dank0014

This is what surprised me about this. I wasn't expecting this, and really curious what would have truly prompted them to finally decide to change their philosophy, if they did.

Maybe one of their random surveys or something was the meaning of the call, but who knows.

Either way, I didn't really provide them specifics - mainly because I wasn't even aware it was much different in my activity until I actually looked at it.

boss315

true..they just don't give a______

kenn0223

I wonder if it's random or if you are in some subset of passengers that someone follows specifically (i.e. a corporate contract, a station manager, etc)?

I quit UA cold turkey in mid-January and moved my monthly $4-10k spending to DL and haven't heard a peep. I've been GS for about 5 yrs averaging $40-70k a year in spend so you'd think whatever system they have to identify customers that have fallen off the wagon would have identified me.

FTstudent

I hope they didn't ask you to confirm your MP# and PIN.

gobluetwo

Do other airlines do this? Maybe it is still fair to say that UA doesn't care so much about loyal elites, but is this unusual for the industry? Might be a good differentiator for them to do this, particularly of others don't.

iluv2fly

I status matched (GS -> EXP) a few years ago when it was offered. I flew numerous domestic and international trips and spent a bit over $20K. I decided that UA's offerings and GS perks were still better and continued primarily flying UA. (NB: I am also a lifetime Platinum.)

After I didn't make EXP requalification, I received a call from AA asking me to call them back (voice mail). I didn't. I received a subsequent call from them less than a month later about the same issue.

Mike Jacoubowsky

Tough crowd. Surprised that some are hostile to the idea of a phone call from someone they do a fair amount of business with, asking why (unless they get something in return).

When I go through my records and notice a familiar name that hasn't been in my shop for quite some time, I'll often send an email and ask what's up, is everything OK, did we do anything to scare them away? Tacking on some sort of reward or incentive for telling me would seem to cheapen things somehow; the nature of personal contact, rather than a survey, is that it's just that, personal and interactive. It shouldn't be (I think) flavored with a "what do I get out of this" sort of thing because, after all, it's not that hard to get customers if you simply offer them free stuff. What's hard is to stay in business doing so.

There will always be people who can easily be swayed by an offer to go this way, or that. As mentioned, those people can be "bought." More important are those you are failing because your basic value proposition is wrong, or because there was some specific area that you failed them. At least to me, as a business owner.

Bonehead

I see that someone else finds that attitude bizarre, and dare I say rather selfish. When one has the opportunity to provide feedback to a business that one has a vested interest in seeing do a good job (which should benefit the customers, including the responder), I fail to see the downside to doing so.

Posted at 37000 ft over Mississippi enroute to FLL(meaning the WiFi must be working), having just had a really tasty dinner and...dang it, there's the FA again wanting to fill my wine glass with a decent Malbec...where was I? Oh yea, and not understanding what all the animas is about. UA is doing a pretty good job from where I sit.

UnitedFFinAsia

After my final mileage run I wrote UA a postal letter telling them how much I dislike all the changes, I would love to get a call to discuss all the changes with UA over the past few years that I do not like.
-UFFA

goodeats21

It is interesting that United has begun these types of calls. Personal phone calls are the most expensive method of gathering this type of data.

I mentioned this about a year ago, but one of the challenges United must be facing is to decipher the impact of all their various changes are having on customer intent. If they are seeing trouble, it is now tough to figure out why.

Is it PQD? Changes to RDM earnings? Operations (broken down into many different categories...on-time, customer service, slim-lines, etc)? Out-sourcing? Network and frequency changes? Award availability? Upgrades? The list goes on....

Open-ended phone calls can be a big help here. You can be sure the targets (customers) are selected from very carefully chosen criteria. It is interesting that the one report we have heard is from a 1K.

RNE

These phone calls have not "begun"; they have been going on for years. They are routine and in no way indicate there is any trouble nor that anything is tough to figure out.

goodeats21

I have not read any other recent posts regarding proactive calls from United asking specific questions about recent (2015) travel patterns. Have you?

Yes, this type of research methodology (live calls) has been going on for years. The anecdotal report from the OP points to a new, specific area of inquiry which I interpreted to be significant, and a likely source of perceived trouble for United.

itsMoe

Agreed. Plus, a lot of times when you email 1kvoice or contact customer service, aren't you providing an opinion as well? If I knew that they were actually taking those comments to heart, I'd happily volunteer my opinions after every interaction with United.

Live4Upgrade

^

StingWest

Agree - always good when a business does this, and better if they don't have to pay for the info.

As always though with UA, it's a question of consistency - doing this regularly, or at least with more predictability, would probably produce more meaningful results. But who knows what goes on behind the aluminum curtain, maybe they consider a 1 in 1000 sample as statistically significant?