SAN - Rude/Unprofessional Gate Agent
Dec 17, 2020, 4:11 pm
#31
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 50
Agreed. If OP writes in, just mention the airport, flight, and date, the station manager can check the schedule to find out who it was. I just suggest being brief and concise. The GA may have been having a bad day. Honestly, you couldn't pay me enough to be a GA. That said, rudeness is rarely appropriate.
My father has been with United for 33 years, so I am always courteous to airline employees and aware of the stress they deal with. I am considering asking for a supervisor when I arrive back in San Diego to discuss what happened rather than write in. Maybe a supervisor will know him and can provide some sort of explanation for his behavior.
Dec 17, 2020, 4:25 pm
#33
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: OMA, LAS
Programs: AAdvantage since 1984; AA PLT - 2MM; WN CP; SPG Gold
Posts: 59
Maybe it’s me, but has anyone considered the fact that this might be a laconic individual having a joke? I was not there and cannot judge the way this was said by either parties nor the body language. If he’d refused to accommodate the OP, I’d take it further. Frankly nowadays everyone including total strangers seems to use first names. One even addressed me as Bellissima. I was thinking of writing to American to praise for their social consciousness in actively engaging someone blind as a Gate Agent. Personally I prefer what can be construed as over-familiarity over offhanded rudeness.
I’d not worry and move on.
I’d not worry and move on.
Dec 17, 2020, 4:37 pm
#34
Used to be 'Travelergcp'
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: New Orleans
Programs: AA Plat, Marriott Gold, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,826
They were mean, but unless they have a long history of complaints- nothing is going to happen. Once I cool down, I doubt I’d bother to complain. And unless there’s a miscount, since when does the gate ever go onboard to do this walk through?
Last edited by TravelerMSY; Dec 17, 2020 at 11:50 pm
Dec 17, 2020, 10:44 pm
#35
Suspended
Join Date: Feb 2020
Posts: 1,501
On WN I've changed seats all the time and there is no "seat assignment" on them. I have also switched seats on empty AA/DL flights to get a row to myself. As long as you're in your ticketed cabin (IE no Y to Y+ or Y+ to F swaps) and that seat is not booked or blocked for a reason then no one cares.
Dec 18, 2020, 5:09 am
#36
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: SEA
Programs: AA LT PLT; HH Diamond; AS 75K
Posts: 2,879
Dec 18, 2020, 5:11 am
#37
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: SEA
Programs: AA LT PLT; HH Diamond; AS 75K
Posts: 2,879
On WN I've changed seats all the time and there is no "seat assignment" on them. I have also switched seats on empty AA/DL flights to get a row to myself. As long as you're in your ticketed cabin (IE no Y to Y+ or Y+ to F swaps) and that seat is not booked or blocked for a reason then no one cares.
Dec 18, 2020, 6:35 am
#38
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Please do. Hopefully it will save some of the rest of us from having to deal with his crAApy attitude in the future.
Dec 18, 2020, 5:54 pm
#39
Join Date: Dec 2020
Posts: 5
I agree the GA was rude and unprofessional. Report him.
Hello, all.
I flew AA non-stop SAN-ORD today.
I booked a regular economy ticket through a third party site and forgot to choose my seat ahead of time, so I was assigned seat 30E at some point before I checked in for the flight. I checked in about T-50, and attempted to change my seat to 15E and received an error message that it was too close to departure to change myself and to see an agent. The only other blue/free seats were middles or one aisle/window near the rear of the plane, which I did not want.
I approached the GA, asked to change to 15E, which after a few moments he did. As I was gathering my belongings to join the boarding lane, he says to me <first name>, you're on one of those $38 or $58 fares, so if I see you in any other seat except this one when I do my final walk-through, that's it, you're off the plane. These were his exact words.
He had been surly from the moment I stepped up to the podium so I did not escalate and just agreed to what he said and boarded. I assume he said this because many of the green/orange seats were empty, but still found it very rude to address me in a condescending nature and threaten to throw me off the plane after changing my seat. And no, my last name is not difficult to pronounce. That said, two questions:
1. If I send in a complaint can he be identified some how through my new boarding pass/seat change?
2. Is it worth complaining about or am I overreacting?
I flew AA non-stop SAN-ORD today.
I booked a regular economy ticket through a third party site and forgot to choose my seat ahead of time, so I was assigned seat 30E at some point before I checked in for the flight. I checked in about T-50, and attempted to change my seat to 15E and received an error message that it was too close to departure to change myself and to see an agent. The only other blue/free seats were middles or one aisle/window near the rear of the plane, which I did not want.
I approached the GA, asked to change to 15E, which after a few moments he did. As I was gathering my belongings to join the boarding lane, he says to me <first name>, you're on one of those $38 or $58 fares, so if I see you in any other seat except this one when I do my final walk-through, that's it, you're off the plane. These were his exact words.
He had been surly from the moment I stepped up to the podium so I did not escalate and just agreed to what he said and boarded. I assume he said this because many of the green/orange seats were empty, but still found it very rude to address me in a condescending nature and threaten to throw me off the plane after changing my seat. And no, my last name is not difficult to pronounce. That said, two questions:
1. If I send in a complaint can he be identified some how through my new boarding pass/seat change?
2. Is it worth complaining about or am I overreacting?
The gratuitous reference to how much you allegedly paid for the ticket was ridiculous and totally irrelevant.
The threat was beyond the pale!
Report him. Please.
Pax changing seats after boarding are not really well received, in regards of safety & security.
