kennycrudup

Wow- how often do you call? I probably have to 2, maybe 3 times a year.

(If I'm doing Plat same-day cancels I just call the property directly.)

estnet

Lucky you - but some of us HAVE to call (yes I suppose we could email but some things are time sensitive) for things like using cc award nights, travel package, etc. WHICH CANNOT BE DONE ONLINE NOR BY CALLING THE PROPERTY. Or being overseas (or not) and having an issue with the property that requires to be resolved with corporate - anyway it's fine for those who don't need it, but one of the "perks" of earning status was/should be the ability to get customer service when you need it!

kennycrudup

You can't do Travel Packages online?! No kidding ...!

(I never used one in any of the many vacation redemptions I've done 'cause I (channeling BHRubin here) don't wanna fly Y on my vacations, preferring to burn AmEx points instead for those)

medevicerep

I have lifetime platinum status and am ready to move over to Hilton. My service over the past year with the rewards number has been horrible. Now when I call to make any changes to my reservation I no longer get the platinum desk. I get substandard service, have to repeat my membership number vocally. I am being told there will no longer be an exclusive platinum phone line. They better fix this quick. Hilton Garden Inns are much nicer than Courtyards anyway.

kennycrudup

FEW things make me happier than to see Plat elites bail from MR- and especially for such whimsical reasons! Adios!

MSPeconomist

phltraveler

I disagree personally. I think it's more likely that this merger and the night/elite rank/benefit changes are causing them to be overloaded, along with general reports that the phone tree is failing to automatically recognize elites based on the numbers they're calling from and waits going from 2 minutes to 45+ minutes for Platinum members.

Elite agents merely need to be available in a reasonable amount of time. Actual ambassadors have to remember preferences and do leg work for their clients.

MSPeconomist

In addition to being available with at most a very reasonable wait, Plat elite agents should be particularly good at customer service, knowledgeable, able to solve problems, and willing to go above and beyond when warranted.

yerffej201

I don't think I've gotten to a Marriott Plat rep without at least a 20 min hold time. I miss SPG...

t1c

Assuming they keep the same numbers I will call the SPG line for all my reservations after August. I hear they are doing a massive phone system software upgrade that is causing all of these problems.

DJ_Iceman

And I miss Marriott before the misguided purchase of Starwood...

ussie44

My experience was not so bad although I did have to hold longer than I did with the Plat line - maybe 10 minutes. What was interesting was that the rep I spoke to explained that the Plat line was off temporarily while the programs merge and that there are so many unhappy callers he feels like he needs to put on battle dress every day he goes to work. He's been on the job for years and never felt like this before.

sinfonia

Someone down this thread asked whether the platinum line agents worked from home. I thought it was an interesting question because I have distinctly had that impression over the last year, not just the last few months, but I wonder if it is moreso recently. I have spoken with platinum or CS agents who I could barely hear because their fan was so loud blowing into the phone as they sat talking to me from a balmy, humid house, more than one agent who has called me back from their personal cell phone while running errands or from their home phone, and have heard dogs barking in the background. It has led me to the impression that this is a nice side job for them that they can fit in between errands, and whether they call me back or not with an update really depends on their personal schedule of the day. I have also had some agents completely committed to updating me as they said they would, even though they appear to be working from home.

In the last year, it seems to me that the role of the agent has turned from problem-solver to sympathetic-friend, and it seems that our relationship has changed some from a professional client-supplier relationship to something a little more familiar. Situations are resolved less frequently and instead, I hear a lot about how bad they feel and how I should not have had X, Y, or Z happen, etc., and even, when all I wanted was resolution, not sympathy, had an agent reach out to tell a property how the property's actions made me feel (putting words in my mouth since I think I did not speak about feelings, only about what had occurred), and when they told me that the rep from the property felt bad about making me feel bad and I asked "okay, that is nice, but what about the issue we discussed? Will they address it?" I was told that the issue was not discussed - only my feelings. It seems to me that the power or resources that used to be available to these "managers" with whom I have spoken must no longer be available because the actual resolution-making process seems rather weak and they seem to rely heavily on being a sympathetic ear, in my experience.

Over the last year, I have been through major life events with the platinum line agents with which I have spoken - between one agent stressing out over her work and later, losing a parent and another agent's family member having an accident, and yet another agent's recounting of all of her college days and wanting to relive them - in many ways, it seems to me that the lines have become somewhat blurred in our relationship, perhaps partially from working at home in a familiar and personal environment. While I am human and of course sympathize with the situations they have been in, and responded with sympathy, it seems odd to me that I hear so much about the personal lives of these agents. To be clear, it is not that I am bothered by hearing about these situations - of course, there have been awful things happening in the lives of these agents, and I sympathize. I just think it is odd that I so frequently hear about the personal lives of these agents today, often while they are calling from their personal cell phones or home phones, and I wonder if the commitment to resolving issues has somewhat decreased as agents are fitting their work in from between their personal tasks. We have recently had an issue with a property and wanted help from Marriott to fix the issue, but this case has been going on for well over a month now and these examples, including not finding time to return my calls or work on the things that they had said they would, are playing in as a factor.

Has anyone else noticed a more familiar relationship with their Marriott agents?

getagb

Great news - today I called the Platinum line and someone answered in just under 3 seconds (I was timing it!)

RobOnLI

Not surprised I found this thread. My once annual call to the Marriott Plat line has gone unanswered twice now after holding for 10 minutes each time. Now I know I apparently have to hold for an hour or longer before someone answers my call.

What's odd is that they aren't doing phone number recognition, they don't ask for my Marriott Rewards # when I call, so how do they know I'm eligible to be calling this line and getting service from a Plat CS rep? My guess is the Plat CS reps are gone.

I'm also lifetime Plat so I have no reason to stay at Marriott any longer. The points are worthless and if I can't get a hold of CS when I need to once a year I'm out. I have three errors in the last three postings to my account. I submitted three separate requests to have each one fixed and the emails have also gone completely unanswered. The two times a year I usually have to email them I get a response and a fix within 24 hours. It's now 10 days later and absolutely not a word about any of the errors from Marriott.

Edit: I just tried calling a third time today. Gave up after 10 minutes again. All I keep hearing is, "An associate will be with you shortly." There is never an estimate of wait time, etc.

-RM