LAX Ticket Agents rude and swore at me

Old Feb 21, 2017, 8:05 am
  #1  
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LAX Ticket Agents rude and swore at me

Trip through LAX in return to DC from Laguna Beach. I asked one question this morning and three of AA ticket counter agents went off on me. DD actually yelled at me and told me to f*** off under her breath. Then C. came over and said she saw what happened, and that's DD (laughingly, as if it were some inside joke), but C said she cannot do anything because she is DDs coworker and not a supervisor. Then, an Asian lady came over and said she was a supervisor. I asked her name and she refused. I asked to see her TWIC ID (transportation worker identification) and she tucked it into her vest (TSA and DOT will be interested in hearing about this, especially if that's what AA is teaching them to do).

After I got the earful from the three ladies I just walked away. C. tried to follow me and keep talking, but I departed and got away from them. I did not want to have to suffer a one-way conversation where insult and belittling is what happens. I am a wounded warrior and Harvard alum, AND A CUSTOMER. Why should I be made to feel I cannot ask a simple question like "can I use the machine to change seats or do I see a gate agent?" C., after she begrudgingly gave me her name, said they are TAUGHT to be aggressive and that AA is going to give her a bonus for keeping the line moving. I believe her. I am sorry I did not video the conversation. My wife is flying later today, I have told her and will tell my thousands of LinkedIn associates to capture their encounter with AA Reps on video.

Again, C., DD, and the unidentified lady will probably be lauded for wait times or some other metric. They should assess how many customers take their business elsewhere. I have five trips this year that I'm taking to United or Delta, their competition.

Anyone have similar experience? Is this the accepted culture at LAX?

Last edited by JDiver; Feb 21, 2017 at 8:19 am Reason: Redacted employee names per FlyerTalk Rules
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 8:32 am
  #2  
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Form letter garbage

Proof they don't care:



February 21, 2017


Dear Mr. G:

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to address your comments. There is simply no excuse for rudeness. Our customers should always experience polite service from our employees, regardless of the circumstances.
We are deeply sorry for the disappointing service you received from our personnel. We've made it a strict policy not to share internal information or documents pertaining to our personnel.
Nevertheless, while it is our policy not to share details regarding possible disciplinary actions taken with our employees as a result of customer concerns, we want to assure you that we take these matters very seriously. Policies and procedures are a necessary part of our operation. However, we expect our employees to apply these policies and procedures with the utmost courtesy and professionalism -- rudeness or unwillingness to assist a customer will not be tolerated!
Mr. G, we look forward to the privilege of welcoming you aboard again soon. In turn, we will do our best to ensure your next flight is a pleasant one.


Sincerely,


xxx
Customer Relations
American Airlines

AA Ref#1-24011520705


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Last edited by aztimm; Feb 21, 2017 at 8:36 am Reason: removed name of CSR and fixed spacing issues
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 9:49 am
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I am sorry about your experience at LAX. Since I did not witness the situation at LAX, I do not think I can comment on what happened to you. You contacted AA and received the response from AA, which looks like it is little more than a standard form letter they send out for a response. I do think it is very common that many companies will not discuss specific personnel matter with customers.

I do get the feeling that you are still upset about the incident at LAX. But could you give little more information regarding why you thought the response from AA was not appropriate and AA did not care about the incident?
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 9:52 am
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Did you really think they were going to tell you if they'd disciplined their employee? Come on....
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 9:57 am
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Originally Posted by Mdg1775
"can I use the machine to change seats or do I see a gate agent?"
Is that what you asked her? It's not been my experience with LAX agents, but your experience doesn't sound acceptable.

As far as where you take it now though, I think you'll need to chalk it up to an agent having a bad day or take your business elsewhere. I don't think that AA will share the details of any disciplinary action with you, if that's what you're looking for.
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 10:32 am
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Sounds like every visit to the counter at DCA . Sorry to hear that such behavior has spread westward.

One piece of advice: Snail mail. I've found that if I spend the time to write a letter and mail it, the replies, while still underwhelming, are better than the online complaint route. As always -- YMMV.

Cheers
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 10:34 am
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Unless there were other witnesses, or the scene was captured on camera, it's the OP's word vs the agents' word. Hard for AA to take disciplinary action without proof.
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 11:03 am
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Originally Posted by Mdg1775
DD actually yelled at me and told me to f*** off under her breath.
There are always two sides of the story. Not saying OP isn't telling the truth but we've seen others come on this board and "stretch" the truth a bit to make an upsetting situation seem like a personal attack. When I saw in the subject "Agent swore at me" I immediately wondered what really happened here. Then in the thread it states that the Agent didn't actually swear at the OP but swore "under her breath". Which is it? If she did say what you said she did then I understand your frustration as that is not acceptable conduct.


Originally Posted by AlwaysAisle
I do think it is very common that many companies will not discuss specific personnel matter with customers.
In a former life, I managed a team of customer service reps who dealt primarily with customers over the phone. We'd regularly get complaints that a Rep would say stuff that was not acceptable. Sometimes it was true, sometimes it was embellished (luckily we could pull phone calls). While we regularly would move forward with disciplinary actions if necessary, we would always tell the customer that we were taking actions but any specifics beyond that would not be discussed with the customer.

It seems like OPs e-mail back was more than the generic response so all OP can hope is that the station manager discusses the situation in more detail and works with that agent.
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 11:34 am
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Originally Posted by WiscAZ
<snip>

In a former life, I managed a team of customer service reps who dealt primarily with customers over the phone. We'd regularly get complaints that a Rep would say stuff that was not acceptable. Sometimes it was true, sometimes it was embellished (luckily we could pull phone calls). While we regularly would move forward with disciplinary actions if necessary, we would always tell the customer that we were taking actions but any specifics beyond that would not be discussed with the customer.

