Wow....somewhat stunning that they would not only say they would follow-up but to tell you that an employee would receive discipline at all. Keep us informed if they really do get back to you.

Ah but they never used the word "discipline." They said, "coaching." Ambiguous, so interpret it as you may.

Wouldn't it be great if airlines actually made their employees apologise!! Delta would have to double their staff though...

I know you're not here for 2 months, PHX but maybe you can answer it when you come back.

Coaching was a word used by my company as a form of discipline. You sat down with the manager, he "coached" you as to what you did wrong and then said if it went in your file or not. Receive a certain number of coachings and you'll recieve a "level". So many levels equals termination. Coaching is indeed discipline.

Jimworcs wrote...

Wouldn't it be great if airlines actually made their employees apologise!!

Most of the regular posters on here are probably aware of my low opinion of the value of "free flight" vouchers. However I wonder if there is anyone ELSE who would place a greater value on a hand written apology, from the offending employee, over any such voucher? We're talking a 44 cent postage stamp versus whatever the value (???) is of a voucher. With regard to identification concerns: Such an apology need not even include the name (or other identifying information) of said employee.

I know for a fact that this means much more to people. I used to manage a hospital and we changed our approach to complaints to be much more personal, to quickly accept when errors had occurred and to respond more sincerely. Until that time we had operated a system which was fraught with fear of being sued, and was therefore full of legalise and reeked of insincerity. Not unlike those robotic form letters you get from the airlines, which end with "We hope you will give us the opportunity to serve you again".

I personally would much prefer a call from the employee involved which says.. "I was wrong. I was stressed and I treated you badly and I sincerely apologise for my actions". It might have a further benefit of stopping the staff from repeating their action in the future.

Troy,
I don't think Phx will be back...

Before you came on.....the initial ban was for 2 months......that changed an hour or so ago when the admin changed the ban.

Now I can say anything and he can't argue back......hahahahaha..........too bad. Coaching is discipline, coaching is discipline.

UsAir Response:
 

Dear

The Department of Transportation's Office of Consumer Protection
referred you email to us. I enjoyed speaking with you today. We value
customer feedback and I appreciate the opportunity to address your
concerns.

I want to apologize for the difficulties you and your mother experienced
with our gate agent in Richmond. Most disconcerting is the manner in
which she addressed her special travel needs. The Air Carrier Access Act
states that Airlines must train employees with respect to awareness and
appropriate responses to passengers with a disability, including persons
with physical, sensory, mental, and emotional disabilities, including
how to distinguish among the differing abilities of individuals with a
disability. We continually stress the importance of providing efficient
care in a sensitive manner to our passengers who require additional
assistance or have any special needs I am sorry we were not in
compliance with this requirement.

Air Carriers that provide advance seat assignments using the blocked
method must not assign these seats to passengers who do not meet the
disability criteria of the Air Carrier Access Act until 24 hours before
the scheduled departure of the flight at any time up until 24 hours
before the scheduled departure of the flight, carriers must assign a
seat to a passenger with a disability meeting one or more of the
requirements who requests it, at the time the passenger initially makes
the request. Because we cannot guarantee seats after that time, we were
not in violation; however, Dana should have made every effort to
accommodate your needs.

I am also sorry a wheelchair was not readily available upon your arrival
in Philadelphia. Airlines must provide assistance in transportation
between gates to make a connection to another flight, in moving from the
terminal entrance through the airport to the gate for a departing
flight, or from the gate to the terminal entrance after an arriving
flight. This also includes assistance in accessing key functional areas
of the terminal, such as the ticket counts and baggage claim. Again, we
were not in compliance with the Air Carrier Access Act.

The details you have provided will be instrumental in helping us to
improve our service. I have documented your experience for review by the
Richmond and Philadelphia Station Managers and relevant supervisory
staff. Additionally, this incident will be discussed with the employee
and handled internally. Because of the right to privacy under the
federal Privacy Act, we are unable to provide information regarding the
outcome of our review process.

To convey our apologies and regain your confidence, I have issued two
Electronic Air Check Plus (E-ACP) Vouchers. Your E-ACP is valid toward
the purchase of travel on US Airways. Please be advised the E-ACP is not
valid with Internet bookings and must be redeemed within one year from
the date of this correspondence. In addition, please take a moment to
read the terms and conditions listed below to receive the full benefit
of this compensation. When you are ready to make your future travel
arrangements, please call our Reservations Department at 800-428-4322.
The customary ticketing fee will not be assessed at the time of booking
with our Reservations Department.

Once your reservation is complete, call our Disability number at
800-892-3624. This will allow US Airways time to contact all stations
in advance to advise them of your needs. Please don't hesitate to
contact them if other assistance is needed, as well.

The E -ACP codes are:

We hope you will give us the opportunity to create a more positive
travel experience in the future.

Sincerely,

Karen Melching
Lead Representative, Customer Relations
US Airways Corporate Office




I would rather of had an apology letter from Dana..... Really? Two vouchers that take money off at different price levels, they can keep the money!

It is a clear and direct response that is far better than I would have expected from US Airways. Perhaps because the DOT was involved in relation to compliance with disability issues. I think it is as a good as it gets, and you can be sure, Dana will be sorry she acted the way she did, whether you hear about it or not!

I agree on all counts and I strongly believe that the only reason Karen called and emailed me was because I notified DOT.

Thank you all for listening to my complaint and have great rest of the week. :)

I think this is big news. An airline actually responded to each aspect of your complaint, individually. They said they were sorry, a few times and that they weren't in compliance with a federal mandate. I'm sure also this had alot to do with big brother telling them to act, NOW. I would bet this had to be cc'd to the DOT as well, that's why it's worded the way it is.
Regardless, the OP received an apology on behalf on it's offending employee, which is as good as it's gonna get. Field employees do not get involved in the process of complaint resolution. I would bet though like Jim said, Dana will hear about it. Good.

A win for the airline consumer! And not a damn thing PHX can say about it!