China Eastern Customer Service is a joke.
Oct 11, 2018, 1:15 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2014
Location: LAS
Programs: DL GM
Posts: 283
China Eastern Customer Service is a joke.
I called China Eastern, hoping to change my seat assignment Expedia assigned for me that I could not change myself online.
First attempt: 6:00am PST ("opening" time), no answer for 1.5 hours, hung up.
Second attempt: 10:00am PST, answered after 1 hour.
Phone line opens: silence.
Me: Hello?
Agent: Hello.
Me: I would like to change my seat assignment.
Agent: Ok.
Silence.
Me: Would you like my reservation number?
Agent: Ok.
Couple minutes later...
Agent: Let me check your flights one by one.
Agent: It is too late to make changes.
Me: I don't understand, the flights are more than 24 hours out.
Agent: It is too late to make changes.
Agent: I have no seat for you.
Agent: Your return flight I can do.
Me: Ok, can you change my seats for my return flight, preferably one of the economy seats closer to the front?
Agent: Ok.
Agent: No those are paid seats. Free seat only available from 41.
Me: Ok, do I get access to paid seats with Skyteam Elite Plus status or Delta Platinum Medallion?
Agent: Huh, What is that? I don't know what that is.
Agent says she checked around. No one knows.
Me: Please transfer me to someone else.
Agent: No one wants to answer you. Call back.
Me: So wait for another hour?
Agent: Yes and maybe I don't pick up.
Me: Where is this call center?
Agent: Los Angeles.
Me: Can you check if my SkyMiles number is on my reservation?
Agent: What is that? Do you want member sign up?
I found out I could do what I needed by going to Garuda and selecting my seats there, and also via. OLCI.
First attempt: 6:00am PST ("opening" time), no answer for 1.5 hours, hung up.
Second attempt: 10:00am PST, answered after 1 hour.
Phone line opens: silence.
Me: Hello?
Agent: Hello.
Me: I would like to change my seat assignment.
Agent: Ok.
Silence.
Me: Would you like my reservation number?
Agent: Ok.
Couple minutes later...
Agent: Let me check your flights one by one.
Agent: It is too late to make changes.
Me: I don't understand, the flights are more than 24 hours out.
Agent: It is too late to make changes.
Agent: I have no seat for you.
Agent: Your return flight I can do.
Me: Ok, can you change my seats for my return flight, preferably one of the economy seats closer to the front?
Agent: Ok.
Agent: No those are paid seats. Free seat only available from 41.
Me: Ok, do I get access to paid seats with Skyteam Elite Plus status or Delta Platinum Medallion?
Agent: Huh, What is that? I don't know what that is.
Agent says she checked around. No one knows.
Me: Please transfer me to someone else.
Agent: No one wants to answer you. Call back.
Me: So wait for another hour?
Agent: Yes and maybe I don't pick up.
Me: Where is this call center?
Agent: Los Angeles.
Me: Can you check if my SkyMiles number is on my reservation?
Agent: What is that? Do you want member sign up?
I found out I could do what I needed by going to Garuda and selecting my seats there, and also via. OLCI.
Last edited by idiosyncrasy; Oct 11, 2018 at 11:04 pm
Oct 13, 2018, 2:26 am
#3
Suspended
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,188
And why do you think China Eastern would bother to acknowledge your Delta elite status? Skyteam is an un-managed alliance. Their airlines partners provide benefits to other airlines elite members at their own discretion. Unlike *A, most ST airlines have no way to verify your elite status from other ST partner airlines. And if they can not verify, how could you expect them to give you elite benefits over the phone?
Last edited by Mama; Oct 13, 2018 at 2:35 am
Oct 13, 2018, 8:28 am
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: London
Posts: 18,398
And why do you think China Eastern would bother to acknowledge your Delta elite status? Skyteam is an un-managed alliance. Their airlines partners provide benefits to other airlines elite members at their own discretion. Unlike *A, most ST airlines have no way to verify your elite status from other ST partner airlines. And if they can not verify, how could you expect them to give you elite benefits over the phone?
Despite making multiple contributions to a thread about a Taiwanese airline, you didn’t know about Alishan. And here you are chiding someone for not being intimately familiar with the politics and administration of Skyteam.
Oct 13, 2018, 10:23 am
#5
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,450
I think the bigger point here is not to expect US service standards if you book with one of the China carriers. Especially booking Y. You really are just self-loading cargo.
What a rude and unhelpful post this is. It's not like a UA elite flying in Y should expect stellar service from CA. Further, the service complained of here failed to meet even the most basic standards, and can't be explained away based on alliance limitations. It was just flat out terrible service.
Oct 13, 2018, 11:16 am
#6
Join Date: Apr 2010
Programs: AA EXP 6MM, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 265
+1. I for one is a newbie to SkyTeam, so I did not know about this information prior to my booking with CZ. I know now.
