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Alton Brown asks UA why he paid $50 to sit on UA Club floor

Alton Brown asks UA why he paid $50 to sit on UA Club floor

Old Apr 13, 2015, 12:12 pm
  #46  
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Originally Posted by VickyKing
Point is, none of us were there, and yet people were very quick to jump to condemning UA (as usual) without all the facts and both sides of the story.

So, if you could, please help me understand the burden of proof required to report a concern.

Would someone on FT have to state they were also there, and validate it was indeed crowded? Perhaps they'd have to be a reputable FTer with 1+ years of posting history to be considered trustworthy, otherwise, we should dismiss the celebrity chef's photo and remark as spurious?

I suppose it's possible he mistook the airline he was flying on, and this was really some other club? Maybe he wasn't even in Los Angeles and messed that up, too. Maybe we should tell him that next time he should make sure there's a bottle of McCormick's vodka in the background, along with the Hollywood sign, or we may not believe him.

Bottom line, the customer is not responsible for investigating all the nuances of an issue. He walked in, didn't find a seat, he's pissed off. That's a problem. It doesn't matter if the club holds 300 people, and there are 5 open seats. He couldn't find one, they did not meet his expectation, and they failed, plain and simple.
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Old Apr 13, 2015, 12:24 pm
  #47  
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Originally Posted by channa
So, if you could, please help me understand the burden of proof required to report a concern.

Would someone on FT have to state they were also there, and validate it was indeed crowded? Perhaps they'd have to be a reputable FTer with 1+ years of posting history to be considered trustworthy, otherwise, we should dismiss the celebrity chef's photo and remark as spurious?
Because this sounds awfully like Alec Baldwin and AA. Baldwin tweeted, and his followers blindly condemned AA ... until we found out Baldwin was the one acting out of place on the plane.

I've been UA lounges at ORD IAH DEN LAS LGA JFK EWR SFO LAX NRT HKG, and never once have I actually encountered a customer on the floor (except little kids playing). But just by random coincidence, this celebrity can't find a single chair ?

But if he thinks he's entitled to an empty chair next to him just to place his jacket and briefcase, then I have no sympathy.

Originally Posted by Kacee
Yup. I'm pretty sure that these lying, over-entitled celebs have been fabricating DOT complaints, too. Surely there is no other credible explanation for UA finishing dead last (again) among all major US airlines. Airline Quality Index: UA Ranks Lower than Frontier.
And this is relevant because ? Brown is complaining, and UA ranks last, so therefore, Brown must be telling the truth ?

What kind of logic is this ?

Last edited by WineCountryUA; Apr 13, 2015 at 1:26 pm Reason: merging consecutive posts by same member -- please use multi-quote
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Old Apr 13, 2015, 12:31 pm
  #48  
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Originally Posted by VickyKing
I've been UA lounges at ORD IAH DEN LAS LGA JFK EWR SFO LAX NRT HKG, and never once have I actually encountered a customer on the floor (except little kids playing). But just by random coincidence, this celebrity can't find a single chair ?
Really? It's a fairly regular occurrence at ORD when there's weather. I've seen it at DEN too. And wouldn't be surprised at LAX T7 since they closed the T6 club. That was already one of the most over-crowded clubs in the system.

And this is relevant because ?
Because the accusation that Brown is a self-promoting liar reflects exactly the same attitude - the customer is "over entitled" and a liar - that drives UA's bottom of the barrel DOT ranking.

Last edited by Kacee; Apr 13, 2015 at 12:38 pm
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Old Apr 13, 2015, 12:37 pm
  #49  
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Originally Posted by sfozrhfco
What happens once every two months is completely irrelevant. If the lounge is full and the other lounge is being renovated, how difficult is it for UA to say, sorry we can't sell a day pass at the moment as the lounge is full? This is short term thinking at its best--valuing the $50 revenue over the overcrowded lounge. This is basic customer service which is a major FAIL--negatively impacting the experience of everybody else in the lounge. Taking a person's money and knowing he/she will have a terrible experience and potentially report it to millions of other people is not good for UA or anybody else in the lounge. This a big part of the reason UA consistently comes in last place among major US carriers in every customer service ranking survey. Ignoring problems does not make them go away.
Knowing these "celebrities", if they don't sell him the pass he'll go on twitter and complain about how UA "discriminates" him by refusing to sell him a pass ... and his twitter followers will believe that too.

