Programs: Continental Gold, United 1P, Hilton Diamond, Hertz Five Star, Marriott Silver, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 80
Best way to recognize an excellent flight attendant?
I vaguely remember getting these perforated comment cards from Continental where you can compliment great service in the mail. Are these considered valuable and the best way to recognize someone’s service? The only issue is that I’m not sure if I still have these at home. I also received a “Customer Care” mailer to fill out – is that just for rants or are compliments acknowledged on this form too?
The short story is that I started off having a bad experience on an overbooked flight where I got moved 3 times before take off. At the end it worked out where I finally got my upgrade while one attendant consistently paid attention to me and even helped me move my luggage, which is why I want to call out her service.
If anyone cares to know the full story, the very full story is below:
I was flying EWR –> IAH, and sure, I was not expecting an upgrade at all. I’m a Gold Elite with a B economy fare, but I did see that my name was listed second on the first class upgrade standby list. Before boarding, the gate agent was begging for 6 volunteers to take a later flight, and there were still no takers while elite access was boarding. In addition, I used my blackberry to carry a paperless ticket that has a barcode displayed on the screen.
I started off in row 23 in Economy, and after 10 minutes, another passenger comes by and shows me his paper ticket that has the same exact seat as mine. I try to pull up my paperless ticket on my blackberry, and I get an error message that I can no longer access it. So, having no paper ticket to prove my name, status, or seat number really overcomplicated matters from the start. I had to hand my phone over to the flight attendant and have her show the gate agent to sort out the seat. I told them that I did see my name as second on the waiting list for an upgrade, so I suspected that was why there was a seat conflict.
After about 5 minutes, I’m told that I am in row 1 in first class but not given a new paper ticket. Very happily I move my stuff to the front, and right when I’m about to settle in, a different man shows his paper ticket displaying that same seat in row 1 (and he was also in the same situation as me where he had a conflicting seat in economy and had to get reassigned). I realize I have nothing to prove it, but I see on the other passenger’s ticket that he’s a Silver Elite. Now, I just looked up the “Battlefield Upgrade” system, and I realize now that if he were a Silver Elite on a Y ticket, he had full rights over me for that seat. However, back then I did not know that, and I thought B and Y fares were in the same bucket, and that my Gold status would have trumped his Silver. At this point I feel rather demoralized because I have no paper ticket to prove my status and one of the male stewards in first class gives me a look like I’m trying to poach an empty seat because I’m in mid-twenties but look younger in general, and I was traveling street clothes instead of work clothes.
So, the flight attendant says that I should take my stuff and talk to the gate agent outside for my proper seat. This makes me rather alarmed because we are nearing departure time on an overbooked flight, so I was afraid the flight would leave without me if I left the plane.
I caught the gate agent in the catwalk area, and she said that there is an empty seat in row 35 for me. The flight attendant helped me back to my seat and thanked me for being so sweet about moving, and I told her I understood it was an oversold flight and that I was grateful to just even have a seat. But I did tell her I was pretty disappointed that I am now 12 rows farther back from my original starting point when my original seat was confirmed on my itinerary, and that I didn’t understand why the other passenger got the seat before I did because I was Gold on a B fare and he was Silver. At this point she gives me the Customer Care form and promises that she’ll take care of me.
About 5 minutes later, someone else comes up to me and tells me I can now move to row 5 in First Class. I ask if I can have a paper ticket because this would be the 3rd time I’m moving, and the lady says she’ll give it to me later. Some other passengers take my seat, and then I finally find an empty seat in First Class that seems to belong to me. Finally all things are settled, and the flight attendant that stuck with me the whole time even grabbed my back from economy and brought it up to First Class. The unnerving thing is that I still never received my new paper ticket.
So, one take away from this whole event is that even if you go the paperless route using your phone through security, it’s best to grab a printed boarding passing inside the terminal. I learned this the hard way, and in general, it takes longer for each checker to scan the barcode.
Now that I reflect back on this experience, a second question I have is whether anyone else experienced this much trouble using the mobile phone / PDA paperless ticket, or was I just unlucky?
