PersonalFlotationDevice

I vote for #4 with you, but the above explanations are mathematically the only reasons this could happen.

All reflect poorly on DL contact center management...are they using an overly optimistic average call time, or using an overly optimistic estimate of agents who will be handling calls? Or assuming lots more folks will hang up than actually occurs?

DL's inability to give accurate estimates definitely indicates that something, easily solvable, is screwed up in the contact center / IT handling.

SCChris

I had an odd one as well the other night. I called using my cell phone as a PM and was quoted 2:30 with no callback.

I called using my landline at the same time which is apparently connected to a relative's account as a FO and was quoted 1:40. The reason I knew it was connected to my FO relatives account was that he was greeted by name, whereas I was not.

I tried this a couple times to make sure it wasn't an anomaly and got the same results. I ended up using both the text service and calling in the middle of the night without wait and each time was greeted as a PM so I know at least some DL system has my number connected to my account.

SamirD

I should ask my wife of her opinion on such things since she builds and manages contact centers for companies (not Delta, lol).

strickerj

As a no-status Skymiles member, I've wasted more time rebooking ecredits than I'd care to admit. I think I'll just book refundable fares from now on; since COVID, they seem to only be a $100 to $150 premium over nonrefundable instead of twice as much. I can live with that in exchange for the flexibility.

cfabar1

This morning have been on hold for nearly 3.5 hours as a silver medallion. The problem is, the messaging team is great for some things, but there are many things they just can’t do. Delta needs to deploy (redeploy?) more agents to the call center. It is quite sad. This was at first understandable, but they have had two years (and so much free money from the US Government as well) to figure this out!

manacit

I hate adding fuel to the fire, but this has really become untenable. I am a PM (so, chopped liver, but chopped liver with a bit of loyalty) and have recently been quoted callback times of 2 hours and 3.5 hours in the evening Pacific Time. The most recent time the call came an hour after my scheduled callback time, and it took nearly 45 minutes to apply a RUC to instant upgrade space.

The automated response always encourages you to go to delta.com, but that's woefully incapable of doing basic things like applying a RUC or rebooking travel (I'd say it's 50/50 for that). Last time I tried to use the iMessage line, I was told that "I'm so sorry, but regional upgrade is out of my scope." I've got flight credit that the website won't let me apply, but at this point I'm not going to wait 4 hours on the phone to try and use it.

I feel bad for the delta exec who's responsible for their NPS and other customer loyalty/happiness metrics. This sort of thing is guaranteed to absolutely tank any goodwill that I have.

DLASflyer

Delta reported last week a record high NPS.

manacit

That's quite impressive - especially when you look at the gains from 2011 to now, it's been more or less up and to the right. It looks like investments elsewhere have been able to paper over some of the issues like this in the last couple of years. Hopefully staffing issues can get ironed out and we can return to the days of what was (IMO) some of the best phone support I'd experienced anywhere.

SamirD

Okay, so I asked my wife several questions about why Delta might be doing this and if their systems are functioning as intended. She basically said they're not spending the money on customer support as there should be sufficient staffing. She said what she would do is look up the chief of customer support on linked in and contact them there. She briefly looked it up and they've been with the company for 36 years so something has had to change because I'm sure delta support hasn't been this bad for 30+ years. And for some reason the chief of customer support has just let it happen.

I also asked why the Singapore route for calls from the US was severed and she said it was probably messing up their metrics for that region. I then proceeded to ask if most companies have failovers from one region/vendor to another and she said yes so it doesn't really make sense why singapore is no longer a viable option.

OPENROAD

Waiting for a callback and into second hour, trying to use upgrade certificates, come on Delta, unbelievable stuff, never have issues getting through to Alaska Airlines.

unitedbusiness

Where or how was this record reported?

DLASflyer

By Glen Hauenstein.
https://seekingalpha.com/article/449...nce-transcript

lucycan

So ever since the system changed they have no idea who I am. And when I call I just get lumped into the line with everyone else. When they call me back (if they even do) they ask for my info.

How can this be? How do I update (whatever system) to have it recognize the number I am calling from?

How could Delta take a 15+ year step BACK with a NEW system????

PersonalFlotationDevice

That explains why the wait times are terrible, but doesn't explain why the estimates when one initially calls turn out to be so inaccurate.

As noted--mathematically they are either forgetting peoples' place in queue, or they are using inaccurate estimates of the average call time, percentage of folks who abandon a call before being helped, or the number of agents that will be available to answer the queue.

Or they are just spouting random / rosy estimates without any mathematical foundation.

(I'm weirdly interested in this as 20 years ago I learned more than I might care to know about contact center math--though professionals please correct me on the above!)

manacit

The transcript was posted above, but you can see the deck as well on Delta’s investor relations website: https://s2.q4cdn.com/181345880/files...5.22-Final.pdf

Page 4 has the data.