Earlier this year I used my frequent flier points for one-way flights on American and United (because I didn’t have enough points with either for a full round trip).

There is no online, “book with points” option when the destination originates outside the U.S. (kind of annoying), so I had to make my arrangements the old-fashioned way: over the phone (yuck!) with a real human person (double yuck!).

Bookings by phone incur a $25 fee, which in general is fair because if you’re still not using the internet in 2013, you damn-well better be fined. In my case, however, I had no choice and didn’t think it right to be charged for a service I didn’t ask for (and definitely didn’t want).

I wrote exactly that to both United and American customer service departments, asking for a refund of the automatic fee. Their answers to my identical message couldn’t have been more different.

Once again, United proves it is completely inept and comically stubborn when running a business that subsists almost exclusively on customer satisfaction.

—-

Update: On follow-up complaint, United saw how out of step it was with the industry and is crediting me with 2,000 bonus miles. Which is all but useless, but an appreciated gesture nonetheless.