Without going into all the rigmarole we’ve qualified for a Southwest Airlines companion pass again. It’s a lot easier to do if you charge yearly college tuition on a credit card!
The problem is we make it by the skin of our teeth every year (this will be the last) leaving us a period where we needed to make a reservation but couldn’t.
Let me know if your airline would do this.
I called Southwest and spoke to Lauren. She understood our story then figured out how to hold the ticket until the companion pass was actually issued. Then she gave us a confirmation number and said she’d write a note so the next person who touched it would know what was going on.
“Don’t worry,” she said. But I did.
I got the companion pass last night. I called Southwest today. We’re set. The notes Lauren said would be there were. The agent I spoke to ‘got it’ immediately.
What Southwest did wasn’t difficult but it required a little creative thinking to make sure we were covered. When there was a question of doing it by-the-book or going a little out of the way to make-it-work for the customer, she chose the latter.
When people find how slavishly Helaine and I fly Southwest they often poo-poo it like it’s some sort of leper airline. No, no no. Southwest is different because they are not about rules as much as they are about a corporate culture that encourages thinking.
This is why I love Southwest too! They actually seem to LIKE their customers unlike most other airlines who seem bothered by them. I usually book online, but the one time I had to call them, I was shocked and amazed when there was no massive phone tree with 30 minute hold times to operators in far off countries, but instead a sweet woman in Texas just answered the phone and offered to help.
People who’ve never flown it do sometimes give SW a bad rap, but they really should give it a try. If possible, I generally only fly Southwest now.
It’s stories like this that got me flying Southwest years ago and it has become my default airline ever since. Their customer service is beyond compare and every consumer based company could learn a big lesson from them.