Somebody explain this to me?
 

Well I am just settling into my hotel right now after my YYZ-TPA tampa flight 902 this morning. It was on a 767-200, went to checkin, told agent my Elite kit did not arrive so I don't have the upgrade certs. No problem, use one of the old ones. (so far so good).
Agent puts me on the waitlist to be upgraded, chances are slim because its an oversold flight in coach and there is about 7 J seats. So wasn't expecting to be upgraded now. When the time comes for the waitlisted upgrades to be cleared, people waiting for upgrades started gathering around/near the counter. Names started being called. Hmmm...Mine is not called. So no upgrade, thats okay..But wait, there seems to be an argument going on at the counter with a single flier(man), a couple, and the gate agent. Being nosy, I get a little closer to hear the conversation. Apparently, the gate agent upgraded the last 2 seats to the couple, and they are only Prestige members, while the man is an Elite member. The single man was suppose to get one of the two, but the couple wanted to sit together, and talked their way into getting both the upgrade seats? The couple ended up getting those seats. By then there were other Elites that weren't upgraded started complaining as well. The manager on duty did come on the plane just before departure to talk to that guy, but I didn't hear what the conversation was about.
Now isn't there a pecking order in terms of who gets upgraded based on the status? I am Elite myself and paid full fare. Shouldn't I have gotten upgraded before the couple even if they did pay full fare as well?

On a positive note, I did see Fred Ketchum on the same plane to Tampa. I was behind him at the customs line and ended up on the same plane..For those of you who don't know who he is, he is the executive VP of Nesbitt Burns, and former CEO of the Toronto Stock Exchange. You can see him regularly on TV and radio investment shows. He is like one of my hero. It was a pleasure chatting with him briefly while waiting for the plane.

This appears to be anothre case of AC's "let's irritate the customer" style of customer service. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

[This message has been edited by I'llMissCP (edited 03-03-2001).]

Sadly, I am sure things like these happen everyday and we just don't know about it.

I'll Miss CP,

Very silly comment. People make mistakes. I believe you just made one!

Commie,

I'm baffled as to why this happened. The upgrades scheme is simple SE,E,P. The only way a Prestige should get upgraded ahead of anyone is if he/she paid either the points for D class or is on a full fare J ticket and wasn't confirmed in J for that flight.

Sounds like inexperience and the gate agent may have given into the demands of two and hoped no one would notice. But if the manager got involved and the Prestige passengers still got the J seats I think there had to be more to it than that.

I'llMissCP,
Your name says it all, you were never willing to give us a chance. I wonder what kind of customer service I practised two nights ago when I gave 13 comp upgrades to Elite passengers and still sent the flight out with seats open in the back? You see, I figured that everyone would be more comfortable that way and my manager agreed. I wonder how many of those passengers were irritated. Now the man who used profanity towards me because of a 25 minute delay? Well, he sat in his originally assigned seat. I'm sorry that you feel this way about AirCanada because there are plenty of folks like me who bust our butts trying to make your flying experience better and no, it's not very easy to do that right now. Some passengers make it even harder.

Secret Agent: I wished you were based in YYZ! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

As for I'llMissCP --> Maybe another Flyboy in the making? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Now, that's really insulting! That wins as the flame of week http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I'm sure there are many excellent employees at AC. To date, I either experience the average or poor ones. It seems that any time I have a simple request, that is when I see the rudeness that I refer to. I am also very polite to the AC employees. If I don't get what I want, I put my tail between my legs, and quietly simmer. I then write letters to AC, which so far have not been acknowledged. Even the request for dry cleaning when an FA spilt my drink all over me.

Until I see the exceptional, "beyond policy" customer service you apparently provide at your station, I will continue with my views. You obviuosly don't work YYZ, where most of my travels take me. AC's largest operation is also their bell weather for customer satisfaction. I also don't see the exceptional service at my home base either. Not surprising as it is CP's former HQ. The animosity towards AC here is still very strong. Not surprising with the way AC treats the customer.

When AC restores C/S to a satisfactory level, I may also change my FT handle.

[This message has been edited by I'llMissCP (edited 03-04-2001).]

