Discussion and data points: SWUs lost on July 31, 2022 due to long wait times, etc.
Aug 4, 2022, 1:36 pm
#31
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,967
This is pretty standard AA operating on social media. Sometimes they respond almost instantly, especially to positive feedback. But if you complain or have a more complicated issue they sometimes just ghost you.
Aug 4, 2022, 1:40 pm
#32
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2021
Location: USA
Programs: American Airlines (Executive Platinum), Hyatt (Globalist), Hilton (Diamond), IHG (Diamond)
Posts: 2,917
Right, but we're talking about identical requests. There has to be a reason some people got almost instantaneous action while others were left waiting for 8+ hours.
Aug 4, 2022, 2:16 pm
#33
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,967
Only thought is if they have a lot of followers, are a blogger or blue check mark. Other than that its a crap shoot. My friend and I are both EXP roughly same flight patterns - we've been on trips where he will get quick response and handling and I get generic response hours later for basically same request. Then on other trips its opposite. Neither of us have many twitter followers or are famous/bloggers etc.
Aug 4, 2022, 2:20 pm
#34
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2021
Location: USA
Programs: American Airlines (Executive Platinum), Hyatt (Globalist), Hilton (Diamond), IHG (Diamond)
Posts: 2,917
Aug 4, 2022, 4:12 pm
#35
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
Right, curious if that applies to @DMPHL. I saw blue-check blogger "Johnny Jet" bragging about getting service in just 5 minutes right before the deadline, but most people seemed to be waiting at least a couple hours.
Aug 4, 2022, 4:15 pm
#36
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2021
Location: USA
Programs: American Airlines (Executive Platinum), Hyatt (Globalist), Hilton (Diamond), IHG (Diamond)
Posts: 2,917
I'm not sure if this is related or not but this has happened to me multiple times: I've called the EXP line during a busy time (usually due to weather in a major hub), been quoted a multi-hour wait time, opted to stay on the line (instead of getting a callback) and gotten through in under 15 minutes (sometimes under a minute)
Aug 4, 2022, 6:27 pm
#37
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: PRG, DRS, VIE
Programs: Marriott Titanium, BA Gold, A3 Gold
Posts: 939
A complaint only takes two minutes and it's possible AA will relent. It would be foolish not to do so:
https://airconsumer.dot.gov/escompla...nsumerForm.cfm
https://airconsumer.dot.gov/escompla...nsumerForm.cfm
Thank you
Aug 4, 2022, 6:28 pm
#38
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
Yes, the quoted wait time is known to be unreliable — maybe intentionally so, to encourage using the callback option — but there has to be a reason some people wait 5 minutes while others are left waiting 4+ or even 8+ hours on the same day at the same time, which happened on Sunday between the hours of noon and midnight. Seemed to happen both by phone and on Twitter to people with the same AA status.
I'm not sure if the 5 minute people stayed on the line or opted for the callback. As for Twitter, I have no idea; I don't even have a Twitter account and so I've never dealt with that team.
Aug 4, 2022, 7:18 pm
#39
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2021
Location: USA
Programs: American Airlines (Executive Platinum), Hyatt (Globalist), Hilton (Diamond), IHG (Diamond)
Posts: 2,917
My point is that when I opt for the callback, it does take hours. I know that you are supposed to keep your spot in the queue but it's happened to me enough that I suspect that you often skip the queue if you stay on the line. It's impossible for me to be sure, of course.
I'm not sure if the 5 minute people stayed on the line or opted for the callback. As for Twitter, I have no idea; I don't even have a Twitter account and so I've never dealt with that team.
I'm not sure if the 5 minute people stayed on the line or opted for the callback. As for Twitter, I have no idea; I don't even have a Twitter account and so I've never dealt with that team.
I'm not on Twitter, either. I find it absolutely bizarre that any company would force its customers to join a third-party site — and in Twitter's case, a third-party site known to be toxic — in order to get that company's fastest customer service response times.
Aug 4, 2022, 8:29 pm
#40
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: NYC, SEA
Programs: Hyatt Glob, Marriott Titanium, AA EXP, DL PM, AS 100k (fake), B6 M3 (fake), BA Gold (fake), UA FO.
Posts: 740
My theory is that there might be additional sorting based on Eagle Score or whatever AA calls it, but I suppose it could just be another case of AA's poor IT in action.
I'm not on Twitter, either. I find it absolutely bizarre that any company would force its customers to join a third-party site — and in Twitter's case, a third-party site known to be toxic — in order to get that company's fastest customer service response times.
I'm not on Twitter, either. I find it absolutely bizarre that any company would force its customers to join a third-party site — and in Twitter's case, a third-party site known to be toxic — in order to get that company's fastest customer service response times.
Aug 4, 2022, 8:31 pm
#41
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
Aug 4, 2022, 9:04 pm
#42
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 1,372
definitely not haha. Usually on Twitter it's at least a two hour wait for any response, and on the phone I was waiting for an hour before giving up. I think I may have just hit a sweet spot with that 8-minute response time. And for some reason, on 31 July, the Twitter team seemed faster than even the EXP line, which has not been my experience in the last year.
Aug 4, 2022, 9:23 pm
#43
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: New York City + Vail, CO
Programs: American Airlines Executive Platinum, Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite
Posts: 3,226
From the points guy:
Remember that this team is overwhelmed with volume. Until the airline brings on more agents to help, you can expect a bit of a wait. In 2016, the average wait time for a response was 36 minutes. On the day I visited, I saw that the response time was 31 minutes. While algorithms try to highlight urgent needs, I was surprised to see that messages are elite-blind and responded to in chronological order. However, when the wait time gets too long, AAdvantage elites and those with high followers will receive preferential treatment.
https://thepointsguy.com/2017/10/ame...ial-media-hub/
Remember that this team is overwhelmed with volume. Until the airline brings on more agents to help, you can expect a bit of a wait. In 2016, the average wait time for a response was 36 minutes. On the day I visited, I saw that the response time was 31 minutes. While algorithms try to highlight urgent needs, I was surprised to see that messages are elite-blind and responded to in chronological order. However, when the wait time gets too long, AAdvantage elites and those with high followers will receive preferential treatment.
https://thepointsguy.com/2017/10/ame...ial-media-hub/
Aug 4, 2022, 10:07 pm
#44
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: KHOU/KIAH
Programs: AA EXP | Marriott Bonvoy Titanium| Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 11,247
This checks out because as an almost certainly low Eagle Score EXP (a LowValueCustomer), I've never once had a good response time on Twitter, though I do use it fairly regularly, typically because I'm in-flight and can't call the EXP line. I always reference my AAdvantage number as my "EXP number" too, so it's not like they are unaware of the status level. The response time others get has not been my experience.
AA can't make a basic website function properly. They can't manage call queues. There's no way that they have some super sophisticated way of figuring out who to queue.
Heck, there was a CK who reported the same issues above.
Aug 4, 2022, 10:56 pm
#45
Join Date: Apr 2011
Programs: Marriott Ambassador, AA ExecPlat, Amtrak Select Exec, former WN apologist
Posts: 1,428
A complaint only takes two minutes and it's possible AA will relent. It would be foolish not to do so:
https://airconsumer.dot.gov/escompla...nsumerForm.cfm
https://airconsumer.dot.gov/escompla...nsumerForm.cfm