We don't make the rules

There is no comment more infuriating to a customer than when you ask for a reasonable accommodation from a service attendant, and when s/he turns you down and you ask, "Why?" and s/he says, "We don't make the rules."

I had a quick round trip between Boston and New York today and used my accumulated Delta Airlines frequent flier miles to acquire the tickets on the Shuttle. Before leaving Logan, I asked a gate agent if it would be all right to take an earlier flight home than the flight I had reserved. She looked it up and noted that, while I had a certain class of seat, it would be no problem to switch to an earlier flight, especially as the plane was likely to be quite empty. So I expedited my business in New York and arrived a LGA in plenty of time to catch the 2:30 plane instead of the 3:30.

At the ticket desk in New York, the agent said: "That change will be an additional $50."

Me: "But the flight is empty, it is the same routing, and your Boston agent told me I could switch if I got here early."

"We don't have any of that class of seats available."

"It is really annoying to be treated this way when I am a loyal customer."

"We don't make the rules."

You see above a picture of my airplane shortly before takeoff, so you can it was quite empty.  It cost Delta nothing to let me take the earlier flight.

Upon returning to Logan, I went back to the ticket counter and talked with a very friendly "red jacket" person -- the supervisor of the gate agents -- who in turn talked to three or four other people on the phone. None were able to help her to get me a refund or otherwise solve my problem. Finally, she gave me an 800 telephone number; the chain of phone prompts -- dial 800-335-8241, option 8, option 2, option 8, option 6, and ask for a live agent -- and instructions of what to say.  I called, and an equally pleasant person answered, told me that she would need to confer with her supervisor, and, while unable to refund the extra charge, gave me a $50 voucher towards a future flight.

So, let's review this and pick up some lessons. In doing so, let's compare this experience with what would have happened at a place like the Gaylord Palms Resort in Florida.

First, no one at the Gaylord would have said to a customer, "We don't make the rules."  If, indeed, there were strict rules, there would have been a logical explanation given to the customers for the rules.  Second, the associate would never have let the customer leave the front desk without offering something to make the customer satisfied and wanting to come back again.  Third, in contrast to the "red jacket" person's need to talk to three people on the phone to remedy the problem, at the Gaylord she would have been empowered to have refunded the money or issue a voucher on her own.  Fourth, a person of her rank would never have left the customer alone to call an 800 number to find a fix.  She would have gotten on the phone with me and made sure that the person at the other end was responsive.

So, the upshot is that, although I had satisfactory outcome, the process for getting there was clumsy and wasteful.  It took time from at least six Delta employees to work on my issue.  No one was empowered to solve the problem.  I think this reflects a lack of trust on the part of the company towards its people.  Finally, of course, the experience did not serve to make me a more loyal customer (beyond the $50 I will someday use on another flight!)  That I had to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to solve the problem was troubling in itself.  But what was more disconcerting was the initial comment to me:  "We don't make the rules."  It was dismissive and unfeeling.  Moreover, it made me feel that the person who said it did not himself have loyalty to the company.  If an employee does not, why should I?