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UC amenities - regular & special food / snacks, power, wifi, work areas, ...{archive}

Old Mar 4, 2015, 10:18 am
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Pre-discussions

New United Club menus to be "announced" 4 March 2015

United Clubs to be renovated

Confirmed Clubs with New Food Offerings:

All domestic clubs now confirmed with some version of the New Food Offerings. Full spread at all domestic hubs, with cut-down or hybrid versions at most outstation clubs.

International Clubs with different catering: GUM, HKG, MEX, LHR, NRT

Updates:

October 11, 2017: A new flavor coming to United Clubs
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UC amenities - regular & special food / snacks, power, wifi, work areas, ...{archive}

Old Sep 10, 2015, 4:23 pm
  #751  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: KEWR
Programs: UA 1K, HH Diamond, SPG/Marriott Gold, Hyatt Plat, National Exec, GE/Nexus
Posts: 501
The salamis are out right now, here in EWR C just past security. Get them before they disappear, lol.
miasmal is offline  
Old Sep 10, 2015, 6:33 pm
  #752  
 
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 4,767
Originally Posted by JerseyCityS
I am already to sick of the new menu - why on earth can they not rotate a monthly menu - change the soup monthly - something.

I just renewed my UA Chase card, and I honestly don't know why I did.
I have it on good authority that the Banque de Project Quality has reviewed the Garden Vegetable soup and authorized a change.

The new soup will be "Vegetables from the Garden", a modern twist on an old classic.

worldtrav is offline  
Old Sep 10, 2015, 11:34 pm
  #753  
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
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Posts: 1,702
Originally Posted by RandomBaritone
Are we just throwing out random slurs now, trying to show how negative we can be? (Of course we are; this is FT.)

It's not "dinner." It's simply a low-end version of, say, the spread you might see on the club level of a hotel. While a small segment may believe it's worse than the pre-packaged cheese and carrots that preceded it, the majority disagree with that assessment.

Not saying there isn't always room for improvement -- I for one would like to see some sweets besides Skittles and brownie dust -- but the endless hyperbole is unhelpful.
Couldn't agree more. On most forums, the random slurs like this are considered trolling. But here on FT, or FlyerWhine as I call it, it's popular to express your displeasure with anything UA does. Chances are, most of these people are on business travel, not paying for it anyway and just trying to find free meals so they can bring home more money without spending their per diem.

United has stepped it up a bit. The new options are healthier than the last ones, and if you are expecting prime rib carving stations, well, you are traveling in the wrong country.

Come on, complaints about "less than prime salami"? Do you even know what salami is? Nothing prime about it. It's like spam, or a hot dog. And the fact that you try to make a meal out of lounge food and then get mad about it? Well, let's just say we can all find something to gripe about. Doesn't exactly elevate your class level.
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Old Sep 11, 2015, 8:45 am
  #754  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: BOS
Programs: Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott/SPG/Hilton Gold, PreCheck + Clear
Posts: 2,306
Originally Posted by JC5280
United has stepped it up a bit. The new options are healthier than the last ones, and if you are expecting prime rib carving stations, well, you are traveling in the wrong country.
I will join those wishing that if the UCs are going to advertise something, they'd ensure that it's readily available. I arrived at the BOS UC at 8:15am last week fairly hungry and searched in vain for hard-boiled eggs or oatmeal.

No luck, the staff told me: the eggs were all gone and the oatmeal is only available every day from 6-8.
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Old Sep 11, 2015, 8:57 am
  #755  
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: ORD
Programs: UA 1k, SPG Plat 100
Posts: 619
Originally Posted by worldtrav
I have it on good authority that the Banque de Project Quality has reviewed the Garden Vegetable soup and authorized a change.

The new soup will be "Vegetables from the Garden", a modern twist on an old classic.

I've been told the winter soup will be a hearty "garden of vegetables" in keeping with the UA menu tradition of unnecessary prepositions.
Boo_Radley is offline  
Old Sep 11, 2015, 9:03 am
  #756  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: ORD
Programs: UA Silver, Marriott Platinum/LT Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 5,594
Originally Posted by JC5280

United has stepped it up a bit. The new options are healthier than the last ones, and if you are expecting prime rib carving stations, well, you are traveling in the wrong country.
This is one of the very very few positive changes UA has made in the last 3.5 years. I don't understand why people won't give them credit for improving the food in the clubs.

Sure, eggs are only on weekdays, oatmeal only during early hours, and salami is elusive at best. But it wasn't so long ago that there was a 0% chance that any of these would show up (well, they had oatmeal at ORD sometimes).

It's almost as if people's expectations somehow were set to high, and can't appreciate the improvement.

