First Remarkable DM experience
 

Since DM kicked in, I have several little "nice touch" experiences (many of you have already shared in these in numerous threads here, so I won't bother to list them). But, today I had my first *REMARKABLE* DM experience. Hopefully, this the shape of things to come. It reminded me of UA-GS treatment (but with the significantly better DL product).

I was traveling on a Coach (H-Fare) ticket. My BOS-JFK segment of my BOS-JFK-SFO transcon was delayed due to weather and I was set to miss the last JFK-SFO connection. This was a bummer as I was #1 on the UG list with 10 open seats. I called the DM desk and within 5 mins, the agent had rebooked me BOS-ATL-SFO in "F" class (NOT upgraded coach "V" or "X") - But "F"!

This has never been done before for me for a weather delay (although this has happened many many times times for MX/VDB/IROPS).

I told her I was headed to the Skyclub in BOS and she said that she would call ahead to tell them to have my boarding passes ready.

...6 mins later...

I walk into the SkyClub and present my old BP. The very friendly agent said "OH! Mr. TFD, Special Member Services called and asked us to have your BPs ready!"

Nice - Very Nice - Well done DL!

TFD

Epilogue: The MD-88 BOS-ATL was far from "remarkable", but I am not about to complain given the excellent service :D

Nice!

According to the FF here anything is better than an RJ!!!!!

Nice! :)
Hope you enjoyed the BOS Skyclub... its one of my favorites in the system.

Maybe it IS getting better!:D

You'll have to change your sn ;)

No doubt, this is good service. This is exactly how it was with the NW PE line and the new BPs, real F rebookings for the same reason. I experienced it on a number of occasions.

If all other aspects of service and service structure, such as PMUs, worked like this, then nobody could objectively complain about DL service quality. But they don't.

Could you embrace and celebrate his experience... or do you always have to grope and moan about the same stuff??? :confused::rolleyes:

Don't fret, he will along with a handful of old NW elites. Its just better to ignore them, until they go away. And if they don't they will be just talking to themselves. :)

TFD: Fantastic to hear!!! I have had numerous similar situations happen in the last few months due to a myriad of problems, and that has always been the case. Even in JFK, that was done at the large T3 SC. ^ Glad to see its finally being noticed on here. :)

zz

Good to hear. Overall I am not expecting much from Being DM, but do hope it will be handy with Irrops and that appears to be the case.

Almost the identical thing happened to me. I had a connection in MSP to SNA but I was going to miss that connection due to late arriving aircraft at my origin. I got rebooked via ATL in F.

The thing is, this happened to me 8 months ago! I was a Plat and called the old NW Plat line (i.e. Chisholm).

This is what I've been hoping for from DM: at least the equivalent of UA GS-lite service when it really matters. (I'm stopping myself from commenting very positively on Chisholm here.)

So far my best experience has been getting SQ FC award space without hassles or repeated calls. (Beginner's luck?) I also enjoyed my special handshake at check-in on March 1 as the first DM that a long-term employee had seen.

Otherwise it's been no special recognition beyond the friendly and seemingly genuine "thanks for being DM" at the end of almost every phone call to DL in SLC. I haven't yet heard a mention of DM during any flight announcement, which surprises me, but I have seen the big "brilliant" poster covering construction next to the elite counters at LAX. Maybe this record will improve soon with a TATL through ATL, where I guess DMs are pretty common.

I had a similar experience a few weeks ago.

It was about 10PM the night before a 6AM departure ... LEX-ATL-SFO when I got a call at home from the GATE AGENT at LEX telling me the inbound flight that was the equipment that made up my 6AM departure was canceled. She had booked me in F class LEX-CVG-SFO that left an hour and 20 minutes later but arrived in SFO only 4 minutes later. (I can't remember why I booked the ATL connection??)

Nice!

I've had similar experience. Weather delayed my in bound out of SFO causing me to POSSIBLY miss my connection. I was re-booked through DTW 1st the whole way and only 1 hr late. Not bad

same thing (also BOS-SFO) happened to me a few weeks ago ... but I am only a PM ;)

I too expected very little but it does appear that the Diamond Agents are empowered to give some "waivers and favors" that I have never seen before. The last two times that I had problems brought recollections of the kind of thing that would happen at the Chairman's Desk at US before the cactus crowd took over.

Delta is going better...

