+1

It's early, but you're in pole position for post of the week in this forum. You've summed up the UA zeitgeist admirably.

The only thing they are not bad at is making money (notice I didn't say good, just not bad) - and that can't last since they are cannibalizing their brand to make all those Benjamins.

That's the key to SWA's multidecade success story and one of the chief reasons why passengers overlook the fact that on time frequencies have declined in the past couple of years (but improving most recently) and they are frequently no longer the price leader in markets.

I am also PLT on AA and have been EXP in the past.

This discussion has deteriorated to point where some are telling others they're wrong simply because they disagree. I fly United because it best meets my needs. While it's far from perfect, I think front line employees are the most critical component of the brand and can make a positive difference in every customer experience. If coffee is that important to the customer experience, one should forget travel and set up an office at Starbucks. :rolleyes:

Every qualitative and quantitative data project pegs United, repeatedly, as the worst-performing major airline in North America. And has for years.

Facts are stubborn things, aren't they? ;)

How do you relate this to the topic being discussed?

I know this has been discussed elsewhere, but I DEFINITELY have seen an improvement in front line service personnel over the last year. I stopped flying UA internationally 2 years ago, but still use them domestically when they are the most convenient. And based on my `20 segments flown so far this year, United has provided 95% hit rate with top notch service. I frankly have been very tough on United in the past, but I have to give them credit for doing something right in terms of customer service lately. Unless I am just darn lucky in terms of FA roulette!

Front line service has indeed improved. The problem is that they are still saddled with policies, procedures and systems that prevent them from providing the service their competitors offer.

I feel bad for the FA's on UA. They are the brand, in that since that they have to deliver crap coffee, garbage meals, charge for cocktails in Y+, reboot IFE, apologize for lack of or non-working or over priced WI-FI. All of this with a smile.

UA can do all the training they want, but until they provide a decent product for the FA's to give to customers - management is kidding themselves. It is not the FA's fault.

A bad attitude is the FA's fault. Put a smile on (fake or real).

There are some great FA's at UA. They need proper tools and products to do their job, where they are proud of the brand. Until they get that, they are the face of a brand that does not care. DL on the other hand went the other direction and I believe most FA's are happy with their brand.

UA management needs to fly in Y and see what it is like. Take other carriers and compare (C and F as well). Believe me, there is a difference.

I would love to see UA offer the same 20 min guarantee of checked bags that both AS and DL have. DL gives 2,500 miles. AS gives a $25 voucher. Not going to happen. "That is the brand".

If you check a bag and it takes 45 mins to get to baggage claim - "That is the brand" and even if everything went perfect on your flt - you are pissed off at UA - "the brand".

Well let's not even try to fix things our control. That's what your saying. I don't get two free checked bags and a printed menu, let's not try anything then

No, they are saddled with employees who refuse to learn new policies, systems, and procedures. When it comes to irrops the ability is there to do what they need to do, most just haven't bothered to learn how to do it so they throw their hands up and say "oh I can't do it" instead of saying "I won't do it" because that's what's really going on. And that statement applies to both sUA and sCO. I can't tell you how many times I've had agents refuse to help with problems because "they aren't allowed" and then gone three positions down and had a wonderful experience with someone who cared and did what I needed.

And that's the brand we've come to expect from UA. You have to at least give them credit for trying to improve and fix something that's been fundamental wrong for years.

Are we just talking about FA's here???? If we are talking about the entire "new UA", I have a lot more to say.

I thought this thread was in reference to great UA FAs who know 'they are the brand'. So yes......

http://i.imgur.com/JwYMTa9.png

It's not don't fix it, but make sure the fixes are appropriate for the environment at hand.

Using good silver can make or break a dinner party.

So should we start polishing the good silver? Well, I would say it depends.

What if you're serving Kraft Macaroni and Cheese at your dinner party?

In that case, it doesn't matter how heavy or how shiny your silver is, your dinner party is a joke, don't waste your time.


We can go on about United's product deficiencies. Address the bulk of them, then polish up the staff (in that order).



This post seems to be blaming employees, rather than the culture and tone that management sets, and I have an issue with that.

Staff are given inadequate tools to work efficiently. When it's going to take 20 minutes to rebook someone on another carrier, it's much easier to blow them off than to do the work.

Now CO had that problem pre-merger. Add now the UA staff in the mix, who are familiar with better tools are given inferior tools and expected to do much the same work. That's hugely demoralizing.

Say you write reports at work, and your boss took away your computer and replaced it with a typewriter. Obviously a typewriter is less efficient and makes changes more difficult, but strictly speaking, you still have the same knowledge in your head, and you have a mechanism to convert that knowledge to the printed form. Ergo, you can still write your report.

Well that's correct, strictly speaking, you have everything you need to write your report. But it's also not how human nature works. In reality you'd love to tell your boss he or she's an idiot for doing this, but if you had no other comparable job options, and you need to put food on the table, you'd have to tough it out and do it. If someone came up to you and asked you to take on an extra report, you might come up with a way to get out of it rather than taking it on as you may have done in the past. In fact, you could become really good at getting out of additional work.

Sure, there may be a report writer here or there who doesn't mind the environment and always does the right thing. But he or she is the exception.

Sound familiar? It your scenario above. But I'm not being unrealistic by expecting that the report writers all hunker down and work hard on their typewriters. I recognize the environment is poor and they need better tools. And the tools they need is not a class on how to use typewriters.

Fix the tools, then send them to class on the new tools and how to interact with customers.

They promised FastAir on SHARES around the 3/3/2012 timeframe. Instead, that project failed, and they came up with AERO, which many complain lacks features and is slow. Is it fully featured and fast now? If so, why isn't everyone on it? If not, why the heck not?

So lets stick to FA's saying "WE ARE THE BRAND".