Putting You In The Hot Seat

(I work in a call center for one of the major airlines in my country. Of the four top airlines, three charge additional money for certain types of seats. My airline is one of them, but if you don’t want to pay extra, if there are no regular-priced seats, you will be assigned a seat of any kind at check in. Having a seat assignment makes no difference of whether or not you could be bumped from a flight.)

Customer: “I wanted to choose our seats for our flights next month, but they all cost more money!”

Me: “Yes, I see that there are no regular-priced seats available on that flight. If you do not wish to pay additional charges, you will be assigned seats at check-in at no charge, though there is no guarantee that you will be seated together.”

(She goes on a long rant about how much she has already paid for the tickets and how far in advance they booked, all the while I am wondering why she didn’t choose seats when she booked six months prior.)

Customer: *continuing rant* “It’s like you guys are just trying to get more money! Is that true?!”

Me: *before I even know what I am saying* “Well, I mean, it’s a business.”

(Thankfully, she did not get mad at that slip of my filter, and I ended up advising her to ask the ticket counter or gate agent if they could be seated together on the day of departure, if she still decides she doesn’t want to pay extra. For the record: we think paying extra for seats is stupid, too, but you can choose them at the time of booking, and it’s not our fault when you wait so long to even bother checking what seats you have.)