Diamond Medallion Phone Line Question
Apr 23, 2023, 2:35 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: Delta DM MM, HH Diamond, Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite, TSA Pre-Check
Posts: 344
Diamond Medallion Phone Line Question
Since COVID there has been discussion about the Diamond Medallion line and if there are dedicated agents who handle this. Does anyone have any knowledge on how this is being handled now? I know during COVID they had a TON of agents take retirement and leave, which left them with fewer senior agents. I have heard people say different things but I think there were 3 possible situations now:
1) DM has its own dedicated line and own agents answering the phone (NOT LIKELY)
2) All Medallions (Silver, Gold, PM, and DM) are answered by the same group of agents (MOST LIKELY)
3) All reservation agents answer phone calls with DM getting priority in terms of being placed in the que. (POSSIBLE)
Would love to know thoughts and or information on this. My last trip trying to do a Same Day Confirm was a disaster, taking 1 chat agent and 4 regular agents to fix the issue. Sadly the last agent I talked to fixed the problem in 10 minutes after spending several hours on the phone/chat with the 4 combined prior to him.
1) DM has its own dedicated line and own agents answering the phone (NOT LIKELY)
2) All Medallions (Silver, Gold, PM, and DM) are answered by the same group of agents (MOST LIKELY)
3) All reservation agents answer phone calls with DM getting priority in terms of being placed in the que. (POSSIBLE)
Would love to know thoughts and or information on this. My last trip trying to do a Same Day Confirm was a disaster, taking 1 chat agent and 4 regular agents to fix the issue. Sadly the last agent I talked to fixed the problem in 10 minutes after spending several hours on the phone/chat with the 4 combined prior to him.
Apr 23, 2023, 3:20 pm
#3
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 5,190
Since COVID there has been discussion about the Diamond Medallion line and if there are dedicated agents who handle this. Does anyone have any knowledge on how this is being handled now? I know during COVID they had a TON of agents take retirement and leave, which left them with fewer senior agents. I have heard people say different things but I think there were 3 possible situations now:
1) DM has its own dedicated line and own agents answering the phone (NOT LIKELY)
2) All Medallions (Silver, Gold, PM, and DM) are answered by the same group of agents (MOST LIKELY)
3) All reservation agents answer phone calls with DM getting priority in terms of being placed in the que. (POSSIBLE)
Would love to know thoughts and or information on this. My last trip trying to do a Same Day Confirm was a disaster, taking 1 chat agent and 4 regular agents to fix the issue. Sadly the last agent I talked to fixed the problem in 10 minutes after spending several hours on the phone/chat with the 4 combined prior to him.
1) DM has its own dedicated line and own agents answering the phone (NOT LIKELY)
2) All Medallions (Silver, Gold, PM, and DM) are answered by the same group of agents (MOST LIKELY)
3) All reservation agents answer phone calls with DM getting priority in terms of being placed in the que. (POSSIBLE)
Would love to know thoughts and or information on this. My last trip trying to do a Same Day Confirm was a disaster, taking 1 chat agent and 4 regular agents to fix the issue. Sadly the last agent I talked to fixed the problem in 10 minutes after spending several hours on the phone/chat with the 4 combined prior to him.
Apr 23, 2023, 6:06 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: Delta DM MM, HH Diamond, Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite, TSA Pre-Check
Posts: 344
Apr 23, 2023, 6:07 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: Delta DM MM, HH Diamond, Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite, TSA Pre-Check
Posts: 344
Apr 23, 2023, 8:33 pm
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: Delta DM MM, HH Diamond, Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite, TSA Pre-Check
Posts: 344
Apr 23, 2023, 9:57 pm
#10
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: PHX
Programs: Delta 2M DM, Southwest A List and CP
Posts: 1,102
My experience is that competence may depend on the day and time of day: If I call M-F, 9-5 ATL or MN time, I have found a much higher percentage of competent agents answering the phone than when calling -say- on weekend evenings. Or maybe I was just lucky when I called during the week during business hours? And of course we do not always have a choice in when we have to call...
