akdude

So I'm checking my Gold account information and I notice there's a Gold lunch next week on the 5th, that I never even got an invitation to.
I send an email off like it says and once again its fully booked.So in my state of frustration I foolishly call gold customer service forgetting the fact that Gold customer service is only available M-F 8-4,and not even a place to leave a message on that line.
Now along with my delayed Gold card without upgrades of course and my lunch invitation all floating around the ethernet its not a good start to my new year.

ANC RED-EYE

How do they decide who gets invited?

BLI-Flyer

Go to your "My Account" page. At the bottom right corner there's a link to "MVP Gold Lunches" with instructions on how to get an invitation.

akdude

To true BLI-Flyer to true,except this is the first time I did not get an invitation 30 days prior,which does me no good because I don't know my schedule until 14 days prior max.
Like I said this is the first time for no invite since I turned Gold.Every time I try to reserve a spot 14 days or less out they're always full.
They did invite me to the lunch in JNU which I could use the wonderful constituent fare from ANC,I think not.
So combined with not getting my gold card until last week and naturally not having any paper gold upgrades included,I'm not feeling any love from AS.

Ahhh that felt good doing a little venting.

UnitedRhapsody

Pssst. This is the eskimo on the tail. MVPG is becoming worthless!

ANC RED-EYE

Is UA elite better? While I was MVP, I had a good frient who was UA Mileage Plus Premier - I was getting significantly more benefit out of MVP than she seemed to be out of Premier.

ANC RED-EYE

I see the web links...but I was wondering how they decide who gets the mailed invitations? Do they have a target mailed audience they are going for first, and then if it doesn't fill the rest of the MVPG's can self invite?

beckoa

Another thing is there is more then one MVPG lunch a year in ANC... in fact it appears they have both a breakfast one and a lunch during each time. So maybe if you did not get an invitation yet, your name is up for the fall session.

meej

As of the middle of last week, there was space at the breakfast. I didn't get an invite to the lunch (1st time gold - didn't expect it), but sent a polite request 2 weeks out and was told there was space at the breakfast. Kept gettin g the same auto-responder when I tried to register for the breakfast, so called gold line and it was after hours for the coordinator, so she called me back the next day with confirmation for the breakfast.

After all that, I got scheduled for a meeting in Seattle on Monday, so I had to cancel my invite. Will just have to read all about it on Wed.

UnitedRhapsody

I'm not comparing MVP to UA elite. I defected because of completely subjective, personal preferences. I'm comparing MVP/G with what it used to be.

akdude

Just a quick bump,to let you all know that I'm in for the MVPG breakfast tomorrow and I've still got room on my list for anymore questions.
Thanks must go out too several AS supervisors and last but not least ASFFGURU you went over and above your job as usual.
Thanks again akdude

beckoa

I guess if you like, see if AS would be willing to extend the BR hours longer in ANC, since there are several flights departing late at night from ANC, but that's all. Thanks again.

jackal

Yes! I second this question. If this happened, I would strongly consider a BR membership.

ChuckArtic

Late hours in the Board room were done here (Anchorage) a couple of years ago and than cancelled. In order to be open the staff would have to be increased. Under the current Board Room leadership you are likely to see any new staff added to the Seattle Board room even though they always seemed to be overstaff to us travelers.

To be honest it seems like the Anchorage Board Room is treated like a Red Headed step child by Board Room leadership in Seattle. The Anchoarge board room is understaffed and the Hours are difficult to change due to Board room central always giving the Anchorage Board Room little or no consideration. I have been a Boardroom member for over twenty years and for the last five years, even when I try to suggest improvements, fixes, or want concerns addressed, the Seattle Board room leadership folks don't reply and flatly ignore the Anchoarge customer base.

Its seems that they want to expand the Seattle Boardroom staff at the expense of all the Board rooms up and down the coast. I have talked to other members and they agree.

jackal

Well, I would assume that Board Room, just like any other division of AS, has to turn a profit (or, at the very least, if it turns a loss, it has to prove that loss is offset by other revenues in the company because of its operation (e.g. if BR ceased to exist, how many MVPGs/high-revenue travelers would cease to use AS). So I understand their attempt to reduce costs by reducing staffing.

The question is, then, would there be enough gains in BR membership revenue due to the extended hours to offset the higher staffing/operational costs? I can only speak for myself--extended hours would net AS an additional $275 (plus an additional $50 initiation fee) out of my pocket, but there would probably need to be a good 300-400 more people like me to offset the additional staffing costs. (That's assuming we don't all drink $275 per year worth of booze! )

Maybe some market research is due to see if there are that many people who are not current members but would be if the hours were extended.