fivevsone

I have been treated well, too. I also understand that those who were HVF's before 3/3 see it differently from me.

My spike in travel started last February, so I haven;t the perspective to see the downvaluing elites as clearly as others.

Hearing a marketer discuss exploiting the value of mileage plus should be interesting, and will likely give some clues to how they want to build more revenue from that customer base.

Especially since a good number of the highest value flyers have left.

LarkSFO

I think a post like yours (not commenting whether it is right/wrong) is unique to FT...

And I think the vociferousness of the complaining on FT is voiced by a very small minority of UA's total customer base.

That being said, if I led a large company like UA, I would treasure the 'free' feedback from an engaged minority of my customers.

If you can wade through the !!!!!!!, the BOLD TYPING and CAPS, and vitriol, this community actually does UA a great service with our feedback and commentary.

halls120

Concur. I'm still treated well by front line personnel, and by a few others who have done an excellent job of solving problems I've presented. It's corporate approach that has changed, as evidenced by upper management publicly claiming that their customers are "over-entitled." Even if that were an objectively accurate statement, it was a telling and stupid remark to make in public, and reveals just what the upper managers think of their customers.

Unfortunately, UA doesn't agree with your approach, as evidenced by the joke of the post flight surveys we get.

The other day I received an invitation from AA to participate in a survey on what I expect from a frequent flyer program. It was a very detailed survey, one that tells me AA is serious about finding out what its frequent customers want and expect from a FF program. A far cry from UA's approach.

LarkSFO

Post flight surveys do not equal FT posts...

These are two completely distinct and unrelated animals.

I ignore post flight, post hotel stay, post phone call, post anything surveys.

halls120

I'm not saying they do. What I'm saying is that pmUA offered us post flight surveys that were detailed, just like the AA survey I just completed. UA's current post-flight surveys are a joke, and send the clear message that our input really isn't wanted.

FlyWorld

Please fly 10x through EWR and 10x through IAD and then report back to us on how well you have been treated.

tnmlyger

I've flown through IAD 46 times between 2010 and now and through EWR 28 times in the same timeframe. I've had significant irrops, trouble with my ticket, rebooking situations (both voluntary and involuntary), a flight being grounded because Air Force One locked down the airspace at the destination airport and even a situation where I overslept and missed my international flight (completely my fault).

Some gate agents may be rough in IAD, and immigration and baggage claim are usually a zoo but in the big picture, I've always been treated well and with respect by UA's ground staff at both airports. I am polite, don't raise my voice and usually get repaid in kind.

Perhaps I have just been extremely lucky so far. Even going back to 1999, the only negative experience I have ever had with a frontline UA employee was when I was verbally abused over a ticketing mistake due to a schedule change. The agent insisted that I was trying to pull a fast one on him and acted accordingly. This took place neither at IAD nor at EWR but at DTW.

keisari

In the last few UA post-flight surveys my answer was: if you really want to know what I think and how UA can improve just contact me. I attach my phone number and email and not even once has anybody called or emailed me regarding the survey.
Most companies send out surveys, look at the data and move on. I highly doubt any survey results at the majority of companies drives any significant changes.
Just as a comparison, last year in Hawaii I filled out a survey at Roy's restaurant in Honolulu and just wrote: if you really want to know about my experience email me at .........; I handed it in with the credit card and not even 5 minutes later the manager walked to my table, sat down and wanted to know exactly what I thought. What a difference.

spin88

I can say that the post and the sentiments behind it is not unique to FT. UA is substantially lagging its competitors in both PRASM (by 3-5% each month) and by yield, and the revenue impacts are quite large (at this point over $600M per quarter). UA has admitted it has lost a substantial amount of
"corporate" business. The Complaints found here are also found in DOT records and on other boards.

LarkSFO, if you are suggesting that there is not major dissatisfaction with UA outside of FT, I respectfully disagree, and the revenue numbers prove that there is a major problem with the brand which has been badly damaged at this point.

I don't think a company can take FT at 100% face value, but combined with feedback from other areas, they ought to know they have major problems and also know what the points of dissatisfaction are. Whether they chose to (or can) fix them is another matter.

mrjay

Your experience at Roys is a breath of fresh air. I was on a recent UA NRT/SIN flight where the FA personally asked every individual in BF for their feedback and how he could make their in flight experience better.
The last post-flight survey I got from UA was around March 15 2012

c502cid

Funny you do this. Every survey that I respond to, some positive and some negative, but always end it with, "I know no one ever reads this. If you do prove it to me, just once" and leave my cell and email addy. Same result as you.

However, most hotel surveys are responded to if I ask them to, surprisingly and especially at the lower end hotels like HI Express, Fairfield Inn, and Hampton Inns.

njcommodore

One exec saying SOME customers are over-entitled, and a reasonable argument could be made for silvers getting exit row in advance, does NOT a corporate approach make.

ptonwind

To me it seems that the MP program has quite clearly changed for the worse (treatment of MM, loss of 1k desk, overall attitude, etc).

To everyone confused about UA not contacting them after a sudden drop in flying: In my experience, it is not any different with the other airlines. A close friend and co-worker of mine has flown AA since the early 90's, and he has flown over 4 million BIS miles. After a bad service experience a couple years ago, he stopped flying them cold-turkey and switched to UA. He (to his surprise) didn't hear anything from AA about his sudden drop from 200k+ a year for almost 20 years to 0.

--

One thing I find funny is that the differences between MP levels (not including GS) gets smaller the higher up you go, despite 25k of flying being the difference between all levels. Golds get much more than Silvers (E+, *G, double the % mile bonus, 3 bags vs 1, etc). Plats get more than Golds (8 E+, 3 day CPU vs 2, 1.5x % mile bonus, no award fees, 2 RPU, etc). And 1ks get a little bit more than Plats (GPUs, 1.25% mile bonus, 4 day before CPU, etc). This reward structure makes sense if each additional 25k flown per person is worth less to UA than the previous 25k (some sort of diminishing returns?). I can imagine scenarios where this is true.

But I find it strange given that 1k includes people who fly 100k ++.

cblaisd

+1 While I dislike some of the changes that have come post 3/3, my interactions with virtually everyone from CSRs to folks in Mr. Smisek's office and lots in between have been better than I ever would have expected.

Most of the discussion on this thread since it was resurrected is tiresomely and tendentiously predictable, unfortunately.

Of course they don't have a "customer drive" strategy. What that seems to mean on FT is that everyone always gets an upgrade without paying for it.

Bingo. I love being the customer after the sort, sadly too often seen, who is pushy, demanding, dismissive and disrespectful of fellow human beings ("kettles") and UA staff ("dragons"). My best results for getting something done that I needed done was by following such folks and behaving utterly differently and apologizing for them.

Firewind

Well, now we know who the key executive is with responsibility for the Mileage Plus frequent traveler loyalty program strategic planning. So as not to violate a term of FlyerTalk, does anyone remember the structure of an email address at United? (Don't give hers here.)

I suggest that it's fundamental and key to the discussion to distinguish between the Mileage Plus frequent traveler loyalty program and other UA service. Those who feel it important to continue to speak fondly of United here, and to put down those who don't, are invariably talking about how they are treated by frontline people. All acknowledge that point. Moreover, no one can dispute the monumental challenges that United employees have undergone from PMUA into the present -- especially million milers and higher. And they keep on giving good service. To the employees who are still around: ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

But this new Mileage Plus frequent traveler loyalty program eyes and ears executive doesn't have suchlike in her purview. And FlyerTalk's purview and that of this thread is, as the founder reminds people in every personal communication: "Miles & Points". Yes, it's important to remember what's bolded here.