It seems like OPs e-mail back was more than the generic response so all OP can hope is that the station manager discusses the situation in more detail and works with that agent.
This. And no employer in their right mind is going to share confidential employee actions with others. (Depending on who you worked for, I might have been there consulting on HR related issues or training.)
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 12:18 pm
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Originally Posted by Mdg1775
I am a wounded warrior and Harvard alum, AND A CUSTOMER.

My wife is flying later today, I have told her and will tell my thousands of LinkedIn associates to capture their encounter with AA Reps on video.
In all due respect, is adding in your ivy league schooling and military background necessary? The air to it is a bit elitist and makes me question your side of the story in how you spoke to the agents. There is never, ever a reason for an agent to use profanity or act unprofessionally but it has me wondering about the entire situation and how innocuous your discourse was with them.
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 12:27 pm
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On this part:
Originally Posted by Mdg1775
...I asked her name and she refused. I asked to see her TWIC ID (transportation worker identification) and she tucked it into her vest (TSA and DOT will be interested in hearing about this, especially if that's what AA is teaching them to do).
No, they won't be all that interested; airport personal are not required to show their ID badges to civilians outside the secure area, AA policy directs give only first name and position, (FAs don't have to give names at all,) so that's a non-issue.

On the rest, I'd bet very good $$ that's one of the new insourced CARs-- we'll be seeing lots of stuff like this, unfortunately.

All that said, "two sides to every story" has never been more apt than here-- guaranteed there's another side (goes without saying,) but it sounds like a little bitterness and acerbity on both sides to me.
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 12:40 pm
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Originally Posted by MauiOC
In all due respect, is adding in your ivy league schooling and military background necessary?
Exactly - my wife and I went to a Big 12 school - would it have been ok for the agent to be rude to us because we're inferior human beings?
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 1:17 pm
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Might as well chime in here....
All of the AA agents I've interacted with at LAX have been more than pleasant (Though they have all been L-AA as t6/5 is extra walking so maybe different cultures??idk )

Upon receiving your LAX SIDA badge you are told not to photograph it, or allow others to photograph it.

Most airlines require only first name to be provided to guests as the popularity of social media and other online resources has made it incredibly easy for employees to become targets of harassment if their full name is provided.

Additionally most airlines ask that employees refrain from photographing or allowing others to photograph their company badge.

Seeing how both badges contain information that is not necessary for the guest, as well as opens up the agent to the whole photos thing, tucking their badge into their shirt is completely normal in that situation.


All that being said if the agent was speaking to you in an unsavoury manor that should be escalated to a lead/sup immediately. Delaying until post trip basically becomes he said she said and will most likely get nowhere.

Also if you could let me know the SSR edit for those educated at Ivy League schools that would be awesome.

Last edited by brettsir; Feb 21, 2017 at 1:35 pm
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 1:28 pm
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Originally Posted by JonNYC
On this part:

No, they won't be all that interested; airport personal are not required to show their ID badges to civilians outside the secure area, AA policy directs give only first name and position, (FAs don't have to give names at all,) so that's a non-issue.

On the rest, I'd bet very good $$ that's one of the new insourced CARs-- we'll be seeing lots of stuff like this, unfortunately.

All that said, "two sides to every story" has never been more apt than here-- guaranteed there's another side (goes without saying,) but it sounds like a little bitterness and acerbity on both sides to me.
Oh the bolded above, allow me to vent.....

We ran into a several very unpleasant PHL AA employees at international check in last month. We couldn't check in at the kiosk, resulting in two employees bickering at each other as to whether or not we would be allowed to check in at the counter.

The counter was well guarded and we were only "allowed" to approach the roped off area in front of the counter after the agent verified with the kiosk employees that we indeed needed further assistance.

There was quite a bit back and forth as to if I was absolutely sure my son had a passport (yes) and did ticket and passport name match (yes)? This all happened before we were permitted into the roped counter area. I found this all to be absurd and unnecessary as it was 4:30am and no crowd whatsoever.

Counter agent #1 refused to check our bags, saying they were overweight, barking at us to redistribute the items.

We were flying First to Antigua and the limit is 70 pounds per bag. (3 people, 1 checked bag each weighing 48 lbs, 51 lbs and 53 lbs so nothing crazy) I repeated several times that our First class tickets allow bags up to 70 lb each. She wasn't backing down and neither was I.

I didn't argue or loss my cool, I just kept to the facts. This all attracted the attention of another agent (#2) who came over to spectate. Agent #2 then jumps into the fray and agrees with me, stating we had up to 70 lbs.

Agent #1 then snaps "but they aren't in first" At that point, I pointed at our boarding passes because she didn't hear/process this the first 5x I told her. More ranting ensues about how was she suppose to know that, blah, blah, blah, bags are tagged and we go on our way.

It was so ridiculous, it became comical. My son said it was like watching "Come Fly With Me" , the very funny British TV show about two airlines, the employees and the passengers.

There is a difference between a frustrated employee and someone who is out to be a jerk on a power trip. The kiosk agents were the former, counter agent #1 was the latter.
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Old Feb 21, 2017, 2:27 pm
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Unless something is different at LAX, all airport require I'D to be worn and visible. Also anyone has the right to challenge someone not displaying it.
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