On a recent trip, when my flight was cancelled (due to on of the FA losing her voice), the DM desk immediately put me on another flight (but from an airport 45 mins away). When I approached the GA, she looked at my status and said 'we take care of our DMs' and proceeded to book me and my wife/child into F into the next flight from the same segment and was extremely accomodating. All this time, other folks were being given hotel vouchers etc.. So far I would give an A to DL in how they have treated me as a DM. I am not giving an A+ because other than this incident not a single person that I have dealt with (other than DM desk) has even acknowledged my DM status - this includes SkyClubs, baggage checkin, FAs etc... I am not complaining - I have been treated well - as always -just not recognized for the DM status.

I would think DM status only requires acknowledgment when things go wrong as they did. As long as you are being treated well, I would consider this good service. Having every GA, FA and Sky Club employee congratulate you on being a DM may not be realistic. It's good to hear that people are having some good experiences out there.

+1. VERY nice to hear! I've also been very happy with the DM line thus far...

+1 I've had a similar experience. I was on a coach fare (likely LUT); weather delay in ATL; I had made the upgrade on my scheduled flight; rebooked into F and Y (but ended up making that upgrade as well)

I disagree on this completely. I've had quite a few experiences so far this year where somebody says "Thanks for being one of our most frequent travelers" including check in, GA, FA's and Sky Club. A couple of weeks ago, I did a long weekend in London and on all four segments (TPA - DTW, DTW - LHR, LHR - ATL and ATL - TPA) one of the FA's came up and mentioned my status and said "Thanks"... I flew coach on the TATL segment to LHR and even the steerage FA mentioned it... On the way back, I tried to do a SDC on an earlier flight but the flight was full coming to TPA. When I asked the GA to put me on stand-by list she commented that "we'll do our best to get you on this earlier flight" and then asked me if I "minded" a middle seat.

And yes, I did give out one of my coupons to a FA (Darcy on the TPA - DTW flight) and I did write to Del-duh about the positive overall experience on that trip.

I hope the appreciation continues -

I was on a flight to GCM from ATL while still boarding the captain spoke to us in F and said how much he and the entire flight crew appreciated our loyalty and understands we pay his bills etc etc. He seemed very sincere and offered that if we have any problems during the flight or suggestions for better customer service during the merger, to let him know as he does his best to communicate with the powers that be.

Regrettably I did not write a letter of appreciation to DL for this pleasant experience - I find I only write to complain.

Sorry to rain on the parade. Our March trip DEN WAS was impacted by a mechanical delay. 2 DMs, 1 SM, 1 GM travelling on holiday.

Flight delayed 3 hours. Instead of booking us via another route, CVG/ATL/DTW, the agent booked us on the later flight and then we found that she had put us in Y with no upgrades. Don't mind the Y badly for short flights, as it reminds me why I get status, without really hurting me! (Last long Y trip was 2 years ago and this was a short flight anyway - intl J/F spoils you)

Checked EF while in (UA) RCC lounge in DEN terminal B, while I was getting a coffee and discovered the problem. Called the DM desk and was told that since our bags were checked in there was no option at that time. I put it down to NW/DL integration, but my wife had asked her about her experience and was told she was a 10 yr employee! Next time I intend to print out an EF for the route and be ready for upgrade options before the GA.

I was not paying attention as we were on holiday and I notice that when with family I do not worry about times as much as I do for work. I am not going to say that I deserve the upgrades (I am happy when I get it and OK when not) but when a better option exists to route us, the GA should at least put minor thought into the matter. Still got 10k miles each for 200$ fare with all the bonuses.

I agree that it is good service and that is why I give them an A. But I was treated well as PM as well - so all I am saying that being DM has not made difference in that regard. For example, a good restaurant would treat all its customer well - but it sure can (and should) add some extra touches for its top patrons even under normal circumstances - not just when they are overbooked.

First off, I'm very happy that this happened. Way to go DL! ^^

This second part is not sour grapes, it's not complaining, it's just truth... I will agree with others that this was pretty much what always happened at NW for PEs. Things were taken care of quickly, efficiently, and generally in a method that the customer was happy with (for an example of the OPPOSITE of what I mean, see here). I am glad that DL is (seemingly, hopefully) returning to this model.

Excellent.

I had similar excellent service on a service disruption 18 or so monthes ago (as a PM) - flight canceled, I could make the earlier connection DCA-ATL (to make an intl flight) but only if I left RIGHT NOW and didn't have issues at the airport. SMS said to "run" and she would take care of it and call me back.

