Lack of announcements at gate and on plane
I had my first flight on UA in about a year and I was surprised at the lack of announcements by employees.
I got to the gate at 6:05PM for a 6:12 boarding, and I did not hear any announcements.
At 6:20, I asked another person if he knew if they were going to start boarding soon, and he said: "Everyone's already on the plane".
At no time did I hear an announcement in the 15 minutes I was standing there. I did see a sign behind the counter that showed "boarding" with zones 1 and 2 in black.
The gate agent remained quiet when I walked up and didn't say anything when I boarded. On the plane, the first and only announcement I heard pre-departure was the pre-recorded safety message.
It's just an observation, and maybe announcements were made prior to me getting on the plane, but I was just surprised.