As our recent trip to Europe came to a close, we were scheduled to fly back on Delta’s direct Paris to Cincinnati flight. We had booked the tickets in DeltaOne using 50,000 Virgin Atlantic points when award availability surprisingly came open. This direct flight from Paris is a bit of a unicorn in the miles and points world, as I almost NEVER see reasonable award availability on this flight. It’s one of only 2 flights from CVG to Europe, with the other being British Airways’ flight to London, which is also nearly unbookable due to outrageous BA taxes and fees.

But annoyingly, our flight was delayed and eventually canceled.

(SEE ALSO: Why Do My Business Class Flights Keep Getting Cancelled?)

An Email From Rose Dougherty From Delta Customer Care?

Shortly after our flight was finally canceled (after about 5 hours of waiting to see if it was going to eventually go), we got rebooked and then got an email from Rose O. Dougherty at Delta Customer Care.

Hello Daniel,

I know we disappointed you with the cancellation of Flight 229 to Cincinnati. An unexpected mechanical issue prevented us from departing Paris as originally scheduled. This wasn’t the experience we wanted you to have with us and I’m very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused.

We Appreciate Your Business

If you incurred any hotel, meal, or transportation expenses related to this flight disruption, please see below for reimbursement consideration:

For residents of the United States or Canada, please submit an Expense Reimbursement Form. Otherwise, please reply to this email and attach your receipts.

Expenses may be reimbursable under Section 12 of the Delta Customer Commitment. Please note that we do not reimburse prepaid expenses, including but not limited to hotel reservations at your destination, vacation experiences, lost wages, concerts, or other tickets.

Thanks for Flying Delta
We look forward to seeing you on another Delta flight.

Regards,

Rose O. Dougherty
Customer Care
Delta Air Lines

(emphasis mine)

So, Who Is Rose O. Dougherty From Delta?

While I appreciated the gesture (especially since we got 4 of these emails, I always like to know who exactly I am dealing with. So I did a Linkedin search to see who Rose O. Dougherty was and found…. nothing! I could not find any official news article or press release identifying someone named Rose Dougherty employed by Delta. I even browsed various public records sites and I’m not sure that anyone named Rose O. Dougherty exists in the United States at all! I saw about 200 Rose Doughertys but all of them had different middle initials (or none listed).

Does Delta’s Rose O. Dougherty Exist?

So that made me wonder if Rose O. Dougherty was even a real person at all? I could see a scenario where Delta didn’t want to list any frontline person’s name, especially given that this (flight cancellation) is probably a scenario where people tend to get angry and/or irrational. On the other hand, other customer service emails I got from Delta were either signed by real people or not signed at all. I suppose I could see a scenario where Delta just decided to make up a pleasant sounding name so that it appears to be a “real person” without having to have an actual person be responsible.

The Bottom Line

So I am not sure that Rose O. Dougherty from Delta Customer Care exists. Though in some ways I hope I’m wrong and Rose Dougherty from Delta does exist and if so, Rose – I’m sorry that I semi-doxxed you! 🙂

But I’m curious to hear from anyone else that has gotten customer service emails from Delta – is this a standard “fake name” that Delta uses? Or have you gotten Delta customer care emails from someone else?

Have you ever gotten an email from Rose O. Dougherty at Delta Customer Care? Or someone else that isn’t real? Leave your experience in the comments below

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