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SkyClub complaint and follow up: Am I expecting too much?

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SkyClub complaint and follow up: Am I expecting too much?

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Old Dec 27, 2019, 11:47 am
  #31  
 
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Originally Posted by Sandyglass
I had her backpack, which her phone was in. We were checked in already, I did not expect them to stop her again. The agent made it clear we cannot use the skyclub bathroom unless we check in.

And I get misunderstandings happens, and there were precautions I could’ve taken. I would’ve never filed a complaint if it was just the entry part. It’s the way the agent said those “I don’t speak Chinese” that really made me question her true intentions. It really sounded very racist, probably the worst racism I’ve experienced since immigrating to USA.
Perhaps your feelings of racism is in the eye of the beholder. Honestly, this whole thing sounds like tone policing.
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Old Dec 27, 2019, 12:38 pm
  #32  
 
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Apparently her husband had enough of her complaining and told her to be quiet so she came out here to complain. I think it’s time for this thread to just die natural death

It’s very apparent that she’s only going to be happy unless she was told that some action has been taken against the employee. Why she think she’s entitled to that information I have no idea. I guess where she works if she’s disciplined they posted on the Internet in big bold letters.
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Old Dec 27, 2019, 2:29 pm
  #33  
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Originally Posted by OUTraveling
Perhaps your feelings of racism is in the eye of the beholder. Honestly, this whole thing sounds like tone policing.
That's not how "tone policing" is typically used IMO. "Why are you being so emotional" etc. is more what I think of when that term is used.
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Old Dec 27, 2019, 3:20 pm
  #34  
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Have you at all considered the employee was having a crappy day and I'm going to guess from your posts here that your reaction in the skyclub was large (although you leave that out completely and conveniently) and her tone had zero to do with racism and was frustration or annoyance (at this or something totally unrelated). Jumping immediately to racism as the driver for everything has gotten old.

Btw even if it was racism, if "I don't speak Chinese" is the worst racism you've experienced I'd say life is good
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Old Dec 27, 2019, 3:37 pm
  #35  
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The followup response from DL sounds as if it is the one which precedes the, "we hope that you find happiness on another carrier."
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Old Dec 27, 2019, 5:44 pm
  #36  
 
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Not a racist incident, but more about a lounge dragon copping an attitude. I have little doubt she was unnecessarily snide, as you describe. But that's about it.

If it's any comfort to you, you probably caused her a lot of aggro, since she had to be the subject of an investigation. Probably won't change the attitude any, but . . . .
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Old Dec 27, 2019, 7:38 pm
  #37  
 
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Originally Posted by Sandyglass
Hello FT, I am a long time lurker here but never made an account until now. I wanted to get some opinions of fellow Delta travel experts here on my recent experience at the LAX Sky Club and also Delta's customer service response. I am not sure if I am expecting too much for Delta to acknowledge/discipline their employee's poor behavior? My husband says because I have no solid proof, delta is right to stand behind their employee (even though he agrees the employee was very racist that day). I don't know why this incident bothers me so much, and its especially worse when customer service doubles down with the employee's side.

A little background: We were taking a family (Me, husband, 3 year old, 6 month old and our nanny) trip to from Seattle to Puerto Vallarta on Dec 3, with a short layover at LAX. Both husband and I are plats. The incident revolved around the Terminal 3 Sky Club (the smaller one of the 2). Their bathroom is right next to their sky club entrance for those who have never been.


Dec 8: I filed my initial complaint to Delta.com

I have a complaint regarding discrimination to the terminal 3 sky club at LAX. My nanny and I are flying on the same pnr, and we are laying over at LAX on our way to PVR. My nanny does not speak any English so I communicate for her. When we entered the sky club, the agent scanned my boarding pass and asked if I’m paying for my guest. I told her I am delta platinum traveling internationally so I can bring a guest for free. She acknowledged my status and both of us proceeded to the bathroom near the entrance of sky club to change my daughters diaper. After diaper change, I took my daughter to find the rest of my family in the club while my nanny continues to use the restroom. After a while, I don’t see my nanny coming out, and the same sky club agent come over and said “I don’t speak Chinese, your guest cannot come in. You need to go talk to her.” My husband then goes to find the nanny, but she already left the lounge because the sky club agent kicked her out. When I ask where she went, the agent mockingly says “I don’t know, I don’t speak Chinese.” My nanny felt humiliated by the agent refusing her entrance. Why would she do that? I already told her at the beginning that she is my guest and the agent knew she can enter for free. I feel like the agent was picking on my nanny because she doesn’t speak English and I wasn’t standing next to her. This kind of discrimination is not acceptable, especially at an airport full of international travelers. I do not remember the sky club agents name that caused this incident, but you can probably pull up the person who scanned me into the club on that day.


