BenA

Are you 360? I suspect some of the best agents have been poached for that program, so that could explain some of the difference if so.

MarkCron

I have used many RUC's and have only called in to use them once. Twitter has served me well

bretthexum

I'd rather wait 10 minutes on hold to get it right the first time rather than 30 seconds, then HUCA 3 times.

nerdbirdsjc

Yes, and HUCA will be progressively retired as a strategy for Delta anyways. Delta is increasingly placing prior call information (incl. timestamps and recordings) at the fingertips of its front-line res agents and supervisors.

apodo77

I often wonder if the DL marketing folks believe the things they advertise.

RealHJ

That depends on how much of their own koolaid they drink. The heavy drinkers probably have drunk themselves to actually believe what they are peddling. Others know better.

A321neo

How do you find them?

A321neo

Do you have any proof? A few weeks ago I had to HUCA after the first agent was beyond rude, and wrong on policy. I asked the folks on Call #2 to review the notes from the prior call, and they couldnt find anything

ekozie

Airport agents have flat-out told me that they're being required to put a ton more notes in the system (and it's an unwanted pain for them). I know sometimes airport agents have referenced notes left by phone agents. Based on experiences on this and other threads, I think there's enough of a body of anecdotal evidence to say increased note-taking is the new standard.

nerdbirdsjc

Call the Air France and KLM USA Reservations Numbers. Entirely staffed by Delta agents, who tend to be more seasoned and much better trained than run-of-the-mill peers.The KLM number accepts both Skymiles and Flying Blue numbers for priority routing, so dial (800) 618-0104 and enjoy speaking with agents who really know what they heck they're doing (or, at least, can quickly route to those who do).

nerdbirdsjc

Yes. On two occasions in the past year, I asked a Delta agent and supervisor to honor what I was told in a previous call, and on both occasions I was placed on hold for about 7-10 minutes while they listened to the prior call, confirmed my version of events, and inserted the necessary waivers and documentation in the PNR. Thankfully, the Big Brother approach worked in my favor.

Separately, I know for a fact AA timestamps and inserts caller ID info for the first PNR accessed during every phone call. I've seen my PNR printouts on more complicated bookings that involved multiple calls, and sure enough my number and the time popped up on several lines. I'm pretty sure UA has its own form of Big Brother as well.

El Boocho

I couldn't agree more. I am not exaggerating, when I say that in the past 6 months nearly 100% of my initial interactions with a phone agent require subsequent calls to fix the initial agent's mistakes and those subsequent calls require a 3rd call more than 1/3 of the time. Seemingly simple things like I asked for a refundable ticket and was issued a nonrefundable ticket, or properly wait listing on RUCs, or even adding the RUC when asked, or a rebook due to IRROPS where the original itinerary doesn't get deleted and as a result my return is cancelled, routinely don't get processed correctly. I have no doubt that my repeated calls to fix the problems the agents created in the first place has a negative effect and is detailed in the notes. An agent last week commented on the number of exchanges a ticket had been through. While that was true, aside from the initial cancellation and ticket credit, all the other messiness was Delta's fault.

Since I *think* the agent has done it correctly I give them a 5 in the survey. Then when I realize they didn't, I'd like to revise, but obviously that isn't possible. Most agents are plenty friendly, but I would like a better way to flag those who need additional training. Bottom line, IMO the phone agent quality has taken a nose dive.

RealHJ

Makes sense, as DL is getting stricter and stricter on its "no favors, no waivers" policy.

DL is also known to discipline agents who are too helpful and do more than they are allowed to do. So, don't be too hard on them, understand that if they do the right thing for you, their job, or at least their promotion, may be on the line.

btonkid12345

Has anyone else ever had a phone supervisor listen to a prior call recording? Have literally never heard that with DL.

I just had something where that would have been super helpful. The phone supervisor found the previous person who promised that, emailed them, and said they would insert the waiver.

But I would really like to know how they even access the recordings - let alone whom you requested them from. Seriously. This would be super helpful for me. Thank you.

btonkid12345

Yes, I’ve noticed them writing essays more nowadays too.

Lets hope the CA Privacy Act allows customers to get a confirmation of their notes every time it’s left - it’s annoying to have one person promise documentation and then have it never happen when you try to act upon the promise later. So frustrating.