I don't think the fee needs to go - I think CO needs to ensure ALL PERTINENT details of the program are stated clearly, concisely and in plain english on co.com, along with example scenarios (want to standby but fare class is not available, want to standby but no seats are currently available, want to standby and seats and fare class are available) so someone can easily and clearly understand what to expect based the three possible scenarios.

As to the agents - every station should conduct an all-hands classroom session to ensure every single agent is aware of the policy, understands its pertinent features/rules and knows how to handle requests according to different elite levels (or no elite status) and the different availability scenarios. The same goes for every call center.

Why is it so hard? When I was doing part of my co-op at BusinessExpress/Comair, we had at-station training meetings all the time - every new policy, rule, etc., was communicated at the meeting, everyone had to demonstrate an understanding of it, and everyone was responsible for ensuring their coworker understood and correctly applied the rule while on the job. Simple.