Global Services...for an Hour...
Aug 31, 2014, 12:59 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Washington DC
Programs: Former 1k, Lifetime UA Gold, Starwood Gold; Avis Preferred; Hertz Gold
Posts: 1,732
Global Services...for an Hour...
Hive mind of FlyerTalk, please enlighten me.
I'm a lowly 1k and deplane my flight from KIX to SFO. Clear customs to my shock I see a woman holding a sign with a United Logo / Global Services and my name. I have plenty of time for my connection but she greets me, walks me to Global Services domestic security screening...meets me on the other side...hands me a new printed boarding pass (mine mysteriously evaporated from my mobile app!) and takes me to the new (hidden) UA club between the old terminal and the new terminal. Checks me in to the new club and hands me her card telling me all of the things that the people on the other end of the 1-866 number will do for me (she mentioned a Mercedes for my tight connections!).
Wow...I've finally made the club I think. Then I look at the boarding card...and it says pretty clearly PREMIER 1K. She must have seen that since the ticket she gave me had notes all over it (gate, 0 bags, updated arrival time, something that looked encouraging "G 100") Anyway, I felt very special but I am virtually certain that this is a fluke.
The only thing I could possibly imagine is that someone at UA noticed that I managed to make my outbound flight on the initial leg. I literally made it from gate 67 to 100 in 7 minutes with my bags. The doors were literally closing as I practically slid down the gate escalator in SFO International terminal. Maybe this was a nice way to acknowledge my athletic prowess at such an advanced age. If so, I'll take it.
Any other possible explanation? Maybe it was some sort of targeted marketing to get me to spend another 40k PQD :-) Looking for any enlightenment!
I'm a lowly 1k and deplane my flight from KIX to SFO. Clear customs to my shock I see a woman holding a sign with a United Logo / Global Services and my name. I have plenty of time for my connection but she greets me, walks me to Global Services domestic security screening...meets me on the other side...hands me a new printed boarding pass (mine mysteriously evaporated from my mobile app!) and takes me to the new (hidden) UA club between the old terminal and the new terminal. Checks me in to the new club and hands me her card telling me all of the things that the people on the other end of the 1-866 number will do for me (she mentioned a Mercedes for my tight connections!).
Wow...I've finally made the club I think. Then I look at the boarding card...and it says pretty clearly PREMIER 1K. She must have seen that since the ticket she gave me had notes all over it (gate, 0 bags, updated arrival time, something that looked encouraging "G 100") Anyway, I felt very special but I am virtually certain that this is a fluke.
The only thing I could possibly imagine is that someone at UA noticed that I managed to make my outbound flight on the initial leg. I literally made it from gate 67 to 100 in 7 minutes with my bags. The doors were literally closing as I practically slid down the gate escalator in SFO International terminal. Maybe this was a nice way to acknowledge my athletic prowess at such an advanced age. If so, I'll take it.
Any other possible explanation? Maybe it was some sort of targeted marketing to get me to spend another 40k PQD :-) Looking for any enlightenment!
Aug 31, 2014, 1:02 pm
#2
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: DEN/OGG
Programs: UA GS
Posts: 1,482
Where you in GF?
Hive mind of FlyerTalk, please enlighten me.
I'm a lowly 1k and deplane my flight from KIX to SFO. Clear customs to my shock I see a woman holding a sign with a United Logo / Global Services and my name. I have plenty of time for my connection but she greets me, walks me to Global Services domestic security screening...meets me on the other side...hands me a new printed boarding pass (mine mysteriously evaporated from my mobile app!) and takes me to the new (hidden) UA club between the old terminal and the new terminal. Checks me in to the new club and hands me her card telling me all of the things that the people on the other end of the 1-866 number will do for me (she mentioned a Mercedes for my tight connections!).
Wow...I've finally made the club I think. Then I look at the boarding card...and it says pretty clearly PREMIER 1K. She must have seen that since the ticket she gave me had notes all over it (gate, 0 bags, updated arrival time, something that looked encouraging "G 100") Anyway, I felt very special but I am virtually certain that this is a fluke.
The only thing I could possibly imagine is that someone at UA noticed that I managed to make my outbound flight on the initial leg. I literally made it from gate 67 to 100 in 7 minutes with my bags. The doors were literally closing as I practically slid down the gate escalator in SFO International terminal. Maybe this was a nice way to acknowledge my athletic prowess at such an advanced age. If so, I'll take it.
