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WestJet Airlines review: customer service 10

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1:34 pm EST
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Purchased a $ 4000 vacation package on September 30, 2009 from WestJet vacations. This package was booked during a period when they were offering a $ 400 travel coucher when booking a vacation package for a couple. One week after booking via telephone my credit card had been charged but I had received no confirmation of my booking. It has now been nearly 6 weeks and I still have no confirmation nor voucher. I have called WestJet at least 10x during this period. Typically the wait (if you can get through) is 60 minutes or longer. More often than not you receive a message stating that due to heavy volumes no new calls can be taken with a request for the caller to try again in a couple hours. One time when I got through I was promised a confirmation by e-mail which never arrived. I was also told that the travel vouchers would not be available for another 2 months and that there was nobody to initiaite a complaint or to expedite this process outside of regular business hours. I travel over 200 days per year on business and have never experienced anything like this. Not only have I ceased booking travel on WestJet I have forbidden any of my employees from booking business travel on WestJet without prior consent. I have also filed a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Association.

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10 comments
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Ray Fortier
, US
Jan 30, 2017 1:42 pm EST

My wife purchased a round trip ticket from Comox to Calgary, Calgary to Comox Nov. 30/16. The flight was scheduled for Jan.1/17 with return to be Jan 17/17. On January 13/17 because of a death in the family my wife called to change her flight from Comox to Abbotsford to Jan.17/17. A conversation with an airline representative just before Jan1/17 advised her that a credit was possible although a fee of $75 would be applicable. That in itself seemed manageable. However when she made arrangements to fly to Abbotsford on Jan 13/17 she was told there was no credit for the flight change and that she would have to pay full fare for the Abbotsford flight and forfiet the monies on the previously purchased return flight to Comox. Now not only is there a business inconsistancy here there is also poor customer relations being issued. I had to be in Chilliwack where my mother was ailing and for that reason could not meet my wife in Comox to travel to Chilliwack with her. As it was my mother died the day before my wife arrived in Abbotsford where I met her and travelled together to Chilliwack to deal with my mothers passing. I request you review the less than good business practice you applied to this experience and process the full credit for the unused Comox flight. Failing that, appropriate consumer action will be initiated to advise future customers of what appears to be your unofficial practice regarding flight destination changes pertaining to emergencies such as death in the family. Your closest attention to resolution of this issue would be appreciated.

Sincerely,

Ray Fortier
email: raytay90@hotmail.com.

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Sandra2012
Brandon, CA
Oct 03, 2012 2:30 pm EDT

