johnsmith

curious what comes up on the screen for a UA agent when we call in. Do they have any info on past calls? They talk about 'a one time favor' - is that real / tracked?
I've never had an agent mention something specifically from a past call and if a call drops, I'm typically starting from scratch unless a booking/change was completed

relevant example--I'm trying to make a change to a flight that I know is 'not doable' (trying to use a minor schedule change to move to a date that is not available). If I call in 5-6 times, I assume I'll finally find a GS agent who will make the change. Wondering if the agents know I keep calling on the same topic

Kacee

They have the capability to notate your record that a request was made and denied, and if they do that, you're done.

hughw

Best way to do it, if you're getting a sense that the agent is going to be a problem, is to say something like you just received a very important call on your other phone, or your spouse is calling in, or whatever, and that you'll have to call back later....then HU.

lincolnjkc

Generally speaking, airlines are the mothers of big data and have a vast wealth of data about you and your transactional history with the airline (and at least according to one FA I was chatting with the new PDAs allow FAs to flag you as "good"/"helpful" [so presumably also "bad"/"annoying"])... I also know that when data is available an agent doesn't necessarily look at it.

On the flip side, a bit over a year ago I was having a conversation with a duty manager about something totally benign -- just a very friendly conversation (I hadn't requested her--she just popped in and we struck up) in a UC. While we were chatting, one of the club agents slipped the manager a note that included my MP status, YTD spend, home airport, etc., etc., so it doesn't seem lo be hard to find if you want it to.

Lastly -- not related to UA but under the heading of "always be nice"/"there are notes about everything". Several years ago I was on the phone with Apple support. Call dropped, same dude called back, and then spent an hour+ on the phone waiting for an iPod restore to finish just to make sure that actually solved the problem. After the call, I called back and asked for a supervisor because I thought that was really awesome support/above and beyond. Fast forward 2ish years, and I find myself at a genius bar asking for something on the edge of policy. Guy says that they'll extend the courtesy "and by the way, I see back in (month) (year) you called in to thank the support agent -- we really appreciate that" with a wink

johnsmith

I'm less worried about the specifics on this issue and more curious on the CRM capabilities--
no problem at all bailing on a call if I can't get through something, but wondering what info United gathers about us, our calls and what rules they've bent in the past

Often1

UA certainly has the CRM capacity to know that you have called and what transpired. But, whether notes are actually made is another matter. Hence the advice to simply thank the agent and end the call in the hope that the agent is on to the next call and does not bother.

JAaronT

I once HUCA'ed with Chase, the next agent said "well as the previous agent told you..."

Aussienarelle

I do not know as it relates to calls, but do know they can see prior e-mail correspondence. For me that is fine as I send in far more compliments than complaints, but they sometimes do note that I have previously send in compliments. I do think they take note notice when I have an issue/problem since I do not continually complain. (Well apart from the spate of WiFi issues and the ETCs went down each time - I was not looking for ETCs but asking them to get the WiFi fixed for inflight entertainment or reinstate Direct TVs).

dordal

I'd love to know too. I had one recently where I'd called a ~year back and gotten a 'one time exception' to waive the fee on cancelling an award ticket and redepositing the miles.

Called a few months ago to cancel another ticket in a similar situation, and asked if it might be possible to waive the fee. Agent said, 'sure, no problem', and then clearly saw something on her screen, and said 'hang on I have to check a few things'. After a few minutes on hold, she came back and said 'I actually can't waive the redepsoit fee. I can cancel the flights and you can use the ticket it again by paying a fee when you rebook [e.g. standard policy], but if you want to redeposit the miles I'll need to charge you the fee.'

I said go ahead and charge the fee, and that was that, since I was asking for a favor anyway, but clearly there was something notated somewhere that caused her to initially agree and then change her mind.

narvik

She might have erroneously thought you were 1K first, and "check a few things" involved checking your status.

sbm12

Many years back I had an issue where a checked bag didn't make a VDB reroute and we were in Alaska without a suitcase. I called the 800 number trying to get more details. The agent I spoke with didn't have much to offer so I called back again. And then a third and fourth time, trying to get better information. On the fourth call I introduced myself and the agent interrupted my efforts to explain why I was calling with a most amusing statement


Yup, I talked to the entire staff of the call center at that hour and we all got a good laugh out of it.

FWIW, the bags made it to ANC the following day and all was good. Great trip in many ways.

AugustusM

I've gotten the 'one time fee' waived for changing a flight multiple times in a year, I believe it was 4 last year. I always start off the call by asking the 1K agent, by name, how they are that day and then get into what I need.

physioprof

CLASSIC!

prometa

Kacee

Except there's no indication OP would have walked away from UA if the waiver had been declined. Most likely UA could get the $12k and the change fees.