Apr 23, 2023, 10:09 pm
#11
Join Date: Oct 2022
Location: SFO
Programs: AS100k, DL Diamond, MarriottAmb, FlyingBlueSilver
Posts: 404
This is an area that all the airlines cut back on dramatically in 2020 and probably are all trying to squeeze by with as minimal an investment as possible still much to the angst of all of us... ... They are definitely hiring some new people though as when you do call (or chat) the ability to know most answers is dramatically lacking.
As to the question, I do find that the DM line gets answered right away as does my Alaska calls.. I even notice a difference when I bounce between silver and gold with Flying blue what the pick up time is. (however my experience is the AirFrance/KLM team actually has the answers right almost all of the time for me).
Which begs the question since right now we cant seem to have both:
Someone picking up right away(less than 30 seconds) and not always able to help with the solution/answer in the moment?
Waiting 5 minutes (my AF/KLM status experience) but able to help with the solution/answer in the moment ?
As to the question, I do find that the DM line gets answered right away as does my Alaska calls.. I even notice a difference when I bounce between silver and gold with Flying blue what the pick up time is. (however my experience is the AirFrance/KLM team actually has the answers right almost all of the time for me).
Which begs the question since right now we cant seem to have both:
Someone picking up right away(less than 30 seconds) and not always able to help with the solution/answer in the moment?
Waiting 5 minutes (my AF/KLM status experience) but able to help with the solution/answer in the moment ?
Apr 23, 2023, 10:23 pm
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: San Antonio
Programs: DL DM, Former AA EXP now AY Plat, AC 75K, NW Plat, Former CO Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 27,052
you can'tanymore. If you called local # it used to goto them. However they stopped this. Even calling Singapore DL line doesn't send you to Singapore Agents anymore. Thos used to be last method of getting competent agents.
AA has actual desks. In fact AA airport agents call same number as Executive Platinum usually. (For support)
AA has actual desks. In fact AA airport agents call same number as Executive Platinum usually. (For support)
Apr 23, 2023, 10:25 pm
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: San Antonio
Programs: DL DM, Former AA EXP now AY Plat, AC 75K, NW Plat, Former CO Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 27,052
This is an area that all the airlines cut back on dramatically in 2020 and probably are all trying to squeeze by with as minimal an investment as possible still much to the angst of all of us... ... They are definitely hiring some new people though as when you do call (or chat) the ability to know most answers is dramatically lacking.
As to the question, I do find that the DM line gets answered right away as does my Alaska calls.. I even notice a difference when I bounce between silver and gold with Flying blue what the pick up time is. (however my experience is the AirFrance/KLM team actually has the answers right almost all of the time for me).
Which begs the question since right now we cant seem to have both:
Someone picking up right away(less than 30 seconds) and not always able to help with the solution/answer in the moment?
Waiting 5 minutes (my AF/KLM status experience) but able to help with the solution/answer in the moment ?
As to the question, I do find that the DM line gets answered right away as does my Alaska calls.. I even notice a difference when I bounce between silver and gold with Flying blue what the pick up time is. (however my experience is the AirFrance/KLM team actually has the answers right almost all of the time for me).
Which begs the question since right now we cant seem to have both:
Someone picking up right away(less than 30 seconds) and not always able to help with the solution/answer in the moment?
Waiting 5 minutes (my AF/KLM status experience) but able to help with the solution/answer in the moment ?
Apr 24, 2023, 6:38 am
#14
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: NYC
Programs: DL PM, DL MM
Posts: 4,246
It's probably a combination of 2 & 3 based on volumes.
The real issue is that too many agents (whether dedicated to Medallion or not) have no idea what they are doing with complex items. It's a big lottery game and often times you need to play HUCA
The real issue is that too many agents (whether dedicated to Medallion or not) have no idea what they are doing with complex items. It's a big lottery game and often times you need to play HUCA
Apr 24, 2023, 8:48 am
#15
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,425
My experience is that competence may depend on the day and time of day: If I call M-F, 9-5 ATL or MN time, I have found a much higher percentage of competent agents answering the phone than when calling -say- on weekend evenings. Or maybe I was just lucky when I called during the week during business hours? And of course we do not always have a choice in when we have to call...
