as posted by <b>RBCal</b>

<i>Also, the coupons are difficult to redeem</i>

Not with AA. The voucher is like cash. You can purchase ANY ticket you want and use the voucher for payment. The only problem is that you have to &quot;finalize&quot; the deal with an airport or telephone agent and unless you are top elite there is a charge of ~$15 plus/mines few, not really sure).

AA may have sent you to that motel because their closer ones were full, rather than to save a couple of dollars.

Although AA &quot;does this all the time&quot; it could be because the owners of the motel have filed paperwork saying they have a restaurant in the motel or immediately adjacent, and that no one has informed AA otherwise.

Keith

I don't volunteer to be bumped, but many frequent flyers seem to relish the opportunity, so there may be something to it.

My feeling from your original posting is that you are quite angry and are looking for things to complain about.

You report that in return for volunteering, you received vouchers for meals and a hotel. You later amend that report to include that you did it to help other fliers. You don't mention that you received vouchers for use on a future flight. If you didn't receive vouchers, you are the only volunteers I have ever heard of who didn't.

I don't think gate agents negotiate where they will put you up; they have coupons supplied by the airline and pass them out, but probably have never actually been to the facility. You then complain that you were sent to a motel, rather than a hotel (the ignominy of it!) that was miles from the airport (many would consider separation from the noise of the airport an advantage), and that the only restaurant was a horrible chain place in a nearby mall (double ignominy). Yet you seem to say that you had been given vouchers for lodging and dinner. So what did you do with the dinner vouchers? You didn't have to use them in front of the masses, did you? Frankly, it is hard to believe that AA issued vouchers for a non-existent restaurant, but if they did, you should certainly report it to them. In writing them, I would leave out you feelings about having to stay in a motel rather than a hotel; that is the kind of thing that could get your letter passed all around the office for amusement value.

You then declined an early shuttle and a later shuttle, and opted for a taxi. Just how did AA trick you into doing that?

Perhaps I'm callous, but I don't think you were badly treated on the outbound flights.

A dirty plane, and the lack of adequate time between connecting flights is something I would write to AA about. I trust your luggage did eventually catch up with you.

I read that you are considering leaving AA, and some other posters have suggested that. I think the airlines deal with this very cleverly, because all the vouchers and miles you get, including any you might get from complaining, are valid only on AA, so you are even more closely bound to them than you were before this flight.

I haven't flown AA in many years, but many fliers seem very happy with this airline and its frequent flyer program.

We fly AA's ERJ-145s BJX-DFW-BJX frequently.
It is not unusual for ticketed passengers to get &quot;bumped&quot; due to total weight/balance; atmospheric conditions, etc.
M

No, I'm certainly not angry. In my original posting I said AA needed 4 seats, I didn't say why, it really doesn't matter why, but we did it because we were able to, and it helped a family in need. Naturally I expected to recieve some sort of compensation for doing this. I only think we were given incomplete information upon which to base our decision. If AA had said the meal vouchers were only good at restaurants in the airport, and only on that day... we would have taken that into consideration in making our decision. It was already a late flight leaving DFW. But they led us to believe the hotel they were sending us to, had a restaurant and we could use the vouchers there. Hotel's usually have restaurants or some sort of food service, and we relied on this. When what we got was a MOTEL, with no food service on site, and then had to locate a restaurant nearby, which obviously did not take our vouchers, we ended up not being able to use the vouchers, and paid for a mediocre meal which we did not expect to have to do. The fact that AA apparently does this frequently to others too (according to the motel in question) I think is deceptive on AA's part. We (incorrectly it turns out)assumed the hotel we would be staying at would be close to the airport. We were MILES away, and did not consider this an advantage at all.
I never stated that AA TRICKED us into having to take a Taxi, I only said that this was a motel that AA obviously uses frequently, and they had only 2 morning shuttles, 6;30 and 9 something.... since DFW is a hub and AA has flights leaving all the time, it seems to me logical that the hotel they chose to send passengers to would have at least hourly shuttles in this busy part of the day, or provide one for the 4 of us. I repeat, we were NOT familiar with the area and had no idea how long it would take to get to the airport and relied on the motel saying the taxi would get us there on time. We did not expect to have to take a taxi to get back to the airport either, but the first shuttle came too early and the next one too late. Maybe we should have taken the early shuttle, but then again, disclosure from AA about where they were sending us and what we would encounter (i.e. morning rush hour) would have been helpful. I felt then, and I feel now that AA did not take the time to disclose everything and make sure that we were properly taken care of. Obviously from some other postings on this subject, we are not the only one's to experience poor service from AA. I also need to repeat that there were 2 other's who offered to give up their seats, and all 4 of us felt AA treated us badly in this exchange.

