sydneyracquelle

HUCA (hang up call again) once again rules the day. I am a PM driving tomorrow (Thursday) morning from South Georgia to ATL for a flight with a non-status companion. I call to ask for a SDC to later in the day due to potential dangerous driving conditions from Hurricane Michael. Plenty of SDC space is available in the same class of service throughout the day. The first agent has absolutely zero sympathy/compassion and insists on charging my non-status companion the normal $75 SDC fee simply because, although I am driving to ATL during the hurricane from South Georgia, ATL is not covered in the waiver so too bad. I tell her in a nice way that I will think about it and I simply call right back. The second agent couldn't have been more sympathetic or understanding. No fee to do a SDC due to the hurricane and wishes me the best of luck and safe travels.

JesseRohr

I have similar results all the time as a DM traveling with a non status co-worker. It's sad that HUCA has become the norm for so many issues as of late though. The senior and knowledgeable agents are hard to snag on the phone now days.

ethernal

I really wish they would just formalize a # of minor policy exceptions per year and add it to the suite of benefits guaranteed to Medallions - e.g., waive SDC fee for companion for up to 3 flights a year, waive travel agent ticket takeover fee 5x a year, waive a change fee 1x a year (okay, maybe that one is never going to happen ), etc. Make it transparent and when an agent grants a policy exception they clearly say "hey, just be aware this is one of your X freebies".

Having a "squeaky wheel gets the grease" policy with agent variability and HUCA doesn't make anyone happy. It stresses the agents out (how many times can I violate policy before I get a talking to?), it stresses customers out (should I get this exception? do I keep HUCA?), and it hurts Delta (more time on the phone with customer service reps which costs $$).

RRDD

Cledaybuck

Are medallions going to be upset if they sometimes grant policy exceptions to nobodies then? Because I have had them allow common sense things that are technically not allowed (often using HUCA), and I have no status whatsoever. Or would they hold the line for everyone without status and take a hit to their reputation, which is probably the best of the US3 right now.

3Cforme

Unless the OP can point to non-elite companions of Plat/Diamond elites getting free SDC as a published benefit I'm going to call this a DYKWIA moment, not HUACA.

sydneyracquelle

Qwkynuf

Fixed that for you. Out of curiosity, why should it make a difference to Delta where you are driving from? I am guessing that if you were *flying* from Valdosta to Atlanta, and you were doing it *on Delta*, they would have taken care of you no problem.

But the fact is that getting yourself from wherever you happen to be to the first airport code on your ticket is a "you problem". You have choices. You could leave earlier. You could drive up the night before. Cancel and rebook. But free SDC/SDS is not a published benefit for non-status passengers, so it's hard for me to understand why someone would think that they were entitled to it?

manacit

Sure, but there's another component of this that is beneficial for DL: one fewer pax (well, two) that they may have to worry about during a pretty big weather event. That means one fewer person tying up a phone line, standing in line to be rebooked and contending for a seat when planes are cancelled.

Leniency in a situation when DL *knows* there are going to be major interruptions seems like good business to me, even if it means waiving some fees here and there.

I'll agree with many others that I wish this kind of thing were not based on the mood of the agent, but I can understand why it would be a reasonable expectation to ask for tweaks around wx events like this.

gooselee

This would be a fine idea except that most of my HUCA needs are not for waivers/favors, rather they are just to find an agent who can/will correctly apply the actual policy. Stuff like premium cabin SDC, mileage upgrades on partners, etc.

Qwkynuf

This is true, but if people keep burning up the lines calling back for stuff that they aren't actually entitled to (even if they think it's "just common sense"), eventually we are going to get to a point where the phone reps are going to be required to add notes to your account for every call. When the next agent can see that the agent you spoke to 30 seconds ago told you no, it's going to be considerably harder to convince them that you are right and the previous agent was wrong.

People need to stop crying wolf just because they didn't get the answer they preferred.

sethb

They sometimes do that now. If they started doing it too often, they'd get a lot more ones. They really don't like ones.

gitismatt

the problem with this is that once you formalize three per year, then people try and get the exception for 4 or 5. it's easier to say there are zero across the board and maybe have one or two exceptions but maybe not.

sydneyracquelle

ethernal

I disagree. It is far easier to say "you have used all of your benefits - I'm afraid I can't do another" than a mysterious black box of what is and is not approved. The alternative (which I am also okay with) is for agents to always follow the policy - which doesn't seem to happen today.