The worst gone worse - MPC hotline capacity and waiting time
Jun 10, 2015, 7:18 pm
#16
Join Date: Apr 2013
Programs: AA EXP, CX GO, SPG Plat, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 133
DM also gets engaged sometimes but once it rings doesn't take long to answer. I find DM goes to HK when you select English. I know when you are Gold it goes to the Philippines. Also, DM line can help you to wait list for revenue flights, but Philippines cannot.
Jun 10, 2015, 7:59 pm
#17
Ambassador, Hong Kong and Macau
Join Date: May 2009
Location: HKG
Programs: Non-top tier Asia Miles member
Posts: 19,800
Call 2747 3838 instead of 2747 5500 (not that that's always helpful, like now)
At least one thing AM/MPO stopped doing - diverting you to voicemail.
One annoying thing I found CCB and ICBC HK has been doing is diverting to manned callback during peak hours...
At least one thing AM/MPO stopped doing - diverting you to voicemail.
One annoying thing I found CCB and ICBC HK has been doing is diverting to manned callback during peak hours...
Jun 11, 2015, 4:29 am
#18
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: CX Diamond / SQ Gold / Bonvoy Platinum / Hyatt Globalist / Hilton Gold
Posts: 1,098
Right, when calling the Cantonese line, I often hear agents speaking English in the background. One time I asked if calls get diverted to the Philippines, I was told they answer English calls in the HK call center too.
Jun 11, 2015, 8:21 am
#20
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: BA Gold, JGC Sapphire, OZ Diamond, AF Silver, CX GR, Marriott Lifetime SL
Posts: 3,598
With the recent South Korea travel advisory, everyone is busy in rebooking their summer vacation so I believe this is going to last a few day more.
Jun 11, 2015, 8:36 am
#21
Join Date: Jul 2014
Programs: AM, BA, QF, NH, SQ, BR, OZ, HX
Posts: 38
Haven't tried the MPC hotline but had some luck with AM hotline (2747 3838) some time ago - called around 9am HK time and got picked up in about a minute and called around 12:30pm and got picked up in about two minutes.....
but once I called around 8pm and got picked up at around 9:50pm....
but once I called around 8pm and got picked up at around 9:50pm....
Jun 11, 2015, 10:33 am
#22
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 6,978
The trick is always calling call centers at odd times (like 2 p.m. in USA = 2 a.m. in Hong Kong). If that cannot be done, try other less frequent use lines like Mandarin. Generally English (because of limitations of people speaking English) and Cantonese will be long.
DM no longer is automatic. 5 years ago when I call the DM line the person picks up right away. Now you can expect to listen to music up to 5 minutes, still pretty fast. I suspect DM line is just the same group of people, but they route your calls ahead of others (cut to the front of the line if you will).
DM no longer is automatic. 5 years ago when I call the DM line the person picks up right away. Now you can expect to listen to music up to 5 minutes, still pretty fast. I suspect DM line is just the same group of people, but they route your calls ahead of others (cut to the front of the line if you will).
Jun 11, 2015, 5:28 pm
#23
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Anywhere I need to be.
Programs: OW Emerald, *A Gold, NEXUS, GE, ABTC/APEC, South Korea SES, eIACS, PP, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 16,046
few tricks, all basics.
1) don't call when severe storm hits HK - lines are Swamped with rebooking requests etc...
2) don't call during Asia hot peak hours like 9am, 1pm, 6pm... just imagine when you are free to make calls that's mostly likely the same for others
3) learn to stop-loss. In my experiences after waiting 10-15minutes if Im' still not connected chances are lines are really busy so give up try other time... all these people waiting 30min-1hour on the phone, I must wonder what their hourly wage is to be able to waste so much of their own time
or, as I've always said many times, after being member for 13 years i'm ditching CX all together, cuz i'm just sick of the entire process.
1) don't call when severe storm hits HK - lines are Swamped with rebooking requests etc...
