endrond

Zero chance of United ever emulating any of the dozens of great things about the TK IST lounge.

Ari

This came up in a focus group once about 5 or 6 years ago; UA was interested (they brought it up and wanted to know how we'd feel about it), but nothing ever came of it obviously.

mre5765

Yes, well known.

Even at the SFO UCs, the lounge guards still stamp the BPs and deny the existsence of the GFL.

Yep I am familiar with every one of those threads.
The ability to exercise power generates pleasure in their brains.

FlyWorld

For me, it would be IAH. That's the only UC where I've ever had any problem with a club moat dragon. Twice. Now, when I walk into IAH UC, I just expect to be attacked.

Thanks for doing this research. I note that the key issue here seems to revolve around drink chits. Here, we are talking about making up arbitrary rules, attitudes, and arbitrary denial of access to members based on made up rules. I don't see much in the posts you provided that indicate a pattern of this type. I only see lots of talk about drink chits.

I can see how drink chits are a problem at IAD and how the behavior/attitude at the bars there is also bad. I had a fight with one of the bartenders there who refused to accept my drink chit. I forgot about that, as it was a long time ago, and I don't usually drink before/after/during flight.

But, your example doesn't seem to point to a well known pattern of denying entry to members or other forms or arbitrary rule fabrication.

Hypothesis: They are incredibly angry and miserable.

xzh445

Now THERE's some over-entitlement for you. A year membership?
Just curious. How was that arrived at for "appropriate compensation?"

dsquared37

Indeed. It seems like more of a punishment.

garykung

Don't bother. Each time I sent a complaint to Customer Care about UC, UC will take over and say this and that without compensation, even it is their fault.

I have never seen anyone (including myself) that can get UC to do anything.

mauiUAflyer

They want to make sure that they are granting entry to you, and not to someone that you lent your card to (or who stole your card). you can also show them ID (driver's license, etc) instead of a BP.

Some clubs (e.g., LAX) aren't as strict as others (e.g., SFO), IMHO. YMMV.

Passmethesickbag

Well, you asked for examples of pervasive making up of rules... the examples I found in a two-minute quick search came up with threads about both drink chits and lounge access - each thread with plenty of eye-rolling of the here-we-go-again kind. If you do a proper search there is plenty more. A lot of things were better in pmUA (and in pmCO too, but that's another story), but IAD dragons haven't changed much.

There used to be a hilarious thread (now sadly lost, I think there was an FT archive disaster a few years back) in the LH forum about "Matron" who guarded the MUC SEN lounge like a dragon watching over a gold treasure. Everybody had a story about her condescension and capriciousness, and there were lengthy attempts at explaining her psychology. I recall one of them being that, judging by her accent and demeanour, she's probably the daughter of a doctor or a lawyer, and whilst she tries to keep up the pretence that she has a glamorous job at Lufthansa, she is embittered over the fact that she is in fact little more than "a glorified waitress".

mre5765

Well the alternative would be to refund the membership.

The point of a membership is to eliminate impediments to using the service.

Indeed it is.


You can easily find examples where guests are refused access after the guard questions the nature of the relationship between the member and the guest.

Passmethesickbag

Here's my favourite quote from the threads I dug up:

cloudybw

Next time, use LH lounge near B45. Hot food, showers, etc. Much better than UA club.

Passmethesickbag

In general: Yes. If your flight leaves in 45 minutes from gate C8, and your credentials are UC membership plus domestic flight: No.

mre5765

This is what I get for becoming moderate. Three years ago I called decapitation when a mere guest was refused and was roundly cheered. Today I call for merely a free year of membership when a member was denied and am called over entitled.

Enough.

Proper compensation for OP would be the gift of a scale model, game changing 787 with the cockpit wimdows encrusted with gems cut from the eyes of two C8 dragons.

love_to_travel

If you're Star Alliance Gold they will let you in the Senator lounge, otherwise you get sent downstairs to the Business lounge (which is where the showers are)

As to not being let in to the UC, I find that very strange and will test it the next time I'm at IAD.