ThreeJulietTango

Stickers are cheaper than what DODUs price at.

oneant

This makes sense, however...

It is the "cannot" part that caught my eye mostly. AAs internal policies are decisions they made (as well thought out as they may be), not immovable objects.

I generally take issue with companies that use CANNOT as an excuse for what is actually a WILL NOT.

Sure it's semantics, but one answer is honest and the other is not. I'd much prefer an honest answer I don't like.

rjw242

To be fair, the company didn't use the word "cannot" in this instance, and FT posts needn't be held to the same semantic standards as, say, written company policy.

oneant

That is true. Each AAgent I spoke with last week did, though. Using "cannot" when talking about another party (person or company) implies more than merely explaining policy. More of an inside knowledge.

ThreeJulietTango

Technically speaking, a front line agent literally cannot because the system is programmed not to allow it. While the policy is certainly revisable at the corporate level, "cannot" is correct for our interactions with airport staff.

oneant

Got it, and agreed as it relates to the folks I dealt with. Good old MCP firmly in charge.

oneant

It had been two weeks since Cust Relations kicked the request back over to AAdv Cust Serv, so I decided to call based on the e-mail: "If you prefer, you may reach our AAdvantage® Customer Service department by telephone at 800-882-8880. Ask for the "Main Menu" when prompted, and then request "AAdvantage® Account Service"."

Agent was very helpful and understanding, but said neither they--nor the Plat desk--could do anything. He noted the Cust Relations group is the where the buck stops and it was odd they kicked it back to AAdv Cust Serv.

He also admitted AA was 100% wrong, and that their policy clearly was violated, and apologized. Then he offered to add a couple 500-miles upgrades to my account as a good will gesture. Of course I took them, and I very much appreciated his apology & customer service. Could all have been fake on his end, but it made me feel better so it worked and I am good with it.

I did re-send the e-mail to Cust Relations to see if I can still get an answer in writing, but I generally consider this issue closed at this point.

travelgeek1197

Your whole issue and then the sub-issue of getting someone to address it brings on the bigger issue. Every company has a personality----Apple, BMW, Hyatt, J&J.....on and on and on. This personality generally comes from the top down, though many executives spend huge sums of money on hiring consultants to help either 1) maintain a desired culture / personality; or to 2) change from an undesirable culture / personality.

AA has a culture adopted from the leadership group at US Air of turn and burn model. They simply find the price at which they can sell their product and move on, no need to hold on to that customer via customer service. There is plenty of interviews, anecdotal evidence, etc. to bear this out. This is not the wrong way of doing business, just another option one can choose in order to make a lot of money, but you can also sacrifice the long term viability of a company under this approach and prevent premium margins generated from loyalty sustained price increases. There are companies on both sides of the spectrum.

The fact that AA may have violated her own policies and at this point has made the full transition to ensuring that ANY complaint from ANY customer (regardless of status or spend) is handled in the same "jump thru 6 hoops" to have addressed says it all. You paid for a seat, you got there, everything else is ancillary, we have your money, next.

So REGARDLESS of what programs, marketing promises, etc. AA has or runs, I would advise everyone to take the simple approach with AA as you would for a widget you bought for $19.95: don't expect much, and you won't be disappointed. Assume that other than the ACTUAL seat you are assigned (eliminating upgrades, possible upgrades, better seat location, better miles, better EQM, etc) you will not get anything else.

~TG

bcm0830

I wonder if the've changed the policy to solicit non-elites to upgrade for a fee at check-in and effectively leapfrog elites waitlisted for upgrades? I've been noticing a lot of seats disappearing inside of 24 hours on various trips recently, then there are CK and other EP pax still waiting for upgrades at the gate. I know it's always possible other CK pax cleared and got the available seats, or multiple pax purchased F last minute, but I doubt there are enough of these to consume so many seats inside 24 hours on a regular basis. I searched for threads to see if anyone else has been talking about the topic. Higher in this thread, I found this link with the original narrative mentioning LFBU would not leapfrog those of us on the waitlist for upgrade, but there's now no mention of that in this link.

https://www.aa.com/i18n/fragments/me.../LFBUTerms.jsp

lightbulbs