Originally Posted by RandomBaritone
I will join those wishing that if the UCs are going to advertise something, they'd ensure that it's readily available. I arrived at the BOS UC at 8:15am last week fairly hungry and searched in vain for hard-boiled eggs or oatmeal.

No luck, the staff told me: the eggs were all gone and the oatmeal is only available every day from 6-8.
I agree. I don't understand the reasons behind it. New restaurants tend to have issues with service and inventory for a couple months until they get into a rhythm. I can't tell if this is similar as they work through the rollout, or if it's just going to be inconsistent. Taking away breakfast at 8 am is certainly odd, especially for people with early morning connections who want to use the club for a couple hours.

I, for one, have never seen the salami. I'm sure it exists. I've decided not to renew my membership when it's up in February, due to the price increase, so it's something of a quest to find it in the next few months.
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Old Sep 11, 2015, 9:40 am
  #757  
 
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 4,767
Originally Posted by JBord
...
It's almost as if people's expectations somehow were set to high, and can't appreciate the improvement.

I don't think it's too much to set the expectation at the Delta level. Hopefully we'll see some improvements.
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Old Sep 11, 2015, 11:05 am
  #758  
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Originally Posted by RandomBaritone
Are we just throwing out random slurs now, trying to show how negative we can be? (Of course we are; this is FT.)

It's not "dinner." It's simply a low-end version of, say, the spread you might see on the club level of a hotel. While a small segment may believe it's worse than the pre-packaged cheese and carrots that preceded it, the majority disagree with that assessment.

Not saying there isn't always room for improvement -- I for one would like to see some sweets besides Skittles and brownie dust -- but the endless hyperbole is unhelpful.
You miss the point of FT - which is to slam the travel providers for all real and perceived deficiencies But seriously, this is not a "low end" spread - it's worse than any hotel lounge offering and worse than every business lounge I've visited in the world - except for DL and AA (shocker) It's simply awful and they can't even do a decent job of restocking. I'd gladly take back the old spread (c- 3 years ago)

Originally Posted by JBord
I don't think the intent was ever to provide enough for a sandwich. It's supposed to be a few small bites while you're waiting for your flight.
And there's the rub. If you visit an LH business lounge at FRA or MUC (the equivalent of IAH, SFO, etc.) or a QF lounge in Australia, you would find enough food for a meal. Because the whole point of the lounge (for me anyway) is to grab something in between connecting flights without worrying about somebody snatching my parked luggage when I get a drink refill. UA/AA/DL lounges are all equally worthless in this regard, though at least AA offers a few meal choices for $$.

How about this? Instead of measuring itself against mediocre domestic lounges, UA should up its game and try to match the international competition? @:-)

Originally Posted by porciuscato
^^
If you've read my posts you know I'm harder on UAL than most anyone.

But I will concede that the new offering is a huge improvement. It's not quite to the level of LH's Senator lounges, but it's pretty close. The couscous and soup are actually quite decent. And the fresh berries in the morning are also quite nice. I don't expect UAL or anyone else to provide a complete meal for a regular club.
You cannot be serious. UA is not even in the same league as any LH lounge (business or Senator). The cous cous is edible but does not make for a meal. Soup is worthless to many of us, and not particularly attractive in hot, humid climes like IAH and ORD in summer. LH has a huge spread of cheese, meats and bread that is continuously restocked. And huge fresh pretzels. And pour-your-own beir, soft drinks, etc. And a choice of salads.

I don't expect UA to provide a complete meal either (my expectations for UA are pretty low for everything) but let's not put lipstick on a pig.
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Old Sep 11, 2015, 1:47 pm
  #759  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: ORD
Programs: UA Silver, Marriott Platinum/LT Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 5,594
Originally Posted by Boraxo
And there's the rub. If you visit an LH business lounge at FRA or MUC (the equivalent of IAH, SFO, etc.) or a QF lounge in Australia, you would find enough food for a meal. Because the whole point of the lounge (for me anyway) is to grab something in between connecting flights without worrying about somebody snatching my parked luggage when I get a drink refill. UA/AA/DL lounges are all equally worthless in this regard, though at least AA offers a few meal choices for $$.

How about this? Instead of measuring itself against mediocre domestic lounges, UA should up its game and try to match the international competition? @:-)
I happen to love visiting the Senator's lounges, but that's a totally different model. You can get access to UA lounges for <$500/yr. LH, and I assume most of the others, are almost exclusively international travelers, *G, or on a premium ticket.

UA's lounges are full of domestic travelers, many of whom haven't paid for a premium ticket. My typical year includes about 50 visits to UA clubs as I'm taking 2 hour flights ORD-IAH or wherever for work. I get my money's worth. I would bankrupt the clubs if they had the spread and beer taps like the LH lounges.

