I have had to deal with concierges on 4 occasions to date in 2016. Weather issues/connections/mechanical and weather again.
In each instance, the concierge(s) and Air Canada were pro-active and made sure that I was looked after. ^

Thanks for that :cool:

So, I am a little late posting this, as I passed through DEL on the 7th, but Himani is absolutely amazing!!!!

Very helpful, knowledgable, polite, friendly, patient, I could go on and on, but suffusive to say, she's absolutely amazing.

Kudos to Concierge service, especially LGA!
 

Want to take the opportunity to give kudos and express my appreciation and gratitude to the LGA concierge team. Shirva and Carson and others often go beyond their duties to help me and my travel companions out, including a situation where UA screwed up a ticket PAX name that we're flying on AC metal. Very accommodating and a pleasure to work with as LGA is now my preferred travel hub even for TATL/TPAC routes!

YYZ concierge I've also had the pleasure to work with a few members who've been wonderful and being available when needed. Certainly the wheelchair services have improved since AC takes a more proactice role in escorting needed PAX from gate to exit of the terminal.

Bravo!
GT

As seasoned F/F we usually know what may happen before the people are are actually in their profession know, which has always baffled me.

During the past 48 hours there has been delays out of LHR so i was trying to be proactive as we have tight connections in LHR & BRU.

When we arrived at the YYC MLL i asked the concierge if the concierge could meet us in LHR and have a back up plane for when we miss the connection. Cant do that as the system says it all on time.

Long story short, Dave met us at the Gate when we landed, super friendly and nice guy, escorted us through security, did some other stuff and we made of connection.

Dave thanks for your help, sorry guy ^

One in May I forgot to post.

Flying J MCO-YYZ-YYC with my mom, our nanny, 4 yo and 1 yo w/ car seat. Arrival into YYZ was quite delayed, pushing a 2:30 connection to 1. FA checked and said I'd be fine, but I asked her to have the pilots write back and request an escort given the group I had.

A great concierge met us at the gate, brought us through a priority lane at customs (nanny didn't have Nexus yet), cut the security line for us and we arrived at the gate when zone 5 was just about done.

On the way she had great chats with everyone of us, helped manage the kids / bags (keeping them busy post-WTMD while we got secondaries), and kept in constant contact with the gate to adjust our speed as required. Simply, she made what was going to be an awful transfer and potential misconnect into a pleasant, though busy, 45 minutes.

My mom was shocked at the level of service and kindness throughout. Her comment after was, "I now understand why you don't ever have problems when travelling."

Today was an absolutely nutty day, starting off with a 5 hour delay that had a massive ripple effect with the rest of my itinerary.

A massively huge thank you to every member of the concierge team who touched my file today. Every effort was made to get me back on my original itinerary, and I hit the jackpot when one of the flights I was going to misconnect on ended up being delayed because they were waiting for deadheading pilots. Those same pilots were on my flight :)

Yes, I see the huge value in the Concierge team when there's IRROPS. It definitely beats waiting behind the long queue of customers who are looking to be rebooked.

And I was finally able to put a face to some of their names....and I found a few in YYZ :-)

Were you flying with philelite by any chance?

Nope. I haven't seen him all day. Unless he's hiding somewhere...

Edit: I've seen at least one other guy who has flown into YQT (last flight) and out of YQT (first flight) so I can imagine a few EYW'ers cycling through every weekend here. I would never go to YQT for any other reason so there you go AC....mission accomplished ... We help fill your useless routes :p

I like to do a big Shout out to Daniel the concierge in EWR. Yesterday there were numerous cancelled and delayed flights including mine.

Daniel was extremely professional and helpful with helping me out. He was in constant communication with me and ensured I was looked after

Due to the length of the delays I was able to observe and hear Daniel not only look after Air Canada’s top customers, I also watched him look after many non status customers as he worked the customer service desk.

I positioned myself between two gates near the customer service desk where I was able to observe and listen to many angry and frustrated customers. I saw Daniel and the team do a great job, they spoke calmly and sincerely to many of the less than happy customers. Not all of the customers appear to be appreciative of the agents help, but many were as I saw smiles and heard thank you's from many folk. These agents did a great job, smiling and helping.

Daniel and his outstanding customer car made things better not only for me, but for so many of Air Canada's customers.

Great Job and thank you ^

I had no idea that EWR had a concierge. ^

They have two! Last year Fransico was also a big help and I wrote in on him also. I have been impressed with EWR and they are finishing the last of the touches for an AC MLL also!

A big ^ to the YEG concierge team.

I was recently booked on a late afternoon YEG-YYZ flight. In the morning the YEG concierge team sent me an e-mail telling me that my flight later that day was expected to be delayed and that they had protected me on the earlier flight in case I was interested.

