Below is an unbelievable account told through the email correspondence I've had with American Airlines customer service. Does anyone have any recommendations on how I proceed from here?
My 1st Email
April 11, 2017
Dear American Airlines Customer Service,
My name is Dale Allen. I purchased two one-way airline tickets from LAX to CUN on Apr 10th, 2017 at approximately 8:00am.
My girlfriend and I missed our first flight which was departing at 8:35am that morning. I purchased the tickets from the American Airlines counter. The employee who was helping us at the American Airlines counter was named Ann. During the purchasing process, Ann verbally quoted us the price of a one-way airline ticket from LAX to CUN at $169 per ticket. Ann's exact words both times that she verbally quoted the price were, "One sixty-nine." Ann did NOT say "One thousand sixty-nine." She did not say, "One, zero, six, nine." Ann said, "One sixty-nine."
All of the evidence in this situation indicates that Ann misquoted the ticket price, that I was misinformed by your employee, and that I had no intention of purchasing a ticket at the price of $1210.35
Being that the tickets we purchased for the flight that we had missed were $154.44 apiece for a roundtrip (see attached receipt), $169 sounded like a reasonable price for a 1-way ticket at the last-minute. Furthermore, upon cross-referencing the price of $169 with online prices of one-way tickets from LAX to CUN, we found several American Airline prices that were in the $190-$200 dollar range. I would have NEVER purchased two one-way tickets for $1210.35 when I could have purchased the very same tickets online for $190-$200 apiece. NOT ONCE during the process did Ann show us the price of the tickets.
I WAS NEVER SHOWN THE TICKET PRICE DURING THE ENTIRE PURCHASING PROCESS. If I had, then all of this could have been avoided.
Even after Ann printed my 4-page Passenger Itinerary and Receipts, she stapled the receipts BEHIND the itinerary pages. It was not until my credit card company called me the following day to confirm this exorbitant charge that I flipped to the back of the stack of paper and realized how much the tickets actually cost.
Ann seemed very frazzled and hurried during the process of purchasing out tickets, telling us several times, "We've got to do this fast you guys. If we don't do this fast you might miss this flight, too, and there are no refunds, so we've got to do this fast." In Ann's rush she clearly made a mistake and misquoted the ticket price.
I'm prepared to take every legal action necessary to get my money back. I am demanding a FULL REFUND, not just the amount that I was overcharged. I am demanding a full refund due to the severe inconvenience and undue stress that this incident has caused. The excessive airline ticket charge effectively maxed-out my credit card. As a result, I was unable to use this credit card in Mexico, where I was planning on having a vacation. This credit card was the only form of payment that I brought with me on this trip. The entire last 2 days here in Mexico have been a fiasco. I've spend all of my time thus far attempting to fix this mess. Looming over my head for possibly the rest of this "vacation" will be the $2420.70 ticket charge, that I thought was going to be $338.
I want this story to have a happy ending. I don't want this incident to be a social media post about how an American Airlines employee ruined my vacation, and then American Airlines refused to make things right.
Customer service at CUN gave me this American Airlines number to call: 01800-904-6000. I called this number and the representative I spoke with told me that the only thing I could do was to file a compliant at www.aa.com. I asked if there was someone that I could talk to ASAP about this whole misunderstanding. She said, no.
So here I am, filing this complaint on the AA website, wishing that I could speak with a human...
Thank you for your fastest reply.
Sincerely,
Dale Allen
American Airlines’ 1st Reply
April 14, 2017
Dear Mr. Allen:
Thank you for contacting American Airlines Customer Relations.
I'm sorry that your most recent trip with us was less than desirable.
We know and understand that there are many components to air travel; still, our basic product is transportation. While some elements of a particular flight may be unsatisfactory, we do not routinely provide compensation when transportation is provided. It would be an exceptional situation in any business to give a refund when the product is used.
For each flight, seats are made available at different prices based on a number of things including availability, day of travel, cities you are traveling, season, etc. In many instances, the first seats sold will be the least expensive and the fare will go up from there. In some cases we'll have a last minute special that offers the best fare available for the flight. Because prices always change, we are unable to guarantee that a given fare will stay the same or always be available.
I know that this wasn't the resolution you were hoping for, and I'm sorry for that. I do hope that we get another chance to welcome you onboard, Mr. Allen.
Sincerely,
Hailey Berry
Customer Relations
American Airlines
My 2nd Email
April 15, 2017
Hailey Berry,
With all due respect, you have NOT addressed the complaints that I laid out in my letter regarding the service I was provided. Please re-read the letter in case you did not read it thoroughly the first time, which I can only hope is the case. In my letter to AA customer service, I did NOT stipulate ticket price as the primary complaint. My complaint is that your employee - whether intentionally or unintentionally - lied to me - your customer - regarding the price of your service. The complaint is this simple: Your employee lied and as a result your customer was harmed financially. Are we clear? If so, please address the actual issue in your next reply.