When there are no discernable differences in prices or physical quality, all you are left with is good ol’ customer service, right? WestJet had me convinced that they were gaining the edge in this arena…that they cared like those lovely commercial you see…I mean, they insinuated as much. However when it comes right down to it, in my humble opinion, this particular airline has become a little too comfortable in the market.
Since 2007 I have been paying (a lot of money to my little income) for my daughter to travel back and forth every month to visit her father 2 provinces away. Wanting her to have the least amount of travel time and more time to visit, I chose flying as the mode of transportation. It was mandatory that we used the Unaccompanied Minor program until she was 12 years old. This was expensive, but I understand the liabilities and could appreciate the benefits of having an airline representative accompany my daughter on and off the plane.
To anyone who hasn’t had to use this, you pay a fee, you fill out a form, you show ID and you are normally granted a gate pass to go through security with your child. You then wait until the airline is going to board the plane, that’s when the agent will take over and escort your child on/off the plane to the designated guardian on the other end. This service is running around $100/one way these days. But if your child is under 12 it is worth the peace of mind. When your child hits 12 it’s no longer mandatory, it becomes an optional service up to the age of 18.
Being that my daughter had been doing the routine for several years, we were all very comfortable that she no longer needed to use the service since we were told she could still have a parent come through security to the gate with her anyways. After all the only thing you are paying for is the point of the airline agent taking her on and off the plane to the guardian on the other end. She could handle that part just fine. It was the other part, the part that she always had a parent there for…reading the gate numbers correctly, watching for changes in gates, keeping company and warding off strangers and of course delays/ cancellations, etc. And for the record, our daughter is a very responsible, mature 15 yr old but she does have dyslexia that has caught her on more than one occasion.
For a couple more years my daughter has travelled back and forth in this fashion, never once having a serious issue with getting gate passes. Until this past month in Edmonton where a WestJet check in agent denied a pass to her father on her return trip. When my ex-husband explained we’ve always been given a pass before and asked why not now, the agent proclaimed she didn’t look like she needed her father’s assistance. My ex-husband should have explained that not all disabilities are visible, that she did require company and asked to speak with a supervisor. Instead her father was shocked and angered by the way that the agent rudely spoke to them and dismissed them.
For a moment just think really what would you do at this point? Your child has to get on that plane, it’s your only option, and guest relations has just denied you and basically told you to ‘beat it’. Now our daughter is on the inside of security, her father is on the outside waiting and wondering if the plane has taken off.
I don’t blame airlines for having rules. Security must be maintained, policy is policy…I get that. What I do have a problem with is that when I contacted the airline to complain about the manner of treatment and to find out why this happened after all these years, I got the run around. This wasn’t a security issue….oh ho no! This was an employee of the airline deciding that a 15 yr old girl didn’t need her parent with her because…..? I wanted an answer.
First I spoke with that airline the very next day stating the facts: I wanted to book my daughter’s flight, she was 15 and asked if there would be problems getting gate passes. The very helpful, polite phone representative told me that no, there shouldn’t be any problem at all. There was no guarantee because sometimes security tells the airlines to hold issuing passes during a block of time until the security issue is over. Or in the bigger airports of Toronto or Vancouver they are not issued at all, but for my locations I gave there would be no problems. In fact she went on to tell me her how her mom always gets gate passes when she herself travels. Huh!
Then I sent an email on the airline’s website. Over a week passed when I finally got a response that simply said ‘sorry you didn’t feel like you were treated well in Edmonton’ and did not apologize for their agent’s behavior or that they would look into it. Then it went on to say that if we have been getting passes all these years, we have been the exception to the rule because normally they do not give them except to parents of children or elderly or people with disabilities. The more I probed, the more the rules seemingly changed. Well children under 12, maybe you should pay for the Unaccompanied Minor program (which by the way, isn’t going to guarantee you a pass either…because guess what? It’s all at the discretion of the agent) Oh no wait, it’s due to security. No, it’s due to the high volume of passes already issued. Hmmmm.
All I want is a straight answer people…I understand that there is never a guarantee due to security issues that arise or high volume of passes issued. But can someone please tell me that if my daughter meets the criteria of being a minor and having a reading disability. I also spelled it out in black and white to her…that I am looking for recognition that our business is important to them, that they will review the unprofessional behavior of their agent, that if my daughter meets all the criteria of being allowed a parent to go in, then why was she not? In the end I requested to be passed on to a supervisor…to which I got a snippy reply back from Beverly in 'Guest Relations' basically saying she had spent enough time with me, if I had a new question let her know but she was not going to pass me on to her manager. Nice

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J McCarthy
Sarnia, CA
Oct 14, 2011 5:33 am EDT

westjet obviously doesn't care about customer service -they are only looking at their bottom line. Their business model may be successful if enough people only consider the cheapest flight. God help you if a flight is cancelled or you have to change something because then you are at their mercy which judging by all the complaints - isn't much. Its like the used car salesman - they only make the commission on the sale - service issues afterward doesn't earn them anything- it only costs them. and since every employee is an 'owner' they all think this way - good luck 'sucker'!
I have been waiting to get vouchers to show up from a credit card deal that was on the bank statement weeks ago. I have no idea when or if they will show up - and there is "nothing anyone at Westjet that can do anything about it". I will try the phone numbers but I won't hold my breath. It just burns me every time I hear the radio ads promoting this gimmick! If they thought this marketing campaign would get customers they may be right - they just won't be happy ones!

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Dumb Pax
Toron, CA
Aug 28, 2011 5:35 pm EDT

Eieeen... perhaps you should have tried explaining to your children that sometimes things happen that you have no control over - weather. I'm sure you played the victim role well...

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Dumb Pax
Toron, CA
Aug 28, 2011 5:33 pm EDT

Are you people really that ignorant to think that an airline is responsible for the inconvenience of weather? Come on people. So if you and a friend are on a road trip but can no longer continue driving because of weather (snow, fog etc) are you going to demand that your friend compensate you BECAUSE OF WEATHER? Would you ask your friend to pay for your hotel, meals, and further compensation? Don't think so. So why then do you feel that an airline is responsible for weather?

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Eieen Reddian
St. John&, CA
Jul 28, 2010 7:50 am EDT

was booked on a west jet vacation to go to cuba 5 hrs before our flight west jet called and told me the flight out of st. john's had been cancelled because flight had not arrived to st. john's because of weather in toronto. They then told me we would be taken care of with another vacaton for myself 2 children and niece. Saturday morning was told we could go to the Bahamas went to the airport, when ariving at the airporthad to call west jet and was told we could not go to the resort in the Bahamas because the childern were to young had to be 13 and over there was another resort we could have gone to but would cost me $250 per day plus meals. Another resort we could have gone to was Jamaica oe another $950 cost to me. I told her she would have to find something else I culd not afford this and should not have to pay anything it was not my fault West Jet are responsible for this. We flew to toronto hoping they would of found a vacation by the tmewe got to Toronto but when I phoneed back to west jet they had the same story then told me to phone my insurance company they should pay the difference of the vacation. They told me they dont do that I phoned west jet back and was told to go home nothing they could do. I could not believe a corporation so big could treat thier customers sao mean especially two broken hearted children. Be careful booking vacations with westjet you may not get there! Broken hearted in St. John's

