vernonc

Depends which airport the OP is leaving from in TPE. AC flies from TPE (Taoyuan) airport which is where they have two concierges. Shorter flights are normally from the other airport (Songshan) so OP may be flying from this airport. EVA operates flights from both airports and their flights to short haul Asian cities are normally from Songshan.

IluvSQ

If OP is flying from ICN, then it is into TPE.
The only flights into TSA leave from GMP.

BarrieTravelGuy

In follow-up to my first post - So when I got to ICN I went to the Super Elite counter and tried to get some help as the EVA Air counters were not open yet. She said there was nothing she could do. I asked for her to call the Concierge and see if they could help and try to get me a boarding pass (there are no kiosks for EVA at ICN). The concierge who would not talk directly to me or come to the counter told the agent there was nothing she could do. I finally went to the Asiana Airlines counter as they seemed to have a large presence at ICN. I explained the situation to them and in 5 minutes they had confirmed I was on the EVA Air flight and gave me my boarding pass. I don't know what was worse - the total lack of help from the concierge at ICN or the fact that in Toronto they decided to just forward the concierge line to reservations because they were busy with IROPS. What is the point of the concierge service if they send you away at the time they are needed most. At least let us leave a message.

Stranger

My experience at ICN: We had a flight on a separate ticket to Chna on a Chinese airline. Maybe China Southern. My wife needed assistance at the time so I had asked for concierge help ahead of time. A nice person was there waiting for us upon arrival. Took us through security etc. However about getting us a BP on that other airline she was totally clueless.

She took us to the gate. There was an earlier flight scheduled to board. After lengthy phone calls she finally figured out what I had been trying to tell her: that Chinese airline was actually handled by Korean, same alliance. So we went to their desk, got BPs and went to the Korean lounge.

BarrieTravelGuy

My last follow-up to this trip. I flew TPE -> YVR and then on to YYZ. My TPE flight was running about 15 minutes late and the Service Director asked me if I had a connection. I explained that I was connecting on to YYZ but that I had 90 minutes and should be fine. He said he would get the pilot to send a message anyway so someone could meet me at the gate.

If you can see the attachment it is the voicemail that a concierge in YVR left me. It popped up when I turned the phone on when we landed at YVR. At this point I still had an hour and 10 minutes to make the flight. He said that I had miss-connected and that I would need to call the concierge to see what flight they protected me on. Of course there was no local number for YVR in the voicemail it was the main concierge number. Just like it's been for the last 5 days it was a "We are busy" message. So no way to get a hold of anyone. I called back the number again and left my call back number and then ran for my YYZ flight. I got to the gate for the YYZ flight and they had not even started boarding. Once on board the concierge in Toronto called me back saying she saw I was on the flight.

This is actually worse then not even having help from the concierge. I get a message telling me I've missed my flight which causes panic. IMO - with over an hour to connect no Concierge should be telling you that you've miss-connected and moved to a new flight. I've had great Concierge experiences over the years so very strange that every interaction with them on this international trip was horrible. I'll chalk it up to the weather at YYZ; however, IROPS was generally when the Concierge would shine for me.

InTheAirGuy

"that I would need to call the concierge to see what flight they protected me on. Of course there was no local number for YVR in the voicemail it was the main concierge number. Just like it's been for the last 5 days it was a "We are busy" message. So no way to get a hold of anyone."

This. The absolute inability to reach a human completely destroys the value of the program.

I wish they would give their head a shake on this. Surely they read this forum. Fix it please! It's dreadful.

Adam Smith

sjhanlon, please write in to AC to express your disappointment. This isn't how the concierge should function or how it usually functions, in my experience.

It's true that some people at AC read FT, but to make sure the feedback gets to them, it's worth contacting them directly.

BarrieTravelGuy

Hi there - thanks for the note. I did send a full recap of my issues to Customer Care. They actually responded within a few hours of sending which I've never had happen before. They said they would send to the correct people so they could look into it. They also sent a 15% promo code (nice but I more want to make sure that the right people see what's happening out in the field).

Cheers

yyznomad

We should have a separate "What exactly does the AC concierge fail at?" thread.

BarrieTravelGuy

Man... I read these good experiences with the Concierge and it just doesn't happen for me. On AC12 from TPE to YVR. Stuck on the runway for 90 minutes waiting for gate. Was connecting on to 118 to YYZ. TPE couldnt give me my YYZ boarding pass and online check-in wouldn't work either. I had less then 45 mins to clear customs and security and make the flight. I called the concierge and they were busy so I left a call back number as well as sending an email. Got a call back from Toronto who said no concierge was meeting that flight. I should go to the connections desk. So why exactly am I paying for International Business Class and being an SE if I have to do the same thing as someone in Economy? I have yet to have a decent experience with the Concierge team this year. It feels like the people I talk to in Toronto on the line are brand new and don't really care.

