[Rant] Some Alaska Staff Not Current on AS Policies and Procedures
Jul 10, 2023, 9:27 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2001
Location: San Francisco/Bangkok
Programs: Alaska 75K United 1K
Posts: 1,423
[Rant] Some Alaska Staff Not Current on AS Policies and Procedures
Whats up with Alaska
All my interactions with staff in the past month
have found so many who nothing about their own product/airline
Many staff at Stations
and at reservations dont even know there own policies
as a 75K i seem to have to inform them of their own policies
1 SFO HNL no one knew that the Hawaii forms needed to be done on the plane
after landing everyone had to go back to their seats and fill out the forms
2 SFO SEA reservations told me i can stand by earlier only at the airport
or on the “app” I dont see a standby option on the app ?
then at SFO “nope you cant stand by “ both ticket counter and gate said that
then right before boarding “oh yes you can stand by for 50 dollars”
finally they realized as a 75K free standby all agents different answers
3 SEA airport staff “nope Air tahiti Nui not part of one world
they are star alliance go to them to check in”?
ummm first segment is on Alaska
4 Chat agents know so little and then so much of the time
tell you to call the 800 number
Do they have SO many new staff or is it just apathy?
Sorry to vent
All my interactions with staff in the past month
have found so many who nothing about their own product/airline
Many staff at Stations
and at reservations dont even know there own policies
as a 75K i seem to have to inform them of their own policies
1 SFO HNL no one knew that the Hawaii forms needed to be done on the plane
after landing everyone had to go back to their seats and fill out the forms
2 SFO SEA reservations told me i can stand by earlier only at the airport
or on the “app” I dont see a standby option on the app ?
then at SFO “nope you cant stand by “ both ticket counter and gate said that
then right before boarding “oh yes you can stand by for 50 dollars”
finally they realized as a 75K free standby all agents different answers
3 SEA airport staff “nope Air tahiti Nui not part of one world
they are star alliance go to them to check in”?
ummm first segment is on Alaska
4 Chat agents know so little and then so much of the time
tell you to call the 800 number
Do they have SO many new staff or is it just apathy?
Sorry to vent
Jul 10, 2023, 9:37 pm
#2
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: On a plane or a beach
Programs: Yes
Posts: 3,288
I do agree that there has been an influx of less than properly trained AS reps, perhaps since COVID impacted staffing.
If an AS representative isn’t following policy, document it and follow up with AS via Customer Care or Alaska Listens. While it is apparent that AS should ensure a higher level of professional competence for staff, we can help by reporting issues.
Now, if we can get more people on board with this reporting perhaps change will occur more quickly.
🤙🏻🍹
If an AS representative isn’t following policy, document it and follow up with AS via Customer Care or Alaska Listens. While it is apparent that AS should ensure a higher level of professional competence for staff, we can help by reporting issues.
Now, if we can get more people on board with this reporting perhaps change will occur more quickly.
🤙🏻🍹
Last edited by anteater; Jul 10, 2023 at 9:54 pm
Jul 11, 2023, 11:38 am
#3
Join Date: Dec 2015
Programs: AS MVP 100K, DL Platinum,WN A-list, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum
Posts: 276
Very consistent with my experience with AS in recent months.
It started with a request to split a reservation booked with companion fare to boost upgrade priority. Both of us have status. And AS upgrade processor release 1 seat at a time is also well known.
The agent immediately responded that he is not going to split the reservation and in addition, he said tickets booked with companion fare are not eligible for upgrade (and this part really annoyed me).
At first I thought that this agent was not familiar with all the details, but if all the things that he stated were true, that he: 'worked for AS for over 10 years, is a supervisor in reservation team', he was deliberately splitting random things that he just made up and mocking customers for not agreeing with him. I asked (really want to learn from this dude about all these new information) how can someone ever be upgraded on companion fare, he said: 'no one (can ever be upgraded) since the creation of companion fare' (paraphrase). Then he bring up some miles upgrade for M fare.
At one point I even thought that the 82008 number was hacked and this was all a joke. At least the agent confirmed the line was not hacked.
Knowing that he stated something that is completely against T&C, I asked him to show the T&C that forbid upgrade. Well, he only showed me the sentence mentioning companion fare will be booked into Main. He probably knew he screwed up at that moment that the customer was not an idiot that knew nothing. Towards the end, his nonsense was no-longer coherent, apparently, due to the fact he went against T&C and went rogue.
Unfortunately, this seems is not a one-off incident. More and more agents in reservation were making mistakes and told me false information. HUCA many times to get one agent who can actually help. And as a customer I have to call in to make sure that the agent did what he/she promised to do. I'm not sure about other department, but the reservation seems is having some deep rooted problems:
1. More often than not when the issue is complicated, the agent either do nothing or provided false information (just to get out of it)
2. The culture seems quite toxic there that agents feel they can overwrite T&C and make decisions against T&C.
AS's IT is known to be buggy (if it's not buggy we won't have so many problems to start with), and supported by so many issues like poor service in F, IT bug on partner, etc, I do feel this incompetence is spreading.
