"Expert Mode" Changes
Sep 10, 2012 | 11:58 am
#976
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Worldwide
Posts: 12,952
As per the update that has been posted in the http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...l#post19277504 Master Thread earlier on today:
- UA Upgrade Availability: [Upgrades/UA] Method Replaces [Awards-Upgrades/UA]. UA Upgrade Availability display changes from numeric to [+/-] format.
Please refer to the updated Method Info & UA Booking Classes Table sections for details on the new display and be sure to download the latest version (V7.0.5).
- UA Award Availability: No impact. Availability continues to be accessible via the [Awards/StarAlliance] & [Awards/AC-StarAlliance] Methods.
- UA Regular Availability: No impact. Availability continues to be accessible via the [Sabre: FS] & [Galileo: ETR] Methods.
Sep 10, 2012 | 11:59 am
#977
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: DEN
Programs: UA Gold-MM, AA Gold-MM, F9-Silver, Hyatt Something, Marriott Gold, IHG Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,443
"Expert Mode" Changes
Z9 or Z3. All else equal, who wants to argue that Z3 has a better upgrade probability? Ie do this 1000 times, how many UGs do you get in each case?
Does somebody really believe Z3 is equal? Lol!
Does somebody really believe Z3 is equal? Lol!
Sep 10, 2012 | 12:09 pm
#978
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1K/MM, AA GLD
Posts: 1,725
Actually, that's incorrect, see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/19275211-post290.html and http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/19277414-post517.html for two replies from UA.
Sep 10, 2012 | 12:13 pm
#979
Join Date: Feb 2007
Programs: United 1K, Delta PM, Hilton Diamond, Starwood Gold, National Exec. Elite
Posts: 1,406
Hi Everyone,
I can certainly appreciate the feedback on this particular topic. Ive responded to a fair number of PMs tonight and I do want to at least offer a bit of clarification here in the thread as well. I know theres no explanation that will make the current state better for those of you here. But, at the end of the day, the way in which the information was shared was truly causing issues and confusion for an extremely broad audience. This is what drove the change. This information displays for all customers and there is no expert mode setting as there was on the previous site. So, turning it off, as a first step, really is helping mitigate a large volume of issues that our front line co-workers and other customers are experiencing.
Getting this information back into the hands of the right users is our next step. As many of you have suggested, the solution lies somewhere between adding this information as an option in a profile setting to providing even more detail in much smarter ways. I would never couch this as a change we expect anyone to like. I can appreciate that its seen as a take away. We are committed to making this information more robust and useful though especially for our expert travelers. I know it can't happen quickly enough.
Shannon
I can certainly appreciate the feedback on this particular topic. Ive responded to a fair number of PMs tonight and I do want to at least offer a bit of clarification here in the thread as well. I know theres no explanation that will make the current state better for those of you here. But, at the end of the day, the way in which the information was shared was truly causing issues and confusion for an extremely broad audience. This is what drove the change. This information displays for all customers and there is no expert mode setting as there was on the previous site. So, turning it off, as a first step, really is helping mitigate a large volume of issues that our front line co-workers and other customers are experiencing.
Getting this information back into the hands of the right users is our next step. As many of you have suggested, the solution lies somewhere between adding this information as an option in a profile setting to providing even more detail in much smarter ways. I would never couch this as a change we expect anyone to like. I can appreciate that its seen as a take away. We are committed to making this information more robust and useful though especially for our expert travelers. I know it can't happen quickly enough.
Shannon
Sep 10, 2012 | 12:16 pm
#980
Join Date: Mar 2012
Programs: AA EXP MM/UA MM/Marriott PLT Premier-LT PLT
Posts: 383
Just picked up by the WSJ.
http://blogs.wsj.com/middleseat/2012/09/10/another-united-change-yields-more-angry-frequent-fliers/?mod=google_news_blog
http://blogs.wsj.com/middleseat/2012/09/10/another-united-change-yields-more-angry-frequent-fliers/?mod=google_news_blog
Sep 10, 2012 | 12:17 pm
#981
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: PSM
Posts: 69,232
Many are claiming it is an "educated" guess. Just because there is some data available doesn't mean it is informed. You need the right data and enough of it. The UDUStats site basically is the same thing. People say it is a good reference to estimate if an upgrade will clear or not but there have been routes with data suggesting that 1Ps cleared more than 1Ks. It is woefully incomplete and nothing we do is going to make it sufficiently comprehensive to be useful.