Kleroux - While I do understand your dissatisfaction with the circumstances, but I don't see that it was really that terrible. You weren't abandoned in an airport for 14 hours, you weren't indefinitely delayed, etc. You were put up at a place that you didn't particularly care for. You didn't read the meal vouchers and lost out on them. Stuff happens. AA didn't lie to you. Did they leave stuff out, yes, but I don't believe they did it in an attempt to mislead you. They didn't detail everything because they expected you to know the procedure or to read the vouchers or to ask questions.

AAFF,
Have a heart! Those of us who must fly cattle class because we don't have enough FF miles to fly first class as you do get tired and hungry on these trips. After all the stress of traveling, you do not want to wait 45 minutes for a shuttle, you do not want to have to mount an expedition to find a restaurant, you do not want to spend extra money on a taxi, etc.
If those conditions had been announced at the airport gate, perhaps the OP wouldn't have volunteered to be bumped.
However, the worst service I ever received was from United Airlines. In that case, AA came to our rescue and accepted our United tickets and saved us from another 24 hours in a blizzarded Denver airport after United gave away our confirmed reservations on a 6 a.m. flight. We haven't flown United in 15 years. My anger has finally dissipated, so I might fly them again someday.
I do find your comparison of volunteering for vouchers with volunteering for war to be quite amusing.
Also, the OP is &quot;greedy&quot; but you hold out for $1,000 and the hotel of your choice?

AAFF, the OP agreed to help your airline, they weren't being greedy.

kleroux, you should complain. You trusted AA too much. I think they owe you the taxi fare to the airport.

AA sent you to that place for lodging because AA has a contract with them. This should raise a warning in your mind.

In your posts above you have said:

1) &quot;if the airline had told us&quot;
2) &quot;they led us to believe&quot;
3) &quot;if we would have been told&quot;
4) &quot;we assumed the airport would be close to the hotel&quot;
5) &quot;AA did not take time to disclose everything&quot;.

When a huge company offers to buy you dinner, pay your transport, and give you a night in a hotel you need to ask questions. You need to be suspicious about what they are going to deliver because they are interested in keeping the cost low.

6) &quot;AA had booked us&quot; - this should have been no surprise to you. Am not sure how your volunteering on your outbound flight affected your return schedule, but you needed to work that out to your satisfaction before you accepted the DBC.

I think you messed up on the meal vouchers. They obviously weren't cash so you needed to read them so that you knew how to use them.

Yes, AA delivered the vouchers but that doesn't get them off the hook. It doesn't sound like the value of the vouchers was what you might have reasonably expected.

When you volunteer for the U.S. military you know what you are getting into. You know that they go to war. You also know that they will pay your tuition and R&amp;B at a university that you accept. And you have plenty of time to consider it. And you have a contract.

When you are standing at an airplane counter in a connecting city, the act of volunteering is different. You basically have to deliver your side of the bargain before the airline delivers. And there is no way to know exactly what they will deliver, and when, and there is no going back.

Interesting discussion. To me this isn't a question of obligation on AAs part, and I don't believe kleroux is demanding anything. It is an excellent example, however, of the difference between outstanding customer service, and cs that falls short.

An example:
I flew JetBlue earlier this year. The flight was delayed 2hrs due to mechanical problems - we sat on the tarmac 2hrs while they worked the problem. Frustrating, yes, but JetBlue showed how good customer service can be. Before takeoff they announced that movies on the flight would be free. Shortly after takeoff they announced that each of us would have a $25 credit for future travel emailed to us. That email was sent out by JetBlue customer service before the plane landed.