This is not a case in which the customer assumed the ticket price was going to be lower, and then was surprised by the actual amount after the purchase upon further examination of the transaction. I did not assume anything, nor did I make a mistake. I am not at fault. This is a unique issue that deserves adequate attention. The issue I described speaks to a serious problem with the way your employee informed your customer about the price of your service. Your template-like response was insulting.
As I said in the previous letter below, I have denied the cc charge for these tickets, and I have explained to my cc company exactly what transpired at the terminal regarding this transaction. They know I have a case, and therefore will also be negotiating on my behalf.
Sincerely,
Dale Allen
American Airlines’ 3rd Reply
April 19, 2017
Dear Mr. Allen:
Thanks for writing back.
Every day we depend on our people to serve our customers well. We strive to train our employees to be courteous and knowledgeable but our efforts are of little value if we fail to provide the correct information to our passengers. We are deeply disappointed that you did not receive the treatement that you deserve when you traveled with us.
We are also sorry that you are still disappointed with the amount that was applied when you booked your last minute ticket. We certainly understand your position and regret that there was a misunderstanding about the cost of the ticket.
We have reservation procedures in place to avoid errors in reservations transactions, and our Customer Relations System acts as a safeguard as well. Of course, no matter how well trained or experienced an agent is, we are after all still human and mistakes will happen. Please know your reservation has been carefully reviewed, and it appears to us that the reservation was booked as requested. Under the circumstances, we are afraid we must respectfully decline your refund request.
Thank you for allowing us to address this matter. We hope this won't jeopardize our business relationship. We would consider it a privilege to have your continued patronage. The next time you fly with us, we'll do our best to make sure that you have a great trip, Mr. Allen.
Sincerely,
Hailey Berry
Customer Relations
American Airlines
My 4th Email
April 20 2017
So what you're saying is that AA doesn't take responsibility for its mistakes. How on Earth is this American Airline's policy? If you made a slogan out of this policy, it would sound something like this:
"American Airlines: If we make a mistake, YOU'LL PAY FOR IT! We look forward to screwing -- I mean, serving you."
It is unlikely that you're able to handle this matter satisfactorily. I would like to speak with a customer service representative who has the authority to do more than just apologize. I have never had to dispute a credit card charge in my entire life. Call my credit card company to confirm this (USAA Credit Card Services: 1-800-531-9762). I am not even a customer who frequently complains. But how AA has conducted itself thus far is so outrageous that I'm finding it impossible to not fight back.
I did NOT make a mistake here. It is more believable that an AA ticket counter employee, who is highly stressed and quoting ticket prices all day long, would make a quotation mistake, or is it more likely that I, the diligent price-conscious customer, the one who's money is actually ON THE LINE, the one who actually cares about the EXACT ticket price, would MISHEAR the quoted price? AA is in the wrong, and AA should make it right. In regards to this comment:
"We hope this won't jeopardize our business relationship. We would consider it a privilege to have your continued patronage."
Are you serious? How can you possibly expect me to fly with AA again if the company stands by a policy of "The customer will pay for our mistakes?" Does AA really mean that they want to keep me as a customer, or is that just empty pacifying rhetoric? If I do not receive adequate compensation, then I will surely never fly with AA again. And not only that, I will tell everyone I know about how AA admitted to making a mistake that cost me a significant sum of money, and then refused to make it right. The amount of money that AA will lose as a result of losing me (and those close to me) as a customer will far exceed the amount that I should be refunded. A company's long-term success is built upon how it treats its customers. For a company to refuse a refund when they are clearly in the wrong is quite simply a very poor business decision.
Please pass this along to your superiors.
Sincerely,
Dale Allen
American Airlines’ 4th Reply
April 20, 2017
Dear Mr. Allen:
Thanks for writing back.
We have received your reply and acknowledge you feel this matter has not been resolved to your satisfaction. It was clear to us when you brought your concerns to American's Corporate Headquarters that you felt strongly about this issue and were escalating it beyond our other customer service teams. In effect, our previous response serves as the supervisory involvement you request. Because we have been given the authority and responsibility to resolve customer concerns of this nature, we must confirm that our position has not changed.
Still, your business is very important to us and it would be a privilege to welcome you aboard again soon, Mr. Allen.
Sincerely,
Hailey Berry
Customer Relations
American Airlines
******END OF EMAILS*******
Wow...Does anyone have any recommendations on how I proceed from here?
