hobo13

I love how you state "even CLE" just in case there was some doubt about whether it would be included in all hubs....

kettle1

I agree with you. I had a friend do this this in the nightclub business. You are to blend in and report your findings.

Question. How can UA do this after someone already leaked the fact this will happen, and the people at UA know it? Sounds like a waste of money to me.

Get some senior management to fly on "Paid" tickets, observe UA. Than buy a few "Paid" tickets on other airlines, observe. See the difference.

Than fix, and make your product better. Secret shoppers at UA, letting the world known before the fact is a joke. Also, what if a bad apple is found. Fired - don't think so. Retraining - that's it.

Another poster stated that some FA's make the page "welcome aboard CO flt #XXX". This would happen once - caught - retrained. Happens again, Fired.

Employes remember you work for United Continental Holdings, Inc. (UAL)
-NYSE

Hope to see how the secret shoppers change the service on my 4 UA flts next week. I just may be one of the secret shoppers!

mike1968

The problem with COua mystery shoppers would be figuring out what exactly they're measuring. How well sCO preformed to their incredibly low bar for service or are they adopting the higher sUA bar which would be preferable if they ever want HVF to return?

My assumption with the majority of the leadership from sCO is they're throwing dollars out the window to reinforce how great their under-achievers are doing against the low service / performance bars they've set to give another round of bonus payments in their "everyone gets a trophy" culture.

canadiancow

Interesting. An Air Canada flight attendant accused me of being a mystery shopper recently when I asked for ice cream (served in business class) while seated in economy, and told her that I've had it before in economy (which is true). I didn't get the ice cream

I wonder if all airlines do this.

anc-ord772

My friend and fellow frequent traveler is a mystery shopper for high end restaurants/bars/clubs. He's pretty serious about it. I imagine UNITED wouldn't like what he'd have to say.

Sometimes the restaurants know, usually they don't and the reporting does get into the hands of decision makers.

bocastephen

If done correctly, UA employees would know there are *always* mystery shoppers evaluating *every* aspect of the business from phone calls to baggage service, to inflight service, to monitoring the boarding process etc etc - basically they should assume they are being monitored by an independent performance analyst at any and all times and deliver service accordingly.

A specific employee who is called out by a performance analyst a couple of times for problematic service or non compliance should be automatically sent out for re-training - conversely, a high-performer should be called out for bonuses and/or promotion.

kettle1

This is the best statement made. UA needs to get it together. If I hear a FA call the the flt CO XXX. I will call UA in Chicago, not to get miles... to find out what airline I am flying. I still don't get why the employees can not work as a team???

Work as a team. A GREAT TEAM - CALLED UNITED! You have a great airline... make it work.^

gengar

Mystery shopper systems are useful because hiring experienced/professional shoppers achieves more reliable and extensive feedback than just using customer surveys. As others have mentioned, these systems are much more effective when the employees being tested know that these systems exist.

I have three issues I e-mailed to 1KVoice in the last couple months and never even gotten a reply.

Maybe I need to PM UAInsider?

garykung

Different shops, different companies, different requirements...

I have been asking for my overentitled discounts and overentitled services in so many occasions...

But I do agree that most shops require you to blend it.

As a troubled () mystery shopper, somehow I do believe that companies can see more when the shops require you to make trouble to test how employees respond.

In UA, I have no doubt most employees can do a good job in normal circumstances. But in IRROPS...my evil face...

I made this offer to all airlines that I am totally pissed. CX, AC, etc...

I always use that to prove I am not lying...but situation is really that bad...

But St. Jeffy can't do that with his "Hi...I am Jeff Smisek..." video all around...

Serious companies want serious response. So they pay serious money for serious shoppers.

mearagirl

Hah. I had a terrible experience the other day in DEN with a gate agent. Or rather, the experience in terms of travel was fine (VDB, he seemed to have processed everything fine, etc) but in terms of interaction...well, he was creepy and awful. Cracking "jokes" that were just wasting time, making sexual remarks, etc. As I said to a friend later, for myself I can roll my eyes, keep my mouth shut, and wait for him to hand me my voucher, but if there'd been, say, a teenage girl nearby or as the target of his quips? I would've gone off on him.

There was no teenage girl nearby...but there was a 1K. I saw him on the later flight (he'd been trying to stand by on the earlier one I ended up bumped from) and he told me he'd complained. The very next day I got a call from United asking about my experience (apparently he told them I was there also and was the person who got bumped, and they were able to find me). I was fairly impressed with that turnaround (though who knows what'll happen to the guy, the person I talked to seemed pretty appalled).

DealsInCanada

Mystery Shopping and Customer Feedback are two different things. Customer Feedback is subjective and a Mystery Shop is looking for specific things and should be objective, with evidence-based reporting. I agree with you though, but I think they should do both listen to the customer feedback and mystery shop to avoid negative customer feedback.

WineCountryUA

As this is a very old thread and circumstances have changed significantly, will close this thread. If anyone is aware of such present activitiy, we can start a new thread.

WineCountryUA
UA coModerator