Any other possible explanation? Maybe it was some sort of targeted marketing to get me to spend another 40k PQD :-) Looking for any enlightenment!
I'm a lowly 1k and deplane my flight from KIX to SFO. Clear customs to my shock I see a woman holding a sign with a United Logo / Global Services and my name. I have plenty of time for my connection but she greets me, walks me to Global Services domestic security screening...meets me on the other side...hands me a new printed boarding pass (mine mysteriously evaporated from my mobile app!) and takes me to the new (hidden) UA club between the old terminal and the new terminal. Checks me in to the new club and hands me her card telling me all of the things that the people on the other end of the 1-866 number will do for me (she mentioned a Mercedes for my tight connections!).
Wow...I've finally made the club I think. Then I look at the boarding card...and it says pretty clearly PREMIER 1K. She must have seen that since the ticket she gave me had notes all over it (gate, 0 bags, updated arrival time, something that looked encouraging "G 100") Anyway, I felt very special but I am virtually certain that this is a fluke.
The only thing I could possibly imagine is that someone at UA noticed that I managed to make my outbound flight on the initial leg. I literally made it from gate 67 to 100 in 7 minutes with my bags. The doors were literally closing as I practically slid down the gate escalator in SFO International terminal. Maybe this was a nice way to acknowledge my athletic prowess at such an advanced age. If so, I'll take it.
Any other possible explanation? Maybe it was some sort of targeted marketing to get me to spend another 40k PQD :-) Looking for any enlightenment!
Aug 31, 2014, 1:19 pm
#3
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 690
A guess: Your company gets to hand out a few GS appointments with their contract with UA, and your name came up in the travel department.
Last edited by jpezaris; Aug 31, 2014 at 6:36 pm Reason: typo
Aug 31, 2014, 1:32 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Washington DC
Programs: Former 1k, Lifetime UA Gold, Starwood Gold; Avis Preferred; Hertz Gold
Posts: 1,732
Maybe I should have asked for a ride in the Benz!
So perplexed...
Aug 31, 2014, 1:38 pm
#6
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Minneapolis, MN (MSP)
Programs: DL DM, UA 1K MM, Subway Club Member
Posts: 1,988
Have you looked at your status on-line? It could be that it takes a while for the new status to propagate though the system. Could also be that there were light GS loads that day and the GS staff started assisting 1Ks
Aug 31, 2014, 1:51 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Washington DC
Programs: Former 1k, Lifetime UA Gold, Starwood Gold; Avis Preferred; Hertz Gold
Posts: 1,732
There were a couple GS on my flight back and I didn't see anyone waiting for them.
If we had a lottery here, I may have gone out and bought a ticket.
Aug 31, 2014, 3:21 pm
#11
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: ROC/NYC/MSP/LAX/HKG/SIN
Posts: 3,212
Aug 31, 2014, 3:24 pm
#12
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: near to SFO and LHR
Programs: BA Gold, B6 Mosiac, VS, AA, DL (and a legacy UA 2MM)
Posts: 2,274
Aug 31, 2014, 3:28 pm
#13
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: LAS, ZQN
Programs: UA PP (2MM), BA gold
Posts: 2,198
Aug 31, 2014, 3:32 pm
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Ewa Beach, Hawaii
Posts: 10,909
Aug 31, 2014, 3:53 pm
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Washington DC
Programs: Former 1k, Lifetime UA Gold, Starwood Gold; Avis Preferred; Hertz Gold
Posts: 1,732
While it was totally unexpected (and I'm not complaining here) what would have been a huge help is getting me from SFO gate 67 to 100 on the outbound connections from SFO to KIX when I had a 8 minute window. No need to take the Benz!
At the end of the day I sorta feel like someone at UA must have noticed I made what was an otherwise impossible dash in 7 minutes and gave me a nice gesture. Someone had to be involved on the back end because the app showed they had me protected (in a not so great way).SFO-HNL-GUM-KIX. Woulda been a nightmare for me. Maybe for them too.
That's the only thing I can come up with - but I trust the collective knowledge over my own limited experience.
Last edited by DCEsquire; Aug 31, 2014 at 8:24 pm Reason: Typo