anc305

I have had luck in asking to be transferred to Customer Service. I have had several problems with the EP desk not knowing the rules on several occasions this year. I am always polite but firm. On their own , they said that they would check with their " Supervisor " and came back and said that what they originally said was correct. I then asked them to look at another one of my records. They looked and said "wow" you could be right. That is when I requested Customer Service and they got it right. I think there are some LUS on the desk and don't know all the rules yet . Just make sure you have all your ducks in a row. You can normally tell in a very short time if you are speaking to an EP agent that knows their stuff.

tonytifao

Since a few weeks ago, you can be asked to be transfered to Manager. These are above EXP agents, and useless.

Your luck is to get a LAA agent.

vasantn

Really? Customer Service?? I am unaware of such a department. I agree with the bolded sentence, though.

Andriyko

Unlike BA, which specially states in the T&Cs that the re-booking rules apply to award tickets, AA does not expressly state so. However, the rules do say that the lowest inventory in the ticketed cabin can be used. Upgrade to 'C' class requires re-ticketing and the OP would have been ticketed in the business class cabin. It seems that AA has decided that the rules only apply to revenue tickets, which is wrong.

Cofyknsult

Here is the OP again...

I was talking this morning to the EXP desk about another reservation and the agent seemed especially competent (really...). I then mentioned the problem which caused me to start the thread. She verbally and loudly shrugged her shoulders (I hope she was not taped), put me on hold for a minute and immediately solved it as it should have been originally.

I told her that she was worth a praising email, for which she really seemed appreciative and she gave me her name. The email to Customer Service is going out now.

Why so much inconsistency ?

Often1

Hope you have a job offer for the agent for whom you sent the compliment !

Cofyknsult

I hope you are being sarcastic...

krlcomm

If I did send in a compliment I wouldn't include any details, just some praise for being especially helpful. If that agent did bend a rule (new, old, unwritten, or otherwise) and you specifically point that out then that person could be in some hot water. Not saying that it will happen but I wouldn't want to unnecessarily be the source of a problem for someone that helped me.

anc305

I should have been more specific. AAdvantage customer service
Had a problem with EP desk on EVIP rules concerning segments , routing , fare rules etc. Just wanted to highlight that the EP desk is not what is use to be.

Michael El

I worked with a Cuban guy in Miami some years back. When he wanted to talk to someone's supervisor he would ask, "who's on top of you?" That got a lot of WTH? replies. I imagine it was due to ESL.

JDiver

When several EXP center's were closed in recent years, many experienced agents (LAX, TUS, BDL etc.) left. Those who didn't choose to relocate to the existing center's were given options to work international reservations from home a la Morris Air, or resign.

I lost access to knowledgeable and dedicated agents (an EP benefit has been you can request them by name) as a result of those closures; one relocated from LAX to TUS, but with children another move just wasn't in the books for her, as an example.

So, a bunch of new agents - my questions would center on things like required and proven training (are there genuine testing and proficiency required for the assignment?, the selection process (seniority as a general call center agent replying to status less, Gold and Platinum?) - because sadly some agents are either ignorant or just plain disinterested and unwilling to provide the extra bit of customer service to the customers that are presumed to be the most important to the airline.

JDiver

My apologies for the sudden thread merge, but it doesn't really make sense to have two parallel threads dealing with EP Desk inefficiencies and inadequacies on the forum front page. (Both issues are actually about a number of EP agents' inconsistencies, lack of knowledge and unwillingness to "go the extra mile" for their Executive Platinum customers.)

If we find an existing thread about this issue, we will append these discussions to that thread.

/Moderator

iadisgreat

I am a new EXP (relatively...), but how incompetent are the AAgents with whom you are speaking? Is it incompetence or a lesser desire to not bend the rules? I ask because I feel like I've called a ridiculous number of times since becoming one of the washed as compared to before and have never been disappointed...

JDiver

Some are egregiously unaware (incompetent), others are merely disinterested. The results are the same for both. (There's one whose distinctive voice and accent characteristics who is so bad, as proven by her attempts to feed me incorrect information about relatively straightforward issues several times, I'll hang up as soon as I hear her.) This has worsened significantly during the ~15 years I've been EP.

Others are knowledgeable and expeditious.

iadisgreat

I'll appreciate my luck, but I might have fairly pedestrian issues.