WilcoRoger

In the age of mobile phones, it's very easy to call the SEN line right at the gate and ask what the hell is going on.

In MCT they had problems with my upgraded F on LX (at c/i) so a call to the SEN center, short explanation, hand over the phone to the guy and the problem went away.

weero

Presuming that they know what is happening and are willing to help you.

Tyrolean

Nice! I had a similar experience with AB. I handed over the phone to the ticketing agent - they shouted at each other and the problem stayed. Now I forward the stuff to my lawyer.

So there are days where you lose and there are days when the others are winning.

weero

.. and then there are the times where you have to deal with LH where even if the ruling is in your favour, getting your share will still be an odyssey.

Is AB also that bad these days? I have limited recent memories.

Bernie2012

I have obviously 0 experience with AB other than having seen their planes out there in the world, but I feel it might be mightily helpful to keep the number of airlines and cards rather condensed to be a nice customer in one airline, instead of a being a free bird and leaving everywhere a bid of revenue. This has become for me more and more obvious since reading here some "accounts" from some specialists. I mean, these programs are afaik about loyalty, should reward loyalty and do reward loyalty.

That's about the SEN service I remember, very little red tape, no change noticed to date, a couple of days they even called me back twice all by themselves to speak to me about a rebooked flight (had to be out of their fault, sh*t happens in the best family), one short call and notice to get them started. fast and efficient solution. As long as they do this like that, they have as much of my business as possible. I do about 90% of all my LH bookings over them, the surcharge is fine, but it is tremendously time and energy saving dealing with the SEN service.

weero

This is Pavlovian training of passengers:

• screw up a whole lot
• blame higher circumstances for it - evil unions, bad weather elsewhere, Boeing etc
• find an inferior surrogate solution for some of the customers
• the salvaged customers feel 'pampered', the rest hopefully shops by the lowest price, call the biblical disparity SEN line and Nonstop You

An unbiased review would of course yield that other airlines simply do not screw up all that often .. but that is not what "the best customers" focus on. They only see how LH heals their wounds on not the ones of the lesser others. It is much like happiness behind the iron curtain when you have gasoline for your Trabant and your neighbor doesn't.

htb

I believe this view is quite skewed. Basically you're saying that LH tries to punish customers who shop around. How should LH distinguish between someone who shops around and someone who flies 100% with LH -- twice a year for vacation?

The truth is simply that LH's customer service is hit and miss. So far you got the hits. If I were you I'd buy a lottery ticket fast!

LH does not reward loyalty by good customer service, no matter how entertaining that thought may be.

HTB.

Bernie2012

No, its just that I can't follow some claims about LH in terms of service on a SEN level, I never had been denied a voucher from them and honestly, I never have seen this as a problem, no matter the circumstance.

I buy Lottery tickets and the highest prize money I ever got were 120 EUR and as to the SEN service and lottery, from my perspective this is complete and utter Bravo Sierra.

No, but perhaps they honor the EUR p.a. under my name.. guess you have read the two links meanwhile? if you have any better explanation other than that, you are welcome.

I have no capacity to square these things otherwise. luck is a bad interpretation since I am pretty much a 150-200 segments p.a. in EMEA work horse. quite a sampling size.

weero

I agree, the SEN service is utter BS.
Why are you not HON? In the days I did not dislike L, I came to 90% of the HON level with a tiny fraction of that flying.

Bernie2012

I think you have taken me out of context here

Get your hands on Intra European earning charts, deduct non *A and you will fall short. I was tempted to push it over the HON threshold, but I am not rarely traveling with people which I am permanently squeezing to stay modest or which usually are living a modest experts live, it does not fly well if I(we) then get a limo and an F lounge environment, can be counterproductive and expensive

weero

Ahhhh bummer, I was hoping that you had finally come over to the Dark Side of The Force.
You don't have to go to the F lounge. They let you into the SEN above with the HON card. And the limo is rather a rarity, I hear ... but maybe they'd make you a HON+ as well?

Bernie2012

Coming slowly, I understand that they are a complete failure, because they have failed to fail me and aren't even trying, gross negligence I call that [lets see how it develops]

For what they should make me HON+? for not reaching HON? the good side is that I don't have not a "hard landing" now and I don't think that I am ever going to be HON, a lot of more intercontinental stuff required and the only intercontinental destination I do have in my work leads me to mosquitos, malaria, yellow fever, has 4 month a year rainy season and the only not deep fried meal I am getting there is on the plane it selves, thanks but no thanks to overly frequent travel there

weero

If I reached the HON threshold, then LH'd likely make me a HON-. With the FCT being full should I try to use it, and with no limo available for the flights I am on .. this is how I use - and + .
Yoda, is it you?
Hey - you can handle EU air travel, ergo you can master any air travel on the face of the planet.

Bernie2012

Well, since the destination I am speaking about [FNA], requires you to cross from the airport to the only city near by a large river delta and since the formerly fast means of transport were old Russian helicopters, are no more in service (as one crashed with a plenty of fatalities).

Now for "fast transfer" you have only speed boats (where at my last trip with some nice and high Atlantic waves in the middle of that delta the engines went 3 times off and we were drifting towards the open Atlantic, while having the boat full of exhaust gases).

No, I don't think Intra European travel gives you some sort of "preparedness" for that

weero

Most XY-chromosomates would pay hard cash for such a ride in adventureland!