If anything happens, it would be better, if the manifest could match pax & actual seat.
Identifying an agent would be easy, if he was signed-in at the gate. SABRE prints a 3-character agent-ID on every boarding pass. If there were multiple agents, there is a chance that somebody else's ID was printed.
If anything happens, it would be better, if the manifest could match pax & actual seat.
Identifying an agent would be easy, if he was signed-in at the gate. SABRE prints a 3-character agent-ID on every boarding pass. If there were multiple agents, there is a chance that somebody else's ID was printed.
While the door is open and GA has not closed the flight, GA is king and you are not supposed to move to empty seats.
Once door closes, anecdotal experience seems to point that it is at the discretion of the FA to allow moving to another seat (whether it is company policy or not).
I am not sure if deplaning someone for moving seats is company policy.
But really, that's not the main point. Even if the GA made up a policy. The interaction described seemed nothing unusual to me.
OP: I take your perception of the interaction at face value. Yes, it sucks. GAs are rude. Been there many times with AA GAS
But If your intention is to CANCEL the GA, complaint forms or emails to CS are not that powerful at AA. Much less in the interaction you described where you actually got what you wanted.
Once door closes, anecdotal experience seems to point that it is at the discretion of the FA to allow moving to another seat (whether it is company policy or not).
I am not sure if deplaning someone for moving seats is company policy.
But really, that's not the main point. Even if the GA made up a policy. The interaction described seemed nothing unusual to me.
OP: I take your perception of the interaction at face value. Yes, it sucks. GAs are rude. Been there many times with AA GAS
But If your intention is to CANCEL the GA, complaint forms or emails to CS are not that powerful at AA. Much less in the interaction you described where you actually got what you wanted.
I think the point here is that a GA threatened a passenger. There is no way that is acceptable behavior. As a former customer service manager, if anyone under my command did that they would be at least warned and if it was not an isolated event, I would take more drastic action.
May or may not be entitled to? Passengers ask for a seat change probably a million times a day. Nothing wrong with that. They don't get threatened for doing so; the OP should not have been either.
Dec 19, 2020, 1:05 am
#41
Join Date: Apr 2017
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Posts: 1,852
What an inconsequential thing to complain about. You requested a seat change and got it. The GA made an unnecessary comment, but are you so thin skinned that you think that comment really warrants the time it takes to complain about it?
Dec 19, 2020, 6:18 am
#42
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If I walk up to the line in the supermarket and the cashier tells me to line my items up on the conveyor belt by weight or she will throw me out of the store, even if the transaction completes normally, my next destination is going to be the customer service counter to tell them that kind of service is unacceptable.
Dec 19, 2020, 9:06 am
#43
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 50
However, there was a brief moment of redemption while scanning by boarding pass. He wanted me to place the box I was carrying onboard into the gate sizer because he thought it was too big and when it fit, he didn't say a word to me. His colleague on the other hand was extremely pleasant for those few seconds.
Dec 19, 2020, 11:50 am
#44
Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: AA, DL, Avis, Enterprise, National, IHG, HH, SPG/MR
Posts: 1,852
This has nothing to do with being thin skinned, it has to do with providing the company with feedback on a poor quality employee who shouldn’t be in a customer facing role.
If I walk up to the line in the supermarket and the cashier tells me to line my items up on the conveyor belt by weight or she will throw me out of the store, even if the transaction completes normally, my next destination is going to be the customer service counter to tell them that kind of service is unacceptable.
If I walk up to the line in the supermarket and the cashier tells me to line my items up on the conveyor belt by weight or she will throw me out of the store, even if the transaction completes normally, my next destination is going to be the customer service counter to tell them that kind of service is unacceptable.
This was the last SAN-ORD flight that day on any carrier and I absolutely needed to be in Chicago that night. This was not a basic economy fare and I was entitled to select a seat and the proper response after changing my seat should have been here you go, thank you for flying AA or nothing at all. Instead, I got an agent questioning my seat selection, looking up my fare information and then threatening me for booking an advertised fare that the GA deemed too low. This added unnecessary stress and the feeling if I make one wrong move before the door closes I'm going to be deplaned.
However, there was a brief moment of redemption while scanning by boarding pass. He wanted me to place the box I was carrying onboard into the gate sizer because he thought it was too big and when it fit, he didn't say a word to me. His colleague on the other hand was extremely pleasant for those few seconds.
However, there was a brief moment of redemption while scanning by boarding pass. He wanted me to place the box I was carrying onboard into the gate sizer because he thought it was too big and when it fit, he didn't say a word to me. His colleague on the other hand was extremely pleasant for those few seconds.
Dec 19, 2020, 12:05 pm
#45
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: SEA
Programs: AA LT PLT; HH Diamond; AS 75K
Posts: 2,879
This has nothing to do with being thin skinned, it has to do with providing the company with feedback on a poor quality employee who shouldn’t be in a customer facing role.
If I walk up to the line in the supermarket and the cashier tells me to line my items up on the conveyor belt by weight or she will throw me out of the store, even if the transaction completes normally, my next destination is going to be the customer service counter to tell them that kind of service is unacceptable.
If I walk up to the line in the supermarket and the cashier tells me to line my items up on the conveyor belt by weight or she will throw me out of the store, even if the transaction completes normally, my next destination is going to be the customer service counter to tell them that kind of service is unacceptable.
And that's why you get "surly" people. Try putting up with this crap and sense of entitlement for 10 hours a day at poverty wages.