Lurd

I remember the regulars, those who call several times a week/month, as well as the good/bad ones. Glad to hear you enjoyed the service!

As far as I know, all versions of the website offer the same flights and possibilities. I might be wrong though, I only handle a few specific markets.

There is one in Prague, Czech Republic. This is the main one.

All Platinum calls are handled by trained Platinum agents, no exceptions. I don't take calls at night since I don't have shifts that finish later than 8pm, so I have never witnessed this first-hand.
Personally, I don't mind when family/relatives call, unless they just use it as a shortcut. If a non-Plat relative calls, I'll handle their bookings and such, but for any service that is specific to Platinum customers on our line (CC Claims, mostly), I redirect them to the appropriate line. When Platinum members call us about one of their family members/relatives, we'll usually handle it without questioning it too much.
And no, there is no separation between AF and KL Platinum lines, we all handle both. Regarding Tarom, we can handle them as long as it's an award booking. The reasoning behind it is that each airline has specific rules, specific procedures and softwares, and we cannot possibly be expected to handle every single booking from every single Skyteam or partner airline. If your ticket starts with 057, 074 or 006 (AF, KL, DL), we'll handle it. Otherwise, you'll need to call the airline in question.

The Ultimate TA line is always handled by Platinum agents, that are specifically trained for it. I, for example, am not, by choice. All Ultimate agents are Platinum agents, but not all Platinum agents are Ultimate agents. I hope this answers your question.

That's the kind of "extra mile" I was mentioning earlier. As long as you're polite and nice, we'll handle basically anything you'll throw at us, including Economy tickets for a distant family relative that never flew with us

Ditto

Well, with AF you must go to the country specific website to book, for example I can't book a CPT originating ticket from airfrance.nl, with KL it changes POS "on the go", so in both cases if I want a CPT originating ticket, I can only book it with ZA POS/website.
For that same reason, a South African travel agent should be able to book those fares, but a Dutch/French travel agent might not be able to.
So I suppose my question is, to which POS does the Platinum line have access to?

Lurd

Oh true, I didn't understand it like that.
This restriction happens on the websites, but we do not have it in our system. You can perfectly book a ticket originating from CPT on the Swiss line for example.

mfkne

Not a question per se, I just wanted to say that the service I've received from the Platinum Line has been stellar, and without exception. It quite simply is my favourite feature of Platinum. You and your colleagues are always friendly, helpful and super efficient. More than a few times I was just blown away by the fact that I called because payment of my ticket failed via the website and I was helped immediately and off the phone again after less than three minutes. It saves a lot of time and hassle, and I would miss it very dearly once I lose that benefit! Thank you!

flyingjapans

Joining my colleague here to congratulate everyone on the Platinum line for an often friendly and efficient service. That is what makes Platinum worth to get in my opinion. I often have very complex routings with class mix and stopovers to ticket, and the Platinum and its well-informed agents are the only way to get those issued. Thank you very much and keep up the good work. ^

HalconBCN

Lurd, do you and your colleagues make a detailed record of every call under each customer's profile? Would it be noted if a customer was unusually friendly/irate?

HalconBCN

Once or twice when I received ourstanding service I sent a compliment via the CC web form, mentioning the agent's name. Do those compliments actually reach you guys?

Xizm

Do you work for the Dutch (Cygnific) or French Platinum line specific? Or the international one in Prague?

carnarvon

I can assure you that in case of overflow, non Platinum agent handle calls, as well as during night-time.

How do I know? Because they told me they were not Plat agents.

How to know without being told : ask about FB issues. Non-Plat agents cannot handle FB issues.

This is no big deal however, as most of the time Plat line service is very good.

Zarmakuizz

What is the recommended way to send compliments about a flight staff or a Platinum Line agent? I expect you might have a lot of calls to answer daily, especially in case of IRROPS.

caliform

Just want to chime in and echo the enthusiastic sentiments: I love the service on the Platinum line and would love to know how to best relay this to management / send compliments about great agents.

troje

bodory

Thanks Lurd for the personal initiative. And I concur with others in saying 99% of the time the delivered service is both extremely efficient and friendly.

Question: how are call assigned to call centers or agents when it comes to location and language? I somehow noticed that depending on the moment of the day of the place I call from, I am assigned:
1/ a native French speaker, answering in French
2/ a native French speaker, answering in English
3/ a native English speaker, answering in English
4/ occasional other possibilities

While the agent being or not a native speaker does not matter to me, I am essentially surprised by the inconsistency of the process, also amused by the second possibility (being a native French speaker, I always propose the French agent to switch in French). For what it's worth, I am based in Singapore but always call the French Platinum number as it is the one written on my card.

Also, when a Club 2000 / Skipper customer dials in, do you also answer in saying "Welcome to the Platinum line" or do you use another wording?

Thanks

Goldorak

Ditto

Few of my observations in that regard, when I had my home address in NL, I was presented with the Dutch number, now that I have changed it to ZA (even though business address is still in NL), I am presented with the French number which say "English, French, Dutch", and also with a local ZA number.
When calling the NL number most of the times I would either get a native Dutch speaker answering in English/Dutch, or someone answering in English without a Dutch accent.
I haven't tried calling the French number yet, but I would be very surprised if they are not routed the same way.