IAD RCC: Half the value, for all the price!
 

Red Carpet Club users at Dulles will be thrilled to know that the D-gate RCC is closed except for a five-hour afternoon siesta each day. Now, if you have a departing flight at the D-gates, you have to hump it over on three conveyors in order to get to the C-gate RCC.

In addition, make sure to be amazed at the absolute lack of sympathy when greeted at the C-gate RCC. "We don't have the manpower anymore", the counter agent said, deigning to look up from her fashion magazine for only a moment. Sorry to bother you.

I just renewed my RCC membership and I'm pretty disappointed that its value has really diminished. Yet another example of how United's poor customer service is trying to even its best customers.

The staff at the IAD RCC have, with a couple of notable exceptions, always been worthless. A strong word but they offer very little service especially compared to some of the excellent staff inother locations.

I will repeat that not everyone there falls in to this category; a couple are really excellent but they are clearly the exceptions at IAD RCC.

FYI -

The D concourse RCC has only been open in the afternoon for at least the last 2 years.

Don't see what the big deal is here as the C 27 RCC is not that far away.

IMHO, IAD is by far the worst hub United has in all aspects. The RCC is bad, the 1K room is cold and unfriendly and the terminals are horrible - lack of decor, you feel like you're in a tunnel.



------------------
When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.

- Leonardo da Vinci

Yes, the decor is bad, but that is no excuse.

I have noticed that IAD has more than its share of morale problems amongst the staff.

I have had more bad experiences there and although I smile, take an interest in people, and try hard, I have had some real run-ins with some of their folks. Never got any satisfaction from management on that, either. Some of the gate agents are especially bad.

But of course, your mileage will vary when we are talking about interactions and chemistry between people.

I have heard better things about the International First Class Lounge, but have never visited there myself.

yeah.. the RCC and 1K rooms at IAD must be the worst club and rooms I have ever been into... I wouldn't even bother with them if I didn't have a long enough layover.. However, the First class lounge is a completely different story, and the agents there are some of the best I've ever met....

The problem is that the concourses are really "temporary" and that a new concourse will be build just south ofhe C & D concourses. Hence those "temporary" concourses has no style to them... :/

------------------
UA PremExec (2001)
mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

As one who has had a run in or two with some real 'people persons' who work CS at IAD...I can say that there are some great people that do work the RCC's at IAD. Once you know them, they can be real life savers in messy situations.

For example, "Paul" (I wish I could remember his last name!!!), is one of the really great IAD UA Service Directors who frequently works the desks in all of the clubs and the Int'l F Class lounge. He cares alot about his job and the company...which is not always the case with others at UA.

I've encountered some really fine reps at both the RCCs and the checkin counters that have helped me quite a bit. I don't bother to go in the 1K room though.

Agreed, IAD's RCCs are rather anaemic in many ways. The worst is space and the sub-par air conditioning by the window (next to the tarmac). Although the tarmac level view is always interesting.

As for fellow poster's complaints against IAD's 1K room, well, don't until you've checked out LAX's...

------------------
Cheers,
W

I basically never go near a 1K room, as they never looked or felt too welcoming IMO. I realise they are not meant to be a de facto RCC (no-one would strive for that low a target!) but all the same you gotta wonder why they are not a LOT more upmarket?

They are ONLY accessbie to UNITED'S top flyers. Not BD or SQ or NZ or TG etc Gold or Plats or Zirconiums who often fill up the RCCs, but UNITED'S top passengers, and are mostly located in dedicated UNITED concourses.

Maybe I am alone here, but even dreaming of finding a complete newspaper in the afternoon at any RCC is a forlorn hope. If 1K rooms lashed out and spent some pocket change on a small stack of "USA Today" or 'W.S.J.' etc that were topped up until they closed it would be a nice start. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif

There's more than one good reason for 1K rooms, it's very business like, quiet and the counter staffs can usually get more things accomplished than those RCC staffs. I sometimes preferentially get myself a treat in RCC and then head off to a 1K room. I just need the table with one or two phone lines. As fellow 1K users are pretty much all business travellers going alone, or else would be in RCC for the beer, TV, snacks and chat etc, so everyone's very quiet and professional. It's a more desirable place when one needs to think and get things done. The larger desktop space is also an advantage, vs those narrow DayTimer width shelves in some RCC rooms. I also feels more secure with my luggage given the smaller supervised room with less through traffic.

------------------
Cheers,
W

[This message has been edited by MillionMiles (edited 10-15-2001).]

Yes, I agree that the LAX RCC is in bad need of an updating...and I doubt that Goodwin has put aside some of the bailout money for that project (though actually I wouldn't be surprised). But at least the counter agents are friendly and helpful, much like the other RCC agents.

IAD, however, is a whole different ball of wax. I've made good use of RCCs in my day, but the unfriendliness of the IAD RCC agents really made me depressed about my membership fee.

[This message has been edited by ladodger1 (edited 10-16-2001).]