A funny letter of complaint to an airline with an unusual response from customer service

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Filed under: Business, Stories, North America, United States, Airlines, News, Consumer Activism

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]

A funny letter of complaint to an airline with an unusual response from customer service originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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