While taking the earlier flight didn't work based on my schedule, I very much appreciated the gesture and awesome customer service.^

I doubly agree. EWR concierge has been awesome!

Thank you Helene (?) in YOW for working with us to salvage some EYW flying.

Lots of Rapidair in my near future.

Was stuck in YYG for 5 hours yesterday morning on the way to YYZ. Called Concierge and spoke to Cara, who immediately tried to rebook me through YUL and then on WS direct to YYZ, both to no avail as the other flights were already closed. Then reserved a seat on the later flight to YYZ just in case 1709 was further delayed.

Cara wasn't able to get me out any quicker, but tried really hard on my behalf and followed up every step. My sincere appreciation to her for her efforts, really all one can ask for. Thank you, Cara!

Being in a few situations myself throughout the years, I would agree 100%! Sometimes there isn't anything that can be done, but if they try and if they follow-up I'm a very happy person.

Thank you Margaret from YYZ! Great surprise today being chauffeured in the BMW 7 series for my connection to MAD!

the whole story here

:D

August 25/16 YVR
 

A couple of the YVR Concierges (one had a Lead Agent tag - not sure of the difference) were very proactive in getting J and Y passengers switched from AC132 and AC1136 onto the delayed 1162 (A 789) on Thursday, August 24. It got me home 30 mins sooner.

Sure, they were gruff and were hustling flustered volunteers from 48 and 49 to Gate 47, but I know they wanted to get that flight out (It was delayed a couple of hrs already due to a compressor issue).

Want to thank the YYZ concierge team for going above and beyond to get me out of Greece yesterday.

At 2am local time when it became evident that Aegean would fly me from HER-ATH at 6:30am, Elizabeth found me a routing that probably violated MCT, gave me a upgrade to J from PE (because she put me on a A330 ex AMS, I recall threads on here complaining about PE pax being put in Y when PE became unavailable), got me a segment ticketed on Aegean (ATH-AMS) when I couldn't even reach them by phone, and most importantly got me home on time.

These are the experiences that really make me value SE.

Thank you to Boris in ORD this week! ORD-YYZ flight was canceled and email notification didn't go out until late. Boris called and left a message asking if we could get on earlier flight out. We showed up at airport 20 minutes before departure time and he called us up to front of line, gave BPs, and we were on our way. Otherwise, would have been 4 hours later than original arrival time. Much appreciated!

I know you posted this back in October...

But it only takes one of these experiences to keep one locked in.

Concierge saved my buttocks BIG TIME in September 2004 and I am still paying back in droves. :D

Boris is amazing. I think he is the station manager and not a concierge

Incredible Concierge Service at MUC
 

Just experienced truly fantastic Concierge service on the ground in MUC, courtesy of Sandra.

Thanks to yet another OLCI fail, I arrived bright and early at AC's priority check-in area at MUC's Terminal 2.

Sandra and her colleague arrived shortly thereafter, greeted me by name, and immediately apologized for 1) OLCI not working for me (which I guess she observed from their internal systems) and 2) showing up after me.

She then informed me that 1) I've been upgraded to PY on the refurbished A330 and 2) my SPML has been noted. Since I am traveling with my mom (who is on a separate PNR), I asked if it would be possible for her to be reseated as well. Sandra quickly made that happen (before you freak out, the PY section remains half empty), told us about the LH lounges in the new satellite terminal, and told us she'd see us at the gate.

After enjoying breakfast in the Senator Lounge by the L gates, we proceeded to gate L11, where Sandra escorted us to the final passport check, through the priority boarding lane, and all the way to the airplane door, where she introduced me to the SD, informed her of my status, and bid us farewell.

Throughout the entire encounter, Sandra was polite, friendly, and professional. IMO, this was ground service appropriate for an international F class experience on any top-tier airline. Truly impressed!

I tweeted about this and was assured the compliments will be relayed to Sandra and her team.

AC is good about passing on compliments. I emailed about the great service of the EWR concierge last year and the next time I saw him I asked if he received it. He confirmed that he did. ^

The last wave of Concierge's hired at MUC/FCO & AMS are all excellent, having interacted with them.

^ +1

I have had the pleasure of meeting Sandra in MUC a few times, and she has always been a real joy to deal with- outgoing, helpful and very friendly...

Can we get her in YYZ? CDG? Maybe clone her? :p

MUC concierges are truly incredible.

I had Sandra help me and my family out last year with misconnects etc and I had posted in the thanks concierge thread. Excellent.

I see Sandra every few months, most recently 2 weeks ago. She and the MUC team really make a difference and I always leave impressed.

I agree that MUC concierges are great but you should probably redact information on the upgrade.

In my experience, the MUC concierges are among the best.

