Originally Posted by CollegeFlyer

Well, I agree, in that I don't think a business should treat any paying customer like trash. It is okay to treat customers who aren't contributing much actual profit like "nobodies," but not like "trash."

So, for example, I think that nickel-and-diming fees on non-elite airline pax are okay. Such fees are petty and annoying, for sure, but to be honest, the pax are asking for it by always comparison-shopping the lowest possible fare without regard for quality, loyalty, etc. If more pax cared about benefits such as free checked bags, or onboard service, Southwest and JetBlue would have driven all the legacy carriers out of business (at least domestically). But as long as passengers keep buying UACO tickets whenever they are $25 cheaper than Southwest, UACO will push its fares down as low as possible and then charge anyone who wants to check a bag, as a tactic to get that $25 back.

But, for example, I think the Indian Call Center should be shut down immediately. Numerous years of experience have shown that ICC agents are not adequately trained and have trouble handling passengers' requests or even giving passengers the correct information. No customer should have to put up with that. If a non-elite passenger calls an airline, and gets put on hold for 5-10 minutes before reaching an agent who can help them, that is treating the passenger like a nobody, and may be justifiable. But if the airline connects the passenger to an agent who is completely incapable of assisting the passnger with his/her request, and will sometimes make up rules and "facts" and lie to the passenger just to get a passenger with a complicated request off the phone, is treating the passenger like trash--and that's where I draw the line.

Of course, this is not to say that all ICC agents act in the above manner, but quite a few of them do (as I have found through my personal experience and also other UA flyers' reports). Nor do I suggest that all US call center agents are knowedgeable and well trained (but there are far fewer bad apples in the US call centers than the ICC). This indicates that whatever training and/or quality control standards being used in the ICC are woefully deficient, and the result is that customers are being actively abused on a daily basis. That's not an acceptable outcome.