paterwdb

Even at the desk, the number of times I've been told "I'm sorry, I can't help with that, you'll need to call..." has increased significantly over the past few years. Long gone are the days of "let me call the gate for you and get it taken care of" and other huge perks of having a Sky Club agent to take on a case. Mobile or not, they are likely to continue the downward spiral of refusing to help.

unitedbusiness

exactly… recently had an IRROPs situation and Sky Club ambassadors were limited as to what they could do, and still had to call supervisor, who also couldn’t do much. So not missing much !!

DCFlyer0306

I've never received reservation help from a SkyClub agent. When I did try to get help at the JFK SkyClub, I was directed to the customer service station in the terminal.

If they improve their self-service tools as stated in the article, that would work for me. I'd much rather be able to fix issues via an app on my phone than wait in line to talk to an in-person agent at a SkyClub (or worse, as happened to me, wait in line to get into the SkyClub, wait in line to talk to the SkyClub agent, and then wait in line a third time to talk to the customer service representative in the terminal).

Also, the customer service station does take up an inordinate amount of room in the LGA SkyClub. Even if the roaming agent concept doesn't work, they could surely station 1-2 agents in that Club in a way that more efficiently used the space.

T-15.01

I got told "you should have called the customer service line" at my most recent experience at the LAX Sky Club. So it seems things are heading that way. Disappointing.

WyomingBound

I can’t begin to count the times I have used the service desks in the Skyclubs over the years. With their phone/chat customer service standards/abilities at an all time low level, including the DM line, the service desks are one of the biggest perks of the Sky Club should you need it. When you have an issue, many times it needs immediate attention, and taking the time to HUCB until you get an agent who is able and or willing to help you with your issues is not an option. There are also many times that issues can be dealt with inside the airport especially once a flight is under gate control….I have even had a SC agent call the gate before on certain issues……no phone/chat agent can do that. And DL thinks they can offer the same help via roaming agents with a mobile device that they can with a computer? Gonna be less of “the computer won’t let me do that” and we will now here “that can’t be done from this handheld device” (think flights using RUC’s/GUC’s or other special situations).

So what does Delta want me to do now, pay a lot of money for a credit card to enter an overcrowded lounge whose food area looks like one you see at an all you can eat buffet with people looking like they are in a competition to put as much food as they can on tiny plates as if its their last meal on earth, all while letting their screaming kids run around? I would much prefer to go back to the 80’s, 90’s, and early 2000’s where the lounges had limited food offerings but were a quiet, spacious retreat to catch up on work or just simply relax.

AsiaTravel2019

The SkyClubs at ATL are dated, crowded and a mess. I am sure this will help, said no one ever.

chipbennett

As long as agents are still there/available to assist, I'm not terribly bothered by this pilot/change. At the smaller airport Sky Clubs, the front desk agents often handle assistance needs already.

rylan

I guess it depends on the club and agents. In BOS I've had excellent experiences especially with some of the senior agents that've been there a long time. They've called down to the gate for me when I had questions about delays or even to change a seat when the seatmap was locked out for gate control, and helped with numerous irops rebookings.

ty97

Not like you can get into the clubs anyway.

Yes, that's sarcasm.

The customer service agents in the clubs are one of the absolute best perks of club membership, especially when things go sideways.

disalex

It's exhausting to have to constantly cut through the spin of customer service downgrades being posed as customer friendly.

ND76

Thinking here of the A17 club in ATL, where I have been helped by wonderful concierges more times than I can remember over my 39 years of Crown Room/SkyClub membership. Yes, this club is dated. Maybe we need more things that are dated, such as the "Service from the Heart" which was called for in C. E. Woolman's "Rules of the Road". Maybe the Delta suits who dreamed up this "pilot" program out to read that manual too.

hfly

Once upon a time Delta had red coats, they were the best, generally veteran people who would be roaming or could be called in, generally within a few minutes that could sort a lot of things out. They phased them out, sort of brought them back in, but it has never been the same. After them top agents located in the clubs were the next best thing, especially when time was an issue, and the situation was not so straight. I have noticed over the last decade or so that not all of them were as all knowing as in the past, but there were still some good ones out there, especially in the case or IRROPS. One of the biggest perks was that if you are in an IRROPS situation, you could go to the Club and get it sorted, rather than wait behind everyone else who is/was having similar problems, or waiting on the phone forever for someone to try and help you, no matter which line you are using, and then also chancing that you are getting a phone agent who does not know how to help you, or worse saying that they can in an impossible way (like telling you that you have been FIM's to another airline at JFK on a flight that leaves in 40 minutes from another terminal, something impossible if one has to go ground side!).

ConnieDee

I'm taking "mobile" to mean that they'd "follow" gates with flight delays where people would be gathering to get help. But it's all the same plane - flight conditions affect people in Sky Club as well as everyone else so it doesn't make sense to leave the club desk empty.

In a "state of the world" context, it seems that one of the trends in business these days (I'll refrain from mentioning popular names for economic systems) is to greatly undervalue human expertise. It's as if executives never learn to appreciate how important deep engineering knowledge is, or in this case, deep knowledge of how the system works, which can only gained by solving problems from the passenger standpoint in all sorts of situations. (In other words, the execs have no idea of how much those mostly female, lower paid customer-facing employees actually know.)

pt360

I fully admit I am desperately looking for a silver lining or something here: I wonder if they want to get rid of the desks but maybe have the agents still able to use the "entry" computers for more advanced issues or IRROPs? If the goal is to expand real estate, I can see them trying to eliminate a large desk, especially if a larger percentage of issues or questions are simpler and able to be handled via a mobile app. You have computers anyways at the entry that more than likely are being used 90+ percent of the time to just validate a boarding pass for entry. The kiosks do that pretty well themselves now, so having the stations for IRROPS/issues, kiosks for general entry, and removing the desks could be the thought process.

All that said, I think it's stupid, especially because it does feel nicer/premium/etc to be able to go to a large desk, have a seat, put out boarding passes or other printed documents for travel (TPAC, TATL I always print all my papers) when something needs to be remedied.

DiverDave

This seems bogus. If space is short at the new LAX club, they could rearrange the downstairs entry area to make room for a desk.

If I need an agent, then I just walk around the club looking for the wandering agents?

David