Oct 13, 2018, 3:24 pm
#7
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,018
For many years, the best way to contact TG was through their LAX office. I would be particularly hesitant to call Shanghai vs. a US number given the lack of fluent English speakers in China.
I think the bigger point here is not to expect US service standards if you book with one of the China carriers. Especially booking Y. You really are just self-loading cargo.
I think the bigger point here is not to expect US service standards if you book with one of the China carriers. Especially booking Y. You really are just self-loading cargo.
Oct 13, 2018, 7:56 pm
#8
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 229
For many years, the best way to contact TG was through their LAX office. I would be particularly hesitant to call Shanghai vs. a US number given the lack of fluent English speakers in China.
I think the bigger point here is not to expect US service standards if you book with one of the China carriers. Especially booking Y. You really are just self-loading cargo.
What a rude and unhelpful post this is. It's not like a UA elite flying in Y should expect stellar service from CA. Further, the service complained of here failed to meet even the most basic standards, and can't be explained away based on alliance limitations. It was just flat out terrible service.
I think the bigger point here is not to expect US service standards if you book with one of the China carriers. Especially booking Y. You really are just self-loading cargo.
What a rude and unhelpful post this is. It's not like a UA elite flying in Y should expect stellar service from CA. Further, the service complained of here failed to meet even the most basic standards, and can't be explained away based on alliance limitations. It was just flat out terrible service.
Oct 14, 2018, 2:42 am
#10
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 246
And why do you think China Eastern would bother to acknowledge your Delta elite status? Skyteam is an un-managed alliance. Their airlines partners provide benefits to other airlines elite members at their own discretion. Unlike *A, most ST airlines have no way to verify your elite status from other ST partner airlines. And if they can not verify, how could you expect them to give you elite benefits over the phone?
Evermore, Delta holds a small stake in China Eastern and the two have become fairly close partners at PVG.
This is fairly standard Chinese customer service, where the employee doesn’t want to do anything more than the bare minimum of work, is not well trained, is probably horrendously paid, and his/her morale is through the floor. You basically find this in every industry in China.
Oct 14, 2018, 2:56 am
#11
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 246
A couple of examples, a few years ago, I was scheduled to fly CVG-LGA with DL. Shortly before I was going to leave for the airport I recieved a message that my flight was cancelled, and to stand by and I would be rebooked shortly, a few minutes later I recieved a second message with my new flight information. Didn’t have to call Delta.
Another time, I was scheduled to fly PEK-DTW-CVG on DL, but the inbound aircraft was several hours late, likely busting my connection in DTW. Delta emailed me, again before leaving for the airport, and I was able to select a new itinerary online for the following day.
Last winter I booked with Hainan KMG-PEK-ORD, with the original reservation having an early morning KMG-PEK flight, with a 3ish hour connection to the one flight. Shortly after booking, HU discontinued that morning KMG-PEK flight, with the next earliest flight leaving in the late morning or early afternoon. Their system automatically rebooked me onto a flight that landed in PEK 3 hours after my connecting flight was scheduled to depart. It was several phone calls to get it all sorted.
On the return ORD-PEK-KMG, I had an overnight layover at PEK, with my morning flight set to depart for KMG at 8AM. I woke up at 4, checked flightaware and saw my flight was cancelled. I had not been contacted by Trip.com or HU. I called HU, waited on hold for 30 minutes, and eventually was placed on a new flight. A more modern IT system would have automatically placed me on a new flight or given me a link to select which flight I wanted.
Oct 14, 2018, 3:11 am
#12
Suspended
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,188
We all know China Southern, China Eastern, and Air China are usually the cheapest long haul options. There is a reason for the cheap price. OP is a Delta elite, but choose to fly on China Eastern. He/She called their U.S. number, so I assume the flight is from U.S. to Asia. There are many other options than China Eastern, but most likely more expensive.
Last edited by Mama; Oct 14, 2018 at 3:18 am
Oct 14, 2018, 4:33 am
#13
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 246
We all know China Southern, China Eastern, and Air China are usually the cheapest long haul options. There is a reason for the cheap price. OP is a Delta elite, but choose to fly on China Eastern. He/She called their U.S. number, so I assume the flight is from U.S. to Asia. There are many other options than China Eastern, but most likely more expensive.
Oct 14, 2018, 6:54 am
#14
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Flying to a boat
Programs: DL DM/2MM, Bonvoy Titanium, Hertz PC
Posts: 823
I've flown MU only 4 times in the last year, so maybe not much of a data point, but I called their U.S. customer service to change seating and was pleased. Wait time was about 10 minutes, and the rep was pleasant and helpful, got done what I needed with no fuss. She was also able to correct an FF# issue, where they had my DL number but listed as a MU account.
Oct 14, 2018, 7:59 am
#15
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: New York, NY, USA
Posts: 12,481
MU should honor his DL status. But reciprocal benefit doesn't include free access to preferred (paid) seats. He should have received priority check in, boarding and lounge access which were not discussed in this thread.