Do trainers exist at Delta? Speaking for my station, there are no trainers like what Northwest had and new hires are not allowed to go to training. Each station trains the new hires which in my opinion creates more inconsistent service to our customers.

This approach may work and be the most cost:results balance efficient in a small company, but never in a big one like Dullta.

If Dullta really has no training for new staff, then that:
a) explains a lot of the significant inconsistency and the different response from every agent on the same issue that customers often face, and
b) is a yet another proof that it aspires to be a small regional airline (amongst other ways how it makes it crystal clear, like only publishing the US48/CA award chart and not the 11 others, it's SE US centric approach to nearly everything it does, it's total disregard for its non-US customers, etc.)

Like the bumper stickers say, "Keep Portland Weird":D

I too have gotten the "This is blah blah blah from the Diamond Desk" twice this past week. Not that it matters, but how is it that a PM can reach the DM Desk?

KE is not a full Skyteam partner.

When redeeming Skymiles, you cannot mix KE and DL.

(both told to me by platinum agents during a recent Asia award booking saga)

Alas..a bean counters method to providing great customer service...hire someone and provide them with a 10" binder of SOP's and some web based training....

You're absolutely correct, having the stations do the training is a huge part of the problem...One SE airport comes to mind where the Red Coats don't know the rules/benefits for elites...having them train others is just perpetuating the problem

At MSP Ticket Counter, June 4, 2010 "We have NEVER offered SDC...." :(

Thanks for the tip---maybe that explains why I get an occasional good agent and then a few very poorly trained ones on the DM line. One thing is for sure, the AA EXP agents are both much better trained and much more empowered to take care of problems quickly and efficiently. No comparasion. I had high hopes for the DM line, and initially had a couple of good experiences, but then....

That is both sad and funny. :) NEVER.....right.

Thankfully the two times I did SDC I had no problems whatsoever and people who were more than helpful and knowledgeable.

Yes trainers exist at every Delta station. I'm sure some do a better job then others and have a better presence then some. Training classes in ATG and other cities are available but depends on the station on who gets sent. I believe everything was cut back a couple years back when things went south. I know when I worked with ASA we had to develop a new structure for training as Delta wanted only 2 weeks worth of training vs. 6 weeks. All DCI carriers and ground handlers had to comply with the new structure. I was lucky enough to actually go through the orignal training, but by the time I went I already knew 99% of the training that was went over.
As far as inconsistency, I think there would be very minimal difference if people went to official training vs local training. There are simply to many changes and policies to keep track of and different interputations. Any large organization you are going to have this inconsistency but can be minimized by actually employing employees that actually care.

Out of curiosity, how often does a station get training? Back when I used to work customer facing jobs it seems like no matter where I worked there was a pre-open staff meeting weekly to go over policy changes and promotions. How often do front line employees get training? DL seems big enough with enough promotions and policy changes that they could do weekly meetings.

Depends on what type of training you are talking about. All employees take a yearly recurrent which is bascially to satisfy the FAA and DOT requirements....it's computer based and very boring. Depending on if you're a GSC, CRO, LTA, or have other qualifications that may require a yearly recurrent as well.
As far as policy changes or such, mostly are posted on the intranet and thats where I get my inofrmation. A lot of employee don't even visit the intranet and wait to be spoon fed the information. There are breifings during every shift, where I am from, to give different information but not sure that would work out in a hub.

LOL, yeah the above is definitely not true! I have booked an award ticket using a mix of DL/KE metal...

Agents are on crack. KE is a fully partner and we used to be able to book revenue and award segments online on NW.com. Heck, pre-merger I used to be able to book JL award segments intra-Japan.