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lied to by westjet
Toronto, CA
Jul 21, 2010 4:29 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

THanks for the numbers, that is exactly what I am looking for. We booked a couple of flights through their call centre and the agent accidently charged our credit card too many time which then maxed out our credit card and we were unable to book the rest of our trip. When we called to find out what happened and how to fix it the agent asked us for the credit card company's phone number. We gave to her and she put us on hold. A few minutes later she came back telling us that she spoke with the credit card company and the extra transaction auth had been lifted and it should be back on our card instantly.. GREAT THANKS! After about 30 minutes of waiting for the money to appear we called credit card company who told us that Westjet never called... the agent lied to us... WTF! What was she thinking? That we would never find out? So of course this made us very upset and we called Westjet back again and asked them why were we lied to and asked for help to solve this problem. After all, we did nothing wrong, their agent was the one that processed our credit card too many times. We had a form for Westjet to fill out as a courtesy to send to credit card company which would automatically put our money back on our card. But they refused to use it. The only thing that was said to us over and over was that "we have no record of this transaction, so there is nothing we can do". When we asked to be transfered to a supervisor they refused to do so and claimed there was no supervisor on duty which really set my boyfriend off who used to manage a call centre of 150 agents! he knows how it works and got seriously frustrated with this particular agent who seemed ok with the fact that our money would not be returned to us. She was contstantly interrupting and repeating herself. After an hour of talking to them my boyfriend told them to refund our tickets, we are not flying with them. I was still not ok with this, I wanted our money back! I called the credit card company adn told them the situation, they weren't sure what to make of it either but gave me the auth codes for all the transactions. When i called westjet back I gave them the auth code and money was refunded.. but in 3-5 business days which is not good enough. As I said, we need the money asap to book our trip. I asked them to fill out that form which would release the hold on the money instantly, but they wouldn't do it. I again complained about the lack of service we were given all night (from about 7pm til 11pm) and again the agent didn't seem to care at all or offer any apologies, which is the most frustrating part. Actually, she told me that my boyfriend made her colleague cry which made me laugh a bit because he never said anything insulting, he was jus stern and persistant the whole time. Regardless, it doesn't give them the right to screw around with our money and then not be accountable for it. I didn't make the mistake yet I was the one trying to clean it up. We will not be flying with westjet anymore and my boyfriend's company will cease from using them as their preferred airline. Also, all my friends and family will hear about this. In the end I will get my money back but I do not accept being treated like westjet has treated us. Also, I am not happy in the end because now when I book my flights, they won't be the same rate as before and thus costing me money. All I want is an apology... heartfelt.. not fake like one agent said "sorry that happened to you" instead of "sorry that we messed up.. what can I do to fix it?" For a large company that prides itself on caring.. I am VERY disappointed.

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isbad99
Calgart, CA
Dec 21, 2009 10:57 pm EST

Hi Guys:

Direct private phone lines to:

Top Customer Service Manager; Paul [protected]
VP, Sales and Marketing: Bob Cumming [protected], Cell [protected]
Corporate Security Manager: Jeff Pilmmer [protected], Cell [protected]

Call them; I did and was able to get my problem fixed in 48 hours and they gave me a 250$ credit. Call the Security person first and both others, leave them a message explaining your issue and your strong dissapointment with WestJet custumer service and expect a call back.

Good luck !

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Andrew Bird
Cochra, CA
Dec 02, 2009 3:18 pm EST

I had to cancel a flight with Westjet for which I was issued a credit. I have been calling them for a week now to try to use my credit to fly four days from now. I have spent a minimum of 60-90 minutes on hold. I then called the other reservation number and ended up speaking with someone in another country who told me to contact the "reservation" number. "Too bad" ... I believe were her exact words ... of course, I wasn't sure because she barely spoke English and her line kept cutting out! The next step for me was to send an e-mail to them ... to which I received a reply telling me to contact their "reservation" line. They say that "As you may be aware, we have recently implemented a new reservation system and as a result we are experiencing extraordinary numbers of guests trying to contact us." Rubbish! You mean to tell me that this new system has generated so many new calls that they just can't keep up? Hire more staff ... sorry ... get more owners! Once I do use my credit, I will not fly Westjet again!

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NSB24
Mississauga, CA
Nov 23, 2009 10:13 am EST

Ditto! Same issues I went through. They cancelled a flight and refused to refund my ticket at the airport, citign that I should call in. I've been tryign to call since 2 weeks!