That's an example of excellent customer service - beyond what JetBlue was obligated to do. Neither jesture was a big deal but they showed that they paid attention to the customer.

I agree 100% that AA should be informed, without demanding any compensation. Any organization that says they are interested in customer service wants to know how they can improve.

I've worked with both types of organizations before - those that strive for mediocrity (and often fail to meet those goals), and those that strive for excellence in everything they do - big or small. The latter is far better.

Again, in my opinion, the whole thing happened because the OP is &quot;innocent&quot;, and don't understand what bumping is.

It is NOT a compassion act. If you do it that way, you'll putting yourself into an emotional bind.

It is nothing more than a agreement, a contract between you and the airline. You don't get on, they give you some compensations. <b>That's it!</b> It doesn't matter if you decided to volunteer in order to save the world. The airline doesn't care.

You ask about all the conditions - form of payment/voucher, meal, hotel, shuttle, etc... If you agree, you agree. If you don't, end of story.

The problem is that the OP acted out of compassion, and expect to receive a compassionate treatment. <b>It doesn't work that way.</b>

So, just consider a lesson learned and think twice, three times, or four times, before &quot;volunteering&quot; next time.

as posted by <b>marigold</b>,

<i>AAFF,
Have a heart! Those of us who must fly cattle class because we don't have enough FF miles to fly first class as you do get tired and hungry on these trips. After all the stress of traveling, you do not want to wait 45 minutes for a shuttle, you do not want to have to mount an expedition to find a restaurant, you do not want to spend extra money on a taxi, etc.</i>

The OP volunteered. If the OP did not then none of this would have happened.

And why did the OP volunteer?

The OP said that it was done so a family of four could get home. Nice gesture, but if it wasn't the OP that volunteered somebody else would have, so it's also possible that the OP liked the idea of <b>cash vouchers</b> for future travel. I see people falling all over each other when $200-$300 vouchers are offered on domestic flights and up to $1000 vouchers on international flights.

Once again - <b>Nobody forced the OP to volunteer</b> - Simple!

Can we all agree to disagree here?

I hate to see my Fodors friends arguing over differences in opinions and interpretations of a story! :)

OP and AA made a deal. A deal is a deal, but OP believes it was not a fair deal and definitely has a right to complain - to AA.

The food, lodging, and transportation part of AA's side of the deal has to meet some standard. For example, the lodging should be of a quality that AA would provide for the FAs. If it was far below that standard then AA did not, IMO, live up to their part of the deal. Simple.

Complain to AA and give them a chance to make it right. Tell them what you believe would make it right. Expect that they will either ignore you or tell you that you had a deal and they delivered their end.

I think one thing is not right. The motel they use should have frequent shuttle back to the airport. That is a legitimate complain, or AA needs to give them taxi money.

But do not complain about &quot;miles away&quot; from DFW. Every single airport hotel, except for the two Hyatts, are miles away. It's miles just to get out of DFW perimeter.

It seems like you taxi for miles upon landing and takeoff at DFW....

Don't forget that darn motel did not have the restaurant that was stated by AA. Don't flame....

kleroux - let us know what happens.

Maybe this post can be put to bed?

I heard that next year, American will give you a bed in a ten-bed hostel.

Thank you all for your feed back and helpful comments. I have appreciated reading them all, even the negative ones. I have learned a lot from this forum, and I agree that we should now &quot;put it to bed&quot;.......

I am surprised at the hostility directed by some posters toward the OP. One of the beauties of Fodors is that inexperienced travelers can learn from others. The OP had a bad experience volunteering to get bumped. Regardless of how or why it happened, others can learn from that experience. Isn't that what Fodors is all about?

rk: There are scads of hotels at both the North and South exit. It may take 30 minutes to WALK to them but not ride there. 30 minutes is a ride to Addison or Ft Worth.

kleroux:Don't listen to AAFF. He's long been a voicepiece for AA on here.