Agent to me: "You are making fun of me because of my accent" ????
Jan 19, 2019, 12:49 pm
#46
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Traveling the World
Posts: 6,072
I work in Customer Service and would not do so if I did not like all types of customers. I do everything within my realm to help the customer. If a customer wants a flight via Timbuktu I would not question why they want to go there I just find them what they want. Same goes for a cruise if they want to go via Antartica I will try ad find an itinerary that suits them,
If a customer is rude to me I would say in a polite way " I am sorry but I am not able to help you if you are upset" or "I am sorry that I am not able to find an itinerary when I am being shouted at could you please call back when you are rested and ready to speak in a professional manner"?
I agree the OP was frustrated by asking a third time for the itinerary. If I were the OP I would have just hung up and call again or just give the flight numbers that I want to ticket.
The OP may have come off as rude to the agent but the agent could have just said" Let me verify it with my supervisor if the agent was frustrated".
If a customer is rude to me I would say in a polite way " I am sorry but I am not able to help you if you are upset" or "I am sorry that I am not able to find an itinerary when I am being shouted at could you please call back when you are rested and ready to speak in a professional manner"?
I agree the OP was frustrated by asking a third time for the itinerary. If I were the OP I would have just hung up and call again or just give the flight numbers that I want to ticket.
The OP may have come off as rude to the agent but the agent could have just said" Let me verify it with my supervisor if the agent was frustrated".
Jan 19, 2019, 1:08 pm
#47
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: ROC/NYC/MSP/LAX/HKG/SIN
Posts: 3,214
Agent: Why do you want to go that route? You can fly via Newark or somewhere else
Me (now kind of frustrated): Are you listing to me??? I will say it a third time. I want to go from San Francisco to Amsterdam on TAP via Lisbon.
Agent: You are making fun of me because of my accent. I can't believe how rude you are being.
.
Can someone explain whether or not UA would save $$ by booking award tix on their metals instead of the partners? We all know they would rather rebook to UA instead of any other routing. I believe they have to pay Air Portugal an undisclosed amount for their flights, but I don't think it's a lot anyway.
Jan 19, 2019, 2:15 pm
#48
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: HNL
Programs: UA GS4MM, MR LT Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,447
While some FT people are more savvy in exactly what they want - I'd imagine 90% of the phone calls into the call centers are not savvy travelers. The CS agents have a tough job - I do my best to kill them with kindness the rare times I actually have to call (usually to change a flight which is broken online, at least for me most of the time),
If agents weren't trained to offer better routing and prices - then we'd have threads all time like, "Agent booked me on $1,500 RT EWR-LAX, Agent didn't mention flight 1 hour later was $750"
I think we should give agents a break sometimes - most work very hard in a thankless job.
Jan 19, 2019, 2:20 pm
#49
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Los Angeles
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Op here, and I appreciate all the responses. I tried to put my situation out there to the best of my recollection. I agree that I should not have allowed my frustration to ecslipse my judgement. Those who called me out on that are correct. If I could turn back the clock, I would have taken a different approach.
I would hope hope that my years of commitment to FT have earned me a little gravitas, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt.
I also wish some posters would read the full original post. (A few suggested that I should have been clearer that I wanted to fly a specific routing, etc). Please read again!
And keep in mind... Asking for a routing SFO-AMS via LIS is not a complicated routing.
Yes, agents have a thankless job. I think about UC agents. If we were to stand at the door and listen to stories of those who want entry, but don’t have the credentials, we might have a little more empathy for their job as gatekeepers. And if we were to listen in on every phone call, we would understand better how the majority of callers are not frequent flyers and have different goals in mind.
Thanks for all the wisdom. I am always learning.
I would hope hope that my years of commitment to FT have earned me a little gravitas, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt.
I also wish some posters would read the full original post. (A few suggested that I should have been clearer that I wanted to fly a specific routing, etc). Please read again!
And keep in mind... Asking for a routing SFO-AMS via LIS is not a complicated routing.
Yes, agents have a thankless job. I think about UC agents. If we were to stand at the door and listen to stories of those who want entry, but don’t have the credentials, we might have a little more empathy for their job as gatekeepers. And if we were to listen in on every phone call, we would understand better how the majority of callers are not frequent flyers and have different goals in mind.
Thanks for all the wisdom. I am always learning.
Last edited by zrs70; Jan 20, 2019 at 11:16 pm
Jan 19, 2019, 2:33 pm
#50
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: WAS/TYO
Programs: AA PPro, TP Gold, UA Silver, Bonvoy/Hilton Gold, Global Entry
Posts: 296
logic dictates that if you call united to book a ticket then there’s a high probability that you want to fly on United. Someone over the phone can’t read your mind and assume that you are calling United to book a flight on TAP. The agent went through the most logical thought process for the situation and presented a better option that the majority would consider reasonable. There is no excuse for the OP to treat the agent rudely, especially when he’s literally the only person in the world who will ever make that request, and they can’t understand why.
I'd like a one way ticket from San Francisco to Amsterdam via Lisbon on TAP.
1) wrongly assuming it was round trip
2) misunderstanding the request as SFO-AMS//LIS-SFO
3) "Why would you do this?"
4) "You're making fun of my accent"
And even with my extremely limited experience in the customer service field, looking past the fact that it was none of his business, I know that bluntly asking the customer "Why do you want to go that route?" is inappropriate. *If* he was being pushed to book on UA metal (which I'm somewhat doubtful), at least acknowledge the request ("Sure, so I understand that you want to fly to Amsterdam via Lisbon on TAP?") and only then recommend other routings ("Just letting you know, United does offer convenient connections through our hub in Newark to your destination; would you like me to take a look at what's available there as well?").
