AKSteveB

First time in 12 years of being MVPG that I lost it with an AS rep. What a clusterfark.

1) ANC-SMF r/t 6/30-7/9 all legs upgraded. Schedule change on return, now has a 3 1/2 hr layover. Call the MVPG line.

2) Rep is nice enough but utterly ...utterly befuddled. She talks to a supervisor then somehow ends up changing the outbound. I ask to speak to a supervisor and she drops the call attempting to transfer me.

3) I call back, have the rep change the outbound back to the original ..then ask for a Sup. to deal with the return, since there is an earlier connection, but no U space, only revenue F. Sup. refuses to "overbook" or ask rev. mgmt to clear the space. I understand, that complimentary upgrades aren't guaranteed, but in the past ...they've *always* cleared the space, unless the the cabin was actually sold out. I ask sup if there has been a change in policy, and he just refuses to answer ...sticking to a script answer "We reaccomodated you to the best of our ability", no matter what question was asked. I even asked "Is there any way you can just say something other than reading the script" and his answer was "I'm not reading a script, we reaccomodated you to the best of our ability." I finally lost it, and pulled the DYKWIA thing, said I'd work it up the executive chain and hung up.

4) I cool off for a minute or two, call back, get a highly competent rep. ask for a sup and same thing ..he can't clear the space, but DOES say that there has been a policy change and in general seems competent and able to think on his feet. We eventually go with a slightly better itinerary and life goes on.

I do take a couple of things from this.

1) Either the supervisors have had some authority in terms of making "exceptions" taken away from them, or there has been some strong indoctrination towards FCM that they are taking very very seriously.

2) While it is mostly still pretty good, the MVPG line has been a lot more hit and miss lately, than it once was. This was not the first time recently, that a clearly newbie rep was working it.

jackal

Based on some things I have heard about, I would not be surprised. I think the AS corporate culture is (unfortunately) taking a turn for the worse.

This is a result of a change that missydarlin alluded to several months back--the MVP/G/75K line is now being spread across a broader pool of agents in order to reduce hold times. The downside is that we are getting less-experienced agents who sometimes (IME) don't have a clue what's actually going on. I would rather face a 30-second hold (I never, ever had any more than that) and get a competent agent from the awesome PHX elite desk than the half-asleep "This is Baaaarbara" I've gotten the last several times I've had to call.

hgdf

You hit it right on the head. The question is, are they that naive that they think we won't notice, or are they so cynical that they think it won't matter in the long run?

formeraa

I suggest that the OP write a concise email, outlining the issues. I encourage others to write in about the Elite desk situation. Like any business, AS will respond to its best customers.