Kurt

The hollowing-out continues apace.

sbm12

A move which will cost the vast majority of customers $0.

MrAndy1369

I'm sorry, but I have to respectfully disagree. I do understand where you're coming from, yes, but call center reps are not yet an anarchism or vestige. They're still woefully needed in today's era, because UA's systems do not yet support a completely automated process in the event of rebookings/IRROP recovery.

For the sole purpose of booking/buying a ticket, yes, they are vestiges now, for the most part, because most tickets can be booked online, and the booking fee discourages people from buying through a call center rep. Otherwise, they are still much needed. So, I view their function as critical and necessary, not a vestige/holdover.

I definitely see where you're coming from, but at this point, I think this is a really bad decision of UA and will further damage morale. pmUA's HNL call center was highly regarded and respected - what is UA trying to do now, strip all that's left from pmUA?

sbm12

A few more details from United on the DTW/HNL call center closings, for those who are interested:

• DTW set to close in March 2016
• HNL set to clsoe in June 2017
• UA "anticipate most employees will accept the opportunity to work from home"

The official company statement is:
n.b. The link above is to my blog or to one which I am a regular contributor. FT rules require that I disclose that in the post.

sinoflyer

Putting aside some emotions, the fact remains that the roles of phone agents have changed significantly over the years. They are not as important as they were before. At DL ~1995, the main role was SELL, SELL, SELL (the managers at LAXRES put that message on poster boards all over the office). Even when someone called for arrival info, we were supposed to solicit a future booking, generate a PNR, and push for immediate TBM (ticket by mail). Phone agents were the main revenue drivers for the airline.

Most of those functions have been made obsolete by the internet (and for the better, IMO, because it was a crapshoot for getting a good agent who would take the time and patience to do a thorough search on complicated itineraries). Arguably, the "value" of phone agents to the airline has been greatly diminished once the selling role was relinquished. Saying this doesn't mean that all phone agents are obsolete; it means that the airline (any airline) doesn't need as many phone agents as they used to, nor would the airline want to pay them as much, outside seniority-based pay scales.

I have no doubt that CHIRR and IAHRR are currently operating below capacity, and that they are capable of accepting all the transfers from HNLRR and DTWRR. IMO, the more pertinent question is about UA's plans for staffing levels. Airlines used to staff the phones to a level such that the caller didn't even hear a ring sound before being connected to an agent (on a normal ops day, of course). That's certainly NOT the case with any airline today. If there will be further deterioration of service quality with UA, I venture to say that it will have more to do with the staffing level (wait times, etc.) and less with the actual competence of the agents, most of whom have very high seniority (or otherwise they wouldn't have been able to hold on to their jobs, via transfer or not).

At the end, UA will have one res office each from PMUA and PMCO. Looks like the decision making mix included internal corporate politics.

iluv2fly

Data? References? Sources?

sbm12

I specifically asked this question. The company expects that the staffing levels will remain very close to the current numbers. You can decide for yourself if that's sufficient.

I will say that work-from-home does make it easier to pick up a few extra hours ad hoc when a storm hits or there are other peak demand needs. That might end up working in the company's favor and the employees' favor overall.

sbm12

More than 90% of the US market (who use toll-free numbers) has a cell phone. Even uneducated, poor people living in rural areas exceed 80% and that study is 2 years old. Unlikely that the numbers went down. The vast majority of those plans do not charge differently for toll free calls versus toll calls. Those calling at the office aren't paying for it today anyways.

The number of people who will be affected by a shift to a toll number versus a toll-free number is very, very low.

sinoflyer

Funny that, when I was at DL, work-from-home was just in its infancy (at other airlines? and certainly in other industries). Many people in my office were pining for it because of the flexibilities it offered. Dunno what they would have thought with a pay-cut involved, but work-from-home was very much desirable for many, and IMO it remains that way now with UA agents.

