Get ready to be surprised again then, while he is employed in the position he is in.

The posts and the role in DL's customer-unfriendly changes to SkyMiles get the criticism that they deserve.

I highly doubt that Jeff's job description or employment contract contains any requirement for him to post on the Flyertalk boards.

Citicism of the program is one thing, personal abuse is something else.

The criticism (or in your case affirmation) has been, for the vast majority of posts, in regards to the program. If you see personal abuse, you should report it. The mods here do a very good job. Jeff has seen much stronger criticism in the past and I'm sure he was not surprised by the reception of the new Medallion Program.

Who said that the job description or employment contract contains such a requirement? Besides yourself, no one in this thread has implied such a thing.

You said you would be surprised if he ever posts on FT again. I just said that you should be prepared to be surprised again, while he is employed in the position in which he is employed.

I may be wrong, but I think you are misinterpreting what it means to be able to "request the upgrade." Granted, it's not worded ideally, but just because you can now "request the upgrade" on day of departure does not mean that said upgrade will be granted immediately upon request. I think what it really means is that you will now be able to go onto an airport standby list when you make such a request.

The issue under the old program was that for international flights you could not even request, much less use, a PMU on the day of departure when no Z inventory was available. Period. The change in the new program is that now you can. As to domestic usage of PMUs, even under the old program I think a PMU could be used on day of departure (just like I know you could use miles on day of departure if you cleared a gate standby list).

So, what they are trying to say, I think, is that things have changed, and you can now request to use a PMU on day of departure even if no Z inventory exists. However, in the absence of Z inventory being available, I don't think you would be cleared into that "available" J seat until the gate lottery takes place.

What is unclear is whether, now or in the future, there is any preference given to those standing by for a G or Z inventory type upgrade as opposed to a V/X inventory type upgrade.

The bottom line is that I just don't think you'll be able to go to the airport at one minute past midnight with PMU in hand and claim an F seat on a domestic flight departing 18 hours later that's showing F2 A0 G0 V0. I think it will go to gate lottery, and if you win the lottery (under whatever rules are established) then you can hand in the PMU.

I don't know if the abuse Jeff received stepped over the TOS line, especially since he is a company representative (where the Mods apparently are more lenient on personal attacks). It is not my job to be the policeman on FT. If I were on the receiving end of the vindictive hurled by some FTers against Jeff, I would just cease to read and post on FT. Life is too short.

I do think he was suprised by the venom spewed by some, since I was suprised at it. I asume I keep up with these boards more than he does.

I don't know what affirmation you are talking about. I didn't necessarily think all the changes were great, but the overreaction and animosity by some posters were (and are) incredible. The sense of entitlement by some posters amazes me.

I have no problem with letting DL know what I like or dislike about the program changes, and letting DL know the resultant actions by me. There is no call for rudeness, and I saw alot of rudeness in this thread.

And to the next person who wants to rant about SWUs for lower fare buckets:

THE HORSE IS DEAD, HIS HEAD IS CRUSHED, SPLEEN RUPTURED, LEGS BROKEN, AND SPINE SEVERED. YOU CAN QUIT BEATING HIM NOW.

There, now my rant is over.

Oh don't worry. If Delta showed up tomorrow and said "All Medallion members get automatic upgrades no matter what ,confirmed at time of booking" someone on here would pitch a fit and start beating that horse in five minutes.

Most of us won't be happy until we are flying up front all the time one free tickets earned with with each $100 fare. :) (which isn't going to happen)

I sincerely hope that you are correct, but that is IMO the most logical interpretation of what DL's website actually says. BTW, I do not understand your last sentence. If you win the upgrade (is that what you mean by "lottery"?) why would you hand a PMU? Sorry, but I don't get it.

That horse isn't glue until DL is closer to liquidated.

As long as the competition has real SWUs (UA 1k and AA ExP) that horse will continue to wag his tail ;)

MMMDL: It's good to know that at least someone here likes Jeff :D

Having never met the guy, but know his savvyness to Public Relations (he employs an agency to help coach him speak with the media) he's been a disaster here on FT.

He does not post often, and when he does he makes a lot of "corporate speak" announcements while not directly addressing questions or criticism. If he listened, and made appropriate (ie: plain English, addressed concerns) responses there would be much less venom even if NOTHING changed with the program. He also needs to address some possible discrepencies in things he said vs things he said vs things that actually happened.

Bottom line: I don't feel that he's on our side or an advocate for us. Compared to the other lurkers here on FT, that advocacy being something Delta very much needs on FT right now. Those of us on the NW side also know that he's nigh & day difference from NW's scoops & Bob, who were much more upfront about corporate decision making/rationale when anouncing changes, let alone addressing things that blew up on FT.

Maybe the posts you consider personal attacks were intended as disagreements over the medallion program changes by DL. As the director of loyalty programs, Jeff's name is going to come up just as Richard Anderson's does from time to time. There is a difference in questioning an airline employees actions while working in their official capacity at the airline versus personally attacking someone who posts here. In any event, Jeff is a big boy and even has a PR firm. If he wants to engage in a give and take discussion, as I know he is capable of since he did so at the ATL DO, then I don't think there would be near the level of animus that currently exists. If, however, he wants to use FT as a vehicle for press releases, then I think he should expect some criticism.

That is one way to go, but apparently it isn't the way he feels.

You know what happens when you ASSUME, right? :D

You really don't know the affirmation I'm talking about? Ok, here is a reminder from a few days ago, many posts upthread.


In general, I agree with you. I think there has been some rudeness on all sides of these issues. I also think there has been some healthy debate.


Ah, DP-340 beat me to it. However, I am glad you were able to get that off your chest.

No, THE HORSE IS DEAD! The movement of the tail is just a product of festering flies on rotting flesh.

There will be no SWU international upgrades on lower fare buckets in the forseeable future, especially for Platinums.

If such shouting down of those who disagree or wish to work towards other goals were allowed to prevail, there'd be no upgrades and 50% MQM's on sLUT fares, not to mention a bunch of other recent changes (YBM mileage bonus, Plat change/redeposit fees, Coach Choice seating) that were altered as result of customer input.

The loss of SWU's is a serious blow on the NW side of things, and you are not going to shut anyone up.

good one :D . However, the way I see it:

- the festering flies are the real SWUs that AA and UA offer
- the rotting flesh is the smell of our PMUs as they get old without being used (80%) ;)

On a more serious tone; PM and DM are "products" that DL as a company sells to us. It is supposed to make us want to fly more, attract elites from competing airlines, and thus bring more money to the company. If a competing product is out there (e.g., real SWUs for ExP & 1k) that is or appears to be better, it will not and cannot be ignored by the company or us, its clients.

Hence, even if you (and I) are tired of reading similar arguments again and again, it will not and cannot go away.