It’s been said over and over again – flying is stressful. You’re stuck in crowds for a long period of time, there can be delays or other issues that may or may not have an explanation, or a whole myriad of other things that can make you feel ready to punch a wall. On top of that, the TSA officer is confusing your elderly parent-in-law who has dementia, the Customs agent is barking orders with her head turned so you can’t understand them, and the airline employee who has been unreasonable about whether or not your carry on will fit in the overhead is now becoming irate. You can’t do much about the first few examples but here’s what you can do about the latter ones:
ALL government agencies, as well as large private sector companies such as airlines, have someone or somewhere to complain to. Here’s where to go for each:
- Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- Alaska Airlines
- Allegiant Air (Note: This link goes to their “Contact Us” page, which does include an option to email them about “compliments, questions or concerns”)
- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Delta Air Lines
- Frontier Airlines
- Hawaiian Airlines
- JetBlue
- SouthWest (Note: This link goes to their “contact Us” page, which does include options to call, tweet or email them)
- United Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
What do you write?
You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar and if your tone is angry, or if you’re making unrealistic demands, you’ll have less chance of effective remediation of the problem. Of all places, the Federal Trade Commission makes the following suggestions:
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Be clear and concise. Describe the item or service you bought and the problem. Include serial or model numbers, and the name and location of the seller. If you’re following up on a conversation, be sure to say who you spoke with and confirm the details of your discussion.
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State exactly what you want done and how long you’re willing to wait for a response. Be reasonable.
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Don’t write an angry, sarcastic, or threatening letter. The person reading your letter probably isn’t responsible for the problem, but may be very helpful in resolving it.
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Include copies of relevant documents, like receipts, work orders, and warranties. You also may want to send copies of emails and notes from conversations you’ve had with the seller about the problem. Keep your originals.
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Include your name and contact information. If an account is involved, be sure to include the account number.
Having something go bad enough that you feel the need to write a complaint letter is never a good thing, and hopefully your complaint letter will be the first step towards resolution. Of course, fixing the problem, compensation, etc. may or may not eventually happen. But if nothing else, you sometimes at least feel better because you did what you could.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
