"There is no longer a dedicated 1K line"
May 17, 2012, 10:12 am
#76
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA EXP, UA former 1K (1.9MM and gone), Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Diamond, SPG Plat
Posts: 1,111
Read her words carefully. She's not saying that these agents are 1K-only, just that they're the ones designated to take 1K calls. While perhaps they're more senior or better trained than other agents, they could well be spending most of their time handling lower-level Premiers. (Of course, they could still answer the phone as 1K Desk when we call, if the system worked properly and they were paying attention.)
May 17, 2012, 10:21 am
#77
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: ORD
Programs: UAL 1K, Starwood Platinum
Posts: 348
then let's stop mincing words and be direct and truthful to us. that is the biggest part of the issue as i see it at UA...no one wants to tell anyone what is going on...and when they don't know, they just make something up. knowing is half the battle. (that and the customer service is a disgrace)
May 17, 2012, 10:51 am
#78
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: DEN
Programs: UA Gold-MM, AA Gold-MM, F9-Silver, Hyatt Something, Marriott Gold, IHG Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,393
May 17, 2012, 11:32 am
#79
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: DAY
Programs: UA 1K 1MM; Marriott LT Titanium; Amex MR; Chase UR; Hertz PC; Global Entry
Posts: 10,159
Read her words carefully. She's not saying that these agents are 1K-only, just that they're the ones designated to take 1K calls. While perhaps they're more senior or better trained than other agents, they could well be spending most of their time handling lower-level Premiers. (Of course, they could still answer the phone as 1K Desk when we call, if the system worked properly and they were paying attention.)
My guess, based on the posted experiences, UA greatly increased the number of staff so designated to reduce wait times (before answering the call, not total time of call).
End result, less experienced reps who do not understand the ends and outs of 1k benefits as they are not used to dealing with them.
All part of the announced strategic plan to reduce the cost of serving "elites".
May 17, 2012, 2:35 pm
#81
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: ORD / MDW / FLL
Programs: DL DM/1MM, AA EXP, SPG Platinum, Hyatt Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 2,295
May 17, 2012, 2:50 pm
#82
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Chicago
Programs: UA GS 1MM, CM PP
Posts: 689
Same experience. The GS line is just as gone as the 1K line. Come on, UA. This is absurd. If an agent is going to pretend to be a GS agent, at least know all the GS benefits! Otherwise there is no point to a GS line, other than immediate service, which has also seemed to disappeared.
May 17, 2012, 2:58 pm
#83
Used to be 'g_leyser'
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Brandon Johnson International Airport (expect delays)
Programs: AA PlatPro, HH Gold, Bonvoy Gold, IHG Plat, Reno Air MEGA Platinum
Posts: 10,039
The agent I talked to today simply answered: "This is Jenny." **
And nothing else.
** actual name changed to protect the agent.
And nothing else.
** actual name changed to protect the agent.
May 17, 2012, 3:12 pm
#84
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Silicon Valley
Programs: UA GS, WN A-List, AA Exec Plat, National Emerald
Posts: 1,020
For the record, I've been getting good response times if I call the GS number; (Whether they can actually help me is another story!)
It would be foolish to treat all "Premier" customers the same. Premiere from a Credit Card is not the same as someone who flies 100,000 BIS miles or has enough spend to qualify for GS.
May 17, 2012, 3:19 pm
#85
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Washington, DC, USA
Programs: UA-1Kmm, AA-EX Plt mm-, Hilton Diamond,
Posts: 1,093
May 17, 2012, 4:39 pm
#86
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 522
Hi cranky1K, that’s correct. The 1K desk has not gone away. Specifically, when you call in and your MileagePlus number is recognized as 1K, the call is routed to an agent that is specifically designated to handle these calls. The agents that receive these calls come from both the former United and Continental sides of the house. With all the training and changes in place, the way in which the line was answered wasn’t something we focused on immediately enforcing. But, we are working to continuously improve the experience and streamline our process.
Shannon
Shannon
So are you saying the "1K desk" now takes calls from both 1K's and other elites? So there is no 1K only line anymore?
It seems to defeat the purpose. If an agent working an 8 hours shift answers 25 calls in a day, and 15 are silver, 5 Gold, 5 PLatnium and 5 1K, it does not seem to me that they would know / expect to suddently provide a higher level of service to the 1K caller. ALl callers would just be treated the same.
a higher level of service was what the 1K Line was all about.
I've had some shocking experiences since 3/3 with the new "Premiere line" If these agents have been trained to take 1K calls - how on earth can they not know the rules of an GPU - surely the most basic and important 1K perk "Sorry Sir - you cannot use a GPU on a ps flight" - that is what 3 supervisors told me on the "1K Line"
May 17, 2012, 5:13 pm
#87
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: LHR (sometimes CLE, SFO, BOS, LAX, SEA)
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 5,893
It seems to defeat the purpose. If an agent working an 8 hours shift answers 25 calls in a day, and 15 are silver, 5 Gold, 5 PLatnium and 5 1K, it does not seem to me that they would know / expect to suddently provide a higher level of service to the 1K caller. ALl callers would just be treated the same.
a higher level of service was what the 1K Line was all about.
a higher level of service was what the 1K Line was all about.
The company may no longer be focused in providing 100,000-mile flyers with hands-on, highly flexible, ultra expert service; that perk may now be reserved for high spenders. To quote the paraphrased conversation more specifically:
-GS and Corp customers are the most lucrative and things will improve for "those 2 groups" but ALL customers are important and there is no way to treat 6 sub groups differently on board or in airports the way UA used to
May 17, 2012, 5:33 pm
#88
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: The Jersey Shore
Programs: UA 1MM, UA 1K, SPG Plat, Yfirst gold, Hyatt Plat, Avis Plat.
Posts: 309
Hi cranky1K, that’s correct. The 1K desk has not gone away. Specifically, when you call in and your MileagePlus number is recognized as 1K, the call is routed to an agent that is specifically designated to handle these calls. The agents that receive these calls come from both the former United and Continental sides of the house. With all the training and changes in place, the way in which the line was answered wasn’t something we focused on immediately enforcing. But, we are working to continuously improve the experience and streamline our process.
Shannon
Shannon
May 17, 2012, 6:50 pm
#89
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 57,599
Well, they don't answer "1K," at least not IME.
May 17, 2012, 6:58 pm
#90
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: ua mm, aa plat, starriott LTPP, ihg plat, hh gold.
Posts: 13,017
It does give me some sad joy to see two recent threads from high dollar (by my standards, anyway) GS flyers unhappy with the new way of doing business, who are moving large amounts of money to other carriers, but the reality is this is a new business model. Get used to it.