24left

I wanted to thank @sjhanlon @InTheAirGuy @Adam Smith and @yyznomad for your comments. I especially feel for @sjhanlon as I have had similar experiences recently and a few of them were related to the same insane delays on multiple TPE trips. Perhaps Nomad is right and we may need a "What exactly does the AC concierge fail at? thread."

I also listened to the recording at the main concierge line, suggesting leaving a callback number or whatever the other options were.

I was also on the receiving end of what appeared to be some very new hires who did not understand my questions and worse, did not think to put me on hold and go talk to one of the adults in the room. I had an issue with a tight connection on one trip and 2 different concierges did not listen carefully enough, it seems, to my question and provided answers that were not relevant. On the way to the airport, I called in to ask for some assistance and the young newbie asked if i wanted someone to meet me curbside. I said no, inside aisle 1 would be fine. She said ok. I get to YYZ and no one was there. Did she not follow up? Did she forget what she said?

On 2 of the 3 recent TPE trips, there were large delays on AC 11 causing larger delays on AC 12 leading to misconnects and near misconnects for many onboard the flights on onward connections from YVR. In one case, on arrival we were greeted by a concierge with new BPs and a golf cart to help us make our connections. In another case, no one was there. I found out later a concierge was supposed to meet me with a BP but did not.

A while back, I could not find some information I needed for an upcoming international trip. I sent an email to the concierges. Not only was my question not answered, but the concierge who did reply, sent information I did not request along with other information that did not answer the question. Why is that? So, I called up, spoke with another agent and she was able to follow up with the answers I was looking for. This meant me wasting time with an email and then wasting time again on follow-up.

Also a while back, I was on a very delayed international TATL arrival (on an AC ticket) but the partner airline had inflight wifi, so I emailed the concierge at that station as I was concerned I would miss my flight, the last of the evening. The answer I received was "let us know when you've arrived". Seriously? How was that supposed to help me?

OTOH, I've had some excellent experiences with some concierges who were PRO-ACTIVE and able to solve some things without me having to pull out a training manual. Further, I am consistently blown away by the outstanding services and help provided by the concierges at outstations.

I don't know the criteria used for hiring AC concierges but thinking on your feet, being proactive, and more importantly, understanding the problem the customer is facing are key.

Maybe some of the new hires should be shadowed by some of the experienced concierges or perhaps they should work in teams until they have successfully been able to correctly resolve issues for those of us who spend what AC asks of us and are provided with this service as a benefit.
.

canadiancow

They've really gone to poop since moving to YUL.

I have a business class Aeroplan redemption, with the first leg in Y (X).

I sent an email after checking in to be added to the onload list for J.

Here's the response:

Great. Except, I'm not actually on the list. Did this get forwarded to SFO? Why not add me to the list yourself?!?!?

This is an example of a very simple request that has no self-service alternative, but they didn't do it.

It's not time sensitive, so I'm going to wait until morning, but if it's not done by then, I'm calling back and not hanging up until I'm on the list.

I guess what really annoys me is it looks like they've offloaded the work from the central call centre (which should have a bunch of agents) to SFO, which has at most two at any given time.

CdnFlier

When did the call centre get moved? Interesting. Maybe there's a more receptive labour market in YUL. Paying $15/hr for new 'Concierge' staff in YYZ doesn't get you the best pool of candidates.

Argonaut1000

I often get the feeling that many CSR and AC Concierge's have actually never been on an AC flight before - revenue or employee travel.

lcohen999

Jumping back...I was just thinking

There was a time that I knew a bunch of Concierges very well at a variety of Canadian stations (the international ones with smaller staff are easier to keep in touch with).

Now-a-days, there has been a lot of staff changes and with the loss of direct communication with them I find it is difficult to re-build those relationships. Not that they are necessary of course but are nice to have.

Always nice to come off a 15 hour flight and recognize someone you know

I have always said, the phone numbers to each city should be put back and if no one answers or is busy, then ring back to the main line. It solves the problem of local contact and keeps the 24 hour line going as it should.

It 'seems' to be a simple fix to a problem. Hell, I have this exact setup with my Unison PBX system. Call my office, no one answers, it rings cell phones automatically.

It is just a shame,really