UA customer "service" and low fare "guarantee" (rant!)
Mar 21, 2007, 9:08 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Southeast USA
Posts: 1,253
UA customer "service" and low fare "guarantee" (rant!)
Ok, let me give you my background: I am a 5-year NW Elite frequent flyer residing in Florida. I try to fly NW almost exclusively (for the upgrades and mileage bonus), however my time is not free so I will choose non-stop flights on other carriers whenever appropriate.
I am planning a ski trip to DEN (Copper Mountain is one of my favorite ski resorts!) and have thus chosen to fly UA so I can get in a full day of skiing the day I arrive.
I wanted to book the 6am UA1599 TPA-DEN. It was available on all websites (Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia) for $109.40 (+$5 fee). It also showed up on United.bomb, however once you clicked on the flight the price changed to $143.40!!!
I purchased the ticket on United.bomb and invoked the Low Fare Guarantee. Well, it has been 1 week of back and forth e-mails with the India-based LFG "specialists" and I am not getting anywhere! The process is excruciatingly slow, they could not open my attachments, and after I re-sent them (as JPEGs), they have not replied to me in 3 business days!
So, I tried calling. Both reservations and customer service (guess what - every single agent was located in India!) basically stonewalled me. "It takes a long time", "Let me check on that for you" (followed by a 15min hold and an answer to wait for an e-mail from the LFG team), "I am sorry Sir, there is no way for you to contact them by phone". I have the feeling that these guys get a bonus (of 25 cents?) for every day they manage to delay the claim, and maybe a bonus for every 15min of hold time they put me through!
Now, mind you, NW is not very lenient with their low-fare guarantee claims either. At least, however, you get to talk to a mean lady in Minnesota within 24hrs who knows what she is doing! And believe me, the nwa.com website works like a charm.
It is absolutely incredible to me that I have NO WAY of contacting United Airlines in the United States of America. Reservations? In India. LFG team? In India. E-mail cust service? India. Cust relations line? India. Faxed complaints? Forwarded directly to India. Snail mail letters? You guessed it, India!
I mean, give me a break! UA is worse than AirIndia in their lack of support staff in the United States. Short of cornering Tilton in the Four Seasons elevator in Chicago I cannot figure out how the heck to contact anyone with any type of authority over my LFG claim.
Oh, and by the way, I had a similar situation on Continental in Jan - Orbitz was lower than co.com. Called an 800#, talked to a US-based agent who verified the fare ON THE SPOT, and a $100 voucher was issued to me as I was on the line with him (plus a REFUND of the fare difference!). Crazy, isn't it???
I am planning a ski trip to DEN (Copper Mountain is one of my favorite ski resorts!) and have thus chosen to fly UA so I can get in a full day of skiing the day I arrive.
I wanted to book the 6am UA1599 TPA-DEN. It was available on all websites (Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia) for $109.40 (+$5 fee). It also showed up on United.bomb, however once you clicked on the flight the price changed to $143.40!!!
I purchased the ticket on United.bomb and invoked the Low Fare Guarantee. Well, it has been 1 week of back and forth e-mails with the India-based LFG "specialists" and I am not getting anywhere! The process is excruciatingly slow, they could not open my attachments, and after I re-sent them (as JPEGs), they have not replied to me in 3 business days!
So, I tried calling. Both reservations and customer service (guess what - every single agent was located in India!) basically stonewalled me. "It takes a long time", "Let me check on that for you" (followed by a 15min hold and an answer to wait for an e-mail from the LFG team), "I am sorry Sir, there is no way for you to contact them by phone". I have the feeling that these guys get a bonus (of 25 cents?) for every day they manage to delay the claim, and maybe a bonus for every 15min of hold time they put me through!
Now, mind you, NW is not very lenient with their low-fare guarantee claims either. At least, however, you get to talk to a mean lady in Minnesota within 24hrs who knows what she is doing! And believe me, the nwa.com website works like a charm.
It is absolutely incredible to me that I have NO WAY of contacting United Airlines in the United States of America. Reservations? In India. LFG team? In India. E-mail cust service? India. Cust relations line? India. Faxed complaints? Forwarded directly to India. Snail mail letters? You guessed it, India!
I mean, give me a break! UA is worse than AirIndia in their lack of support staff in the United States. Short of cornering Tilton in the Four Seasons elevator in Chicago I cannot figure out how the heck to contact anyone with any type of authority over my LFG claim.
Oh, and by the way, I had a similar situation on Continental in Jan - Orbitz was lower than co.com. Called an 800#, talked to a US-based agent who verified the fare ON THE SPOT, and a $100 voucher was issued to me as I was on the line with him (plus a REFUND of the fare difference!). Crazy, isn't it???
Mar 21, 2007, 10:38 am
#2
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Seattle, WA
Programs: DL Diamond, UA 1K MM, SPG Plat For Life, Marriott Plat, Nexus/GlobalEntry
Posts: 9,198
While all that is annoying... when you saw the UA.com price was higher why didn't you just book through Orbitz and save yourself the headache? Seems like a lot of effort to call and prove a lower fare somewhere else just to save $5.
Mar 21, 2007, 10:50 am
#3
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: UA, AA
Posts: 4,039
Yeah, the LFG is a POS. I wouldn't (and don't) even bother. Sorry you had such a laggardly experience.
Mar 21, 2007, 10:55 am
#4
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Nomad, Chicago
Programs: UAL 1K, Million Miler
Posts: 1,884
I purchased the ticket on United.bomb and invoked the Low Fare Guarantee. Well, it has been 1 week of back and forth e-mails with the India-based LFG "specialists" and I am not getting anywhere! The process is excruciatingly slow, they could not open my attachments, and after I re-sent them (as JPEGs), they have not replied to me in 3 business days!
Keep us updated and good luck.