I don't think it's unreasonable for OP to expect CSRs on the phone to have been trained, enough at least to prevent wild accusations of racism against the customer.
And if there's one thing I've picked up from FT, it's that there's definitely going to be people with crazier requests than "I'd like to fly on an inaugural flight."
Jan 19, 2019, 2:38 pm
#51
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Midwest USA
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Posts: 1,969
I get the frustration. You expect (hope) the agents are competent. I had a similar situation with AA yesterday.
A simple change of routing for an existing award reservation. I had the exact flight numbers that I wanted.
My impression was that the agent was bored, indifferent, and not really listening.
I started to get upset, then took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
A simple change of routing for an existing award reservation. I had the exact flight numbers that I wanted.
My impression was that the agent was bored, indifferent, and not really listening.
I started to get upset, then took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
Jan 19, 2019, 3:17 pm
#52
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 1999
Posts: 11,468
I would have provided the specific flight numbers and when asked "why do you want to go that route" I'd have given the straight up honest answer ("It's TAP's inaugural flight From SFO to Lisbon and I'd like to try it"). That would probably have reduced all the back and forth discussion and any raised voices (if they occurred).
Segment by segment is the way to go, whereas I found giving them departure times is less painful than flight numbers - probably the way flights show on their screen.
With award tickets it can be worse, as some agents feel they do you a favor "booking a free flight" to begin with!
Jan 19, 2019, 3:22 pm
#53
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,359
On a side note, when dealing with UA over the phone with an itinerary containing flights operated by * partners, I'll generally feed them the UA codeshare numbers whenever possible. Heck there have been times where I've had a UA codeshare operating as an AC flight and thought I was on a UA flight. Needless to say the FAs weren't impressed when I tried using one of my white CO drink vouchers 
"But this is a UA flight right?"
-James
"But this is a UA flight right?"-James
Jan 19, 2019, 3:50 pm
#55
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On a side note, when dealing with UA over the phone with an itinerary containing flights operated by * partners, I'll generally feed them the UA codeshare numbers whenever possible. Heck there have been times where I've had a UA codeshare operating as an AC flight and thought I was on a UA flight. Needless to say the FAs weren't impressed when I tried using one of my white CO drink vouchers "But this is a UA flight right?"
-James
"But this is a UA flight right?"-James
There can be disadvantages of being booked under the codeshare, such as not being able to get advance seat assignments. I generally avoid codeshares unless there's some reason/advantage for it, such as a lower fare or married segment requirements.
Jan 19, 2019, 5:59 pm
#56
Join Date: May 2006
Location: PMD
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Posts: 2,911
Shouldn’t any human agent in this automated era understand people ask for human intervention often only when they cannot use automation? Most people, savvy or not, wouldn’t pay $25 just to book an all-UA Europe award flight through EWR. And same for the baggage agent. Most approaching you have already tried the kiosk or know they need humans.
Jan 20, 2019, 3:37 am
#57
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Austin
Programs: 1K MM, Hilton Lifetime Diamond, AA Exec. Plat
Posts: 403
To be frustrated and imperfect is human. Sounds like you are a thoughtful person to bring this up here. I'm often impatient due to over-working so I get how things can go awry quickly.
Jan 20, 2019, 5:09 am
#58
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 57,611
They are trained to offer you more optimal routing and prices.
While some FT people are more savvy in exactly what they want - I'd imagine 90% of the phone calls into the call centers are not savvy travelers. The CS agents have a tough job - I do my best to kill them with kindness the rare times I actually have to call (usually to change a flight which is broken online, at least for me most of the time),
If agents weren't trained to offer better routing and prices - then we'd have threads all time like, "Agent booked me on $1,500 RT EWR-LAX, Agent didn't mention flight 1 hour later was $750"
I think we should give agents a break sometimes - most work very hard in a thankless job.
While some FT people are more savvy in exactly what they want - I'd imagine 90% of the phone calls into the call centers are not savvy travelers. The CS agents have a tough job - I do my best to kill them with kindness the rare times I actually have to call (usually to change a flight which is broken online, at least for me most of the time),
If agents weren't trained to offer better routing and prices - then we'd have threads all time like, "Agent booked me on $1,500 RT EWR-LAX, Agent didn't mention flight 1 hour later was $750"
I think we should give agents a break sometimes - most work very hard in a thankless job.
Jan 20, 2019, 8:16 am
#59
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Dulles, VA
Programs: UA Life Gold, Marriott Life Titanium
Posts: 2,757
This applies to every country, but an American calling an American company that has outsourced it's customer service to India or the PI or wherever shouldn't feel like the guilty party in a situation like this. These are problems that didn't exist 25 years ago but are unfortunately almost the norm these days.
Jan 20, 2019, 8:23 am
#60
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 4,115
At the first sign of an uncooperative agent, I just immediately initiate HUCA protocols. I have developed very good instincts on such matters from the simple tone of voice.
I also just flat out lie with the simplest to understand explanation to stupid questions like “why do you want to fly this route”. “My spouse/child/coworker will be on this flight...”
I don’t have time for people who don’t want to or can’t do their jobs. I have no interest in complaining or talking down to someone in any way. That just takes more energy. I just find the quickest route to what I want, and move on.
I also just flat out lie with the simplest to understand explanation to stupid questions like “why do you want to fly this route”. “My spouse/child/coworker will be on this flight...”
I don’t have time for people who don’t want to or can’t do their jobs. I have no interest in complaining or talking down to someone in any way. That just takes more energy. I just find the quickest route to what I want, and move on.