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

As for what happened that day, these agents obviously were not following AC policy. Unfortunately, despite the excellent service SecretAgent et al provide, in my experience many many AC agents ignore this policy, and upgrade random people before frequent fliers. I have seen this happen at CP as well, so this is obviously a serious problem for the new carrier as a whole.

NB - despite all the other strange things I have seen, I have NEVER, in my life seen this happen on BA.

Smile, Fly Boy, it was just a joke http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

This happened to me once where AC F/A squirted me with mayonaise (nicely squirting my hair, and my suit), after upgrading the basic member I was travelling with to Executive Class and leaving me in Y. An interesting flight. They ended up giving me a CAD15$ voucher for the mayo incident, and only seemed concerned about what happened after they asked for my Aeropan number for the form, and saw the tier on my card.

Anyway - I believe they carry these vouchers on-board. If it happens again in the future, ask Cabin Crew for one.

[This message has been edited by Fly Boy (edited 03-04-2001).]

I too have been soaked on board and got a dry cleaning voucher right there.
As for the upgrade rules, there must be an easy way to over ride them at the gate because I know for a fact when they have not been followed.
All I can say is, I wish more agents were like our own Secret Agent. Keep up the great work.

I'llMissCP,
Send me an email with the information about the spilt beverage you were subjected to without resolution. Was it on material that required dry cleaning only? And was it a type of beverage, spilt, that left an obivous stain which could not be treated with a damp rub or a dose of soda water?

I will mail you a cleaning voucher if your answers to the above are yes.

Whether you are dealing with AC or former CP staff, in this area, our policies match. A spill onto a passenger should never be construed as deliberate (and I'm not saying you suggested such) but whatever causes this to happen, restitution will and should be made by AC staff, as you feel it was with CP, if the circumstances warrant issuing a voucher.

Incidentally, and not directed at you, I've had experience in my CP days where travellers wearing blue jeans (or versatile polyester) have had, say, OJ spilt on them because we hit an airpocket at the time I was pouring their beverage. Splash onto the customer can be the result of me trying to retain a hold on the bar cart, the glass in my hand and my own equilibrium simultaneously. This same customer now wants a cleaning voucher for a pair of jeans (or polyster clothing)that has obviously been subjected to numerous wash/rinse and dry cycles in it's lifetime. I conclude that another round of the same treatment, following our spill, will correct the matter and I will offer apologies but no voucher as compensation.

Often when we "spill or splash" during a flight it is caused by turbulence, a passenger bumping into us at a critical moment, or even honestly, from our own fumbling human fingers. Accidents happen. The travelling public are never pursued or held accountable for ripped seat pockets, jammed and unusable phones stowed improperly, inoperative seats, broken armrests, spills in the o/h bins, gouges in the walls, artistry left behind by offspring, etc, etc. These occurances are accidents either on the traveller's part or because they were in the wrong seat at the right time for something to break down or because they felt the price of their ticket compensates for the inconvenience caused to the airline. We discover many of these items after the a/c has been deplaned. We write them up in the maintenance log book or alert grooming and move on. We don't initiate a witch hunt.

My point is, we have accidents, the travelling public, our customers, have accidents. AC has a procedure in place to make amends for these accidents in situations where it is justified.

Empress, Shareholder; rein me in if you feel I'm geting too carried away over this. Just wanted to give another perspective - the one from the inside.

Well ... except perhaps in the case of the mayonnaise squirted at Fly Boy. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

A Flygirl: I agree with what you've said. I guess the more someone travels, the more they will understand that accidents such as spills do happen.

I've seen people in J class on CP's 767 long haul who just *throws* those Personal Video Player on the floor after they are finish, I am sure they won't do that if it was their own, the sad thing is if it later was broken, CP will end up be the one who is paying for it. On the YVR-YYZ flight last week, after boarding, I saw one of the pax sitting in J try to force the footrest down and ended up making it very loose, he started complaining big time to the FA, J class was full, I guess another non-uniformed pilot couldn't stand him, he just decided to switch seats with him to shut him up. Whose going to compensate AC/CP for this..?