Sky Club beverage changes confirmed by DL
May 12, 2013, 10:36 pm
#241
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Already extensive discussion on the changes at the end of this thread --
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...-woodford.html
The beer is apparently under a separate contract, so I don't believe the craft brew selection at the various clubs will be going away.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...-woodford.html
The beer is apparently under a separate contract, so I don't believe the craft brew selection at the various clubs will be going away.
May 12, 2013, 11:42 pm
#243
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Already extensive discussion on the changes at the end of this thread --
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...-woodford.html
The beer is apparently under a separate contract, so I don't believe the craft brew selection at the various clubs will be going away.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...-woodford.html
The beer is apparently under a separate contract, so I don't believe the craft brew selection at the various clubs will be going away.
May 13, 2013, 12:19 am
#244
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I have resisted the urge to create this very post for a while now because people get lambasted on this board for sharing anything that comes from Delta connections, though some have heard these comments from me in PMs recently...not as much rumor as much as insight into what is happening.
I frankly didn't read the letter from DL about the price increases, I get my SC access as a DM not because I'm paying for the product. Yet, Sunday afternoon while golfing with my buddy in management at DL, he shared the following thoughts as I was griping to him about this very thread.
1. Yes, apparently, and to the consternation of many, the SCs are standardizing alcohol inventory. This apparently ties in with their outsourcing of staff within the past 1 - 1 1/2 years ago and the bid process they go through on food products for the club. I'm told that some of the 'premium' liquors will remain, based on availability from the supplier under the new contract while others will be replaced, including, to my personal displeasure, Tanqueray.
2. Beer selection MAY include an upcharge on microbrews and local favorites, my friend isn't quite sure yet how the final details on that will shake out because those are separately provided by local distributors not under the same catering contract and are renewable at the discretion of individual clubs.
3. Supposedly, some of the alcohol selections will broaden, if not immediately over time. I'm told that there are plans to have a house champagne/sparkling wine that will be available for no charge rather than the champagne/sparking wine that is currently only offered for a fee with the premium selections, as one example.
4. Supposedly, cost increases of memberships were due to increasing labor costs, again due at least in part, to DL outsourcing staffing and overall costs of running the clubs. I'm told that there are some positive benefits from the increasing club cost that will be made apparent over the next 12-18 months as DL is 're-imagining' the SC brand. While I was given some 'drawing board' examples, I don't wish to incite a riot by sharing any of those at this point as they are all hypothetical at this time. However, I'm told, broadly, to look at the offerings of the third party commercial ventures opening airport lounges and think of ways that DL needs to draw themselves more into line with these operations seeing as the cost to access those clubs are becoming increasingly cheaper, equal to or below the cost of a day pass to the SC and/or AmEx access and the recent major announcement of one of those 3rd party providers to increase the number of lounges at US airports within the next couple years. Apparently, DL is internally recognizing that with the advent of the broad availability of third party lounges that, gasp, they actually have to be competitive in the marketplace!
Funny thing about all this is that communication on the behalf of DL, as usual, has been poor at best. I'm sitting in the DFW club right now. Someone posted earlier that they had talked with the bartender here who said that he had heard these changes were coming. Bartender on duty now says she's not heard anything about liquor changes. Go figure it would be DL waiting until the last minute to confirm 'enhancements of service.'
Let the daggers begin...
I frankly didn't read the letter from DL about the price increases, I get my SC access as a DM not because I'm paying for the product. Yet, Sunday afternoon while golfing with my buddy in management at DL, he shared the following thoughts as I was griping to him about this very thread.
1. Yes, apparently, and to the consternation of many, the SCs are standardizing alcohol inventory. This apparently ties in with their outsourcing of staff within the past 1 - 1 1/2 years ago and the bid process they go through on food products for the club. I'm told that some of the 'premium' liquors will remain, based on availability from the supplier under the new contract while others will be replaced, including, to my personal displeasure, Tanqueray.
2. Beer selection MAY include an upcharge on microbrews and local favorites, my friend isn't quite sure yet how the final details on that will shake out because those are separately provided by local distributors not under the same catering contract and are renewable at the discretion of individual clubs.
3. Supposedly, some of the alcohol selections will broaden, if not immediately over time. I'm told that there are plans to have a house champagne/sparkling wine that will be available for no charge rather than the champagne/sparking wine that is currently only offered for a fee with the premium selections, as one example.
4. Supposedly, cost increases of memberships were due to increasing labor costs, again due at least in part, to DL outsourcing staffing and overall costs of running the clubs. I'm told that there are some positive benefits from the increasing club cost that will be made apparent over the next 12-18 months as DL is 're-imagining' the SC brand. While I was given some 'drawing board' examples, I don't wish to incite a riot by sharing any of those at this point as they are all hypothetical at this time. However, I'm told, broadly, to look at the offerings of the third party commercial ventures opening airport lounges and think of ways that DL needs to draw themselves more into line with these operations seeing as the cost to access those clubs are becoming increasingly cheaper, equal to or below the cost of a day pass to the SC and/or AmEx access and the recent major announcement of one of those 3rd party providers to increase the number of lounges at US airports within the next couple years. Apparently, DL is internally recognizing that with the advent of the broad availability of third party lounges that, gasp, they actually have to be competitive in the marketplace!
Funny thing about all this is that communication on the behalf of DL, as usual, has been poor at best. I'm sitting in the DFW club right now. Someone posted earlier that they had talked with the bartender here who said that he had heard these changes were coming. Bartender on duty now says she's not heard anything about liquor changes. Go figure it would be DL waiting until the last minute to confirm 'enhancements of service.'