My 1st Email
April 11, 2017
Dear American Airlines Customer Service,
My name is Dale Allen. I purchased two one-way airline tickets from LAX to CUN on Apr 10th, 2017 at approximately 8:00am.
My girlfriend and I missed our first flight which was departing at 8:35am that morning. I purchased the tickets from the American Airlines counter. The employee who was helping us at the American Airlines counter was named Ann. During the purchasing process, Ann verbally quoted us the price of a one-way airline ticket from LAX to CUN at $169 per ticket. Ann's exact words both times that she verbally quoted the price were, "One sixty-nine." Ann did NOT say "One thousand sixty-nine." She did not say, "One, zero, six, nine." Ann said, "One sixty-nine."
All of the evidence in this situation indicates that Ann misquoted the ticket price, that I was misinformed by your employee, and that I had no intention of purchasing a ticket at the price of $1210.35
Being that the tickets we purchased for the flight that we had missed were $154.44 apiece for a roundtrip (see attached receipt), $169 sounded like a reasonable price for a 1-way ticket at the last-minute. Furthermore, upon cross-referencing the price of $169 with online prices of one-way tickets from LAX to CUN, we found several American Airline prices that were in the $190-$200 dollar range. I would have NEVER purchased two one-way tickets for $1210.35 when I could have purchased the very same tickets online for $190-$200 apiece. NOT ONCE during the process did Ann show us the price of the tickets.
I WAS NEVER SHOWN THE TICKET PRICE DURING THE ENTIRE PURCHASING PROCESS. If I had, then all of this could have been avoided.
Even after Ann printed my 4-page Passenger Itinerary and Receipts, she stapled the receipts BEHIND the itinerary pages. It was not until my credit card company called me the following day to confirm this exorbitant charge that I flipped to the back of the stack of paper and realized how much the tickets actually cost.
Ann seemed very frazzled and hurried during the process of purchasing out tickets, telling us several times, "We've got to do this fast you guys. If we don't do this fast you might miss this flight, too, and there are no refunds, so we've got to do this fast." In Ann's rush she clearly made a mistake and misquoted the ticket price.
I'm prepared to take every legal action necessary to get my money back. I am demanding a FULL REFUND, not just the amount that I was overcharged. I am demanding a full refund due to the severe inconvenience and undue stress that this incident has caused. The excessive airline ticket charge effectively maxed-out my credit card. As a result, I was unable to use this credit card in Mexico, where I was planning on having a vacation. This credit card was the only form of payment that I brought with me on this trip. The entire last 2 days here in Mexico have been a fiasco. I've spend all of my time thus far attempting to fix this mess. Looming over my head for possibly the rest of this "vacation" will be the $2420.70 ticket charge, that I thought was going to be $338.
I want this story to have a happy ending. I don't want this incident to be a social media post about how an American Airlines employee ruined my vacation, and then American Airlines refused to make things right.
Customer service at CUN gave me this American Airlines number to call: 01800-904-6000. I called this number and the representative I spoke with told me that the only thing I could do was to file a compliant at www.aa.com. I asked if there was someone that I could talk to ASAP about this whole misunderstanding. She said, no.
So here I am, filing this complaint on the AA website, wishing that I could speak with a human...
Thank you for your fastest reply.
Sincerely,
Dale Allen
American Airlines’ 1st Reply
April 14, 2017
Dear Mr. Allen:
Thank you for contacting American Airlines Customer Relations.
I'm sorry that your most recent trip with us was less than desirable.
We know and understand that there are many components to air travel; still, our basic product is transportation. While some elements of a particular flight may be unsatisfactory, we do not routinely provide compensation when transportation is provided. It would be an exceptional situation in any business to give a refund when the product is used.
For each flight, seats are made available at different prices based on a number of things including availability, day of travel, cities you are traveling, season, etc. In many instances, the first seats sold will be the least expensive and the fare will go up from there. In some cases we'll have a last minute special that offers the best fare available for the flight. Because prices always change, we are unable to guarantee that a given fare will stay the same or always be available.
I know that this wasn't the resolution you were hoping for, and I'm sorry for that. I do hope that we get another chance to welcome you onboard, Mr. Allen.
Sincerely,
Hailey Berry
Customer Relations
American Airlines
My 2nd Email
April 15, 2017
Hailey Berry,
With all due respect, you have NOT addressed the complaints that I laid out in my letter regarding the service I was provided. Please re-read the letter in case you did not read it thoroughly the first time, which I can only hope is the case. In my letter to AA customer service, I did NOT stipulate ticket price as the primary complaint. My complaint is that your employee - whether intentionally or unintentionally - lied to me - your customer - regarding the price of your service. The complaint is this simple: Your employee lied and as a result your customer was harmed financially. Are we clear? If so, please address the actual issue in your next reply.
