767300ER

I had a unpleasant experience last Friday at YYZ T2. Returning from a last minute trip I had to fly from YFC to YUL. All late flights were fully booked and I had to buy a J1 fare from YYC to YYZ and an M fare from YYZ to YUL.

My travel agent requested the upgrade portion between YYZ and YUL and having not received my new kit (got it today)I called Aeroplan to enquire if they would accept older coupons and was told that because of the date (March 2nd) and the fact that some kits were still in the mail, the agents would take it easy on this. Also the fact that I was travelling full fare should certainly help.

When I checked in, the gate agent was very helpful and understood the situation and did not request the new coupons and gave me a boarding pass with my J seat confirmed.

Having 90min between my flights in YYZ I entered in the MLL and was immediately stopped by a very unfriendly person who ask for my card and asked for a new upgrade coupon instead.

After explaining the situation to her she said that she would downgrade me right now and give me whatever seat was available in eco class. I didn't beleive it!! There was nothing to do to change her mind.

In that case I think she overeacted and that she could have been more flexible. It was a short 45min flight and there was seats available in J.

I don't think this is the way that AC will make their customer happy.

Any comments or similar stories?

767300ER

Soory for the double posting, got a time out message...

Shareholder

Even I would say that this is pretty bad customer relations, and quite unnaceptable since another agent had already confirmed you. Particularly in airline circles where a full fare Y ticket is generally upgraded (NW, TW most Asian carriers, etc.). And given the delivery problems with Elite kits. I would have called Elite office immediately, but this deserves a fax to Milton's office with a copy to the Aeroplan Elite office. I hope you got the agent's name. I would also have gone to the check-in desk prior to boarding to get the upgrade reinstated.

CPYVR

Sorry to hear of your experience 767300ER. We had someone call in earlier today with a similar situation whose kit was mailed mid February and still not received. Luckily, we were able to authorize travel without certificate provided member does return certificate upon receipt of kit. File was documented with authorization so that member does not receive the horrible experience you did. I just wish it were this easy all the time.

MoreMiles

A lot of the posters here assumed that no problem would occur due to this late mailing... Apparently this is not the case.

See this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum5/HTML/001985.html

Once again, I really think it's time for Air Canada to treat its customer with some respect.

Fly Boy

This stuff happens a lot unfortunately. It has happened several times to me, but I have always had valid card and stickers with me, making it even more frustrating. Last time this happened; AC agent "corrected" my seat assignment to Y class, but I was obviously confirmed in Exec as it still posted to my account as such.

Howard

I would definitely write a letter of complaint. If you don't have the agent's
name, you can find their employee number
on your boarding pass. See the box "Airline Use" - in the right of this box is the city code of boarding card issue followed by the five digit employee number of the issuing agent (e.g. YYZ12345 would be Toronto employee number 12345). This behavior is unacceptable.

Shareholder

Check the lower right hand corner of the boarding pass, along the space under "Airline Use|A usage interne|Inernene Gebrauch". You will see a number which indicates your sequence in check-in for your flight, then another which starts with the station code where you checked in and continues with a number. This is the Agent ID Sine.

Unfortunately, the MLL receptionist/agent's ID sine may not be on your boarding pass, since that may retain the sine of the original agent that checked you in and gave you the upgrade. You would not want them to get into trouble if this is investigated, since they did the right thing by you. If you have both boarding passes, just confirm the sines are the same. If they are, then you won't be able to track the agent you want from that number. If they are different, then the sine on the downgraded boarding pass will be the one you want.

767300ER

Thanks for your comments. I will certainly write a letter. I found the number on the re-issued boarding pass and it indicates a YYZ number so I am sure that this is the right agent...

It has been a frustrating experience and my main complaint is about attitude. She didn't want to help or offer me alternatives (mail the coupon back like CPYVR posted) and she seemed almost happy to do it...She should work somewhere else.

FYI I tried later on at the gate and was given the same answer but the agent apologized for the situation and was very polite and profesionnal. Perhaps I should have asked for a supervisor but I was tired and didn't want to re-explain again everything.

Guava

You should definitely write a letter to Air Canada's Customer Relations. Since last October where CP was officially taken over by AC (computer link), my inter-continental flights on AC have been painful experience. So far, it's 2/2, meaning two letters of complaint on two trips. When I was with CP, I never had to write anything for years! It amazes me how bad AC's customer service really is. But to my surprise, AC's Customer Relations has a responsible team. For my first complaint, which was related to a horrible delay in Vancouver on my way for business to China, I had to stay in Vancouver overnight. My schedule had to be changed and I had to miss my meeting. AC handled my case poorly in YVR even though I was travelling in J all the way. The result of the first complaint is compensation(goodwill) of cash + flying credit from AC in the 4 figures. My second complaint just recently was how unprofessional/rude the AC agents were in YUL. I had confirmed upgraded seats to TPE prior to the arrival of airport. Somehow, AC agents don't recognize CP 2000 stickers (blue/white) even after multiple checks with concierge. This is beyond me and they even tell me: "You know you don't deserve this upgrade." One of them said: "If they keep trying to upgrade, they don't fly today." That's after I used my cell phone to contact AC Reservations in the airport so that the reservation agent can tell agents at the airport that V fare is upgradable. I tried to explained to them the booking codes on CP folder is different to AC. CP's M = AC's V. They just don't get it, not even after they were told by AC's own agents that's O.K. So I had to see my confirmed upgraded taken away at the check-in. The check-in took over 2 hours. Somehow at the gate, I showed my stickers to the gate agent and my tier card and my ticket, he accepted with no problem. Now, how do you explain that? The major point in this was we were insulted in front of other passengers at the check-in by the agents who tell us that: "You know you don't deserve these upgrades and etc." Their mean spirited attitude is beyond me. I insist on having the boss of these agents to give me his business card. He said he doesn't have one but gave me a AC Customer Relations card instead. I said I know about AC Cust. Relations, just write your name on it. He looked a bit worried, well he should be.

Andrew Yiu

Guava.... I assume you are a SE? The way they treated you is just so bad and as low as it can gets. I say they are the one that does not deserve to work there.

I found it very useful writing to the SE desk, everytime I write to them, they follow up with a call within a day or two after I send my email. They only response through email if they can't get hold of me by phone most of the time. Try this and you might get a better result. {assuming that you're SE}