<shakes head>
Just got off the phone with the IAH (I presume) reservation center after trying to do a SDC for tomorrow. I'm currently ticketed on the noon service from TPA-IAH and would like to pay <
> for the ability to get on an earlier flight back home.
Nevermind the fact that this once upon a time was free, or that "the big boys" allow their top tiers to do it for free, or that all the flights priced exactly the same when the booking was made. It was a simple straight up request to do a SDC - which CO's been able to do before - and the agent completely dropped the ball.
But whatever, it's common knowledge to any FF'er that CO's achievements in efficiency and operations can only be rivaled by their equally impressive failure to deal with anything beyond the simple...and even the simple can be dicey at times.
Anyways according to the new "company policy" once you fall within the 24 hour "check-in window" you can only perform the SDC if you're within a 12 hour window of the flight you wish to change to.
So for example, if I wanted to SDC onto the 6am flight (currently booked on the noon flight) I would have to wait until 12 hours of the 6am service (6pm today) before the change could be processed.
Seeing as how this interpretation de-jour smelled a little like a horse's behind I asked the agent if we could go to the CO website and read the stated rules together. Here are the key concepts that we went over:
Continental offers a special program for same-day flight changes, specifically those made within 24 hours of your scheduled departure.
<snip>
If you are on a restricted ticket, meaning your fare allows changes for a penalty, you will be able to make flight changes within this 24-hour window for $50, or $25 for OnePass Platinum and Gold Elite members. This discounted change fee will apply to all itineraries wholly operated by Continental, including Continental Express*, Continental Connection* and Continental Micronesia. Even if there are no seats available for a confirmed reservation, you can still stand by. In these cases, the fee will still apply, but you will not be charged unless you actually get a seat on your alternate flight.
The same-day flight change option will be available within 24 hours before your original scheduled flight. Inside of this timeframe, you can try to take an alternate flight so long as it departs no more than 12 hours from when you are making the request.
Same-day flight changes may be confirmed by calling your local Continental Airlines reservations office, at any airport kiosk or with a Continental airport representative. Later in 2008, this option will also be offered when checking in online.
source At which point when we finished she stated it should be clear she was right.
<shakes head>
And so it was decided that if I wanted to change my flight I'd have to pay the $150 change fee + the fare difference.
After hearing this I asked if there was a supervisor I could speak to about this or even making an exception this astonishingly new corporate mandate. The agent asked me to hold on and then a few minutes later came back and said the supervisor agreed with her and asked if there was anything else I could do.
I asked what call center she was in (IAH) which she was not happy to tell me and then we parted ways.
Obviously the agent is wrong. But so what, this is life and we're all wrong at times. In the scheme of things I consider this marginal.
What I do take a far greater concern over is the following:
CO's frontline seems to demonstrate the repeated failure of admitting a mistake, even when they're proved wrong at point blank.
CO's inability to train and ensure the frontline staff is aware of their current policies.
An average customer who is unable to pick up when a rouge/ignorant agent begins to "interpret" facts will be at a material and unfair disadvantage as there's no version of the Insider for the public.
Now let me say, the reason this is posted to FT is due to my deep respect of what the individuals at CO have accomplished, the kindness and generosity they've show to us in the past as well as their willingness to change when something's going wrong. I want to see them do well and am willing to put in my own time and effort to help them to this end.
Likewise I've had the privileged and the honor of meeting many fine individuals throughout the front line who care deeply for the customers, their coworkers and their company and am proud to consider them my friends. I would not have taken an hour of my time to write this up and forward it to people at CO who can make a difference if I did not.
CO -for their own good!- needs to figure out how to distribute information to the front line on their policies, and remember, SDC is easy when compared to the kind of crap they'll have to deal with when * comes online! Likewise, they need to take a look at frontline's culture and discourage
any trace of 'tude (i.e. the belief the customer's always wrong.)
[/soapbox]