United - Positive Experiences 2015
 

Long time lurker to newbie poster! :)

Having read many postings, both grumblings and kudos on goings-on at UA, I wanted to share an excellent experience on UA on a recent trip that I feel would be a good start to 2015.

On 1/3/2015, on UA493 from ORD-SFO, I used an RPU so I could decompress after 2 weeks away for Christmas/New Year's break. I was in seat 4E on an ex-CO 757.

The positive experience started at the gate at ORD. Our plane was late in arriving, and the sole gate agent updated the awaiting pax every 10 minutes or whenever it seems he receives any updates. He clearly explained where the plane was coming from, why it was late, and apologized for the fact that he was the only agent at the gate until back up arrives. He also explained that even though the flight is delayed to wait for some arriving pax on connecting flights, UA is aware that many have connections at SFO and that UA is committed to getting us all in the air as soon as possible. This transparency was a breath of fresh air, and made the delay bearable and entertaining, really.

Once we were ready to board. This same agent again apologized for the delay, thanked the pax for our patience, and boarded the plane by explaining what the groups meant. Instead of Group 1,2, etc. he stated "We are now boarding First class, 1K, and platinum..." and so on. The fact that he kept us all informed of the details on the delay, and being systematic as he announced the boarding group, made this easily one of the best boarding experiences IMO; and it gets better on board.

The male FA in F (whom, IMO, resembled Scott Pelley, a correspondent on CBS' 60 Minutes), was the consummate professional. He greeted every pax in F by sir or ma'am. He offered drinks while we were being delayed on the ground, and then took dinner orders by slowing going row to row, and clearly stated the options and explaining the menu as needed. The service during dinner was very attentive, and he refilled my wine glass multiple times without my asking. Throughout the flight, he kept checking on the cabin, and his attentive service reminds me of the professionalism at ANA and the *A ground staff at NRT, SIN, TPE, and HKG, which is a big compliment.

I felt compelled to thank him in person, and on the way back from the lavatory, stopped to thank him. He was sitting in the FA jumper seat opposite the galley and even though in the middle of reading, took the time to talk to me. He also remembered that I enjoyed the proseco and asked if I would like another glass, and he would bring it to my seat. This was among the many small gestures that IMO, made this flight so memorable.

Thank you to the Scott Pelley lookalike FA and UA for a very positive flight experience and ground experience.

PROSECO??
 

PROSECO served on domestic UA flights? What have I been missing all along?

It's relatively new, 4Q of 2014.

Thanks for the prompt reply. Is it available on all "F" flights, or is limited to region/time of flight?

I haven't flown a regional since last summer, but it's been available on all my mainline, regardless of route/time.

My experience has been that it hasn't been available on UX flights, but has been on all the mainline flights when I've asked for it. Not sure if that's by design or if the particular UX flights I've asked for it on just haven't had it.

If it was numbered UA493, then it would've been an sUA 757, not sCO. Either way, glad you had a good experience. I've quite enjoyed the addition of prosecco as well.

[2015] Consolidated GOOD UA/UX Flight Attendant Experiences
 

UA says it is working hard on improving Customer Service for 2015.

FTers, here is your chance to report your experiences. What really Good experiences with Customer Service from Flight Attendants have you had on UA/UX in 2015?

There is already another thread to report BAD experiences:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...periences.html

so let us keep this present thread for Good experiences only.

REMEMBER, each person's experience is unique.

Please report:

(1) What was the good experience.

(2) What (if anything) you did to followup with UA

(3) What, if anything, did you hear back from UA.

Kindly refrain from remarks like "One cannot get good Customer Service on UA" or "Delta is better", etc. There are plenty of threads that have remarks like that. Let's keep this as a positive thread.

So, you are starting the thread but can't start us off with a good experience?:p:D

My 4 flights this year all the FA's were friendly and chatted with me.2 UX and 2 Mainline flights. Didn't send anything to UA as nothing above and beyond so also didn't get anything back from UA.

No, I have good experiences. But I wanted someone else to start of with replies. I thought that we all should expect good customer service from Flight Attendants. Sometimes, some FAs exceed expectations in good service.

This thread is a chance for FTers to report some of those good experiences.

Granted, there are poor experiences, but here is the chance to brag on those employees who make an extra effort...there are many out there who work hard under trying circumstances to help make our flights to be good experiences.

We certainly hear enough about Bad experiences from IRROPS, reservations gone wrong, inferior food, etc., etc.

Thank you Paige @ the 1K desk
 

Called the premier line to make some award reservations and Paige helped me book what i consider a relatively difficult award.

2 Adults, 1 child 2+, 2 lap infants

Route is EWR-LAX-SYD-AKL, MEL-LAX

SYD-AKL is on Air New Zealand and MEL-LAX is on Air China. 80,000 miles per ticket + taxes.

After 2 hours on the phone, she said she would handle it and has all the required info.

People keep complaining about United, but I am quite happy and have no complaints.

MEL-PVG/PEK-LAX?

"said she would handle it" -> Do you have ticket numbers you've confirmed with each of the partner airlines?

I'll ask again, you are starting the thread so why won't you post yours? I am sure if you post yours people will be happy to read them. Don't understand your hesitation to post if you have had them and started a thread asking others to post. Please share.

I had a GlobalFirst flight 3 years ago (or was it 4?) where one of the flight attendants was really nice. She even offered to refill my wine once. When the meal service was over, she cleared my tray within the hour. There was the slight issue of water (which is discussed in the other thread). But we can look past that, since the service was otherwise exemplary for United.

I can't say too much good about United service.

OK. I have not flown much so far this Jan. and was aiming to keep this thread for 2015 experiences. Nothing so far this year really stands out for me other than FAs giving good customer service...doing their job.

However, one instance really stands out for me. A few years ago I took my elderly mother to Hawaii and we flew on her birthday. I had told the FA we were celebrating her birthday. Later I went to the FA with a card for my Mother and asked her to bring it with the meal, which she did, putting it on the tray. Later, the FA somehow came up on her own with a slice of cake and brought it with some ice cream. Then comes an announcement from the Captain. " We have a young lady on board in First named "......" who is celebrating her ' 80+' birthday. Let's sing her Happy Birthday", and the pilot led the singing and many in the plane joined in. The FA had set it all up.

So that was a great PR touch and great customer service that really stood out for me, and probably affected many passengers very positively. My Mother got a great experience out of it and it only took a little extra effort by the FA.

I wrote in to compliment the FA and Captain and received a reply thanking me for taking time to send in a positive remark when they usually get complaints, but people often do not take the time to send in compliments.

This was on a plane operated by the Continental side of the UA family, so CO was not completely horrible, as some posters seem to think.