This is not a case in which the customer assumed the ticket price was going to be lower, and then was surprised by the actual amount after the purchase upon further examination of the transaction. I did not assume anything, nor did I make a mistake. I am not at fault. This is a unique issue that deserves adequate attention. The issue I described speaks to a serious problem with the way your employee informed your customer about the price of your service. Your template-like response was insulting.
As I said in the previous letter below, I have denied the cc charge for these tickets, and I have explained to my cc company exactly what transpired at the terminal regarding this transaction. They know I have a case, and therefore will also be negotiating on my behalf.
Sincerely,
Dale Allen
American Airlines’ 3rd Reply
April 19, 2017
Dear Mr. Allen:
Thanks for writing back.
Every day we depend on our people to serve our customers well. We strive to train our employees to be courteous and knowledgeable but our efforts are of little value if we fail to provide the correct information to our passengers. We are deeply disappointed that you did not receive the treatement that you deserve when you traveled with us.
We are also sorry that you are still disappointed with the amount that was applied when you booked your last minute ticket. We certainly understand your position and regret that there was a misunderstanding about the cost of the ticket.
We have reservation procedures in place to avoid errors in reservations transactions, and our Customer Relations System acts as a safeguard as well. Of course, no matter how well trained or experienced an agent is, we are after all still human and mistakes will happen. Please know your reservation has been carefully reviewed, and it appears to us that the reservation was booked as requested. Under the circumstances, we are afraid we must respectfully decline your refund request.
Thank you for allowing us to address this matter. We hope this won't jeopardize our business relationship. We would consider it a privilege to have your continued patronage. The next time you fly with us, we'll do our best to make sure that you have a great trip, Mr. Allen.
Sincerely,
Hailey Berry
Customer Relations
American Airlines
My 4th Email
April 20 2017
So what you're saying is that AA doesn't take responsibility for its mistakes. How on Earth is this American Airline's policy? If you made a slogan out of this policy, it would sound something like this:
"American Airlines: If we make a mistake, YOU'LL PAY FOR IT! We look forward to screwing -- I mean, serving you."
It is unlikely that you're able to handle this matter satisfactorily. I would like to speak with a customer service representative who has the authority to do more than just apologize. I have never had to dispute a credit card charge in my entire life. Call my credit card company to confirm this (USAA Credit Card Services: 1-800-531-9762). I am not even a customer who frequently complains. But how AA has conducted itself thus far is so outrageous that I'm finding it impossible to not fight back.
I did NOT make a mistake here. It is more believable that an AA ticket counter employee, who is highly stressed and quoting ticket prices all day long, would make a quotation mistake, or is it more likely that I, the diligent price-conscious customer, the one who's money is actually ON THE LINE, the one who actually cares about the EXACT ticket price, would MISHEAR the quoted price? AA is in the wrong, and AA should make it right. In regards to this comment:
"We hope this won't jeopardize our business relationship. We would consider it a privilege to have your continued patronage."
Are you serious? How can you possibly expect me to fly with AA again if the company stands by a policy of "The customer will pay for our mistakes?" Does AA really mean that they want to keep me as a customer, or is that just empty pacifying rhetoric? If I do not receive adequate compensation, then I will surely never fly with AA again. And not only that, I will tell everyone I know about how AA admitted to making a mistake that cost me a significant sum of money, and then refused to make it right. The amount of money that AA will lose as a result of losing me (and those close to me) as a customer will far exceed the amount that I should be refunded. A company's long-term success is built upon how it treats its customers. For a company to refuse a refund when they are clearly in the wrong is quite simply a very poor business decision.
Please pass this along to your superiors.
Sincerely,
Dale Allen
American Airlines’ 4th Reply
April 20, 2017
Dear Mr. Allen:
Thanks for writing back.
We have received your reply and acknowledge you feel this matter has not been resolved to your satisfaction. It was clear to us when you brought your concerns to American's Corporate Headquarters that you felt strongly about this issue and were escalating it beyond our other customer service teams. In effect, our previous response serves as the supervisory involvement you request. Because we have been given the authority and responsibility to resolve customer concerns of this nature, we must confirm that our position has not changed.
Still, your business is very important to us and it would be a privilege to welcome you aboard again soon, Mr. Allen.
Sincerely,
Hailey Berry
Customer Relations
American Airlines
******END OF EMAILS*******
Wow...Does anyone have any recommendations on how I proceed from here?
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