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The worst part about this type of thing is it's not like there's a particular person you can be mad at. You can only be mad at the entire system while it tells you "your call is very important to us".

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I called United recently with a question about a $1200 flight credit that was evidently unusable, seemingly due to an apparent failure in one of their systems. I called the customer service line and guffawed out loud when the automated voice told me the wait time was over two hours.

2 hours and 45 minutes later, I gave up. You win, United. Enjoy the $1200 from my Covid flight cancellation. I guess I figured I’d at least get to use it given that whole $50 billion bailout, but I guess you needed the money more than I did.

For future cases, the best strategy here is to call them the instant their phone lines open up. For a west coast person this can sometimes mean calling at 5am or something.

This is unconventional, but what about writing them a letter? Address it to the CEO and mention that you're also sending a copy to the FTC. I presume someone is going to open that mail, and while this isn't going to resolve anything quickly, the advantage is you don't have to wait on the phone for hours...

Certified mail might get through to someone important. Not super cheap, but potentially worth it.

These are both good suggestions.

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