EWR764

Every time I call UA, I do so for a particular reason, to wit: the functionality I am seeking is not available (or cumbersome to execute) in self-service form. But rarely are those interactions revenue-generating for the company, as I am generally not calling in to purchase Economy Plus, buy a revenue ticket or reserve a hotel/rental car. So the point remains that the reservations agents are primarily fulfilling a customer service-oriented role that does not justify the significant cost of the infrastructure that may have been required in a different era, when the primary goal was sales.

The company is still able to retain a high degree of agent capability in moving to a work-from-home model, and while there will undoubtedly be some attrition, I'm sure many agents will stay with the company (for various reasons) and continue to offer a similar level of service. There are many such agents around the system today, and, without asking, I am unable to differentiate between agents working at a call center versus their own homes. There are also plenty of outstanding home-based and call center agents on the mainland. While DTWRR and HNLRR may have been perceived as having a higher ratio of quality agents, they certainly aren't the only ones who qualify.

It's a shame to see a beloved office close, but it's not necessarily the end of the line for the staff, and that's really what it's all about.

harryhood

For GS like me who value having dedicated agents to talk to during IRROPS or complex issues that ordinary agents seem unable to handle with any consistency, this hurts the most. Having an intelligent, empowered person to talk to to handle complex reservations and other matters is a massive benefit, one that I have used a few times in the 2+ years I have been GS.

zebranz

I call UA about once every other week. Either a problem with the web site not showing what it is supposed to show, conflicts with schedule changes, or other problems. The HNL office has been the best is my many years of being over entitled. They solve problems and quickly, offer options and solutions. Yes, DTW and the stay at home ex-Cons do the same. I have never had a fix done with HNL get screwed up while with the others I have. I will miss those who retire/quit/laid off and all good UA employees who have been chased away by the management.

FlyWorld

This alleged quote would be slightly less misleading if it included this text: "after accepting a significant pay cut and then paying for their own computer equipment out of their diminished earnings."

Nobody who flies on United Continental for more than 75,000 miles per year would ever agree with this assertion.

Phone agents are critical under Smisek control because Smisek has trashed the old United Airlines computer systems and replaced them with a buggy and unreliable system that doesn't work. Furthermore, the ability to book on *A partners has diminished under Smisek control. Many award flights that could be booked on *A carriers in the past now can only be booked through an agent.

I argue forcefully that the importance of agents has risen dramatically under Smisek control because the underlying IT systems under his control have become so unreliable that there are now many tasks that can only be performed by an agent. It's gone backwards, not forwards.

And, having a competent and compassionate agent is critical when in these situations due to IT/SHARES failures, due to the removal of previously available functionality, or due to IRROPS.

As a pathetic properly-entitled non-elite, I now have no chance of dealing with anyone on US soil, but for GS fliers who are meant to fly a lot at high yield, having a competent and compassionate agent is a necessity.

When I was GS, I couldn't have survived my travel schedule without regular help from the DTW GS desk that's now being eliminated. There is no conceivable way I'd even contemplate flying 100,000 miles a year on this airline in its current state if I didn't have access to great agents to fix the messes that Smisek has created.

halls120

I fully understand why UA wants to shed expensive real estate in an age where remote work is easy.

I don't understand why they can't be satisfied with the savings from having fewer brick and mortar locations. Why screw over loyal employees by making them take a pay cut?

Why throw the employee a bone when you can give the shaft seems to be the M.O. for UA.

While the number of people negatively affected will be very low, eliminating toll free numbers would be a huge benefit to those of us who fly overseas. On more than one occasion I've had to call our operations center and have them patch to UA because in some countries, the cell providers wont let you call an 800 number, even at the higher international rate.

NewportGuy

You screw over your best customers and get away with it (sort of), so why not screw over your employees too? Why does United do half the stuff they do now?

For now, it is paying off, and those on the receiving end of the profits are cheering. But what goes around comes around, and there will come a time when they will realize the stupidity of this "style" of management.