2) don't call during Asia hot peak hours like 9am, 1pm, 6pm... just imagine when you are free to make calls that's mostly likely the same for others
3) learn to stop-loss. In my experiences after waiting 10-15minutes if Im' still not connected chances are lines are really busy so give up try other time... all these people waiting 30min-1hour on the phone, I must wonder what their hourly wage is to be able to waste so much of their own time
or, as I've always said many times, after being member for 13 years i'm ditching CX all together, cuz i'm just sick of the entire process.
Jun 11, 2015, 5:49 pm
#24
formerly gemini573
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: LAX, HKG, and BKK
Programs: CX Emerald, WOH Globalist, Marriott Platinum, AA Lifetime Platinum, Virtuoso, Prive, STEPS, STARS
Posts: 2,233
I think a feature they should add, which MH and AA have is a callback service. They'll call you back once you're next in the queue.
As DM, I've never waited longer than one minute unless there are irrops.
Even with AA, wait times seem to be getting longer.
As DM, I've never waited longer than one minute unless there are irrops.
Even with AA, wait times seem to be getting longer.
Jun 12, 2015, 2:58 am
#25
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Jakarta
Programs: Flying Blue, Marco Polo, Skywards, Etihad Guest, IHG, Aeroplan
Posts: 269
I tried to call all possible numbers listed on CX's website, dedicated Marco Polo numbers, etc around 9am (Shanghai time which is the same as HKG time) and I was put on hold for 1 hour then the call was cut. I repeated the whole process every hour till about 6 or 7pm and I was always on hold before the call was cut. So I just gave up the whole attempt for the day.
The next morning, I woke up at 5AM (so 5AM HKG time) and in no time my call was picked up by a very friendly agent. He sounds Cantonese, not Filipino based on his English accent. Upon inquiry, the agent profusely apologized for my experience the day before and acknowledged the seriousness about how busy their reservation and customer service lines are. He also acknowledged that this has actually gone worse over the years. In the end, he advised me (unfortunately) to make the call around 4-5AM HKG time for the best chance that your call will be picked up within 5 minutes.
The following morning, I tried to call at 10AM and again I was on hold. So i just put the call on speaker while I continued working. After about 40 minutes suddenly someone pick up my call. I was so startled not expecting someone would pick up my call I actually choke a bit when I said hello, good morning hahahaha
The next morning, I woke up at 5AM (so 5AM HKG time) and in no time my call was picked up by a very friendly agent. He sounds Cantonese, not Filipino based on his English accent. Upon inquiry, the agent profusely apologized for my experience the day before and acknowledged the seriousness about how busy their reservation and customer service lines are. He also acknowledged that this has actually gone worse over the years. In the end, he advised me (unfortunately) to make the call around 4-5AM HKG time for the best chance that your call will be picked up within 5 minutes.
The following morning, I tried to call at 10AM and again I was on hold. So i just put the call on speaker while I continued working. After about 40 minutes suddenly someone pick up my call. I was so startled not expecting someone would pick up my call I actually choke a bit when I said hello, good morning hahahaha
Jun 13, 2015, 1:16 am
#26
Ambassador, Hong Kong and Macau
Join Date: May 2009
Location: HKG
Programs: Non-top tier Asia Miles member
Posts: 19,800
Last night I tried adding a waitlist on a colleague's summer Japan booking after midnight and before my I departed for NRT on CX524 1am.
First call to Manila, instant pickup, but the agent took a damned long while to set the waitlist and when I reviewed it she got the month wrong. It may so be contributory negligence as I was almost about to enter the shower at Pier so I was in a hurry to end the call.
Second call to Tsuen Wan, not only did I manage to finish my shower, board the plane, push back and taxi, still couldn't get operator when aircraft was rotating. I decided to end the call at that point cos I'll lost reception before I can finish the call even with the most efficient agent available.
First call to Manila, instant pickup, but the agent took a damned long while to set the waitlist and when I reviewed it she got the month wrong. It may so be contributory negligence as I was almost about to enter the shower at Pier so I was in a hurry to end the call.
