Southwest Airlines markets the fact that there Mission Statement is based on "Service to the customer" (The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit).
Based on my recent trip I must let you all know that "Service" is the last thing that Southwest Airlines is concerned with. It all begins and ends with money.
There was a wedding that I had to attend out of town and I used Southwest Services based on there non stop flights in and out of Little Rock, Arkansas. Getting to Arkansas from a major city was not a problem. There were some minor weather conditions that we had to endure but that is out of there control.
The return flight was a different story. Arrived at ther terminal earlier than usual based on the fact that I was anxious to get home to my wife and child. While in the terminal I had no prior interaction with the terminal travel associate based on the fact that everything I did was on the internet. The boarding pass, the luggage, all I needed to do was get on the plane and take off. As I am waiting I am approached by a man in a Southwest Uniform and he introduces himself (Devil in Disquise) and proceeds to ask me how I am doing and what my plans are. I did not think anything of the conversation initially I thought that he was being courteous. The next statement out his mouth was that Southwest has a policy in place where I would have to purchase a new ticket. Recently on the local news there have been several stories about agents doing this and I did not think that it would apply to me but I was still proactive and called Southwest 2 weeks before my trip to ensure it would not be an issue. The agent over the phone advised me that based on my 6'6 310 stature I should not have any issues.
My intial reaction normally would be to get very angry and make things worst. I realized that I was in an airport and as soon as they think I am threat then my flight is taking off without me. As the agent is standing over me asking me questions people around me are just staring at me and wondering why is this happening and wondering am I going to go crazy. The agent explained that when the plane landed I would have to go onboard and sit in a seat with the armrest down. I did not have a problem doing that but I asked the agent where does it describe how you determine if a person has to purchase a ticket before they sit in a seat. The agent did not know how to answer the question so I asked the next best question. Where is your manager? This gentleman then advised me that he was the manager on duty and there was no one else that I could speak to. At this time I was really upset and the people at the gate were still starring at me and whispering amongst themselves. Luckily I had my cell phone so I called the toll free number for Southwest thinking that there has to be a Manager or Director available to help me with this ridiculous situation. When I finally talked to a live person I was advised that it was Sunday morning and there was no one at the Corporate Location to assist me I would have to wait until Monday to get any assistance.
The plane landed and I boarded the plane and to my surprise there were still people on the plane so I had to get escorted by the "manager" on board a plane with passengers and have him stand over me again while I do this "Test".
I am in the process of filing a class action lawsuit against the company and also have already filed harrasment charges against the manager. Their actions are totally uncalled for and there is no documentation to cover their deceitful ways. Respect
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