Over the past few years, NaBloPoMo has taught me that there will always be something to blog about. A few minutes ago I was sitting here with my WordPress window open, idly clicking around the web in search of something that I felt like writing about. And inspiration came to me.
Earlier this afternoon I got an email from Velocity, Virgin Blue’s frequent flyer program, announcing that I had been upgraded to their “Gold” membership. I was actually pretty pleased that I didn’t disregard it as spam, as I’m flying with them next week and thought it’d be nice to enjoy the lounge.
The email reads:
Hi Elizabeth Velocity Membership Number: #123456789
We’ve got a treat for you – a free upgrade to Velocity Gold! Given you came so close to making it on your own, we wanted to say thanks so much for your ongoing commitment to the Virgin Blue Group, we really love having you around.A golden year on us!
To find out what’s in store for you over the next 12 months, please keep reading.
Perks when travelling.
When you next fly with the Virgin Blue Group, we’ll make sure you’re treated like a VIP.
* It starts with free Lounge membership, so you can catch up on work, relax and escape the airport crowds.
* As before, you can breeze right through the airport with priority check-in.
* You now get up to 32kg of checked baggage at no cost.
* Plus, two personalised baggage tags (coming soon to your letterbox) and more.If you’re already a member of The Lounge, naturally Virgin Blue will automatically refund the balance of your unused membership. Please allow up to 60 days for your refund to be finalised.
Easier to earn Points.
Being Gold you now earn 40% more Points for every dollar you spend or miles flown than Red, and can collect more Status Credits than ever before
Here to help you
If there’s anything you need to know, velocityrewards.com.au/gold is a great source of useful information. Should you prefer to chat, simply call 13 18 75 in Australia or +61 2 8667 5924 if calling internationally (if the line’s busy, rest assured you’ll jump straight to the head of the queue – just another little Gold benefit our Members enjoy).
The Velocity Team.
Sounds pretty good, right? Virgin is usually my airline of choice anyway, so I figured I’d make use of their offer.
Ah, but it just wasn’t to be.
You suck, Velocity – especially for inspiring me to write about my first-world problems on the internet!
“Warm regards”,
Member #123456789
Edited to add: I’ve had a good laugh after reading this article – sounds like some people got very upset about all this! It’s interesting to see the many different reactions to what was clearly one person’s mistake, although it seems to be widely acknowledged that the mistake wasn’t handled terribly well.
Helpful hint: take care when searching google images for “virgin sucks”. You’ll get more than pictures of aeroplanes.
