Originally Posted by no more lurking (Post 35050169)

I was at the gate! The gate agent said if you didn't get a message on the app go to customer service. So I went too. the lounge customer service The 3 people I were with all got messages. I did not!

Originally Posted by no more lurking (Post 35050169)

When I look up my profile on UA the orignal flights are not there. The email that they sent has also been deleted, except for the screen shot I took.

Originally Posted by no more lurking (Post 35050524)

The reservation had already been changed when I noticed the email in the app. BTW it said "Your flight to Milan is now boarding." It was at 10:29 flight was scheduled to take off at 11. I left the lounge at 1045 (like the gate agent agent instructed us) and never thought to check the app as I had boarding passes for the next day.The APP classified it as an email.

Originally Posted by JAXPax (Post 35047615)

I am writing this from the perspective of someone who has spent the better part of the last 20 years in airline management, both headquarters and as an operational leader (I ran a station that had about 45 mainline flights a day - not with United though). In these roles, I was prompted to investigate or respond to complaints. Now, I'm working in another sector of the industry where I travel as "just another civilian" with a few elite statuses.

I would not recommend writing DOT as one of your first courses of action. DOT is, for lack of a better term, the nuclear option. The airline's goal is to avoid a DOT complaint. I would write to the carrier, being sure to document the timeline, and if you do not get satisfactory resolution, then to follow up suggesting involving DOT to facilitate action (rather than a threat). At my last carrier (about 11 years there), once a customer wrote to the DOT without giving us opportunity to first resolve, you were essentially dead to us as far as helpfulness. You get the bare minimum, which is going to be a written response within the prescribed timeline. Niceties that are discretionary over and above like vouchers, bonus miles, etc., aren't as forthcoming because you've gone ahead and done what those items are meant to discourage.

As anything, your mileage may vary dependent on your loyalty or worth as a customer, frequency/pattern of complaints/etc. Most complaints to DOT outside of massive travel disruptions quite frankly are about things people should have known better about in the first place, like paying for a checked bag or a flight canceled due to weather and they didn't like the rebooking. Of course whenever someone hears something they don't like or agree with, the messenger is suddenly "rude" and so forth.

As a frequent flyer, I've had more luck with the rare complaint getting the airline to resolve it without going to DOT. Even one today with Frontier... (schedule change eliminated my nonstop itinerary on day of week, online wouldn't rebook me for 2 days later, chat with reservations who collected a fare difference then hit me with a reservations agent ticketing fee, making credit card charge exceed what the agent said they were charging). I got it escalated with the carrier and have a check for the amount owed, which is only like $70, coming. I've had more compliments sent in to United than complaints but they tend to give some sort of resolution, especially if proposed something reasonable.

As an FYI on emailing executives, I'm sure everyone knows their real email address is going to be something like scott.kirby8242 to divert outside emails to an assistant or someone from customer care.

Originally Posted by ContinentalFan (Post 35056336)

The DOT route—I’ve used it maybe four or five times since 1993 has been great. I’ve gotten a call from someone in the “executive office,” as it was once described. They listen to the complaint and genuinely want to fix it.

Originally Posted by Eastbay1K (Post 35849190)

Glad I found this thread. Yesterday I experienced one of the most unplesant crews in probably 3mm across various airlines. I completed the customer care online complaint form. 90% of the complaint was the crew, 10% was streaming IFE/Wifi issues. It is as if the crew issue was ignored completely. I'd not have complained but for the atrocious crew. I received a reply re: my disappointment with IFE and received 7500 miles within 15 minutes of submission. The simple fact is that the FA should be written up - at least half the J cabin were rolling their eyes at some of his conduct, and we were discussing him while disembarking and by baggage claim. But the CC reply didn't even address the issue. Not looking for more comp. Does anyone really read these things, or does Level 1 CC just see "IFE," push F2, and the boilerplate populate the reply?

Originally Posted by WineCountryUA (Post 35849203)

While it could be that, on crew issues you generally would not expect any reply on how those will be addressed. Stating a employee would receive specific disciplinary action would generally be restricted due to privacy issues and general company policy and/or union agreements. This is not unique for UA and generally the same across the corporate world.

Originally Posted by Eastbay1K (Post 35849209)

Not asking for specifics, just an acknowledgement that someone has read and will forward my concerns. Because with your premise, had I not mentioned the IFE, there would have been no reply at all.