Terrible Priority Check in agent at LAS
 

One of my pet peeves is seeing customer service agents providing zero customer service with a negative attitude. While checking in for my flight yesterday, I witnessed a terrible Priority line check in agent at Las Vegas. There was a lady trying to get confirmed onto an earlier flight and she was on the phone with aadvantage customer service who for some reason needed to speak with the check in agent. Ms. C. declined to take the phone and simply told the customer that "if aadvantage says they can confirm you, let them do it. I like my job too much to do that." She could have simply said she did not have the authority to do so, and it would have been easier to all to understand. Instead, she created a negative situation. and she said all this with an attitude. I don't understand how she continues to have a job on the front line in a customer service industry.

What was the reaction of the customer who was actually involved in this?

Do you know what exactly the customer was requesting? Do you know exactly what the aadvantage agent was doing? Were you personally involved in any part of this interaction? Was any of this actually your business in any way?

Also it's frowned upon to post the names of non-management employees.

^

I wasn't involved, but as it was next to me, I watched the entire exchange. The passenger was simply trying to do a same day confirm flight change. She stated that the phone agent says its available to be confirmed but needed the check in agent to do it, but the check in agent refused, hence, why the phone agent was offering to speak to the check in agent. But she again refused. The passenger asked for her first name and she refused to provide it and the passenger walked away.

On a side note, the agent assisting me needed help from and she simply moved over and punched a couple of buttons without even acknowledging me with a hello or a smile. Now some of you might say who am I to expect this, but as front line customer service agents, their ability or lack there of to interact with customers is what sets the impression. For the most part AA is much better than United in my experience, but there those few bad apples that makes you wonder why they still have a job? Technically proficient, but generate bad will for the company.

Fortunately for every Ms C there are many more like Joe who I encountered at Chicago last week - I had missed my AA domestic flight after a transatlantic delay of 16 hours with another carrier. It was an award ticket and I had already checked and there was no availability to rebook - Joe sorted out in five minutes with a smile.....and reminded me why I fly AA when I can.

yes, I do like AA much better than United where I switched from couple of years ago. My experience has been 90% good to great AA agents.

Why does an agent that is assisting another agent who is dealing with you (especially when all that is required is to punch "a couple of buttons") need to say "hi"to you, speak to you, or acknowledge you? Shouldn't the agent helping your agent be enough?

Most of the time I'm happy enough that the agents can do what I ask. Being nice about it is secondary. I've had pretty good luck though. Sure there are a few bad apples out there, and the rules on ticketed changes and SDC/standby for awards have changed recently, I think.

If award space is available, they can change you to the new flight and reissue the ticket immediately. If it's really close to departure, the airport needs to do it since the EXP people can't always force it to the top of the ticketing queue to get done quickly.

Alternatively, the airport agent (or you at the kiosk) could do a SDC if the SDC space (E?) is available on the flight you want to change to. Sounds like the agent wanted to do neither. Perhaps the customer was asking to just be forced on to the new flight against the booking rules? That's probably where the "I don't want to get fired" comes from.

OP - Hopefully you will remove the name of the non-management employee as per FT policy.

^ I would personally prefer that the agent hop on and do whatever I need in a few keystrokes than waste my time making small talk I already made with the original agent.

Thank you for pointing that out. I have removed it off of my responses, but I don't know how to delete it when others quoted me. If theres a way I can do that, please let me know.

They certainly do not have to say hi or acknowledge me. But as a front line customer service employee, standing directly in front of me, if you were a manager, wouldn't you want them to make good impressions on customers?

Absolutely ^

^^

Couldn't the person OP is writing about, used one of the kiosks to do SDC (if it was really available)? [But, since that person was probably NOT an FTer, they wouldn't have known to do so.:confused:]

My general rule of thumb is to try to be as pleasant (or more) than I want to be treated. It really takes no additional time. That's what should usually happen, but...

Unless an agent is being purposefully obstructive in assisting me, speaks in a universally inarguable tone of rudeness or something similar, I have come to accept that these are human beings who have a shift that is irrespective of whatever may be occurring in their personal life.

Suppose she learned on her way to work that her husband is having an affair? What if a close family member or loved one has been hospitalized and she needs to be there, but can't? These are just two of many examples what can understandably make it difficult to impossible to put on a "happy face."

Ideally, there would be a means of accommodating the personal events in the lives of their employees, but they may need every available staff member on board that day for innumerable reasons. I try to cut them a lot of slack unless they use it as an excuse to try to make my life equally miserable.

It's disappointing to have an agent unwilling to help resolve an issue, and there are days when - as a human myself - i may have something I simply can't emotionally override. Still, it's unlikely that the two of us would cross paths at the same time.

Edit: My views posted here are not intended to be critical of the OP in any way. Just offering a perspective that makes MY life easier and less stressful. Traveling has enough inconveniences that are consistently part of the process.