DOT fines SWA $150k for slow response to Complaints

The U.S. Department of Transportation has fined Southwest Airlines $150,000 “for not responding in a timely manner to complaints filed by consumers, including passengers with disabilities, and for not adequately responding to the passengers’ specific complaints in its responses,” the department said Wednesday.
“When airlines receive complaints from passengers, we expect them to provide prompt responses that appropriately answer the specific complaints,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in the DOT announcement. “This is an important part of our work protecting the rights of passengers, and we will continue to take enforcement action when necessary.”
In its response to the federal agency, Southwest blamed the problem on technical problems with its website.
The department said Southwest has to pay $35,000 to the government. The Dallas-based carrier satisfied the other $115,000 of the penalty through refunds already made to people who had filed complaints.

What bothers about these types of fines is that they are in trouble for not providing "prompt" responses to complaints. What is prompt? Twenty-four hours? Forty-eight? Seven days? Does the DOT consider a response to be a form letter saying we have heard you and will get back to you? What if you have a system problem that isn't fixed for a week or more? WN is well known for good customer service so I'm sure there was a good reason for the delay. Unless this was an ongoing, frequently warned about problem I think the DOT needs to relax.