avidflyer

The best way to get a re-route/plane swap is to book "months in advance". I agree the change needs to be communicated but honestly I would be shocked if a flight booked "months in advance" did NOT change.

as219

With all due respect, OP, this isn't really a new low.

It's a repeat of the same, old low.

bucketlist

Thanks for posting.

When I reach a pmCO agent (my guess) w/ a question or concern, usually say they can't do anything, trust the computer and just go to the airport. When I reach a pmUA agent (sometimes a guess, sometimes confirmed), they try to help, rather than simply get rid of me.

Supervisors have all (my guess) been pmCO, inferred from their sternly telling me that I have no rights and even tho, e.g., I'm not on the upgrade list when I should be, there's nothing to be done about it and just go to the airport and ask there (at which point it will be moot as no upgrades will be available).

My status match to EXP has gone thru, now trying to figure out how to get 30K miles on AA at reasonable cost by end of August.

May complete 100K on UA this year, but after that unlikely to do much flying on UA unless cashing in SWU's or award travel. If a lot of travel on UA seems likely, will get the appropriate credit card.

JBEagle1000G

Agreed,
But do any of those leaders exist anymore?

northsideguy

I can't speak for the OP, but looking at OP's credentials, I would have to think the OP doesn't have any status with UA. If that is the case, the OP might have called the regular reservation number and you know what that means! Outsource reservation agents in India! You can never get any help from them! Maybe that is why the OP got nowhere with the agent or "supervisor". Safe Travels!

mikeef

Absolutely. We just never hear about them because they're rarely in the news for screwing up.

Seriously, though, companies such as Zappos (and the parent, Amazon), Starbucks, Whole Foods, Costco, etc. all put the customers (and their employees, for that matter) first and the profits seem to take care of themselves. Yes, the airlines are a more competitive business, but attitude starts at the top.

Mike

LarkSFO

My post was addressed to Mike. Not the OP. And Mike responded with a very detailed and much appreciated description of his flying experience (post 12).

I just wanted to remind Mike that FT is a small community with (11) vocal members. Getting 'depressed' about the state of UA because of comments you read on FT is really not the way to react to what you read here.

My experience on UA has been much more like Mike's: 'I have not had many bad experiences on UA, considering how often I have flown UA (probably 150K BIS on UA last year alone).'

Most of my colleagues and friends experiences that I have heard about have been mostly positive as well. Most don't even know anything more than "United and Continental merged".

So, yes, I feel for the OP. Sounds like an awful experience.

But I am not going to use his anecdotal experience to generalize about what everyone should expect to experience on UA.

dmach

Well, after reading about this fiasco, I thought I'd better recheck my itineraries (which I don't quite do daily, but I do do fairly often... ) I had an SFO-PHL itinerary in May change repeatedly -- and all over the day too, not anywhere near the originally booked times -- and I didn't want to go through that again. I didn't call to try to fix it because I feared the reservation getting more screwed up than it already was. It ended up being okay in that case because I used SDC to get on the flights I wanted, but I had a nail biter of a time hoping those flights would still be available and have E+ seats.

Lo and behold, my SFO-BOS RT has had a schedule change that I was not notified of. I'm on a completely different return flight (6 pm BOS-SFO) than my originally booked flight (7:30 pm BOS-SFO) since the 7:30 pm flight no longer exists. Problem is I'm in meetings until 5:15 pm, so a 6 pm departure will not work...but since the schedule only changed by 90 minutes, it's outside of the "if your schedule changes by at least 2 hours, we can actually do something for you" guidance I've heard in the past.

Is it worth a call to UA, or will I just be shooting myself in the foot?

skimthetrees

It's worth it to call.

dmach

Indeed...a 5 minute phone call, a very friendly and efficient agent, and the whole thing is solved with no change fee. I have to take a connection (IAD), but I can leave at 7:15 pm, so I'll still get home that same night instead of having to stay until the next morning.

Thanks, UA! ^^

LarkSFO

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...nd-2012-a.html

bkcarolina

I've been Silver for the past five years, but this year reached that milestone in May and I am now well on the way to Gold before the end of October...in this case, this mattered not at all.

But, really, why should it? Maybe I could expect my status to get me some better treatment in some minor ways (such as when the gate agent in MCI threw a family of non-elites in front of me out of the elite check-in line but was quite deferential to me, even taking my boarding info and checking me in herself at the kiosk because the elite check-in line was taking too long), but I really think that decent, respectful customer service, especially when it comes to fixing something that you've done to screw up the service you are meant to provide in the first place, should be accorded to anyone and everyone.

I had called a number that I thought was for people with status, but I also think I got dealt with by regular reservations. I rarely call for any reason since I can generally make my plans much in advance and usually do so.

I'm starting to think these sorts of issues will happen more and more, and I have two more trans-Atlantics booked for the next six weeks and will need to book four domestic flights in July and August.

So, I guess my next question would be: exactly what number SHOULD I call when I have these sorts of problems?

The only change (if any) that needed to be made was the last leg from LHR to VIE. I fly that route quite often and there are numerous flights daily on at least three *A partners that would have and could have worked. As I said earlier, I suspect the real reason for the change was to get me out of MCI on a different flight than the probably oversold one I had originally booked, and I even told them that I didn't care how I got to London (change anything you like, but just get me there)--they insisted I had no right to go to London just because I had booked a flight there. While probably technically and legally correct, it becomes absurd to think that if you book a flight with several specific legs because you have reasons to go to certain cities, you might have to cancel and rearrange your plans for the convenience of the people you are paying money to.

In the end, it was the refusal to even attempt to be of help (because "we don't have to") that bothers me the most, intensified by the increasingly transparent lies I was told by the supervisor to try to make it all seem my fault.

JNelson113

This is exactly why so many of us PMUA flyers are heartbroken over what is going on. In the past I was well taken care of by UA and had complete faith and trust that they would do right by me. Now I approach each interaction with a wary attitude, cultivated by too many errors on their part and conversations with clueless/unpleasant agents.

northsideguy

First, please accept my congratulations on makeing Silver and good luck reaching Gold. Yes, I do believe you spoke with reservations in India. They won't do anything for you, matter of fact it is the same with me. Years ago, I was flying to AMS via FRA due to upgrade availablity. Well the FRA plane was super delayed due to mechanical problems and I was put on the non-stop AMS flight. Unfortunatley my bags never made the flight and were left in Chicago. As I was there for only 2 days and needed things in my bags, so the trip was a bust. By the time I would have gotten my bags, I would be leaving the next day.

Well, I couldn't find my card with the International toll free number for 1K's so I called the local Dutch number for United and wound up with reservations in India. After the run around and being transferred to a "supervisor", I was told I would have to pay for any changes to change my iternary to return on the non-stop the next day and there was nothing they could do. I was like you, madder than heck! Good thing I was near a bar, because I needed a drink!

I called on my own expense to the 1k line in the US. Once I had a US agent, every problem was addressed. Not only did the agent put me on the next non stop to ORD, but she also moved me from C to F on the flight! She also had my bags held in ORD so I could pick them up when I landed. I just had to go over to Terminal 1- no biggie. She authorized a purchase of a change of clothes and United did send me a check for my purchase.

So I don't know if you have access to the US reservation agents, but if you do, I would try to call again. Ask them what call center they are in and if you get US agents, politely inform them of your problem and what if they can fix your problem. You never know what may happen.

I wish you the best of luck and as always, Safe Travels!

dmach

An excellent point. Done!