I find asking for it will get you this level of concierge service anywhere other than the major hubs Canadian hubs.

I find just being polite and not asking for it will often get you the service outside of Canada.

Agreed - but it's also a matter of resources.

AC has one daily flight ex-MUC. On a quiet day there may be 1-2 SEs and maybe one or two dozen J pax, so for a motivated and well-trained concierge it shouldn't be too hard to offer great service. May even be fun to go the extra mile for the handful of special pax each day.

Even at airports such as FRA and LHR that level of service can't be offered on a consistent basis, not to mention the major hubs like YYZ/YVR/YUL.

Thank you to the Concierge team in YYZ for the warm welcome on Friday January 27 and to the Concierge team in YEG for the amazing welcome on Wednesday February 1. You folks really contribute a wonderful touch to my travels.

I feel weird about this.

I assume (based on talking with concierges and other Super Elites) that most concierge interactions are along the lines of:

SE: Can I request an upgrade? // Can I change my flight? // Can I change my seat?
Concierge: Why of course! (And that may have a cost in dollars or upgrade credits)
SE: Thanks!

Whereas if I can do something online, I do it online. Which means if I'm talking to a concierge, I'm asking for something complicated (or at the very least, something that cannot be handled elsewhere).

But I'm a FTer, so:
1. I know what's possible
2. Therefore, I know how to save money

As a result, my concierge interactions typically fall into one of two categories:
1. Everyone would agree that what I'm asking for is fair, reasonable, and within the fare rules (i.e. SDC on a full J YYZ-SFO to YYZ-YVR-SFO where both the flights I want have positive space, because I ran into a friend downtown who's on a specific YYZ-YVR, and I'd like to continue our conversation all the way to YVR)
2. I'd accept the argument that I'm taking advantage of a loophole, but at the same time, I hit the AQD requirement, and the fare I'm on technically entitles me to what I'm requesting
2a. Example 1: I book SFO-YYZ in Y and YYZ-YOW in J, using IKK. As a SE, I ask to be added to the onload list, knowing my onload priority for SFO-YYZ (regardless of whose version of the truth you believe is irrelevant for this, so please do not sidetrack this thread) is pretty damn high. So I can book Y on a route AC does not want to give away J for points, but still sit in J. Even though I've taken advantage of this on numerous occasions, I do not think it is in AC's best interest, and I do not think it is in my best interest, which is why I say I'd accept arguments that I'm taking advantage of a loophole.
2b. Example 2: An amazing FTer books me a trip with their Aeroplan miles, in J (thinking back to this, I'm amazed this was possible without IKK). I want to stand by for an earlier flight. They can't get my status to show up. I tell them I want my Super Elite standby priority. They ensure the flight's onload list is processed manually, to ensure an E75K in full Y does not clear standby before me.

Anyway, I just had one of the "I'm not sure this is what they intended when they made the rules" instances. I had to repeat my intentions twice to the concierge. I think she just didn't quite believe I meant what I said. And I blame myself for that. I said "economy class" instead of "Y class". When I talk like a regular person, I tend to get treated like a regular person. But as soon as I made it clear I had a specific intention, and was willing to accept the potential ramifications, she made it happen.

Awesome. Thanks.

But when rebooking a Super Elite on a (full) J fare onto a flight in Y, when row 14 (preferred) is empty (ABCDEF), it's a little annoying to find out I'm in 27B. 27C is empty. 27DEF are empty. So I'm literally in the worst available seat in the row. And there's an entire empty preferred row.

But I see this, and I've fixed it. And the reason for my call was addressed. And on one hand, I wonder if she never considered the seat because I'm on a J fare. But on the other hand, I was booked into a rear-middle seat where the window was occupied, when there were a bunch of non-middles (including preferred window and aisle seats) open.

And after writing all this, what I really want to say is this is not the fault of the concierge. She was great. But when a Super Elite is rebooked, the system should place them in the BEST seat. 14 ABCDEF were open. It placed me in 27B. I like aisle, but if I'd ended up in 14A, my opinion would be "lol their IT forgot my preference" instead of rolling my eyes again.

So thanks, concierge.

And screw off, AC IT.

I do love the SFO concierge team.

Last week, SFO concierge said hi and wished me a pleasant flight as I boarded for YYZ. Was a nice little touch.

All my interactions with concierges have been great. Normally, they reach out to me if there's a problem as I interact with other staff for eups, upgrades, changes, etc. for "normal" travel.

Thanks to Sebastian at YYZ
 

Just a quick post to thank Sebastian at YYZ. Helped us to get home after our 35-hr long journey from NZ-AU. I very rarely use the concierge service but this time I really appreciated it...

R&F

I know you posted this a couple months ago, but this also happens on a regular Y cabin booking on the website.