I'll have a blue Christmas

I flew home for Christmas and did not have a good experience with the airline. As is typical for me, I wrote a letter about it when I got back. I received their response yesterday.

The airline was JetBlue.

Here is my letter:

On Dec 24, 2007, my flight, 1253 to Dulles, was cancelled. I received a phone call about it and was able to re-book. At that time, the customer service agent on the phone told me that I was on flight 1255. She gave me the flight number and times. She was efficient and helpful. When I arrived at the airport, the automated check-in listed flight 1257 instead as my flight. I proceeded to the reservations desk to double-check this. It occurred to me right then that I may have been bumped to a later flight because so many passengers needed to rebook from the earlier cancellation. I am not unused to this, but I wanted to be sure that was the case, as it disrupted quite a few travel plans for me.
At the reservations desk, the agent was extremely rude. When I explained that I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't double-booked, she refused to check the roster for the other flight. When I asked why would the phone agent have given me the wrong flight number, she offered that the phone agent probably just read the wrong number to me. As simple-minded as this answer was, I countered, "You can see that this causes quite a disruption for someone's travel plans," her completely unapologetic response was that she had to defend her teammate. You cannot believe how angry I was that she gave me such a moronic and insincere explanation for having been bumped. I paused, dumbfounded that she would defend such a ridiculous excuse rather than offer a sincere apology and the truth. Only later did I realize that she was basically accusing me of lying.
Is this the award-winning customer service recognized by JD Powers and Associates, that I heard so much about while on hold that morning when re-booking my flight? I would have gladly boycotted JetBlue from then on, had it not been for the excellent service of another agent at that same airport.
As I approached my gate, I noticed that another flight was headed to Richmond and leaving very soon. I asked the agent at the gate, Karen, if there was room aboard. It was just as easy for my family to get me from Richmond as Dulles. She checked for me and then asked me to wait while she finished de-boarding the plane. Afterwards, at the customer service counter, she re-booked me onto that flight to Richmond. She also made sure that my luggage made it to the right airplane. She was expeditious and very kind. I wanted to be sure that she is recognized.
While I understand that nothing could have been done about the inconvenience, a little patience, sympathy and sincerity, especially at Christmas time, could have gone a long way. I am in retail and it works for me. At this point, you are on sketchy ground. Thanks to Karen, I am willing to fly again on JetBlue, but I don't know that I believe in your customer service. I feel strongly that you should know about my experience.

Here is their reply (I detect cutty-pasty-ness):

Thank you for contacting us and for taking the time to share your disappointment regarding your JetBlue experience. We regret the circumstances that prompted your message to JetBlue and we appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns.We sincerely apologize for the added difficulty you experienced due to your flight cancelation. We can appreciate how upsetting this experience must have been for you, especially since you found our airport crewmember to be rude and helpful. (hunh?) Please accept our sincere apologies that we have not met your expectations in our service to you.We also thank you for letting us know that Karen was able to get you on the flight to Richmond and ensure that your baggage was loaded on the right aircraft. We are very proud of Karen and those of our outstanding crewmembers who consistently demonstrate a passion for excellent customer service. We will forward your letter to our Leadership Team so that Karen will receive recognition for her kind help.While it is our goal always to offer the highest level of customer service, we fully recognize that there are areas in which we can improve. Your valuable feedback allows us the opportunity to review those areas, and make any necessary improvements to ensure our customers are pleased with all aspects of our service.We appreciate you as a JetBlue customer and we thank you again for contacting us. We hope to have the privilege of welcoming you onboard again in the future.
Sincerely,Kirsten Customer Commitment Crew JetBlue Airways

I'm not going to recommend boycotting them ... yet.