Originally Posted by NeoOfTheCRS
Today I was in DEN and went to the East RCC only to find that it was closed and had to hike over to the West RCC. I asked the agent there whether their was work being done on the East club and said no. UA just closes it during lower traffic times to save some $ on staffing.
Well, DEN today was anything but empty. It looked like ORD and the only open RCC had members stacked upon members. I wasn't even going to try to fight for an electrical outlet to charge my laptop. I just found a cramped corner and sat down. What a zoo. . . This is not the level of service that I paid for when I purchased my membership. I'm writing the RCC to complain.
Obviously most of us are trying to be patient and understanding with UAs bid to stay viable. However, I agree with you here. We're not talking about Star Alliance lounges that are good for international customers that have achieved (usually *Gold) elite status. We're talking about a "club", that has lounge access and lounges listed as part of the membership. UA clearly doesn't treat this as a club, as they rarely (if ever) solicit the input of it's members. Additionally, are they in breach of the agreement by closing off clubs at their convenience?
It's a bit disappointing, because this is not an added 'bene' for frequent flyers. It's a paid club membership, with specific mention of access and usage privelleges. If UA is not making money on their RCC clubs, I would rather see them form a reciprocal membership with clubs that do continue to operate, and provide UA reservation support staff as such to ensure that RCC customers are still provided reservation/ticketing/customer support that would otherwise be available in an RCC.