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-   -   Customer Service refused to send me to the Loyalty desk (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marriott-marriott-bonvoy/1964281-customer-service-refused-send-me-loyalty-desk.html)

Karen2 Apr 6, 2019 7:53 pm

Customer Service refused to send me to the Loyalty desk
 
I am beyond upset. William Sanders recommended I speak to a supervisor since I was getting nowhere with Customer Service when he was unable to pull up my husband's account records to help me. Lifetime is lifetime but I am told that records before 1990 are hard to come by. They do acknowledge that my husband was the 50 night/year Black, then Gold level from 1990 to and including 2000. That alone gives him 550 nights. However, they have no record of his Westin stays through Starwood, nor any record of his Marriott stays prior to 1990. They do admit that he joined in 1985 which is later than I remember since he signed up for all the programs beginning with American Airlines way before 1985. Marriott started Rewards in 1983 so I think they have the date wrong there.

At any rate, today, I spoke to Vickie of Salt Lake City because an email from Bonvoy instructed me to call Customer Service. When it was clear that Vickie had no idea what the program names were prior to NOW, I asked, as William suggested, to speak to a supervisor. She told me she could not do that but would send my husband's info to Loyalty Retention. Now what, folks? We have two trips coming up back to back and I was counting on an upgrade, etc. However, the best I can get from Bonvoy is Lifetime Gold. However, my husband should be lifetime Platinum. It is very unfair to penalize members who joined in the beginning because Marriott chose to keep only records past 1990. Furthermore, he was an Allegis member and stayed at innumerable Westins back in that day. No record. And she could not find any of his Starwood stays. What a mess.

I welcome advice. Thanks...

Jaunts Apr 6, 2019 8:15 pm

I recommend you remove the agents' names from your post. This is Marriott's fault, not theirs. In my opinion, calling the service representatives out by name like this is a form of online bullying. These were issues or limitations of the Marriott IT system, and representatives have no control over that.

I also advise you to contact one of the Bonvoy Lurkers here on this board. The email is [email protected]

nexusCFX Apr 6, 2019 8:42 pm


Originally Posted by Jaunts (Post 30973233)
I recommend you remove the agents' names from your post. This is Marriott's fault, not theirs. In my opinion, calling the service representatives out by name like this is a form of online bullying. These were issues or limitations of the Marriott IT system, and representatives have no control over that.

I also advise you to contact one of the Bonvoy Lurkers here on this board. The email is [email protected]

The William mentioned by the OP is SPG lurker.

Jaunts Apr 6, 2019 9:14 pm


Originally Posted by nexusCFX (Post 30973269)
The William mentioned by the OP is SPG lurker.

Oops! I had just heard that the Lurkers could help in situations where Customer Service was having issues. If there are truly no records from the period, then that's a tough situation.

I still think that the other customer service rep's name and location should be removed from the post.

Beltway2A Apr 6, 2019 11:07 pm

It's not clear from your post what status your husband allegedly had prior to the merger. Nor is it clear what status you currently expect him to have, given the transition from the previous MAR GLD/PLT to the new PLT/TIT statuses. Lifetime MAR and Lifetime SPG status don't add up cumulatively for post-merger lifetime status.

Can you be more specific?

myperks Apr 6, 2019 11:29 pm


Originally Posted by Beltway2A (Post 30973519)
It's not clear from your post what status your husband allegedly had prior to the merger. Nor is it clear what status you currently expect him to have, given the transition from the previous MAR GLD/PLT to the new PLT/TIT statuses. Lifetime MAR and Lifetime SPG status don't add up cumulatively for post-merger lifetime status.

Can you be more specific?

agreed. Lots of random info here. If you just list the facts for the Marriott people, maybe they won’t be as confused :).

what status was your husband before the whole merger IT mess? Lifetime SPG gold or lifetime Marriott gold?

hockeyinsider Apr 7, 2019 6:53 am


Originally Posted by Karen2 (Post 30973199)
We have two trips coming up back to back and I was counting on an upgrade, etc.

If your husband was lifetime gold in legacy Marriott then he should know enough to never count on an upgrade. If getting a better room is so important to you then you should pay for a better room.


At any rate, today, I spoke to Vickie of Salt Lake City because an email from Bonvoy instructed me to call Customer Service. When it was clear that Vickie had no idea what the program names were prior to NOW, I asked, as William suggested, to speak to a supervisor.
I agree that a customer service agent should be familiar with how the now-defunct Marriott Rewards, Ritz-Carlton Rewards, and Starwood SPG loyalty programs and status levels transitioned to the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program and status levels, but it is completely unreasonable to expect an agent to know what Marriott levels were in 1990 or 1985. That's at least 29 years ago. Any agent who worked for Marriott back then is most likely in management now or long since gone.

Look, reading between the lines, it sounds like your husband used to travel frequently and stay frequently with Marriott. I'm not questioning that. However, it does sound as if he hasn't stayed regularly in the last several years, at least not regularly enough to maintain elite status.

I get your frustration but if your husband has had some sort of Marriott elite status since 1983 or 1985 then I'd suggest he has a good run at it and all good things must come to an end eventually.

I'm in my 30s and have ambassador status and lifetime titanium status. I don't expect Marriott to even exist in 29 years from now, but if it did I don't expect my lifetime titanium status to mean anything. Hell, in 29 years from now, I hope I am spending time with grandkids and not complaining to the robot working the front desk about whatever at a hotel.