1. Good for Continental for getting that many premium fares during a holiday week
2. You've learned why it's better to keep a paper ticket with you. I don't use the e-boarding pass for precisely that reason. Too often with any website things may not refresh properly, etc.
3. For your compliment, just go on the website under 'Contact Us' and fill in the form -- or mail in the card you were given -- or call 800 WE CARE2. All will get the attendant recognized if you provide the flight number and some identifying information. You won't hear much, but it does make it to their file.
4. The gate agent in EWR had his/her hands full and several balls look like they were dropped on the aisle. But fortunately you got your upgrade.
Programs: CO Platinum, Marriott Platinum, Hertz Gold 1 Presidence Circle
Posts: 77
Quote:
Originally Posted by giceh
I vaguely remember getting these perforated comment cards from Continental where you can compliment great service in the mail. Are these considered valuable and the best way to recognize someone’s service? The only issue is that I’m not sure if I still have these at home. I also received a “Customer Care” mailer to fill out – is that just for rants or are compliments acknowledged on this form too?
Answer to your 2nd question - no, for this exact reason, I alway carry a paper copy. Very simple to do (printing out a paper copy at check-in) that leads to less possible hassle.
Answer to your 1st question - by all means, please, send a nice compliment note to CO or write to Cust CARE. FAs work real hard and even though there are some bad apples, but generally they are nice young/older ladies that DO care about their jobs. They would really appreciate it. For every 1 bad comments they get, they need 3,000 good ones to make it a wash. OK, I might be exaggrating but you get the gist of it. I do trust CO's staff QM/DC (Quality Management/ Damage Control) program.
PM me if you want me to give you a name of CUST care rep that will get your message to the right people.
Thank you for taking the time to recognize someone who went the extra mile for you.
Unless you have her name, NOTHING will happen. Sadly, CO has cut back so much on staffing they no longer have the time nor inclination to research your 'orchid letter.'
This is from a colleague who was on light duty in the Inflight office and was directed by management not to bother tracking down flight attendants who perform extraordinarily because "it's a waste of time." (THEIR words, not mine). She did it anyway because she felt it was important to boost their morale and to encourage a repeat performance.
I am a FA for Continental. The best way for anyone in the company to get recognized for their positive or negative actions fill out a comment card. You can ask any FA to get you one from the "BLUE" inflight kit. They have a whole bunch there or there is a smaller one in the back of the continental magazine. You could mail the card in free of charge and select the option for that you would like a response from Continental. What that card does is after it gets sorted at HQ on Smith Street it gets to the FA supervisor which if the FA gets so many they get rewarded. It is always good to get good comments from customers.
Good Luck!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by TXbizman
Answer to your 2nd question - no, for this exact reason, I alway carry a paper copy. Very simple to do (printing out a paper copy at check-in) that leads to less possible hassle.
Answer to your 1st question - by all means, please, send a nice compliment note to CO or write to Cust CARE. FAs work real hard and even though there are some bad apples, but generally they are nice young/older ladies that DO care about their jobs. They would really appreciate it. For every 1 bad comments they get, they need 3,000 good ones to make it a wash. OK, I might be exaggrating but you get the gist of it. I do trust CO's staff QM/DC (Quality Management/ Damage Control) program.
PM me if you want me to give you a name of CUST care rep that will get your message to the right people.
Programs: Continental Gold, United 1P, Hilton Diamond, Hertz Five Star, Marriott Silver, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 80
Thanks for all the comments - I will follow through, and to clarify, I did ask for her name and got it from the head flight attendant. I feel silly that I forgot to ask for her name when it all happened originally (I was flustered, this upgrade stuff is relatively new to me), but the head flight attendant explained to me how it was not usually like this and that the helpful attendant (Annette) had brought my seat situation to her attention.
I have both of their names, so hopefully this is enough to track down and get to the right place! Honestly, this is the first time I've ever felt that someone has really given great service / handled a rocky situation well in the past 4 years of frequent flying. It's sad though that something negative had to happen first in order to recognize something positive. If it hadn't been for Annette, this entire story would had been instead been an angry rant post (except it did have a happy ending, so, I wouldn't have been justified in whining).
