malgudi

Tuesday night (12/17) was really slow! The 1K/Polaris line* at the International terminal (Aisle 1) was three rows deep and we only had 2 agents working (a 3rd agent was on the phone trying to sort out something for a passenger the entire duration). A supervisor did come out to say "this is all the man power I have" (as an aside: can supervisors also work the checkin counters? I would've thought they might be able to step in and help, but she didn't).

*Couldn't use the automated kiosk/bag drop off as I needed to have the docs checked.

Also overheard a side conversation where a couple missed the SFO-DEL flight "as the agent processing their checkin took more than 30mins, they went past the T-60 window and now being rerouted via HKG"

Kmxu

Holiday season, a lot of travelers. I was there on Dec. 14. My wife and her friend took nearly 1 h waiting for security check. It took me less than five minutes with CLEAR and Pre Check.

malgudi

Wasn't talking about security, which took all of 5 mins :with Pre Check

Surprised that United would under staff the checkin counters (so much for Premium passengers with status)

lhrsfo

Last time I flew UA out of SFO, in October, security took over 1 hour. I'm growing to hate SFO, with huge lines coming in and going out.

findark

I have definitely seen that line back up before at peak times.. their staffing levels always assume they can convince everyone that a self-printing kiosk is an adequate replacement for customer service.

pushmyredbutton

Sometimes it's faster to use the kiosk, and when the big "!" comes up for the document check, try to wave down a staff member to clear it with a swipe of their badge.

VWang1111

Yep. Try using the machine next time. Almost could guarantee it would have been faster.

Long Zhiren

SFO's international pre-check security line has had operational hours that are a bit more restrictive than the domestic terminals' pre-check security lines. At least that is my experience.

Beware of the UA non-premier kiosks at SFO. Well, not the kiosks but the staff members. I've found their advice to be misleading and just incorrect wastes of time 9 out of 10 times. For example, the kiosk flagged me for a document check as I flew UA one-way to New Zealand a few years ago. The non-premier UA staff member told me I needed hardcopy proof of onward ticketing out of New Zealand. I had to scramble all over landside for a way to print out my Air New Zealand ticket information for a future flight from NZ to Australia, eventually scrambling for cash to pay for ridiculous landside printing and running out of check-in time. When I returned to the premier side of the international check-in counter, a premier UA staff member told me that none of the scrambling was necessary, as there was some other simple issue, as she worked some kind of magic into checking me in. I am less than thrilled that the non-premier UA staff member was so quick to send me off on some useless goose chase with bogus information that flowed effortlessly and generously from her mouth.

Often1

The real problem lies in not using simple technology to shift problem cases off to a remote location (or even someone at SFO who is not at a customer-facing counter). As OP sets it out, there were three agents manning the counter and one of those was stuck on a time-consuming matter. That is a 33% reduction in available workforce.

Better to have a simple system which plugs the "problem" customer directly into a supervisor somewhere who does nothing but troubleshoot these issues. That keeps the line moving and also gets the customer someone who has the capability to deal with whatever the issue may be.

dkc192

I encountered a similar problem last Thursday night checking in for UA877. When I arrived at 9:15pm for my 10:50pm flight, they had closed the general economy line in aisle 2 and consolidated everyone into the "Polaris/1K" line, much to my annoyance. Despite the fact that there were 5-6 agents working, it took me over 25 minutes to get to an agent to perform my doc check and send me on my way. I'd say the line was 2.5 rows deep, at least half of which were not Polaris or 1Ks, based on some snooping of printed BPs and credit cards being handed over to pay for checked bags. Wrote in to complain about this utter farce and got thrown 7.5k goodwill.

docbert

You can absolutely use the kiosks even if you need to have your documents checked. At one point it will stop the process and require a staff member to login and verify that you have the require documents, and then it will continue to completion.

I've done this multiple times, most recently ~4 weeks ago at SFO, and always without issue. (Why the UA system can't work out for itself that an Australian going to Singapore on a return ticket doesn't need a visa is a different story...)

malgudi

Indeed. In addition to the 33% reduction, there were also 2 unmanned counters ... which I found really odd!

Kacee

I've had staff at SFO vent to me about station management's failure to dedicate sufficient resources, particularly to the Premier/1K/Polaris counters.

It's a poorly managed station. That's reflected in their consistent failure to properly clean aircraft, even when they've been on the ground at SFO since the night before.

nomad420

Sadly one benefit I will miss is the GS lobby at SFO, now that was nice and easy. It will soon back to the Premier/1K counters for me. Don't even get me started on SFO's baggage claim area, it is a 4 ring circus! Worse during holidays.

uastarflyer

They chronically understaff at SFO INTL for the late flights. and Domestic generally.

I once used the GS counter and asked nicely (and only with no customer waiting) because the Gold/Plat was hopelessly slammed, even 1K/Polaris. I needed to interline bags on a separate ticket. Desperate times.

I also get stage fright trying to attach my own bag tags. i never get it as crisp as the agents.