Another Reporter B*tch Slaps US

[vantheman63]

At what point, does ANYONE in The Sand Castle start to wonder, "do we have issues with our T/A fleet, service and product???"

"Worst experience: How is it that so many countries do air travel better than the USA? (Article Appeared December 21, 2007)

Just last week, I flew back from London on an aging US Airways Boeing 767 that could not have been more depressing: knees-against-the-next-seat spacing, no seatback movie screens, lousy food and lousier service.

Contrast that with my flight back from Bangkok two weeks earlier on Thai Airways, which could not have been more lovely. Elegantly dressed flight attendants welcomed me graciously, served creative meals in economy — with real cloth napkins, no less — and patrolled the cabin relentlessly. Seats were comfy; the seatback entertainment was top-notch. Come on, U.S. carriers. Let's get it together."

Find this article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/desti...ew-sloan_N.htm

Pretty amazing....at least that reporter didn't make the mistake I did and buy Envoy....he would have wanted to take a swing at someone for that fiasco....after having US tell him he can have a $300 voucher to try it all over again."

Just incredible....

 

[Dog Wonder]

Next time take Greyhound from London.

If you take a scuba tank you will be more comfortable.

 

[legacy-to-LCC]

Oh I think they know full well just how much of an issue they have with a great many things. Envoy being merely one of the more noticable ones.

I've had more exchanges with them in the last week or so than I have for the last year.

What we as FF'ers I think have to come to terms with is that the Sandcastle has a totally different philosophy.

Part of it is born out of the battle in PHX/LAS with SWA. That I can understand. They battled SWA to a standstill so who can blame them for feeling victorious?

Part of it is prior to Mr Isom there was no pure "ops guys" that had DP & SK's ear. So bean counting was the order of the day and often still is.

Another part of the issue is that Tempe has a Complaint Resolution attitude as opposed to one of Customer Satisfaction.

When you put all of this together, then poorly communicate your vision for the merged company all anyone sees is the negatives and Lord knows there is plenty of that. Employee moral is at an all time low, customers are boiling mad, there is a push for a passenger Bill of Rights to become law. M & A is looking more and more like a pipedream as all of the other players appear to favor other more attractive dance partners. Think, who wants to take on US Airways and the Nic award and the CIC! Other cleaner deals can be had IMO. Although if the stock price keeps tanking somebody may come in and buy the Jalopy just for the parts.

Prior to adding Mr Isom US had the luxury of being for them wildly profitable while offering what at best could be called average service. Now with fuel near $100/barrel and FF'er leaving and rest assured they are leaving, coupled with a strong potential for an economic downturn drying up their core liesure market they now have been forced by external forces to upgrade a great many things in order to be positioned for a possible downturn.

These upgrades that have been announced are clearly defensive in nature and IMO would not have been made if market conditions didn't force their hand. Tempe has a clear disdain for customer that is manifested by its "one size fits all" complaint resolution mentality that often leaves customers more unhappy then they were before they contacted US Airways.

PB, i cannot tell you how many fflyers that i encounter are seething over the DoUgIe-cost nuetral-quality cp preferred desk. if for nothing else, our loyal fflyers LOVED that committment!! now they are connected to the phillipines or some westie assimilated agent who has NO idea what a real airline is?? (NO offense my brethren phillipinos; i just don't want 'be careful'...to get a hard on) PB, you yourself describe(d) them as "angels"...
this "merger" is the first battle on the fflyers...and, guess what?
fflyers 1; DoUgIe 0.

 

[happy01]

PB, i cannot tell you how many fflyers that i encounter are seething over the DoUgIe-cost nuetral-quality cp preferred desk. if for nothing else, our loyal fflyers LOVED that committment!! now they are connected to the phillipines or some westie assimilated agent who has NO idea what a real airline is?? (NO offense my brethren phillipinos; i just don't want 'be careful'...to get a hard on) PB, you yourself describe(d) them as "angels"...
this "merger" is the first battle on the fflyers...and, guess what?
fflyers 1; DoUgIe 0.

You know I really hate it when you classify everybody as EAST or WEST and then insult the Westie agents. There are good West agents and bad agents just as there are good and bad East agents. I only deal with passenger's after something unexpected has happened(no I don't work in the voucher happy Customer Relations department) and let me tell you there are just as many slip ups made by East agents as there are made by West agents, and I'm talking out and out right lies told to the passengers (so you can't blame it on QIK). I just had a real good one today that involved a supervisor in god ol' Winston Salem. I don't hold it against them, I just do everything I can to make it right for the passenger and realize every one is human including ALL US agents regardless of what side of the stupid country they work on. I have never lied to a passenger, never shown passengers anything but the utmost respect and courteousy, and guess what I'm one of those stupid agents based in Tempe that you just insulted. We do realize that we need passengers to keep this tank afloat and hang on to our jobs. We're not uneducated idiots out here, guess what most of us are from other parts of the country and do know what outstanding customer service is. But I do agree with you about the agents in Manila. That outsourced call center should be gotten rid of, they're all contracted vendors and have no vested interest in this company and could care less if it goes belly up.

 

[legacy-to-LCC]

(so you can't blame it on QIK)

LOL!! :blink:

 

[phlus2]

Find this article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/desti...ew-sloan_N.htm

Pretty amazing....at least that reporter didn't make the mistake I did and buy Envoy....he would have wanted to take a swing at someone for that fiasco....after having US tell him he can have a $300 voucher to try it all over again."

