Andrito

Hello,

Looking for a little help in contacting the powers that be, over in Atlanta. I feel like the reps(unfortunately you are dealing with a new person every time you hit "reply" in your dialog with Customer Service) have dug in and its impossible to talk any sense into them. However, despite the trivial nature of my complaint, its enough to have me move on from Delta to whom I have been loyal for almost a decade now.

P.S. Has anyone had a similar experience? i.e. a small thing that escalates so quickly that you have to take a principle position on a matter that could have/should have been resolved in 2 minutes? I just feel that once Delta put a Chinese wall between Diamond line and customer service, customer service has gotten worse.

Thanks

hnewman

Please explain what the issue is. More details are needed to provide a reasonable response

NoStressHere

Would agree with that totally.

OHDL1

Oh....I can't wait to hear what the problem is/was. This should be good. That is if the OP ever decides to return.

CalVol

Yeah, I actually have had that experience with a couple of companies. Not with Delta.

I think what becomes a matter of principle is a YMMV kind of deal. However, it would be interesting to hear what your situation is. But, it isn't actually necessary to answer your direct question.

kettle1

What was the issue?

Andrito

Why wouldn't I return? (Maybe you should watch a little less daytime soap operas and a little more daytime news channels!)

As I clearly stated - the issue was trivial...

I have lived in the Czech Republic since 2011. Midway through last year, I noticed that I had a MQD tracker on which was strange because my official address is in CZ and I knew I was exempt. I called Delta and they told me that my current address was in the US. With a little bit of a hassle, I rescanned and resubmitted my permanent residency card and sent it off. The MQD tracker disappeared but it showed me having Gold Status for 2016. I called 2-3 times over the summer and they just told me that the system is catching up and everything would be resolved in 8-10 weeks. It wasn't.

My last call was in late November and they told me that my Diamond would appear when the calendar year turns over. Again, it didn't. However, this time they promised to get to the bottom of it in 2 weeks. Sure enough, it showed my status as Diamond again and for 2017 too.

I grabbed my Choice Benefits and thought everything was resolved.

When I ran out of my GUCs, I went back to select my 2017 Choice Benefits and was surprised to see that back in January I had already selected 2017. So I simply assumed the system skipped me over and called the Diamond line.

This is where it got weird.

They said that since my address only changed in June, all of my miles from Jan 1 to that date in 2015 were disqualified for status. While I was granted the MQD waiver, I would not be receiving my 2016 Choice Benefits. I asked to speak to Customer Service and they told me that Delta doesn't do that anymore. My only option would be to write to them, so I did. Honestly, I just wanted to figure out three things:
1) Why did my address change and why did I not get an email notice about it?
2) I was actually curious if this rule was actually written anywhere - that by changing your address midyear, you start your MQMs all over again from that point.
3) Can I please have my freaking Choice Benefits as clearly I was a resident in CZ and I clearly had enough MQMs. The only two factors that should matter.

Now, this is my major issue with Delta's new policy: you never get the same person in Customer Service. I have had 3 responses from 3 different people.

1) The first person said that they are sorry for the mistake and that I did qualify and for some reason my address was changed 7 times in 12 months. (Umm, system glitch? It certainly wasn't me and no one else has my password)

2) I emailed back to say thank you for clarifying and asked when I would be able to select them. This time I got an email from a different person saying, "actually, we are going back to our original position"

3) I wrote back again explaining that I don't want anything that I did not deserve but I work hard to gain my status and the benefits that come with it. In return, I got an email saying "We tried to get you a more favorable decision but this is our final call - no 2016 Choice Benefits".

Trust me, I tried to imagine every conceivable way that someone could have changed my address from my account but nothing makes sense. Especially when she said it was changed 7 times. FYI, to change it to a European address, you need to provide documents. Its not exactly Xing off a box.

That is why I wanted to reach out to someone in Atlanta and highlight the flaw in their new system where you never talk to the same person. For me, personally, Delta's service department and overall soft product have been the two factors that made me loyal to this airline. If that gets enhanced as well, it leaves me no reason to stay. My current predicament is a perfect case study as to why this new system is far from ideal.

Zorak

... followed by 600+ words

The only thing I've heard of is that if you change your address, the MQD exemption doesn't "kick in" until you cross the next MQM threshold. For example, say you have enough MQMs for Gold but not enough MQDs, then you change your address. You won't become Gold right away; but once you cross 75K MQMs then you become Platinum.

Related thread: Changing Country of Residence in the Post-MQD Era (Definitive)

It is annoying when every interaction is with a different person and no one reads the history but unfortunately that's not overly surprising when dealing with a big corporation. A written letter sent or faxed to SkyMiles might get more traction than a series of emails but I don't know that I'd be too optimistic in your situation. Good luck, whatever you decide to do...

Andrito

[QUOTE=Zorak;27354842]... followed by 600+ words

well, the issue is trivial but the explanation was there to explain why something so small got me so worked up and, I agree, it was a bit winded.

Thanks for the advice. I think my play here is to send one more email explaining my position very clearly. Hopefully, it will be addressed to someone other than a basic CS employee but if I cannot find such a contact, I'll just send it down the same chute.

StayingHomeIsBetter

He posted 9 hours ago.

I'm into instant gratification too, but I have more patience than that.

davetravels

I don't think this is trivial. I'm guessing that the OP should've gotten Platinum Choice Benefits as well! I'd be MEGA-peeved!

securesmaskfirst

+111

kettle1

Andrito

When I first called in, I thought it would take 2 minutes to resolve this issue. That is why I am so stumped, annoyed and frustrated. I even offered to show further proof to my residency in Czech but it seems like the random guy at CS decided to draw a line in the sand and I can't even talk to him and understand what exactly justifies his position.

P.S. I would assume that if they unblock my Choice Benefits, it will be for both Platinum and Diamond level. But now...

Andrito

"The only thing I've heard of is that if you change your address, the MQD exemption doesn't "kick in" until you cross the next MQM threshold."

See, I didn't even want to/didn't think I need to play that card. Where exactly did they warn people about this in writing? They just say "if you're a non-US resident, MQDs are waived". Yet the mechanism behind the in-year switch from US to non-US is not clearly written out anywhere.

What is more frustrating is that even IF it was obscurely written out somewhere, why didn't anyone tell me about this when I called back in July? I would have liked to address it in real-time. I would be mad and probably beech and moan about it but I would hit the necessary level to maintain, if there was no other option. Its not that hard.

All they told me was that "this a system glitch and will be repaired in a few weeks". Which rolled over into "will be repaired when the calendar year rolls over". Which now turned into "sorry, its too late for you to do anything about it". Ummm... thanks?