Dec 13: I received an email saying they will investigate the matter and it can take up to 30 days.


Dec 25: I received an official reply from Delta via email

Thank you for taking the time to contact us about your experience at our Los Angeles Sky Club on December 3, 2019. I am sorry that you did not get the service you deserved. [sandyglass], I have read your letter and I can see why you wanted us to know about your experience. I understand from your letter that you and [nanny] were entering the Sky Club where you attempted to check in. You stated that as part of you Platinum status you are able to bring in a guest at no charge. You advised the attendant and at this point you both went to the restroom and when you entered the club you did not have any further difficult however, when [nanny] returned from the restroom she was unable to enter the Sky Club. You stated that she was unable to communicate in English as Chinese was her first language. This caused the attendant to not understand when she tried to explain that she was already checked in and was with your party. Because we take your comments seriously, we have requested statements from the attendant that was on duty that day. We understand the importance of providing professional and timely assistance to all of our passengers. According to our Sky Club attendants they reported that they did recall this incident and that they reported that at this position they transition from position to position every hour. When [nanny] came out of the restroom there was a new attendant at the position and was unaware that she had previously checked in. They reported that they were unable to successfully communicate with her to determine that she had been checked in already. When the attendant left the position to seek whom she could have been with because her bag had a cartoon character on it this caused the agent to look for someone with a child. The attendant then asked if you could assist her in finding out what [nanny] needed. The agent reported that when they returned to the position [nanny] was gone. Based on your comments and our investigation we have determined that there was no discriminatory or malicious intent on behalf of our Sky Club attendant. We understand we disappointed you; however, as a global airline that serves thousands of customers from around the world every day, your experience is not one we wanted you to have and I’m sorry this happened. I’ve reported your experience to our Airport Customer Service Leaders so that this will not happen again. Please know that we value your business and are dedicated to providing services for all passengers. Thank you and for being a loyal Delta customer. We look forward to serving all of you better in the future.


Dec 25: I sent a reply to the agent because I was shocked at their response that they found their employee had no wrongdoing

Hi [Delta agent],

First I would like to thank you for taking the time to investigate into this matter. I am someone who don't usually file complains to get people in trouble or seek compensation (as you can see, I've never filed a complaint against delta). However, I truly felt like we were being targeted unfairly that day at the Sky Club. As an immigrant myself, the treatment from the Sky Club agent that day was one of the worst I've seen. I feel like Delta's investigation into this matter is lacking some key parts of my initial complaint. I understand the agent(s) that day will claim that it is a miscommunication issue, because there is no way she will admit to her employer that she was actually discriminatory. I hope you take a couple of of the following issues into consideration:

1) The agent claims that there was a shift rotation at the check in station, and that was the source of the confusion. This does not make sense, because the check in agent would not let either of us use the sky club bathroom unless we are both checked in as guests. My first question entering the sky club was to ask if there was a baby changing table, and the agent said we have to be guests to use the restroom. That is why we processed check in first before entering the restroom. Therefore, when [nanny] came out of the bathroom, she should've been a guest of the sky club already. There is no reason to deny her entry to the sky club when she was already permitted to use the restroom. No matter who the check in person was at the station, sky club policy should've been consistent, that only guests are permitted to use their restroom.

2) Whether there was a shift rotation or not, I know the agent who came back to me telling me "I don't speak Chinese" is the same agent that processed our check in. She knows very clearly that we were checked in. She said the statement to me twice, in a very sarcastic and demeaning way. I wish I had a recording of those dialogue for you, because it was so extremely rude. I haven't felt that kind of nastiness from a stranger in a very long time. Additionally, [nanny] felt very panicked and embarrassed at the entrance, because she didn't have her cell phone with her to even call me for help. The employee could've at least accompany her inside and find me together, and we would've easily resolved this misunderstanding.

My initial complaint was triggered by this agent's rude remarks, which was not addressed in this investigation. I would've have let everything go if it was truly a misunderstanding at the door (even though such misunderstanding shouldn't even had happened). The way she spoke to me made me felt that she was intentionally targeting us because [nanny] don't speak English. There were just too many things that the agent did that made our family feel out of place and very uncomfortable.

I am not writing to Delta to try to get compensation over this incident, and I will continue to fly Delta because one bad apple doesn't ruin it for all the other wonderful employees I've met. I am writing to you to let you know that one of your employees acted very unprofessionally towards guests of the airline. I am disappointed in the result of the investigation that Delta agreed with the employee's statement that day that it was caused mainly due to miscommunication and shift change. I know it is not possible for me to prove what I heard that day (the statement and the way it was said) but I hope Delta believes in the customer instead of an employee trying to cover her actions. This employee needs to know that she cannot speak to people this way and I hope proper actions are taken so she understands that for the future.