BearX220 Apr 7, 2019 7:16 am

If I read OP right, she expects transactions that occurred more than 30 years ago to result in a Lifetime Platinum designation today. She is counting on that status to deliver room upgrades on imminent trips. The "beyond upset" part is not only because Marriott, like many companies, does not cache masses of customer data from the 1980s, but because OP and husband might have to angle for elite treatment on these upcoming trips based on Lifetime Gold, not Platinum, status.

OP welcomes advice. Mine: life's too short.

I ran up a bunch of Pan Am Worldpass miles in the 1980s. I do not expect Delta to do anything for me today as a result. Especially as in this decade I am an infrequent, zero-loyal Delta customer. I think this situation is not so different.

I am not sure why today's Marriott organization should be savaged for not rewarding stay behavior that occurred in part during Ronald Reagan's first term.

doveskylark Apr 7, 2019 9:12 am

Hell, my elementary school and junior high school records from the 70s and 80s are gone with the wind. No trace.(Kind of glad, actually. The past is the past and it no longer matters) Do you really think Marriott is going to have things from the 80s on record? I applaud your optimism, however. But worry a bit if this makes you "beyond upset."

C17PSGR Apr 7, 2019 9:16 am

Sounds like Marriott Loyalty might actually be willing to research this, although it might take a while. Frankly, I'm not sure what happened with my Courtyard Club account!

Considering they are willing to research this, I would be "beyond appreciative."

Often1 Apr 7, 2019 10:00 am

OP says "now what?"

The answer is simple. Wait.

I have no idea why or whether Marriott would bother to retain data for the length of time OP expects to be available instantly or why it would train customer service agents in what programs were called a generation ago.

Marriott may or may not have the capacity to research this and if it has the capacity, it may or may not bother. But, if it does and unless the information pops up quickly, this could be a months, not days, process.

MSPeconomist Apr 7, 2019 10:11 am

Even if Starriott doesn't have the data going way back, they would have a number of more recent years showing the OP's lifetime status. Shouldn't that be sufficient for the continuation of the equivalent lifetime status?

Of is Starriott auditing every lifetime status account to check that the person would have qualified under 2018 rules? I can't imagine that there are many who were grandfathered so long ago into lifetime status under special rules, so it's hard to explain why they're doing this unless there's a bigger problem with many people somehow getting lifetime status fraudulently. Is anyone aware that something like this has happened, perhaps with many sales of lifetime status on eBay, if there's even a way for someone to do that (although there must be a way for some sufficiently creative insider......).

txpenny Apr 7, 2019 10:23 am


Originally Posted by doveskylark (Post 30974556)
Hell, my elementary school and junior high school records from the 70s and 80s are gone with the wind. No trace.(Kind of glad, actually. The past is the past and it no longer matters) Do you really think Marriott is going to have things from the 80s on record? I applaud your optimism, however. But worry a bit if this makes you "beyond upset."

I'm impressed that you managed to lurk for 7 years before deciding to make your first post.

TerryK Apr 7, 2019 10:41 am


Originally Posted by Karen2 (Post 30973199)
..........Furthermore, he was an Allegis member and stayed at innumerable Westins back in that day. No record.....

What was Allegis? :confused: Learned something new.

hockeyinsider Apr 7, 2019 10:48 am


Originally Posted by TerryK (Post 30974778)
What was Allegis? :confused: Learned something new.

Allegis owned Westin and United, back in the day:

Allegis Corp., the parent company of United Airlines, said Tuesday that it will sell its Westin Hotels subsidiary for $1.53 billion, essentially completing the major restructuring of the company announced in June.

The 62-hotel worldwide chain is being bought by the Robert M. Bass Group of Fort Worth and Aoki Corp. of Japan, supported by the Industrial Bank of Japan. Of the purchase price, Allegis said, $1.35 billion will be in cash and approximately $180 million of Westin debt will be assumed by the purchasers.

...

Westin Hotels & Resorts, founded in 1930 by six hotel operators who formed Western Hotels to manage 17 in the Pacific Northwest, was bought by UAL Inc., which Allegis was then called, in 1970. Based in Seattle, it owns some of its hotels and manages others, but the company will not give a breakdown.

...


When it announced its restructuring, Allegis said it planned to dispose of its Hertz car rental business, which it had owned since 1985, and the Hilton International hotel chain, which it had owned for just a few months. It also said it would change its name to United Airlines Inc.

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-...377-story.html

In a sweeping reversal of its strategy, the Allegis Corporation announced last night that it had replaced its chairman and intended to sell the company's rental car and hotel subsidiaries.

After a special board meeting in New York, the company said Richard J. Ferris had resigned as chairman and president of the diversified company, which owns United Airlines. The development represented a dramatic rejection of Mr. Ferris's plan to build Allegis, formerly UAL Inc., into a company that would serve all the needs of travelers.

In a statement, the board indicated that United Airlines, the one unit it plans to retain after selling its Hertz rental car operation and Westin and Hilton International hotels, could end up under the control of the carrier's employees.

...

But for the 50-year-old Mr. Ferris, who became chairman of United in 1978 and of the holding company in 1982, yesterday's events were the shattering of a dream that he had pursued for over a decade, notably with the acquisition of Hertz in 1985 and Hilton International this year. He wanted to build a company where a traveler could fly, rent a car and get a hotel room, all under one corporate roof.

While the concept sounded good in theory, in practice it failed to produce the profits and the large savings that Mr. Ferris hoped to realize.

https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/10/b...nd-hotels.html



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