I signed up for skymiles. Pretty simple and boring unto itself really. Actually the rest is fairly boring as well but it’s an example of corporations using auto-responders irresponsibly.

Shortly after I received marketing e-mail that was a “Grab your double bonus miles before the 60 days are up” and “This offer is valid for only 60 days after the receipt of this email, so register today.” In case that clarifies what e-mail I’m talking about, the bottom of the e-mail says “Please refer Delta customer service representative to 970641.”

When I went to register (using the correct e-mail address and skymiles number) I got the following error message:
“We are sorry, the SkyMiles number you entered is not eligible for this offer.”

If I wasn’t eligible for this offer then why did you send me an e-mail regarding the offer?
If I was eligible then why did I get this error message?

I hit “reply” to the e-mail marketing with this question and got back:
“Thank you for your e-mail. Your feedback is important to us. To ensure that your message reaches the appropriate contact in a timely manner, simply contact us online. Sincerely, Delta”

I sent this inquiry using the above mentioned contact form and got the following response:
“Dear Ms. Baumann,

Thank you for your e-mail regarding Delta’s SkyMiles program.

Our 24-hour Online Customer Support Desk is available to help you with any questions you may have regarding delta.com. Please feel free to contact us at 888-750-3284 so that we may assist you with your navigational or web-related needs.

Your selection of Delta is appreciated, and we will always do our best to merit your confidence and support.

Sincerely,

Steeve Spike
Online Customer Support Desk
http://www.delta.com”

I e-mailed, I used the form, and NOW you want me to call? It was a simple question, CLEARLY you are just wasting my time.

I now expect if I call I would spend half of the day being redirected through some phone tree so I’m not going to even try. I don’t care enough about the offer to waste more of my time. Delta, please answer people’s questions from time to time or take action to fix the problem instead of just sending auto-responses to everything and giving people a run around until they give up.

This experience will probably be the first thing that comes to mind next time I have to deal with Delta again…