removing service agents from clubs? New direction: combo in-person / virtual agents
 

Was in the UA Club near B6 at ORD last night and the area where the service agents sit (2nd floor top of escalator) was barricaded off. On the way out, I asked the check-in agents about it and she said they were going all virtual and there would be no more in-person agents available to assist with travel needs/issues going forward. I told her that having an in-person agent was one of the reason people pay for the club. She agreed and suggested I write to United. Anyone else aware of this?

Wow, if this is true, it looks like dropping my UC membership was the right thing to do.

Is this just for ORD or across the system? If true, terrible news.

+1

Terrible news if true.

I guess this affects mainly hubs? I’m thinking of Clubs like HNL or LAS where there’s no dedicated service desks I.e. where the agents check entry credentials and can help also with reservations. Pretty hard for agents at hub Clubs to do the same, considering the traffic.

UC members/admitted better get priority for day-of-travel issues, which is probably more likely to occur at hubs.

This is not good. I used virtual assistance at SFO in mid-December and it took about 5 minutes of pressing buttons on the phone, listening to options, etc, until I finally got to speak to someone. A real person would have answered my question in less than 10 seconds.

It's like calling in and then deciding to chat. Oh yah right that will work when I'm driving!

I thought this was a done deal for a long time already. I don't recall exactly when as travel during 2020-21 was quite a foggy time, but the agents at ORD B6 have been gone since early 2021 I believe. At first it was due to low traffic due to covid. Most people probably didn't' notice because you just walk by without paying attention if you aren't going there to seek assistance. It just seems as if they'd rather drive everyone to the app, chat or phone now. Another Kutback I guess.

AA still has agents in their Admirals clubs.

Between the Red Carpet Clubs - and UC - I've never used an agent in the Club for anything other wristbands for Hawaii travel - I wouldn't even know what I'd want them to do.

^^ Irrops issues, rebooking, upgrades, and in this day and age verification for Intl travel ready documents. Stuff you can do both on the phone and stuff you can't.

Although it may sound strange in this day and age, some people do not carry a phone with them when they fly, especially internationally. I am one of those people. I've used the Club agents many times during IROPS (which happen quite often at hubs like EWR or ORD), and I would be very disappointed if they are gone for good. There's little else of value in many UCs.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/8...923/zEuyv7.jpg

There are agents by the entrance downstairs. In B18 the lower level still has an agent on duty as well as on the entry floor level.

In 4MM+, you've never run into irr/ops??!!

Please let me fly with you...

Check in attendants at ORD B6 check you in. They don't work issues.

Of course I have - albeit not as much as it seems to happen to everyone else on this forum. The vast majority of my flying had been international - and other than the occasional delay - never had an issue. The extremely rare times I've had a cancel, I'd know before I left for the airport. Now that I've been in Hawaii the past 10+ years - those flights rarely cancel or delay and in the very rare times they do, I've never had an issue getting auto-rebooked - and nowadays I'd just call the GS line to take care of things.