Just incredible....

The article seems to be gone - or the link isn't working at least.

Sorry you paid for Envoy - OUCH!

 

[Hello Newman]

But I do agree with you about the agents in Manila. That outsourced call center should be gotten rid of, they're all contracted vendors and have no vested interest in this company and could care less if it goes belly up.
[/quote]



ITS NOT JUST THE OUT SOURCED CALL CENTER, RES WILL SAY ANYTING TO GET A CALLER OFF THE LINE. TIMERS MUST BE THE TOP PRIORITY. I GET CALLS IN THE BSO FROM PEOPLE WHO WERE TOLD TO "CALL THE AIRPORT" FOR SEAT ASSIGNMENTS, TICKET CHANGES AND ATTEMPTS TO EXCHANGE RTFCS THAT HAS GOT TO STOP

 

[Be Careful What You Wish For.]

Of course you have to understand that the Northeast part of the country is probably the only place in the entire wolrd where you can tell someone to "Go F*&% Yourself" and not have it taken personally.

Is this a good thing?

Not being argumentative but I have always been mystified by this trait.

 

[PhxMama]

But I do agree with you about the agents in Manila. That outsourced call center should be gotten rid of, they're all contracted vendors and have no vested interest in this company and could care less if it goes belly up.




ITS NOT JUST THE OUT SOURCED CALL CENTER, RES WILL SAY ANYTING TO GET A CALLER OFF THE LINE. TIMERS MUST BE THE TOP PRIORITY. I GET CALLS IN THE BSO FROM PEOPLE WHO WERE TOLD TO "CALL THE AIRPORT" FOR SEAT ASSIGNMENTS, TICKET CHANGES AND ATTEMPTS TO EXCHANGE RTFCS THAT HAS GOT TO STOP

Yep, Why would they want to do their jobs? Just give out the BSO number and get them off the fon? Are you for real? I guess we need to know in which BSO you work so we can direct the calls. Do you know how long it takes to assign a seat? Probably less time than to find your BSO fon number. I guess you need to make sure rez agents are doing their jobs instead of making sure bags get to their destinations. If you can blame all US based agents for those that are incompetent than I guess we can blame YOU for all the lost bags.

 

[trvlr64]

Is this a good thing?

Not being argumentative but I have always been mystified by this trait.

Because most of the people from the northeastern parts of this country have a backbone and aren't afraid of a few words.

As the old childrens poem says......sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.

You can tell someone from the northeast to "go F$&*&K yourself" and a few minutes later be having a drink with them. Say that same thing to someone from the south and he or she is running to the local church with their hands over their ears. (yes I know a generalization). But I've lived all over this country and I'd rather have someone from the northeast at my side whenever there is a problem to face.

 

[happy01]

But I do agree with you about the agents in Manila. That outsourced call center should be gotten rid of, they're all contracted vendors and have no vested interest in this company and could care less if it goes belly up.




ITS NOT JUST THE OUT SOURCED CALL CENTER, RES WILL SAY ANYTING TO GET A CALLER OFF THE LINE. TIMERS MUST BE THE TOP PRIORITY. I GET CALLS IN THE BSO FROM PEOPLE WHO WERE TOLD TO "CALL THE AIRPORT" FOR SEAT ASSIGNMENTS, TICKET CHANGES AND ATTEMPTS TO EXCHANGE RTFCS THAT HAS GOT TO STOP

I've been told to never ever give out the direct numbers to the airport for any reason. I would suggest you connect these passenger to a "supervisor" at CSD. It seems when they get enough of these ridiculous calls, created by general rez agents not knowing how to do their jobs, training is then amped up and the problem decreases greatly. Although this only works until the next new group starts.

 

[crusher]

As a born and raised New Yorker , we are if nothing else brutally honest , if you can't accept that about us too bad. we will tell you exactly what we think . So take it or leave it , we don't really care.

 

[dexter]

!!!!! New Yorkers don't RAT either !!!! Like Crusher stated, if you don't like it move on ! Honesty is the best policy, something the sandcastle doesn't believe in. The NE people are survivors and are definately not naive. We definately work hard. Put a res center in Manhatten and you will get great results.

 

[FM2436]

At what point, does ANYONE in The Sand Castle start to wonder, "do we have issues with our T/A fleet, service and product???"

"Worst experience: How is it that so many countries do air travel better than the USA? (Article Appeared December 21, 2007)

Just last week, I flew back from London on an aging US Airways Boeing 767 that could not have been more depressing: knees-against-the-next-seat spacing, no seatback movie screens, lousy food and lousier service.

Contrast that with my flight back from Bangkok two weeks earlier on Thai Airways, which could not have been more lovely. Elegantly dressed flight attendants welcomed me graciously, served creative meals in economy — with real cloth napkins, no less — and patrolled the cabin relentlessly. Seats were comfy; the seatback entertainment was top-notch. Come on, U.S. carriers. Let's get it together."

Find this article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/desti...ew-sloan_N.htm

Pretty amazing....at least that reporter didn't make the mistake I did and buy Envoy....he would have wanted to take a swing at someone for that fiasco....after having US tell him he can have a $300 voucher to try it all over again."

Just incredible....

Is Thai Airways a state owned airline?

 

[BoeingBoy]

The Ministry of Finance owns a little under 54% of the stock.

Jim