Writing to Customer Relations: response time?
 

Has anyone written (via postal mail and not e-mail) to Customer Relations lately? If so, how long did it take you to get a response?

Thanks for any information.

I can't answer your surface mail question as it's been a while, but in the past it seemed that responses would take about a month.

However, if it would make you feel any better, you can send me your address. I have a few UA CR emails in my inbox--I can print one out and send it to you since you'll probably receive the same thing anyway. :D

pretty quick
 

I got an acknowledgement of my letter within a week and then about a week later got a response. Not bad response time.

My issue wasn't all that complicated though.

2 weeks to get a "we have received your letter and will read it" letter (twice this year) and about 1-1.5 months to get a response (once this year, second one hasn't gotten the response yet but is only 3 weeks old).

But both were pretty weird policy/system issues that didn't warrant a "standard" response or resolution (and for which I specifically said I was not looking for compensation), so that may make them slow to process. (The reply to the first issue, in fact, implied the writer completely missed the point.)

Here is the response time I got from UA:

email: I got the standard confirmation receipt immediately after I send my email. But did not get any real response.

snail mail: I received a letter response after one month.

I have found that calling in and then following up with a FAX will get a better response than email. No real experience with snail mail though, but a FAX is pretty much like instant snail mail... physical paper, legal signature document and all that good stuff.

Barratt

UA snail mail timing
 

The IAD-LAX segment of a flight originating from LHR was cancelled back in early Feb, and to my astonishment, as I was exiting the plane, the C-class FA handed me vouchers for a night at the Hilton, and breakfast the next a.m.
When I called the Hilton for directions there, they was about as frosty as the weather, claiming I had no such reservation, none was available and, I quote, "United knows it." Long story short, I paid for a room, brekky and cabfare from and back to IAD where the next a.m. I continued to LAX. The ticket agent at IAD counselled me to submit all claims to an address in Chicago--which, naturally I did within the first week after the incident.
I waited 6 weeks. then sent an e-mail to customer relations about the matter and received by snail mail within a week confirmation that my claim was being processed and I would "very shortly" receive a check fully compensating me--$200+, as I recall.
~ONE MONTH therafterl I received the check, NOT a UAL flight voucher.
It helps to be 1K, it helps to be friendly, polite, direct, plainspoken, unaccusative, focusing on facts and reasonable expectatons. I don't know what would have helped speed the process up. Good luck.

Two weeks via snail mail.

Better response time via FAX + phone call..

Regular Mail
 

I had a very favorable experience with an agent at the award desk. Since I believe in giving credit where it's due besides voicing my displeasure about deficiencies I wrote a "job-well-done" letter to UAWHQ CS. Mailed stateside first class on 1 July, received reply letter - dated 15 July by regular mail - yesterday 19 July.

I emailed a note on an unacceptable service issue, this past Saturday afternoon. Got a response mid-day on Monday. Well handled response by United, BTW.

Maybe the quick response is related to being a 1K, but I'll take it! Is there some reason why you used snail mail, versus email? Kind of curious.

3 weeks from snail letter sent to receiving check in the snail mail almost to the day. the letter acknowledging the issue and their agreement to send money arrived 2-3 days earlier. So my one experience with this is a ^

My emails receive an immediate automated response, followed by a more personal (but scripted) one within a few days. This was true for two emails sent as a 1P and one recently as a 1K.

I've got to say I've been very impressed with UA's response time via e-mail. They do seem to note your status and I generally get a reply within 24 hours. ^

As a 1K, this has been my experience as well. I don't correspond frequently, but a recent round did include a lengthy unscripted response, which was very satisfactory.