United beat up and drag customers out of plane when the toxic culture of arrogance and playing god build up. (I have no doubt United once believed it's customers' privilege to fly the "friendly sky"). Southwest lost $100M in one week due to an ancient IT system. Which way would AS go down? United way or Southwest way, or both ways?
If anyone can pass the information to AS higher management, please do. Otherwise it will only get worse. No matter how re-imaginative the new lobby experience is and how many commercials AS gonna buy, things started to fall apart.
Incident will eventually be turned into accident, and no one will forget about AS 261.
The agent immediately responded that he is not going to split the reservation and in addition, he said tickets booked with companion fare are not eligible for upgrade (and this part really annoyed me).
At first I thought that this agent was not familiar with all the details, but if all the things that he stated were true, that he: 'worked for AS for over 10 years, is a supervisor in reservation team', he was deliberately splitting random things that he just made up and mocking customers for not agreeing with him. I asked (really want to learn from this dude about all these new information) how can someone ever be upgraded on companion fare, he said: 'no one (can ever be upgraded) since the creation of companion fare' (paraphrase). Then he bring up some miles upgrade for M fare.
At one point I even thought that the 82008 number was hacked and this was all a joke. At least the agent confirmed the line was not hacked.
Knowing that he stated something that is completely against T&C, I asked him to show the T&C that forbid upgrade. Well, he only showed me the sentence mentioning companion fare will be booked into Main. He probably knew he screwed up at that moment that the customer was not an idiot that knew nothing. Towards the end, his nonsense was no-longer coherent, apparently, due to the fact he went against T&C and went rogue.
Unfortunately, this seems is not a one-off incident. More and more agents in reservation were making mistakes and told me false information. HUCA many times to get one agent who can actually help. And as a customer I have to call in to make sure that the agent did what he/she promised to do. I'm not sure about other department, but the reservation seems is having some deep rooted problems:
1. More often than not when the issue is complicated, the agent either do nothing or provided false information (just to get out of it)
2. The culture seems quite toxic there that agents feel they can overwrite T&C and make decisions against T&C.
AS's IT is known to be buggy (if it's not buggy we won't have so many problems to start with), and supported by so many issues like poor service in F, IT bug on partner, etc, I do feel this incompetence is spreading.
United beat up and drag customers out of plane when the toxic culture of arrogance and playing god build up. (I have no doubt United once believed it's customers' privilege to fly the "friendly sky"). Southwest lost $100M in one week due to an ancient IT system. Which way would AS go down? United way or Southwest way, or both ways?
If anyone can pass the information to AS higher management, please do. Otherwise it will only get worse. No matter how re-imaginative the new lobby experience is and how many commercials AS gonna buy, things started to fall apart.
Incident will eventually be turned into accident, and no one will forget about AS 261.
Jul 11, 2023, 12:00 pm
#4
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: LAX
Programs: AS MVPG, IHG Diamond Elite
Posts: 1,449
Adding to this list the lounge access policies for OneWorld elites/international flights which seem to come up near daily in other threads lately.. Also, discrepancies in interpretation of the 20 min baggage guarantee depending on station you're landing at or even the agent you talk to.
Sticking to and following their own documented policies should be one of the easier aspects of keeping their customers happy. Not sure why it's becoming such a challenge - its a fairly simple training issue, and reminder that if they're not clear to have a place for them to review the policy (w/ examples).
Sticking to and following their own documented policies should be one of the easier aspects of keeping their customers happy. Not sure why it's becoming such a challenge - its a fairly simple training issue, and reminder that if they're not clear to have a place for them to review the policy (w/ examples).
Jul 11, 2023, 4:44 pm
#5
Join Date: May 2013
Location: SEA
Programs: AS MVP Gold 100K
Posts: 2,052
Sadly this has been my experience as well. I should not have to explain how award reservations work to a phone agent. I have spoken to a contact at AS who confirms training has been shortened for new hires and not for the better.
Jul 11, 2023, 7:08 pm
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 21,253
Air Tahiti Nui is not part of Star Alliance.
Jul 12, 2023, 4:17 am
#8
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: PDX, OGG or between the two
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 2,940
Add to the list FC order of ops and times of service - PDB? Service on short/short(ish) flights. I was recently on a west coast to Hawaii flight in FC and the FAs handed out the agriculture forms BEFORE taking orders and delivering a first beverage. Seriously? How about just stocking enough meals for all FC pax? I get that you might run out of everyone's first choice but to have no meal for 3 of 16 FC pax on a recent flight? Boarding inconsistencies? There are long entire threads on this one alone.
AS is just so frustrating because they really do a lot of things incredibly well. Their staff are overall exceptionally friendly and helpful but they really do a leave a lot of "low-hanging fruit" behind. Meaning things that would just be super easy to solve. I honestly feel as though there just aren't known/trained/enforced policies for some really basic things like boarding, drink service and basic customer service/treatment. It's as though the concept of a "memo" (or email, etc.) just doesn't exist.