Dec 25: Same agent replies me pretty much with nothing new and closing the complaint

Thank you for taking the time to contact us about your experience at our Los Angeles Sky Club on December 3, 2019. I am sorry that you did not get the service you deserved. Feeling you were heard is so important to us. I have looked at this from you point of view and I see I missed what was really important to you. I would like to apologize again for the unpleasant experience you had [nanny] while at our Sky Club. Like you, we expect our Sky Club attendants to be friendly and quickly assist with any request you may have. We also want every passenger to be comfortable and safe while enjoying their fights. As a global airline that serves thousands of customers from around the world every day. It is clear we let you down, and I am truly sorry it happened. Thank you for being a loyal Delta customer. We look forward to seeing you again soon.
I think that a) the lounge attendant was a racist POS, and b) Delta won't do what you think they should do because it would expose them to liability. Sorry you and your nanny had to go through all this.
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Old Dec 27, 2019, 7:47 pm
  #38  
 
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Originally Posted by Sandyglass
again, the skyclub bathroom is part of the lounge. By being in the bathroom she was already in the lounge.

...
You are not IN the lounge if you still pass the front desk!
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Old Dec 27, 2019, 7:48 pm
  #39  
 
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Having a nanny that speaks no English at all, not even enough to say your name, is a risk. I imagine she could have said your name (even in bad English) and many desk agents would have the sense to figure out that you might be in the club and find you.
Yet It didn't happen, she either didn't say your name or they didn't put two and two together and think to find you. It was in no way "racist" to me, as you suggest.
Its too easy and too common these days to claim racism when in fact many events are just a problem with communication.
Don't make a mountain out of a molehill. I hope you had a nice vacation in spite of this short glitch.
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Old Dec 27, 2019, 7:55 pm
  #40  
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Originally Posted by glob99
You are not IN the lounge if you still pass the front desk!
Disagree. If the OP checked her family in and one member visited the poorly placed restroom, they’re still ‘in the lounge’ at that point. If the lounge staff can’t keep track of who is supposed to be in the lounge and who isn’t, then that is a DL problem.
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Old Dec 27, 2019, 8:13 pm
  #41  
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Originally Posted by Often1
This was not a routine customer service complaint, but a complaint which alleged that DL denied access to an individual based on their apparent ethnicity or national origin. Thus, it was investigated and DL reported the findings back. DL did a thorough job, the lounge receptionist's explanation makes perfect sense and likely happens routinely, but was complicated by a language barrier. On the flip side of this, OP has a "feeling" and nothing more. Thus, this issue is over and done with unless the nanny wishes to pursue a discrimination claim (which she is free to do).

The first response was the end of it. The second one was the polite version of, "we've made our decision." I doubt that DL will deal with this further as any form of customer service gesture then becomes an admission that DL acted incorrectly.

Thus, to answer OP's question, "am I expecting too much" the answer is a solid "yes".
Your feedback is not what I wanted to hear, but it's clear and concise. Thank you.

Originally Posted by Lehava
Have you at all considered the employee was having a crappy day and I'm going to guess from your posts here that your reaction in the skyclub was large (although you leave that out completely and conveniently) and her tone had zero to do with racism and was frustration or annoyance (at this or something totally unrelated). Jumping immediately to racism as the driver for everything has gotten old.

Btw even if it was racism, if "I don't speak Chinese" is the worst racism you've experienced I'd say life is good
You probably won't believe me, but I had no reaction in the club that day. Between being stunned at her attitude and also dealing with 2 very young kids, I didn't respond. Some posters here suggested that I should've confronted the agent face to face. And yes, I don't doubt I have a good life, there are worse racism for other people out there that I've never encountered.

Originally Posted by Orange County Commuter
Apparently her husband had enough of her complaining and told her to be quiet so she came out here to complain. I think it’s time for this thread to just die natural death

It’s very apparent that she’s only going to be happy unless she was told that some action has been taken against the employee. Why she think she’s entitled to that information I have no idea. I guess where she works if she’s disciplined they posted on the Internet in big bold letters.
That's a lot of assumptions about my marriage and job. I'm going to assume you're an internet troll and move on.


I've read everybody's posts and wanna thank you for taking the time to read my long post and give me feedback (and closure on this whole thing). The general consensus seems to be:

1) Whatever delta's investigation results may be, Delta will never admit their employee was acting from racism or say anything along the line of discipline. Doing so puts them in liability.
2) Most of you believe the agent just has bad attitude, not racism. It's hard to prove racism, especially subtle ones without evidence. If I cannot convince a group of neutral people, then Delta has no reason to believe me.
3) I approached the complaint with the big guns drawn out. Perhaps that's why Delta was being very cautious and defensive. Had I complained about general poor customer service, their reply may have been different.
4) The agent, my nanny and I all could've done things differently that day to prevent the whole thing.
5) It's time to move on from the whole thing and bad energy. I agree and I will!

