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A funny letter of complaint to an airline with an unusual response from customer service
Apparently, Southwest Airlines' passenger B.J. Schone had a rather unpleasant experience on his flight, or at least once he got off, as his brand new TravelPro suitcase had been damaged. Instead of taking the action that most people on a late-night flight home for Christmas would take (i.e. cursing out a staff member or writing a nasty letter to the company), Schone took a different approach and wrote the funniest letter of complaint I have ever seen, complete with animations, photos, jokes, and a polite ending asking for help.While many people who have seen the letter, which you can read by clicking here, are skeptical of its validity, what's even more shocking is the reply that Schone apparently received from a person named Verity from Southwest Airlines, which you can read by clicking here. Instead of just offering to solve the problem, the return letter is written in the same comedic and animated style of Schone's original, with a happy ending awarding Schone a check for new luggage.
Are the letters real? On Southwest Airlines Twitter account they sent a message to Schone on January 5 saying "Hey BJ! We saw your web site. Someone from our customer relations team will be in touch today!" Then, on Schone's Twitter account on January 12, he posted the response letter and tagged not only Southwest Airlines in the tweet but also Verity herself, followed by a message saying "Thank you very much. You guys rock!"
While the answer to the validity of these letters isn't 100% confirmed, it does appear that it is possible. Either way, they're definitely worth a read.
[flickr photo via MarinaAvila]
Filed under: Business, Stories, North America, United States, Airlines, News, Consumer Activism
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dianne Jan 17th 2012 1:30PM
I'm glad he didn't get another of those "normal wear and tear" responses. But will $140 be enough to cover replacement of the bag? I hope so.
Nancy Jan 17th 2012 8:57PM
If $140 doesn't cover the cost of the bag, then he's an idiot for paying that much!
Mike Jan 17th 2012 5:36PM
This was a very good example of people having a sense of humor and doing the right thing.I have always thought that Southwest is a great airline . Mr. Schone used the" spoonfull of honey" to achieve a positive result. Very smart on his part .All 's well at the end of the story.
Maryanne Jan 17th 2012 7:04PM
Great story! Thank you for sharing.
Tracy Jan 17th 2012 8:21PM
Wow, he was a very lucky guy. We were told to write a letter by the flight attendants for the bad experiences we endured and they did nothing but send us back a lame fluff letter. Good for you! I bet you'll fly Southwest again-I'm not sure we will. Still happy for you though that was very creative! :-)
DennisTheMenance Jan 17th 2012 10:58PM
R U KIDDING ME?
Johnjazzmn Jan 18th 2012 2:18AM
When Southwest first came into existance it was a great airline with a lot of humor...Herb made it so. Their ads were great, the flight attendents would joke on the intercome, they would make fun of things. Then the airline got down to the business of making money. Herb retired and the airline got serious. Today, in many ways it's just another airline. Outside of some good ticket prices and the fact that it doesn't charge for a lot of the goodies that other airlines do, it's now just another airline. They need to find their sense of humor again...sounds like these people did....