AS is just so frustrating because they really do a lot of things incredibly well. Their staff are overall exceptionally friendly and helpful but they really do a leave a lot of "low-hanging fruit" behind. Meaning things that would just be super easy to solve. I honestly feel as though there just aren't known/trained/enforced policies for some really basic things like boarding, drink service and basic customer service/treatment. It's as though the concept of a "memo" (or email, etc.) just doesn't exist.
Jul 12, 2023, 4:23 am
#9
Join Date: May 2003
Location: SFO, mostly
Posts: 2,213
Never experienced this, but I wonder how it even happens? I thought F was always fully catered. The only plausible explanation would be a last minute 800 to 900/max tail swap, but that still wouldn’t explain catering 13 meals…
Jul 12, 2023, 1:46 pm
#10
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: PDX, OGG or between the two
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 2,940
No equipment change and really no explanation/apology. I got the usual mild admonishment/info that I could/should pre-order but that doesn't work when my upgrade didn't come through until T-8 hours. Being on an upgrade the food is nice but I'm just happy with the extra space so it's really not the biggest thing. I don't eat a lot of the meal anyway and always have my own food. It is just surprising it can happen and that the FAs didn't even seem that surprised or bothered by it.
Jul 12, 2023, 2:02 pm
#11
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Pacific Northwest
Programs: UA Gold 1MM, AS 75k, AA ExPlat, Bonvoyed Gold, Honors Dia, Hyatt Explorer, IHG Plat, ...
Posts: 17,399
No equipment change and really no explanation/apology. I got the usual mild admonishment/info that I could/should pre-order but that doesn't work when my upgrade didn't come through until T-8 hours. Being on an upgrade the food is nice but I'm just happy with the extra space so it's really not the biggest thing. I don't eat a lot of the meal anyway and always have my own food. It is just surprising it can happen and that the FAs didn't even seem that surprised or bothered by it.
Jul 12, 2023, 4:39 pm
#12
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: PDX, OGG or between the two
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 2,940
Which reminds me of another policy that is all over the board - what happens when I'm in PC and order a meal but then get upgraded? Do I have to keep that meal? Can I choose something else? Does it follow me to FC or am I starting from scratch? I've heard answers all over the map from FAs on that one. Seems this could be solved with a single point of contact (memo, email) to the FAs.
Jul 12, 2023, 4:48 pm
#13
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: On a plane or a beach
Programs: Yes
Posts: 3,288
Originally Posted by mtofell;[url=tel:35408189
35408189[/url]]At first I just got the "sorry, we ran out." Then, a pax in front of me reminded the FA he had ordered a cheese plate (but then opted for another meal) so that should still
Which reminds me of another policy that is all over the board - what happens when I'm in PC and order a meal but then get upgraded? Do I have to keep that meal? Can I choose something else? Does it follow me to FC or am I starting from scratch? I've heard answers all over the map from FAs on that one. Seems this could be solved with a single point of contact (memo, email) to the FAs.
Which reminds me of another policy that is all over the board - what happens when I'm in PC and order a meal but then get upgraded? Do I have to keep that meal? Can I choose something else? Does it follow me to FC or am I starting from scratch? I've heard answers all over the map from FAs on that one. Seems this could be solved with a single point of contact (memo, email) to the FAs.
I’m not certain what the policy is if you opt to keep your pre-order and want a FC meal, but a meal should be catered for that seat in FC regardless.
Jul 12, 2023, 4:58 pm
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Pacific Northwest
Programs: UA Gold 1MM, AS 75k, AA ExPlat, Bonvoyed Gold, Honors Dia, Hyatt Explorer, IHG Plat, ...
Posts: 17,399
The FA should ask if you still want your pre-order. If you decline, you should be able to opt for one of the available FC catered items.
I’m not certain what the policy is if you opt to keep your pre-order and want a FC meal, but a meal should be catered for that seat in FC regardless.
I’m not certain what the policy is if you opt to keep your pre-order and want a FC meal, but a meal should be catered for that seat in FC regardless.
And what happens if you have a pre-ordered economy meal, then get upgraded, find out they don’t have a FC meal catered for you (admittedly uncommon) - will they then give you the economy meal for free?
Jul 12, 2023, 8:02 pm
#15
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: On a plane or a beach
Programs: Yes
Posts: 3,288
But you don’t get your pre-ordered economy meal for free even if you ask for it instead of the FC meal, I think?
And what happens if you have a pre-ordered economy meal, then get upgraded, find out they don’t have a FC meal catered for you (admittedly uncommon) - will they then give you the economy meal for free?
And what happens if you have a pre-ordered economy meal, then get upgraded, find out they don’t have a FC meal catered for you (admittedly uncommon) - will they then give you the economy meal for free?