PS we had a great time at FS Punta Mita regardless.
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Old Dec 27, 2019, 10:02 pm
  #42  
 
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Originally Posted by cmd320
While I do think this is very shoddy customer service and perhaps a surly and lazy lounge dragon, I don't think this is a racist incident. Yes, lounge dragon should have allowed the passenger in, especially when the rest of her party had already check in with her and entered the lounge. The least she could have done would be to page the OP while keeping the nanny at the desk.

The bigger issue here is why on Earth does DL not have a Chinese speaking employee in the SC at LAX? There's at least one flight on DL specifically to China right?
----------
Then that would necessitate several Chinese speakers (or French, or German, or Swedish or any number of language speakers) to be available throughout the day on all duty shifts and hours of operation in the club or elsewhere on Delta's premises on the off chance of this type of scenario. If your nanny doesn't speak a word of English and you have to serve as the "interpreter", then certainly don't leave her alone to further confuse the issue. Maybe it would have been useful to provide the nanny with written information in Chinese and English what airline, flight number, date and destination they were going to as well as who she was traveling with. Who would the OP have blamed for any "mishandling", "rudeness" or so called "prejudicial / racist" treatment if the nanny (or worse the nanny and the infant) got separated from her in a shopping mall or amusement park or any large, crowded venue? There may have been an element of "rudeness" with stating the obvious - "I don't speak Chinese" comment but I hardly think it merits pursuing Delta twice just to hear exactly what you want to hear (that the agent's head will roll, etc). How much affirmation do you need to assuage your mistake of leaving the nanny alone?
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Old Dec 27, 2019, 10:14 pm
  #43  
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Originally Posted by FlyingNone
----------
Then that would necessitate several Chinese speakers (or French, or German, or Swedish or any number of language speakers) to be available throughout the day on all duty shifts and hours of operation in the club or elsewhere on Delta's premises on the off chance of this type of scenario. If your nanny doesn't speak a word of English and you have to serve as the "interpreter", then certainly don't leave her alone to further confuse the issue. Maybe it would have been useful to provide the nanny with written information in Chinese and English what airline, flight number, date and destination they were going to as well as who she was traveling with. Who would the OP have blamed for any "mishandling", "rudeness" or so called "prejudicial / racist" treatment if the nanny (or worse the nanny and the infant) got separated from her in a shopping mall or amusement park or any large, crowded venue? There may have been an element of "rudeness" with stating the obvious - "I don't speak Chinese" comment but I hardly think it merits pursuing Delta twice just to hear exactly what you want to hear (that the agent's head will roll, etc). How much affirmation do you need to assuage your mistake of leaving the nanny alone?
Your comments could be extended more generally to the wisdom of leaving kids and nanny (or just nanny) alone at home in case there would be an emergency unless a 911 operator is available at all times who can speak Chinese.

OTOH, I'm surprised that DL airport staff don't have access to translators by phone for all major languages. In fact, doesn't DL operate a reservations/customer service line in Chinese?
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Old Dec 27, 2019, 10:19 pm
  #44  
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Originally Posted by MSPeconomist
Your comments could be extended more generally to the wisdom of leaving kids and nanny (or just nanny) alone at home in case there would be an emergency unless a 911 operator is available at all times who can speak Chinese.

OTOH, I'm surprised that DL airport staff don't have access to translators by phone for all major languages.
They probably do have such services at an airport. But if the agent is trying to be the least helpful as possible (or do the minimum amount of work) then they wouldn’t bother calling such support line.
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Old Dec 27, 2019, 10:27 pm
  #45  
 
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Originally Posted by MSPeconomist
Your comments could be extended more generally to the wisdom of leaving kids and nanny (or just nanny) alone at home in case there would be an emergency unless a 911 operator is available at all times who can speak Chinese.

OTOH, I'm surprised that DL airport staff don't have access to translators by phone for all major languages. In fact, doesn't DL operate a reservations/customer service line in Chinese?
---------
Agree with you.....and, as a fact, all airline staff do have access to a language line phone number. It's evident in this case (as some have noted) that the desk agent did not even try to be helpful. What would it have taken to escort the nanny through the club to have her point out who she was with (which she certainly would have been able to do). Unfortunately we live in a world where very few people can think out of the box, show kindness and give others the benefit of the doubt. I'm sick of so many people in the service industry, who, by virtue of wearing a uniform and rigid rule keeping, wield their job knowledge or lack thereof like a power-tripping club and make absolutely no effort to assist.
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