Mountain Trader

With the repeated and continuous comments about spotty service in F and C International, you would think UA would begin to take customer satisfaction surveys of all F and C passengers at the end of each Int'l flight. Not just "happy" or "unhappy" but a record of the real experience.

If UA did this , I predict two positive results. First, I think a lot of the FAs and pursers with a lousy attitude would lose it fast, knowing there will be a written report on how today went. Second, it would give UA a tool to keep the rest of them away from their best customers.

ORD4R

Liz not to pick on you, I appreciate your contributions here and the excellent service you perform. I am happy with plastic and appreciate the choice. It is an issue that you probably could not give out any PDBs and there would be no real consequence. BTW many FAs do skip PDBs. UA needs a management system and culture that would make that unthinkable if they want to compete with the world class airline's F and C cabins. It is good FAs like you and many others here who need to be first line management on board international flights to insure your standard's for service are shared by the rest of the FA team. You need real personnel authority beyond what a purser has today. Leaders like you and others on this board could make a real difference.

Bear96

Not according to the FAA, which has approved UA's current policy of leaving plasticware out during pushback.

Similar to the recent discussion about whether only English speakers are permitted in the exit rows, if you think the FAA interpretation is contrary to the FARs and it bothers you that much, take it up with the FAA, not with the people here who are trying to provide information about the inconsequential minutiae of air travel which seems to fascinate so many FTers.

Bear96

Wrong. It is an FAA rule applicable to U.S. flag carriers only (FAR Part 121).

RichardInSF

I doubt this would work. I have been to far too many places (car dealerships, cruise lines) where these "customer surveys" are mandatory after each transaction and what happens is the staff plays to the survey, leading to a really pitiful interaction, almost begging on the part of the service staff. But the service itself doesn't really improve.

kevinsac

Agree! Liz and the other FAs on FT certainly will not be the problem in the air. They are active on FT, which I believe shows their commitment to the job and the service they provide. Those who roll their eyes (figuratively or literally) to good service would never be found at FT, unless to troll.

Garrett Choi

I don't think it's clear that UA wants to (or should from a business perspective) try to compete with the world class airline's F and C cabins.

jhayes_1780

I would agree surverys in emotional areas (was your salesmen nice to you, how would you rate your expierence, would you reccomed this dealer to friends and family, etc.) are not really helpful.

Surveys in FACTS are actually pretty useful. Questions like: were you offered a PDB?, were you offered to have your coat hung?, how many drinks were you offered? Did your IFE function?

(basicly questions that are answered Yes/No can give clear indication if policies are followed, questions that have 1-10 strongly agree, disagree, give a ton of "wiggle room", and are usually there only to make the customer feel warm and fuzzy)

lucky9876coins

Sorta. In that video about the new C & F, Graham Atkinson, an SVP of United, was admitting that they are "middle of the pack" at best right now. He was hoping that this would bring them to the front. The hard product certainly has the potential to do that, but I think it's the soft product that's lacking right now, and which wont change with the new product unless there are some serious changes in the atmosphere at United.

Garrett Choi

Far be it for me to disagree with a SVP at UA, but I think this would be a rookie mistake (trying to be too many things to too many people vs. picking one thing and trying to excel at that one thing). As an example, SQ has great premium cabins, but you pay for that, and their frequent flier program sucks.

My suggestion for UA is that they go try and excel at middle-of-the-pack and pick (self-serving suggestion follows the strategy of being the "frequent flier airline". Have the best frequent flier program of anyone (that is one area UA seems to excel in already) and don't even try to have the best C/F product.

I don't know if E+ has been successful from a P/L standpoint, but that was certainly a move in that (cater to frequent fliers) direction, and I suspect I am not the only person who continues to fly UA primarily because of E+ (with or without VOD).

For that matter, I wouldn't try to compete on low cost either. No more Ted! (Another self-serving suggestion, heh!)

cstead

UA's premium products aren't poor per se; UA's premium products are poor when considering the price paid. UA's international fares often mirror, if not exceed, the SQ, NHs, and BAs of the world.

Middle of the pack to me still includes a clean cabin - no crumbs all over the seat and floors. Middle of the pack would at least be an electronically controlled C seat, and 110v pports that don't require an Empower adaptor. Middle of the pack would be F suites that aren't beat to crap, wines that are drinkable, and food that was edible. IMHO, if UA was middle of the pack, it would be an improvement over what it is today.

CIT85

United has a long way to go to compete with the best of class. So I agree with Dim Sum that they should focus on keeping their base by doing well enough. Service is much harder to improve than hardware, and without service UA will never be above middle of the pack. But any effort to improve must come from top management, so having a SVP express desire to be better is a good start. US has fallen considerably because new corporate management has not valued service and that attitude has permeated the airline.

Middle of the pack domestically is one thing since the standard is low, but middle of the pack internationally is a much higher level. I fly UA C for TransPac only because of *A.

E+ is a good product. It is the only reason why I would even consider switching to UA and start from half way down.

seanp7

UA803/804.

Buster CT1K

Service attitude is just generally mean. Hoping I don't get yelled at at check in, or have an FA roll her eyes at me when I ask for water in Y+ tomorrow LGA-ORD.

kaukau

Here's my advice. This is what we do: If you encounter an airline employee who is giving you sub-standard service that you just can't let slide like water off a duck's back, such as an in-flight FA on a long flight, as opposed to a GA that you're dealing with for 30 seconds, just take out a pen and paper and ask for the employees full name. Ususlly nothing else at all needs to be said, and you wont believe how the service will improve - like someone just took a cattle prod to said employee. If the employee asks "Why do you want my name?", which I have been asked occasionly, say " I like to write letters of commendation about employees who provide me with superior service." Once again, you should notice an abrupt about-face in this previously surly employee's attitude. And that's what we do, as once-a-month x-PAC F pax. It should work in Y+ as well.