Me: "I was calling about a specific PNR, but the system told me there was a schedule change on one of my itineraries."
Agent: "There's no schedule change. I think the system is seeing that you are waitlisted for an upgrade on your Rome trip and for some reason is telling you there's a schedule change."
Me: "ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH."
Agent: "What can I help you with?"
Me: "F*** if I can remember. I forgot with all this BS going on. I'll have to figure it out and call you back."
Lather, rinse, repeat. Progress is definitely wonderful.
You have obviously tapped my phone as that is an exact transcript of my last phone call to AA.
__________________ "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." Plato
I think that most people are upset because they can't figure out how an airline can make a decision to use, solely, a voice recognition system, when they know that the people that are calling are going to be doing it from airports, airplanes before takeoff / after landing, and other places where speed and accuracy are of utmost importance in a noisy environment.
So they say that the common person will prefer using speech recognition technology and eventually get to where they need. That's fine and well, but why would you disable the touch tone system for whatever small but fanatic part of your customer population that does need to get to the EXP dest, upgrade system, or even just an agent in 10 seconds or less.
oh well. Now I'll have to explain to my co-workers why I'm learning the NATO alphabet.
Agent: "There's no schedule change. I think the system is seeing that you are waitlisted for an upgrade on your Rome trip and for some reason is telling you there's a schedule change."
The agent got it right. This is exactly what happened to me and when my upgrade cleared it went away. See this thread for my 4 emails and the CS responses. Their last email implies that the problem is fixed, but vasantn seems to have experienced it quite recently.
On the bright side, you'll know the upgrade cleared when the phone system stops telling you that there is a schedule change. In my line of work that's called making a defect into a feature.
Programs: AA - EXP 1.5 Million Miles, SPG Gold, hertz 5 star
Posts: 504
I complained via aa.com
I wrote cust. service at aa.com and noted the issues I've had with the system recognizing my number or basic commands. The technology simply just isn't there yet, and forcing elites into a frustrating loop isn't the best idea from a customer's perspective. They clearly didn't read the letter carefully and I got the standard cut and paste reply:
Will any number of complaints get them to improve or remove this "feature"?
Dear XXXXX:
Thank you for contacting American Airlines Customer Relations. I am pleased to have
the opportunity to assist you.
If you need assistance speaking to an agent is easy| After the call greeting, supply
your AAdvantage number when prompted, say, Agent and you will automatically be
transferred to the correct Reservations Specialist based on your elite status. Once
enrolled, you will no longer have to provide your AAdvantage number and you can speak
"agent" to speak with a representative right away.
xxxx, we value your business and we are eager to retain your loyalty. Please be
assured we are all working hard to provide the high quality service you have every
right to expect from us. Consequently, we've shared your comments with management
personnel responsible for this system.
During this holiday season, all of us here at American Airlines would like to extend
to you and your family our very best wishes for happiness and peace. May you find
many opportunities to spend time together in celebration and thanks as the
New Year approaches.
Sincerely,
xxxx
Customer Relations
American Airlines
If you need assistance speaking to an agent is easy| After the call greeting, supply your AAdvantage number when prompted, say, Agent and you will automatically be transferred to the correct Reservations Specialist based on your elite status. Once enrolled, you will no longer have to provide your AAdvantage number and you can speak "agent" to speak with a representative right away.
Dear American Airlines:
Thank you very much for your stock response. Unfortunately, your new voice recognition system appears unable to recognize the word "agent". Please revert to your old number prompt system.
Programs: AA (EXP, 2MM), Starwood (Gold), Hilton (Diamond)
Posts: 1,729
Improvements on the way?
After sending in a very detailed letter, I received a call from someone in the responsible department. She told me they had gotten a lot of responses, most of them "yelling and screaming." She told me they were upset with the poor performance of the new system in capturing the spoken AAdvantage number, and they also now understood that EXPs are not likely to be calling in to check mileage balances and that sort of nonsense. I was told that they will be rolling out some immediate improvements in the AAdvantage number recognition function, and hopefully some overall improvements next month, including easier top-level menu navigation. One example of the latter that was suggested as a possibility is "Would you to speak to an agent, or use an automated system?" as the top-level menu.