Sep 10, 2012 | 12:26 pm
#982
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2002
Programs: UA Gold MM; AA Gold MM; WN A-List; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold; Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 24,564
As someone who relies upon ExpertFlyer to alert me when UA award inventory opens up to save me the time and toil of checking again and again and again and again on united.com or calling UA regularly (the letter of which taxes UA's own human resources), this is another change by UA that I don't like. 
Customer confusion is a pathetic excuse for UA to offer as the supposed necessity behind this change.
Customer confusion is a pathetic excuse for UA to offer as the supposed necessity behind this change.
Sep 10, 2012 | 12:53 pm
#983
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: NYC
Programs: UA GS, SPG Plat, National EC Executive (Replaced Hertz), Hertz PC (Retired)
Posts: 724
Just picked up by the WSJ.
http://blogs.wsj.com/middleseat/2012...ogle_news_blog
http://blogs.wsj.com/middleseat/2012...ogle_news_blog
Sep 10, 2012 | 12:56 pm
#984
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia, USA
Posts: 4,708
It's a widely read blog and it reaches the transportation/leisure investment community. Very telling comment about UA's "battles" with its customers. Can a company that "battles" its customers be successful? I guess we'll see.
Sep 10, 2012 | 1:24 pm
#985
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: ORD
Programs: Newly minted AA EXP Plat., disatisfied UA 1K, Marriott Silver & Hilton Gold
Posts: 704
United is so short sighted. I'm really surprised most of you are sticking with them. Interesting - maybe United really knows who it's got wrapped around it's fingures and if you've been with them through everything else, no matter how much you complain you'll stay on as they continue to extract more from you while giving you less. Maybe they are the smart ones after all.
Who knows...but I've left - couldn't take it anymore.
Who knows...but I've left - couldn't take it anymore.
Sep 10, 2012 | 1:42 pm
#986
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: San Diego Area
Programs: UA Gold MM, AA Gold MM, FB Gold, Marriott Plat LT, HH Gold, IHG Plat, WoH Discvst, Hertz PC
Posts: 1,871
Just picked up by the WSJ.
http://blogs.wsj.com/middleseat/2012...ogle_news_blog
http://blogs.wsj.com/middleseat/2012...ogle_news_blog
Sep 10, 2012 | 1:53 pm
#987
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: LGA/JFK/EWR
Programs: UA 1K2MM, Hyatt Globalist, abandoned Marriott LTT (RIP SPG), Hertz PC
Posts: 21,318
Favorite part was at the end with the succession of links about all the ways COdbaUA has been dropping the ball this year and antogizing consumers (intentional or not)
Sep 10, 2012 | 1:55 pm
#988
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Bay Area, CA
Programs: UA 1K MM
Posts: 266
Sep 10, 2012 | 1:57 pm
#989
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 4,645
An OK posting, but I would strongly quibble with the choice of the word "many" in the statement "The two frequent-traveler community boards had more than 1,100 posts over the weekend, many blasting United for the move." I think "virtually all" or at least "most" is far more accurate than "many".
Do you think $mi$ek simply fired the entire PR staff at UA to save more money?
At most of the companies I've worked with, if even 1 article like this was published, it would be a crisis situation, all hands would be on deck managing it, and heads would be rolling for allowing it to happen. UA seems to be completely indifferent to the endless drumbeat of scathing press coverage. It truly seems that nobody cares.
Sep 10, 2012 | 2:06 pm
#990
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Los Feliz-Los Angeles (BUR/LAX) Arun Baheti
Programs: UA MM/Gold; HH something depending; Marriott Gold; other opportunistic statuses
Posts: 1,945
Had my first experience today. Checked a reservation and saw a change that made connection impossible. Original flights had all cleared GPUs. I ended up with a great 1k/Premier agent, but we had to spend a lot of time going flight by flight for my LAX-EWR segment looking for R inventory before finding an option, whereas before I just would have called with my selection. Not terrible since the agent was great, but he and I were both laughing at the experience.