Programs: Continental Gold, United 1P, Hilton Diamond, Hertz Five Star, Marriott Silver, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 80
Quote:
Originally Posted by travelguy70
Hello,
I am a FA for Continental. The best way for anyone in the company to get recognized for their positive or negative actions fill out a comment card. You can ask any FA to get you one from the "BLUE" inflight kit. They have a whole bunch there or there is a smaller one in the back of the continental magazine. You could mail the card in free of charge and select the option for that you would like a response from Continental. What that card does is after it gets sorted at HQ on Smith Street it gets to the FA supervisor which if the FA gets so many they get rewarded. It is always good to get good comments from customers.
Good Luck!!!
Does this mean that paper copies that are mailed are more likely to be read over the ones submitted via the website? Also, is the comment card you are referring to the one that is sent to Customer Care HQSCR that has a PO Box? (This is different from the mailing address listed on the website.) I think I might prefer submitting online because there is more room to write. But don't worry, I'm not going to retell the full story - that would be too crazy I think.
I would think either way it would get to the company. In our Crew room in EWR we have a bulletin board featuring postie comments that were received from passengers via the website and or comment cards that were mailed in. We also have a Monthly News Letter and some are selected for the whole flight attendants in all 3 bases EWR, CLE and IAH to see. So if you want to be detailed by far go ahead. I have seen a few that were quite lengthy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by giceh
Does this mean that paper copies that are mailed are more likely to be read over the ones submitted via the website? Also, is the comment card you are referring to the one that is sent to Customer Care HQSCR that has a PO Box? (This is different from the mailing address listed on the website.) I think I might prefer submitting online because there is more room to write. But don't worry, I'm not going to retell the full story - that would be too crazy I think.
Programs: CO Platinum, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 69
Quote:
Originally Posted by giceh
Does this mean that paper copies that are mailed are more likely to be read over the ones submitted via the website? Also, is the comment card you are referring to the one that is sent to Customer Care HQSCR that has a PO Box? (This is different from the mailing address listed on the website.) I think I might prefer submitting online because there is more room to write. But don't worry, I'm not going to retell the full story - that would be too crazy I think.
I filled out the paper "We Care" form a couple of months ago regarding a GREAT FA on a COEX flight. I asked her name and included it in the comments. (She took the first 25 drink orders and served them without writing anything down, then repeated the process. I asked her how she remembered so many orders, and she said it was an off day, she normally does the entire plane!). About two weeks later, I received a written response from We Care thanking me for taking the time to write such a positive comment and that they had passed the comment back to her and her supervisor. So, someone is reading them and responding.
Thank you for taking the time to recognize someone who went the extra mile for you.
Unless you have her name, NOTHING will happen. Sadly, CO has cut back so much on staffing they no longer have the time nor inclination to research your 'orchid letter.'
This is from a colleague who was on light duty in the Inflight office and was directed by management not to bother tracking down flight attendants who perform extraordinarily because "it's a waste of time." (THEIR words, not mine). She did it anyway because she felt it was important to boost their morale and to encourage a repeat performance.
That doesn't make any sense, given the fact that it takes approximately 60 seconds to look up a crew when you have the flight number and date.
Programs: Continental Gold, United 1P, Hilton Diamond, Hertz Five Star, Marriott Silver, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 80
Quote:
Originally Posted by craz
Wow the OP could have scored a VDB and decided to sit on a full flight in coach instead (I know in the end they were in Row 5)
that Never would have happened to me as I would have asked way before boarding if they needed any Vols
VDB terms originally offered were crappy - at first they couldn't give a flight until the next morning (this was a 4:20 pm departure), so they were giving $400 voucher and a hotel voucher. Then, they changed it to a Delta flight departing from JFK at 7 pm and offered a taxi voucher from EWR to JFK (in that case, you wouldn't earn your OnePass miles!),
I was traveling for work, so VDB was out of the question, and also, not worth it when I paid $1100 for a B fare ticket. $400 is definitely not enough (for me) to compensate for all that additional transport time. Maybe they upped the terms for compensation because while elite access was boarding, there were still no takers, and they needed 6 total!
