The best trick I have found when dealing with horrible gate or ticket agents it to take out the mobile phone and call the airlines. Tell them the problem and see what they say. One time, the reservations agent on the phone got a supervisor who then got on the phone with the gate agent at the airport. It was quite a scene. The gate agent hung up the phone and within 5 minutes there were coat and tie people (the suites) from management at the gate. I was the hit of the day for the rest of the PAX.

Interesting discussion guys, but this thread is waaaaay off-topic for this forum.

Any of you wonder why the likes of PremEx and Jon Toner left these boards? Let's do our best to lower the noise-to-signal lest Flyertalk become just a satellite of Usenet.

Just a quick remark on airlines staff adding comments to their records about passengers.

In Europe, the airline (or any other organisation) has to disclose any information they hold on computer about you at your request (under recent European Directives). This would apply to AA, United etc operating in Europe.

So if you think someone has written something and you are in Europe,just ask for your record (politely and reasonably). They may of course remove the information before they print off your record but in a couple of years we should see the end of this practice.


"Just my two euros worth"

I got into an argument with a commuter airline gate agent once. One favorite method used by agents in an argument is "you are going to miss your flight." Usually if this line is used I just say "ok," which shocks them. So one gate agent was saying I would miss my flight, and then the gate agent next to him said I still had plenty of time to wait for a supervisor. I found it interesting that agent no. 2 did not go along with 1's ploy to try to make me think I would miss the flight. I even told 2 "I relly think I might miss this flight," and she just said no you have plenty of time. Then two supervisors came and met me, and the three of us took the bus out to the plane discussing what had happened. I got the name/tel#'s of the supervisors. It must have been quite a sight on the bus. Then I was on the return portion of the trip the next day. When I got to the station with the problem, I was met at the gate by the supervisor who I had talked to the day before, as well as her manager. They gave me a memo that they circulated to the agents about the issue in question, etc. I'm sure anytime if I needed a change fee waiver or upgrade, etc. I could call the supervisor/manager because they did not provide any comp. Note in general you should try to use these situations to meet somebody from the airline. The supervisors have enormously broad discretion, and they can waive nearly any rule or policy if you are a "friend," etc. I have a few people I know, who I have mainly met re complaints, and I can basically just call them if I need a change fee waiver, upgrade, etc. I have not though been able to get comp international upgrades.

Essxjay,

While I don't like the title of the thread... I find this thread to be a very relevant subject. Especially in light of the recent Dateline story. Seems like Buzz to me!

Just my two cents.

William

I agree that it should be in General TravelTalk, but I don't think it's "noise".

PremEx and Jon Toner left the boards because they wanted to make a big fuss about how important they are and how they cannot refrain from reading topics they don't like.

I agree that it should be in General TravelTalk, but I don't think it's "noise".

PremEx and Jon Toner left the boards because they wanted to make a big fuss about how important they are and how they cannot refrain from reading topics they don't like.

Knowing personally two of the posters to this discussion I have been sitting here and laughing myself silly. To my best UK buddy.......when you decide to throw your tantrum.....I beg of you do it when I'm there *please*. To my young and very gracious host in Boston..we've had this discussion already.

As far as putting comments in records, there are not nearly as many comments in records as most people think. Fortunately or not we are not as important as we think we are. I've seen hundreds of thousands of records and generally you have to be a pretty bad actor to get comments. Even though there are comments screens on accounts there are very few that have anything negative in them. The ones that are bad enough to have comments in them are people that probably shouldn't ask for any special favors as they won't be forthcoming. As I have said before 99 and 9/10% of FF's are really great people. The other 1/10% we mainly shrug off.

Just two cents worth from a current res agent.

------------------
Anything posted by this user is in no way shape or form sponsored or sanctioned by American Airlines or AMRCORP

The worst thing isn't the nasty agents, of who there are incredibly few, but the incompetent ones.

When you ask an agent to do something, and they say they'll deal with it, and 2 hours later as the plane's boarding you find they haven't done a thing, it's too late to call in supervisors.

Of course, if you keep checking on them and hassling them instead of leaving them to it, they will think you're being a pest.

The other problem is agents who are simply too ignorant to realise that what they are saying/doing won't work out right. (And this may be the airline's fault as much as theirs.)

I know for a fact that comments had been put in my record by a NW phone agent (unjustifiably, IMO). I found this out when I checked in for the flight, and the agent told me "Wow, someone really doesn't like you." The gate agent then told me that I seemed much nicer than those comments and would put those comments in accordingly.

A friend of mine has a relative who is a CS supervisor at NWA, who looked them over and told me that that agent who put the negative comments in my record had a history of putting nasty comments in customers' records as a power trip.

I cannot imagine ever being gratuitously mean to one of the very few people in the world who can move me from Y to F without my giving up miles or coupons in return.

Are they perhaps legally bound to disclose these "records?"

Why would they be? They are just a business trying to keep a record of its customers.

I agree that it's a good discussion (and BTW, JS, I never suggested that this thread was noise), but it doesn't belong in a forum that's specifically for new ways to earn miles and points. The General TravelTalk forum was created for threads that don't have anything to do with accumulating miles. When Flyertalk becomes moderated in the not-too-distant future, threads like these will proabably be moved to the appropirate forum anyway. We all might as well get use to the posting guidelines now.

Jetsetter,
I'm sure you are just another squeaky wheel that get's oiled. You should just deal directly with the supervisors you have "contact" with and avoid the counter and gate agents all together. Most (not all) but most supervisors I have known who have had to enter any type of "fray" will just wave their magic wand and give the customer anything they want. Instead of working with their own employees they work against them. They are the same people, when behind the scenes, expect us to adhere to the letter of the (airline's)law. However, if they are called upon to step in they then break every law in the book to either
a) Get the obnoxious moron out of their face.
b) Look like a hero.
All they are doing is watering down their own airline's rules of travel making it more and more difficult for any other employees to really adhere to these rules. Total contradiction. So, just scream and yell and jump up and down and you will get what you want.