Second call to Tsuen Wan, not only did I manage to finish my shower, board the plane, push back and taxi, still couldn't get operator when aircraft was rotating. I decided to end the call at that point cos I'll lost reception before I can finish the call even with the most efficient agent available.
Jun 13, 2015, 11:32 am
#27
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: HKG
Programs: CX DM, SPG Pt, Le Club Accor GO, Shangri-La GC Jade
Posts: 1,327
Last night I tried adding a waitlist on a colleague's summer Japan booking after midnight and before my I departed for NRT on CX524 1am.
First call to Manila, instant pickup, but the agent took a damned long while to set the waitlist and when I reviewed it she got the month wrong. It may so be contributory negligence as I was almost about to enter the shower at Pier so I was in a hurry to end the call.
Second call to Tsuen Wan, not only did I manage to finish my shower, board the plane, push back and taxi, still couldn't get operator when aircraft was rotating. I decided to end the call at that point cos I'll lost reception before I can finish the call even with the most efficient agent available.
First call to Manila, instant pickup, but the agent took a damned long while to set the waitlist and when I reviewed it she got the month wrong. It may so be contributory negligence as I was almost about to enter the shower at Pier so I was in a hurry to end the call.
Second call to Tsuen Wan, not only did I manage to finish my shower, board the plane, push back and taxi, still couldn't get operator when aircraft was rotating. I decided to end the call at that point cos I'll lost reception before I can finish the call even with the most efficient agent available.
Jun 13, 2015, 11:44 am
#28
Suspended
Join Date: May 2006
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Posts: 9,952
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If you are at the airport, why not just did it in the lounge or at the MPC counter in aisle B?
Or at the lounge desk
Originally Posted by sscywong
Last night I tried adding a waitlist on a colleague's summer Japan booking after midnight and before my I departed for NRT on CX524 1am.
First call to Manila, instant pickup, but the agent took a damned long while to set the waitlist and when I reviewed it she got the month wrong. It may so be contributory negligence as I was almost about to enter the shower at Pier so I was in a hurry to end the call.
Second call to Tsuen Wan, not only did I manage to finish my shower, board the plane, push back and taxi, still couldn't get operator when aircraft was rotating. I decided to end the call at that point cos I'll lost reception before I can finish the call even with the most efficient agent available.
First call to Manila, instant pickup, but the agent took a damned long while to set the waitlist and when I reviewed it she got the month wrong. It may so be contributory negligence as I was almost about to enter the shower at Pier so I was in a hurry to end the call.
Second call to Tsuen Wan, not only did I manage to finish my shower, board the plane, push back and taxi, still couldn't get operator when aircraft was rotating. I decided to end the call at that point cos I'll lost reception before I can finish the call even with the most efficient agent available.
Jun 13, 2015, 10:27 pm
#29
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,872
What about calling the US toll free number? Long wait time there too? I called after hour and says closed
It says I can try Hong Kong toll free number starting with 011 and I did but call is not going because my tmobile line doesn't have international long distance feature. How do you call the number without incurring costly long distance charge on your cell phone bill?
It says I can try Hong Kong toll free number starting with 011 and I did but call is not going because my tmobile line doesn't have international long distance feature. How do you call the number without incurring costly long distance charge on your cell phone bill?
Jun 13, 2015, 10:30 pm
#30
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2011
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Wjat about calling the US toll free number? Long wait time there too? I called after hour and says closed
It says I can try Hong Kong number. I did but call is not going because my tmobile line Doesn't have international long distance feature. How do you call the number number without incurring costly long distance charge on your cell phone bill?
It says I can try Hong Kong number. I did but call is not going because my tmobile line Doesn't have international long distance feature. How do you call the number number without incurring costly long distance charge on your cell phone bill?
For IDD you call +852 (the number) (unless there are discounted IDD rates, i.e. v019.)