Discussion of concierge pay

Old Jul 7, 2018, 8:33 pm
  #106  
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At minimum wage am actually amazed at the service still provided. Even if a bit spotty sometimes lately.
Sounds like an opportunity for the users to start leaving tips to encourage service
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Old Jul 7, 2018, 9:57 pm
  #107  
 
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Originally Posted by davistev
The airline industry is fast becoming as prestigious as the fast food industry.
Not really sure why the airline industry is expected to be prestigious. Like years ago sure.. when it was more "rare" to fly...
I mean, in 1909 it was prestigious to own a Ford... In 1990 having a dedicated connection to "The Internet" was prestigious...

Airlines are flying bus operators. In fact a good chunk of AC's fleet has the word "Bus" all over it. Never heard anyone say greyhound is prestigious.

The term concierge being applied to an Air Canada employee today is like calling a McDs cook a chef, or an office janitor a Disease Control Assurance Officer.
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Old Jul 8, 2018, 12:01 am
  #108  
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I believe there is a correlation between quality of candidates/workers and decent wages. So if these customer service reps are making $45,000 a year, they would probably treat their work in a more motivating manner than a Mc Job.

One of the side effect of having $15 minimum wage is that similar trickle down economics, wages trickle up. If Mc Job pays $15 an hour, Air Canada's would need to increase wages to 18 or 20 to get people to be those customer service reps. They may try to get customers to use machines like Mc Donalds do, so the work can be spread out among customers and thus hire fewer staff. If customers don't like paying higher prices, do the work themselves. Our government just need to come up with some solution so our population can shrink to match the jobs available so there is a persistence slight shortage of labor.
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Old Jul 8, 2018, 1:35 am
  #109  
 
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Originally Posted by yeunganson
I believe there is a correlation between quality of candidates/workers and decent wages. So if these customer service reps are making $45,000 a year, they would probably treat their work in a more motivating manner than a Mc Job.

One of the side effect of having $15 minimum wage is that similar trickle down economics, wages trickle up. If Mc Job pays $15 an hour, Air Canada's would need to increase wages to 18 or 20 to get people to be those customer service reps. They may try to get customers to use machines like Mc Donalds do, so the work can be spread out among customers and thus hire fewer staff. If customers don't like paying higher prices, do the work themselves. Our government just need to come up with some solution so our population can shrink to match the jobs available so there is a persistence slight shortage of labor.
Correlation?

More like, a direct relationship. There are calculable opportunity costs: does a job candidate work for $14/hour or $18/hour between two different jobs?

Nothing tarnishes the brand of a company quicker than underpaying the hardest-working employees. And I do think front-line employees at AC have a much more difficult and demanding job (in terms of what they have to put up with) than some of those C-suite executives.
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Old Jul 8, 2018, 7:28 am
  #110  
 
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I guess flight options are a perk, but at $14/hr who can afford hotels or tourist food at the other end?

McD's doesn't get tips, but coffee places do. Baristas may not be swimming in it, but I've never met a waitress who doesn't always have $100 in her pocket.

I guess there are local busses to YYZ, but it's gotta be a massive PITA to get to compared to a cafe or Starbucks or chipotle around the corner.

If AC is having trouble finding people to staff concierge positions, hourly wages are the obvious reasons.
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Old Jul 8, 2018, 7:30 am
  #111  
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So how much should a concierge be making? Entry-level concierge? Senior concierge? Head concierge?

What do the salary experts say here? I'm taking notes. Serious ones. So egu.
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Old Jul 8, 2018, 7:40 am
  #112  
 
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Whatever a gate agent with 3 years experience would make, +$1/hr. Since that is who they should be recruiting from.
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Old Jul 8, 2018, 7:41 am
  #113  
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How about instead AC invest in fixing processes and practises that would obviate the need for a concierge in the first place? As vast majority of what I ask for is from faulty service design or execution.

And agree Concierge program slipping...of late

Careful what folks wish for - more Concierge pay can mean higher AQD

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Old Jul 8, 2018, 7:48 am
  #114  
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Originally Posted by RangerNS
Whatever a gate agent with 3 years experience would make, +$1/hr. Since that is who they should be recruiting from.
IMHO, not an unreasonable suggestion regarding the GA experience. (or heck, some "front line" experience).
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Old Jul 8, 2018, 8:03 am
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Concierge Service now at Madrid

Just as an FYI.....

Concierge Service is now up and running @ MAD.
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Old Jul 8, 2018, 8:16 am
  #116  
 
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Originally Posted by yyznomad
So how much should a concierge be making? Entry-level concierge? Senior concierge? Head concierge?

What do the salary experts say here? I'm taking notes. Serious ones. So egu.
I'm no salary expert but would say $35k and up based on length of service. Maybe topping out in the high $70s. (Will that pay for a decent apartment or home in Toronto area, assuming concierge is the sole wage earner, and has one child?)

Instead of getting newbie employees on their first week of work wearing a Concierge name tag, I'd like to know I am getting a highly trained employee who has been thru at least a year of dealing with regular customer issues, and moved UP the ranks to concierge.i

When I call and get a CONCIERGE on the phone they are supposed to work with a customer who doesn't flinch at a multi thousand dollar ticket for several hours of flying. They are given authority to seemingly move mountains (rebook irrops SE Y into J, get SE hotel benefits even in weather irrops at nicer hotels, etc).

AC has apparently done a great job of positioning concierges to the elite $20k/year customers.... But behind the scenes, when a gate agent tells me to call the concierge...are they really passing the buck to a lower paid employee? I've always thought that saying "no thank you I will just call the concierge then" was a way of telling an unhelpful employee that I was escalating the issue to a higher rank...but maybe it isn't.

Knowing I am being helped by minimum wage staff does concern me. Why would I make them work harder just because I am entitled to a benefit.

At least AC has not outsourced concierges to offshore agents. When I am on the phone with another airline call center overseas, they make dumb comments like "would you like to go ahead and pay it is JUST a $1400 change fee/fare difference on your 7 $27.00 one way tickets. How awful it must be to make $10 a day by taking calls and money by the thousands all day for your employer. It's easy to throw these call centers off script.... ask overseas Direct TV/Sirius agents their favorite channel or how they like the service in their own home/car, ask the airline call center employees overseas how they like a certain model of aircraft or if they like the in flight service.
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Last edited by expert7700; Jul 8, 2018 at 12:07 pm
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Old Jul 8, 2018, 8:19 am
  #117  
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Is there any "prestige" working as a Concierge for Air Canada?
Are Concierges proud to be a Concierge?
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Old Jul 8, 2018, 8:40 am
  #118  
 
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Originally Posted by yyznomad
Is there any "prestige" working as a Concierge for Air Canada?
Are Concierges proud to be a Concierge?
Good question. And a better related question may be how those with 20 years of experience in the job providing (if the history here is valid) quality service feel being supplemented by those getting paid nothing with zero training and experience.
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Old Jul 8, 2018, 8:47 am
  #119  
 
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in addition to the bilingual preference and prior airline ticket/customer service preference, the ineed posting also REQUIRES:

Possess a valid provincial driver's license (G2) and a valid Airside Vehicle Operators Permit (AVOP)

should we assume Airside vehicle permits are handed out for free, like candy? or is this a pre application cost?
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Old Jul 8, 2018, 8:52 am
  #120  
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Originally Posted by RangerNS
Good question. And a better related question may be how those with 20 years of experience in the job providing (if the history here is valid) quality service feel being supplemented by those getting paid nothing with zero training and experience.
+1,000,000
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