Let the daggers begin...
May 13, 2013, 12:20 am
#245
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Wheeee, Gordons gin and vodka and bottom shelf rum here we come! Guess we'll be forced to use mixers to hide the taste of everything.
Does that mean the stuff on planes is going to be crap too? Who is going to pay $7 for a Gordons anything and tonic/soda? Or a crap rum and coke?
Does that mean the stuff on planes is going to be crap too? Who is going to pay $7 for a Gordons anything and tonic/soda? Or a crap rum and coke?
May 13, 2013, 12:39 am
#246
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No more woodford?!?!
I wonder if DL will be implementing these Ganges at international SCs like NRT?
DL is already a joke to Asia-based flyers. To be fair so is UA. If this happens at NRT I guess it will be part of DL's quest to become a "premium carrier in Asia." LMAO
Let's just hope they don't get rid of the beer machines!
DL is already a joke to Asia-based flyers. To be fair so is UA. If this happens at NRT I guess it will be part of DL's quest to become a "premium carrier in Asia." LMAO
Let's just hope they don't get rid of the beer machines!
May 13, 2013, 5:28 am
#247
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Lol, they're probably going to try charging $6 for a bottle of 'craft' beer. Um, yeah sure.
I'm actually tempted to order a few drinks with the 'enhanced' Gordons selection, take a sip and then leave them at the bar after saying it tastes horrible.
I'm actually tempted to order a few drinks with the 'enhanced' Gordons selection, take a sip and then leave them at the bar after saying it tastes horrible.
May 13, 2013, 5:49 am
#248
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Wisconsin
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No more Heineken for me then......
As a paying SC member I do not believe I will be reneweing for next year. Undrinkable comp beverages, a line for the government cheese handed out, and the difficulties finding any place to sit, let alone plug in a laptop to use the blazing fast internet, has the $ to value ration outside of the sweet spot for me.
As a paying SC member I do not believe I will be reneweing for next year. Undrinkable comp beverages, a line for the government cheese handed out, and the difficulties finding any place to sit, let alone plug in a laptop to use the blazing fast internet, has the $ to value ration outside of the sweet spot for me.
May 13, 2013, 6:17 am
#253
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May 13, 2013, 6:21 am
#254
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The credit thing at first was not too bad, but somewhere along the way, something shifted and all of a sudden, a lot more people started sowing up. Then the NW thing happened and more people started showing up and it was different from what they were used to, so it was a double whammy for them.
Looking back, the beginning of the end was renaming it Sky Club. This rebranding, if you will, gives you a window into their thought process. When the Luxury Bar came in, I, and many also knew it was over... From the standpoint as a customer retention tool. It is now a pseudo profit center that caters really more to the moderate flyer than a guy or gal who flies through a hub city 2 or 3 times a week. It is silly to boast on the www how much one spends flying Delta's big jets, but I am comfortable in stating that I cover my price of entry.
Like a lot of the other bad decisions made by Delta over the years, I will most likely still be around when the kids who made them have moved on to their next exciting opportunity.... Or, perhaps, eventually I won't. Until then, I will be at One Flew South drinking a good gin martini, chatting with whoever is sitting around me and having no fear of some ....... with his blue tooth ear piece shouting about how important his big deal is/was/will be after standing in line for 3 minutes while a patient Delta employee explains to Marge from Zanesville that the Delta Credit card she just got does not get her in the "Club" for "free"....
May 13, 2013, 7:01 am
#255
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: CONUS
Posts: 947
When is the last time the SC made a positive enhancement????
The only thing positive I can think of that has happened post merger is pepsi got replaced with coke products (which isn't an enhancement for many and doesn't apply to the people that didn't use the WC).
IIRC the WC used to have real dishes, they are replaced with plastic. The one thing I did like was when soup was added a few years back, but that went away for good after just a couple months. I think the bagel/bread selection at breakfast has done downhill in the last few years. They are adding full service bars at many SC's meaning waiting in line and having to tip. At the main and B/C DTW clubs and some others they have removed the cubicles that I used to like for work purposes and in the main DTW club they now have these high bar type tables that you can't even sit at to work.
It's harder to find seats thanks to all the day passes, etc. Harder to find outlets. And now they are replacing Sky Vodka (which I like for a free vodka) with an offbrand.
And yet they raised fees for the paid members a couple months ago.
What TRUE enhancements has Delta made to the skyclub to justify this increase. If anything they should be dropping dues for paid members.
The only thing positive I can think of that has happened post merger is pepsi got replaced with coke products (which isn't an enhancement for many and doesn't apply to the people that didn't use the WC).
IIRC the WC used to have real dishes, they are replaced with plastic. The one thing I did like was when soup was added a few years back, but that went away for good after just a couple months. I think the bagel/bread selection at breakfast has done downhill in the last few years. They are adding full service bars at many SC's meaning waiting in line and having to tip. At the main and B/C DTW clubs and some others they have removed the cubicles that I used to like for work purposes and in the main DTW club they now have these high bar type tables that you can't even sit at to work.
It's harder to find seats thanks to all the day passes, etc. Harder to find outlets. And now they are replacing Sky Vodka (which I like for a free vodka) with an offbrand.
And yet they raised fees for the paid members a couple months ago.
What TRUE enhancements has Delta made to the skyclub to justify this increase. If anything they should be dropping dues for paid members.