The reality is they're not competing with the international carriers, they're competing with AA and DL, and the recent food changes have made them much more competitive in the regard. And there are rumors of paid food (AA-like) in the future.

Perhaps there's another product they should offer just for premium international travelers at EWR, ORD, IAH, SFO, which is more like you suggest. Or they could raise the membership fees. But comparing a domestic UA lounge to many of the non-US airlines is apples and oranges.
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Old Sep 11, 2015, 2:35 pm
  #760  
 
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 4,767
Originally Posted by JBord
I happen to love visiting the Senator's lounges, but that's a totally different model. You can get access to UA lounges for <$500/yr. LH, and I assume most of the others, are almost exclusively international travelers, *G, or on a premium ticket.

.....But comparing a domestic UA lounge to many of the non-US airlines is apples and oranges.
I agree, the best membership based type comparison is Air Canada Maple Leaf lounges. They have far superior offerings than UA/AA clubs.
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Old Sep 11, 2015, 2:43 pm
  #761  
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Originally Posted by Boo_Radley
I've been told the winter soup will be a hearty "garden of vegetables" in keeping with the UA menu tradition of unnecessary prepositions.
And the one after that will be "American minestrone"
milepig is offline  
Old Sep 11, 2015, 8:37 pm
  #762  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 1,616
Originally Posted by JBord
I happen to love visiting the Senator's lounges, but that's a totally different model. You can get access to UA lounges for <$500/yr. LH, and I assume most of the others, are almost exclusively international travelers, *G, or on a premium ticket.

UA's lounges are full of domestic travelers, many of whom haven't paid for a premium ticket. My typical year includes about 50 visits to UA clubs as I'm taking 2 hour flights ORD-IAH or wherever for work. I get my money's worth. I would bankrupt the clubs if they had the spread and beer taps like the LH lounges.

The reality is they're not competing with the international carriers, they're competing with AA and DL, and the recent food changes have made them much more competitive in the regard. And there are rumors of paid food (AA-like) in the future.

Perhaps there's another product they should offer just for premium international travelers at EWR, ORD, IAH, SFO, which is more like you suggest. Or they could raise the membership fees. But comparing a domestic UA lounge to many of the non-US airlines is apples and oranges.
IIRC there was a case of a Gentleman who bought a refundable ticket just to visit the Lufthansa Business Class Lounge and then refunded his ticket. Again, if memory serves this Gentleman visited the Lufthansa Business Class Lounge 36 or so times over the year and after Lufthansa caught on they sent him a bill for 2000 Euros or approximately 55 Euros a visit.

If I did my math correctly, 55 Euros back in 2014 was hovering around 1.33 Dollars to the Euro and 55 Euros would be approximately $73.15.

UNITED offers Day Passes for $50.00 so clearly Lufthansa is valuing their product and its offerings higher than UNITED is, thus I expect less from UNITED.

The problem is that I always expect less from UNITED and that is not anyone person's fault, it is an institutional problem that can only be fixed from the top down.

I find myself saying well it is UNITED so I set my expectations low and sometimes even set low UNITED manages to fall so below par that I am amazed and let me tell you my expectations are not high to begin with. Case in point the SFO United Club, my buddy took me to wait for our flight and he went to get some soup only to find it out, no problem except the cleaner told him they were out for the day.

He said something to one of the UNITED Employees in the club who said that she has nothing to do with it and to complain on the website, not let me see what I can do or let me call someone, just go make a complaint in any other place than in front of me.

My point, I do not expect Lufthansa nor do I expect DELTA, I know going in that I am going to expect UNITED and it is not something worth expecting, it is more like something you tolerate.
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Old Sep 11, 2015, 8:53 pm
  #763  
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: SFO
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Posts: 1,539
I'm on a new work project in Boston and was at the club today. If United made all their clubs like that, with the new snacks, I would be happy. Now, when I'm at SFO I go to the Centurion lounge since that is where you can get a meal. Otherwise, I thought the hunnus and bell pepper slices where fine as a snack before my flight.
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Old Sep 13, 2015, 9:06 am
  #764  
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
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Posts: 1,477
Forgot to post this earlier: Front-desk rep at the temporary SFO club told me Thursday that the big new one should open in November (no, not Nov. 2016!). That seems plausible, looking at the overall state of construction visible from the rest of T3.
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Old Sep 13, 2015, 9:17 am
  #765  
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Houston
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Posts: 8,633
Originally Posted by DCA writer
Forgot to post this earlier: Front-desk rep at the temporary SFO club told me Thursday that the big new one should open in November (no, not Nov. 2016!). That seems plausible, looking at the overall state of construction visible from the rest of T3.
Thanks for the info!
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