As a UGS member, I would certainly have wanted the UG. However, UGS is a UA invitation level. If WHQ had made a promise to a passenger to UG them before me, then that is UAs call. UGS has its benefits and for those I am thankful. However, UA must honor the commitments they make to any passenger as a means of integrity. In this case, if UA 882's account is completely accurate in the initial post (an I believe it is) then UA made an error that they need to rectify.

What is fair compensation, maybe a SWU at the very least. I would not object to a SWU and UG to F on your next international trip.

This UGS would agree with the good Doctor here too.

Who are you calling names to? :mad:

I am entering the "hypothetical" world now. Who is to say UA didn't fulfill their promise to him. Maybe they did put him at the top of the list (it can't be done without a CS agent takin him ahead of the UGS.) Maybe UA also made a subsequent promise to the UGS member that they would put him on the top of the list. SInce the subsequent promise came after the initial promise to 882, both promises could have been kept in this way. In the case of a tie priority (both being #1) UA then goes into overtime, with the tie being broken by 1) status, 2) fare paid, and 3) time of check in.

I had a girlfriend who stated that I was the best lover she ever had (Do I miss the "good old days".) Since then, she has most likely told others the same thing that may have been better than me (hard to believe, but she did get around, so by pure quantity, she may have discovered this alpha male.) Does her subsequent statement to alpha male mean that at the time she told me this, that she was lying? No way, early in her courtship, I am 100% confidant that I was. Statements can be over ridden by subsequent statement of similar nature. With superlatives, always the most recent statement is the determining one.

(The above example was made up for effect to demonstrate my point. The snow is melting, the days are getting longer and I need to get out more.)

I think the OP was let down by UA. However, I think (and this is only from what's been posted), they've sadly done what they said they would do - put him on the W/L with a priority.

Unfortunately that guarentees nothing. As appears to be the case, he may have had a very high priority, but got trumped at the last minute by a UGS.

What maybe he should have asked for, given the previous disservice, is that his U/G requests were cleared in advance of the flight.

The problem is now, unless there is written documentation somewhere, it's a his word against theirs situation. Even if he can provide it, they can say they put him in with a priority and it was just one of those things and he didn't clear.

Don't overreact.

I'm just speaking in general.

As I said, you're not a kid, not even a young man.

Did I ever say that you're flying with your parents' money?

I just said little kids who are younger than 10 years old, or whatsoever.

As you know, 20+ years old man isn't a kid.

BTW, you're older than me.

Why would you take this off the table? If downgrading someone meant you got the seat, what do you care? The "rules" were already broken throughout the process. Sometimes you need to take what you can get.

Keep in mind that I think you got hosed. But, look back and see what you could have done differently and learn from it.

I didn't think it was that important to write about that scenario. I'll try and make it as brief as possible... .

I entered the plane, and walked towards the First Class cabin. I was about to enter the FC section when the Purser literally cut me off (I am not exaggerating!) and said "where are you going?" He said no more, no less. I gave him my boarding pass and he let me pass.

I sat down and we found out that we were going to be delayed because of mechanical problems. We were told that we can watch movies on our personal screens. I asked the Purser, who was standing right next to me at the time, whether he would be coming around with the video selection. I had lost my voice and was therefore only able to speak very quietly. He said to me "speak up!" I tried as hard as I could, asking the same question as before. He responded with "you have to go get it yourself from the galley". So I did. As soon as I sat back down he started going around with the video selection, offering it to other passengers in the cabin (of course he skipped me in the process).

When he made the above-mentioned announcement, he purposely stood with his back facing me, looking at and speaking to everyone else in the cabin (I was in 1A).

For the meal service, I - for the very first time - did not get my preferred choice! Maybe I am being unreasonable, but I can't imagine that everyone in the cabin was a UGS and wanted the Filet! Throughout the meal service he was also extremely impatient with me. When it came to choosing a selection of appetizers, he sighed loudly and looked at my sternly - I actually kinda felt that I was being put under pressure to decide as quickly as possible so as not to inconvenience him.

I later found out that none of the Flight Attendants wanted to work with him, and that he was extremely low on the seniority list. They also mentioned that they don't understand how he got the flight with his low level of seniority.

So there you have it - needless to say, I was always afraid that the Purser would return to the cabin - thankfully he was gone for most of the flight.

Holy entitlement!
 

UA882,

I am sorry that the FAs are treating you like a second class citizen. If you don't fit the F "demographic", you are going to be treated somewhat differently be some people. C'est la vie.

For all of the hyposthesizing in this thread, simply ask for what you think you're entitled to. Describe your experience. Your experience of a few weeks ago doesn't matter. If you were promised #1 for the upgrade, you should have been upgraded, plain and simple. Never mind the BS about UGS. You were promised something, and you should get it. There are lots of situations where the upgrade list is moved around for special situations; yours is no different. For whatever reason, a mistake was made and you lost out.

You should only ask and get what you lost. You won't get anymore. For UA to sort out everything out with all of the promises, phone calls and talks in the RCC, UA won't give you more than what you lost. What did you lose? An SWU and an apology.

UA 882,

It might help if you take off the your Beany. :D

Sorry I could not resist adding a little humor in your situation. Believe me, I do feel for you and believe UA has treated you poorly.

Best regards,

RD

PS. Try taking Cecil the Serpent with you next time. :D Just kidding.

In other words it ain't you; it's him. Once again re-enforcing the concept that most people continue to repeat the same behaviors unless something significant causes them to change. Keep this in mind if you ever interview someone for a job. Ask them how they handle specific situations and their answers tell you all you need to know.

Unfortunately some people are just plain wrong for the job. I'll even wager that this person doesn't really like his job either. Hopefully he'll make a decision to leave this job before I have to endure his "service". ;)

You realize this makes you older than dirt. :p Just like me.

"I'm comin' Beany boy!"

Yes, I am a proud member of the Older Than Dirt club. I think we shall call this club OTD for short. :p

An update....
 

Well, I called CS back today, and spoke to a very nice agent.

I told him everything that had happened, right from the start. He apologized over and over again, and said that it seems as if the previous agent mishandled the situation. He said he wants me to accept a $150 International voucher and call Hong Kong to get this sorted out. He was very friendly throughout.

Excellent, it sounds as though everything has been resolved to your satisfaction. ^