthday trip I was planning to visit one of my best friends in Seattle this summer has been canceled. Ruined by Southwest's sloppy, unprofessional handling of the Customer Resolutions Dept.
Icing on my birthday-fail cake? When I tried to send them a complaint letter through the website's Contact Us link, I was led to a dead-end of FAQs and links to the Customer Resolutions Dept phone number. I guess they really don't value their customers the way they love to advertise they do...
SO very disappointed in what used to be my favorite airline. I will make a point in the future to shop for airline travel elsewhere.
I purchased tickets two months in advance from southwest airlines I tried to change my itinerary with Southwest Airlines thought of their website because there was no way I could make the return flight using the reservation they gave me. I tried to tell them on the phone with customer service that I would not be able make that flight but they did not give me the option of canceling my flight. So when I did not show for my reservation they forfeited all my funds for my ticket I later then read their policy on flight cancellations they forfeited $332 for a no-show.I tried to ask them why they did not have anywhere on their website where you could cancel a reservation online they did not have an answer at all they did was apologize.so anyone reading this report should stay away from Southwest Airlines and pay a little bit more money for your ticket rather than getting ripped off by this company you pay for what you getso in this lesson I've learned I will not be flying Southwest Airlines ever again they are deceptive,rude and unresponsive to their customers.
They should not be in business treating customers like they treated me.even if it was posted that that you would not receive a refund for a no-show I could even understand a fine but not all your money lost due to a no-show. I know there will be a lot more people that Southwest Airlines will take money from, but that doesn't make it legal nor moral, to their customers. I have notified the attorney general in my state of Colorado and I have yet to get an answer from him but I urge anybody and everybody that fly Southwest airlines to do the same, so good luck if you have purchased southwest airlines tickets they are a company with no respect or customer service.
I found out the hard way today that Southwest has a "No Show" cancellation clause in small print on their tickets. I had a meeting that was canceled due to a death in the family (not mine) and didn't realize that I needed to call and cancel. I know that there are almost always people flying standby and did not realize that that Southwest has changed their policy.
I understand the no show policy for the leg of my trip that I missed - but what I was furious about is that they took my return trip ticket money as well. I could have rented a car and driven to southern CA and returned on that flight had I missed and I feel they had no right to cancel the entire trip. The CSR I spoke with was very condescending and rude and I may contact an attorney to see if they legally have the right to revoke my return trip. I basically paid them money and got nothing in return.
Southwest Airlines ""no show"" policy is a ripoff. The company had a long time policy that you could take a different flight and apply the money you used for the ticket to the new flight with no change fee. Now, in some fine print on the website, the company changes its policy so that it will keep your money if you don't show up for your flight and fail to call and give them notice more than 10 minutes before the flight leaves. This notice has NO BEARING whatsoever on Southwest's costs.
There is no difference whatsoever between a person who ""no shows"" and a person who calls 11 minutes before a flight takes off. In either case, Southwest simply gives away the seat to the standbys. Southwest doesn't sell your seat in the 11 minutes between your call and take-off, so the notice has no effect whatsoever. Also, and outrageously, Southwest will keep the money you paid for your return trip even if you give notice well in advance of changing it (or even if you show up to take it). What's up with that, man? That's just stealing. Southwest is now just another sleazy airline.