And for those quick to condemn UA, does DL/AA have a stated policy with consistent enforcement that they will block all access if their lounge is at capacity ? If not, then why single out UA when all 3 airlines are just as bad ?

Originally Posted by Kacee
Really? It's a fairly regular occurrence at ORD when there's weather. I've seen it at DEN too. And wouldn't be surprised at LAX T7 since they closed the T6 club. That was already one of the most over-crowded clubs in the system.
Well I only fly 60 segments a year, so maybe I don't have enough data to be representative.

Last edited by goalie; Apr 13, 2015 at 1:48 pm Reason: merging consecutive posts by same member -- please use multi-quote/removed off topic comment
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Old Apr 13, 2015, 12:42 pm
  #50  
 
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Originally Posted by VickyKing
Knowing these "celebrities", if they don't sell him the pass he'll go on twitter and complain about how UA "discriminates" him by refusing to sell him a pass ... and his twitter followers will believe that too.
He's clearly a celebrity, with a number of popular TV shows and a massive Twitter following to show for it.

Last edited by goalie; Apr 13, 2015 at 1:48 pm Reason: removed response to edited post and personal attack
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Old Apr 13, 2015, 12:48 pm
  #51  
 
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Perhaps he thought the lounge was an exclusive club, hence the the word club, like Augusta National Golf Club or the Billionaire Boys Club. And to think other celebrities ride the NYC subway everyday to work:

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopo...ley-cooper.jpg

Not even gloves on. He has nerve.
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Old Apr 13, 2015, 12:51 pm
  #52  
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Originally Posted by Eric Westby
Ahem. You're skating on thin ice already, though I do admire your willingness to stand alone on one side of an issue where literally everyone else on FT disagrees with you.
Ahem ... so if one doesn't conform to the majority opinion he must be wrong ?

I work at a Dow30 corporation where customers make unverifiable complaints on a daily basis. This incident does not surprise me one bit.

Last edited by WineCountryUA; Apr 13, 2015 at 1:28 pm Reason: Stay to the issues, not the posters
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Old Apr 13, 2015, 1:04 pm
  #53  
 
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Originally Posted by VickyKing
And this is relevant because ? Brown is complaining, and UA ranks last, so therefore, Brown must be telling the truth ?

What kind of logic is this ?
Nah he's sitting on the floor to make United look bad for no particular reason.
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Old Apr 13, 2015, 1:05 pm
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Originally Posted by VickyKing
Ahem ... so if one doesn't conform to the majority opinion he must be wrong ?
I work at a Dow30 corporation where customers make unverifiable complaints on a daily basis. This incident does not surprise me one bit.
And this is relevant because ? Brown is complaining, and UA ranks last, so therefore, Brown must be telling the truth ?

What kind of logic is this ?
Nicely done. Vicky might be skating on thin ice, but the rest of the posters broke through it and sank into the logical fail abyss way downthread.

Last edited by WineCountryUA; Apr 13, 2015 at 1:29 pm Reason: quote edited to reflect mod edits
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Old Apr 13, 2015, 1:32 pm
  #55  
 
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Originally Posted by VickyKing
What kind of logic is this ?
Logic would tell me that Alton Brown would choose a seat over sitting on the floor. Doesn't seem to be much more to over-analyze.
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Old Apr 13, 2015, 1:49 pm
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Fortunately I have not flown UA to LAX. I hope they get that second club open again and plan better in general.
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Old Apr 13, 2015, 1:50 pm
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Originally Posted by scruffair
Logic would tell me that Alton Brown would choose a seat over sitting on the floor. Doesn't seem to be much more to over-analyze.
What kind of rational thinking is this? The opportunity to publicize a sob story and generate 100,000s of sympathies from Food Network lackeys (and FT "partisans" no less ) is obviously a better fodder for the man's ego than expecting a few moments of R&R before flying off to somewhere.
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Old Apr 13, 2015, 1:54 pm
  #58  
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Old Apr 13, 2015, 1:56 pm
  #59  
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Lax club situation.

The lax club situation is even worse at night. The former first class lounge is the only club open at night and is packed to the gills with zero chase passes allowed.
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Old Apr 13, 2015, 2:10 pm
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Most United clubs are so depressing why would anyone sit in them anyways? Old furniture, more crowded then the terminal, dried cereal out of a plastic tube, an apple if you are lucky, a canister full of tap water if you want a complimentary drink.
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