Programs: AA EXP 1.8MM, HH Gold, SPG Gold, Traveler's Aid JFK Volunteer
Posts: 5,525
Quote:
Originally Posted by anabolism
After sending in a very detailed letter, I received a call from someone in the responsible department. She told me they had gotten a lot of responses, most of them "yelling and screaming." She told me they were upset with the poor performance of the new system in capturing the spoken AAdvantage number, and they also now understood that EXPs are not likely to be calling in to check mileage balances and that sort of nonsense. I was told that they will be rolling out some immediate improvements in the AAdvantage number recognition function, and hopefully some overall improvements next month, including easier top-level menu navigation. One example of the latter that was suggested as a possibility is "Would you to speak to an agent, or use an automated system?" as the top-level menu.
Hallelujah!
Here are my suggestions:
1) Please do NOT automatically try to help us with upcoming reservations. EXPs aren't that clueless!
2) The system often says I don't have a seat assignment when I do, or that a schedule change has occurred when one has not. Please fix!
3) Please allow us to KEY IN our AAdvantage number instead of speaking it!
4) Please allow us to COMPLETELY DEACTIVATE all voice recognition features for the duration of a call if we so desire (like in a very noisy place, or because we hate voice recognition). (For instance, on the Bank of America line, you can press *33 at any time if you wish only to enter responses, not speak them, for the duration of the call.)
5) Please make it easy to get to an Agent quickly, WITHOUT having to deal with voice recognition, or to access the automated systems if we wish. I wholly support going back to a top-level menu with two options: A) Automated Systems; or B) Speak with a Representative.
I whole-heartedly support a system that can recognize our cell phone and associate it with our AAdvantage number. But the terrible voice recognition system completely negates any positive effect from not having to enter/speak the number when we call from our own phones!
After sending in a very detailed letter, I received a call from someone in the responsible department. She told me they had gotten a lot of responses, most of them "yelling and screaming." She told me they were upset with the poor performance of the new system in capturing the spoken AAdvantage number, and they also now understood that EXPs are not likely to be calling in to check mileage balances and that sort of nonsense. I was told that they will be rolling out some immediate improvements in the AAdvantage number recognition function, and hopefully some overall improvements next month, including easier top-level menu navigation. One example of the latter that was suggested as a possibility is "Would you to speak to an agent, or use an automated system?" as the top-level menu.
You probably spoke with the same person I've spoken with, and emailed, a couple of times, and I agree that she actually seemed to care and want to fix the system. She definitely welcomed feedback, and acknowledged that most of it was bad. I'd also expressed the idea that EXPs (and, usually, PLT and GLD) would have different intent from standard members...and should not be herded into narrow bins. I'm glad that the changes she was eager to implement are forthcoming.
Programs: AA (EXP, 2MM), Starwood (Gold), Hilton (Diamond)
Posts: 1,729
Quote:
Originally Posted by ESpen36
3) Please allow us to KEY IN our AAdvantage number instead of speaking it!
This was one of the specific areas we discussed. I suggested that the system could take advantage of having multiple pieces of information to make this possible. That is, if you punch in an AAdvantage number that has letters, and hence the key sequence is ambiguous, the system could see if any of the possible matches have the calling phone number in their profile. If so, pick that one. Aside from the very obvious tactic of checking if only one of the possible matches is an EXP (when calling the EXP line).
That is, if you punch in an AAdvantage number that has letters, and hence the key sequence is ambiguous, the system could see if any of the possible matches have the calling phone number in their profile.
I don't believe there's any need to do that. The old system of punching in your AAdvantage no. followed by the PIN worked flawlessly even with alpha characters.
Programs: AA EXP 1.8MM, HH Gold, SPG Gold, Traveler's Aid JFK Volunteer
Posts: 5,525
Quote:
Originally Posted by vasantn
I don't believe there's any need to do that. The old system of punching in your AAdvantage no. followed by the PIN worked flawlessly even with alpha characters.
I know! It used to work so well! I can't believe they got rid of the old system in favor of this "enhancement" which is so dreadful for elites! Please AA, bring back the old menus for elites!
(Hopefully, if enough of us complain, IVR on the elite lines will go the same way as the soy nuts!)
(a "genius")