Not only did she do that, and recover great seats in BE cabin, she had the boarding passes waiting for me (used my OLCI passes for the earlier flights to get through security).

Glad to hear that kind of service still exists.... it's the kind of stuff that makes me want to stay with DL rather than drop completely and go elsewhere.

I agree on this one too.. I was treated quite well (most of the time) as a PM. My boyfriend is a PM and has even commented on how often Del-duh staff have recently thanked him or mentioned his status... The only thing that both of us wish is that Del-duh would give the elite passengers in coach a free drink when they don't get upgraded... I'm sure on a TPA or ATL flight, that would be 1/2 of the plane, but it shore would help for better attitude when somebody misses an upgrade... Skip the peanuts... give me a drink instead...:rolleyes:

Agreed! BOS SkyClub is indeed one of the best. Great associates, plenty of room to spread out, nice bar when it can serve alky stuff (after 0830 local).

Speaking of DM and the BOS SkyClub:

Today I got to BOS for a flight down to JFK and then on to LA. When I got into the Skyclub @ BOS they SC Agent, who knows me at this point, said there was a message from Elite Services for me and that they had put me on the earlier shuttle in First Class. As it turned out, that flight was taking a delay but when I looked at my Itin on line, sure enough, I had a FC seat on both flights. I have had this happen for IRROPs before but never just for convenience, never had a "message" waiting for me, and never into FC. Well done DL!

^Absolutely agreed! I would prefer to remain anonymous overall and just know that when the XXXX hits the fan I'll be taken care of with similar treatment experienced by other DM's on this thread. And let me add an op-ed to the former NW PM's on here who keep whining. GET OVER IT! You're part of DL now... Just like every other US carrier, there's the good and bad and if you don't like it, you have a choice... LEAVE!

DM Experiences
 

Just some of the recent experiences I had in last 1 month. Thought it might make an interesting read (please note I'm not giving out flight information and FA/GA names on purpose).

Experience 1: Sitting in FC, seat 7A, on LGA-ATL flight on Monday 6am, I heard the gate agent tell flight attendant 7B is open and next on the UG list is 24A. Instead a non-rev (Delta flight leader, he was traveling to ATL for training) came and sat in the seat. When I asked him politely why the person next on the UG list wasn't moved, he said he had no clue and avoided the topic. By the way, one of the FC FA's on that flight is not a morning person, she is always cranky (I take that flight almost every week).

Experience 2: Confirmed an upgrade in FC, I decided to go same day confirmed on an earlier flight and lost the upgrade. At the gate for the earlier flight, I was #1 on the UG list. Screen showed:

First Class Seats: 24
Checked in: 23
Open: 1

Few moments later, I got cleared and was assigned seat 1A. Just before boarding I saw:

First Class Seats: 23
Checked in: 23
Open: 0

Interesting, I said to myself. I checked the screen, now I was back on the UG list and ofcourse back in coach cabin (glad I had a bulkhead seat). Hmmm, never seen that before. When I asked the gate agent, he rudely replied that the FC seat was bought last minute. Later when he came down the aisle, I asked if it was possible to sell an assigned seat, or bump someone from an assigned seat, or why now the counter for FC showed 23- he didn't say anything. I never bothered to see who ended up in 1A.

Not sure if the coach FA saw this exchange, but he offered me and the passengers sitting next to me free drinks the entire time. The FC FA came by later and asked if I would like to have an extra salad/sandwich they had.

Experience 3: Confirmed an upgrade in FC, I missed my ATL-LGA connection. Went to a Sky Club, asked to be put on standby for the next sold out flight. Managed to grab a coach seat, last row, middle seat. I had a non-rev passenger (Delta flight attendant, not legacy NW) next to me and we casually chatted about Delta. I asked if they had received any specific instructions on how to treat Diamond Medallion passengers. She said they were asked to acknowledge them and thank them for their business. I said I haven't seen much difference yet, to which she wondered if Diamond and Platinum were going to be merged by Delta. Turns out, she didn't really know about the Diamond level and thought it was carried over from NW.

Misc Experiences: Always treated politely at Sky Clubs, well whenever I could find space in one. Overall good customer service from Diamond Desk. No individual acknowledgment on a flight yet, but till I get good service, I don't mind. Most of the upgrades have gone through 5 days in advance.

Award Ticket Experience: Another good thing - we can change award ticket reservations as many times we want till we finally get the flight we want!

PS: I wish Delta would mail out a better pair of bag tags.