Customer Service?

[primowon]

I was making a connection through CLT Monday night. The day there had been a mess with re-routes due to weather. I happened to be standing by the "Customer Service" desk in Concourse C. There were numerous customers in line to obtain help from the three agents working the counter. With that, they (the agents) abruptly put up barriers to close the desk! When people complained, the remark was that when the agents working gates close out their flights they will then man this desk. In the mean time the barriers mean, "We are closed". Everyone just stood there incredulous and dumbfounded. I thought to myself, "So much for customer service". Obviously, the sign "Customer Service" was a misnomer. I can not help but fear for the future of this company. I see incompetence and attitude every time I fly U. I guess you get what you pay for.

 

[WestCoastGuy]

Welcome to the NEW USairways. Don't blame the agents. This type of "Customer Service" is what the company and management want. It's all turned into Bus Service in the sky. Not just USAir, but most all carriers. Cheap ticket prices = Cheap Service. We'd all like to do better and have more tools to assist the customer, but that is not what the company wants.

 

[BuffaloJoe]

I was making a connection through CLT Monday night. The day there had been a mess with re-routes due to weather. I happened to be standing by the "Customer Service" desk in Concourse C. There were numerous customers in line to obtain help from the three agents working the counter. With that, they (the agents) abruptly put up barriers to close the desk! When people complained, the remark was that when the agents working gates close out their flights they will then man this desk. In the mean time the barriers mean, "We are closed". Everyone just stood there incredulous and dumbfounded. I thought to myself, "So much for customer service". Obviously, the sign "Customer Service" was a misnomer. I can not help but fear for the future of this company. I see incompetence and attitude every time I fly U. I guess you get what you pay for.

Customer Service means Self Service at US Airways. Its not the employees fault that something like that happened, its management. Each person who gets on and off a plane is just another number for the Excel Spreadsheet program. They don't know the meaning of Customer Service. As long as us are dumb enough to keep pumping money to fly them, they will never ever care. There are Thousands of Fine Employees at US Airways, but they are getting stressed out by all the incompetantness of Management. Don't blame the attitude on the employee, as they are like you and I, human. You can only deal with so much feces at a time, and they are overloaded. Write to DOT about complaints. They get alot and are obviously counting, cause in every poll, they are at the bottom. Maybe Tempe is trying to go for a record, see how long they can covet that cellar spot. Till they get new management in Tempe, things will remain pathetic.

 

[Travels2mch]

Well if you were really, really skinny you can get to the front of this Special Services desk.....

 

[Art at ISP]

Having read this thread and thought about it for a while, I have a problem with 3 agents just closing down and walking away while there is a long line of customers waiting to be helped.

I know things are bad in CLT and elsewhere, and I know that people are fed up, but to just walk away like that just rubs me the wrong way. With all respect to the CLT front line, I just think it was dead wrong, and I, for one, cannot blame that response on Tempe. Who did they hurt? Customers.....

I have the same issue with ALPA and US East--the award may not have been fair (not going there), but to take actions which hurt customers is unconscionable, ESPECIALLY when the customer is not to blame for that situation.

IF you folks have it in your heads that you really want to be unemployed, go for it, because it's gonna happen. This airline is entering a spin from which there is no recovery, and we are just not going to wait around for impact.

And don't say we complain but don't go anywhere--it's been a month since my last flight on US, and I have NONE booked looking forward. I can't rely on US to provide RELIABLE transportation so they do not deserve my business at this time.

 

[john john]

You have to give yourself an exit.You can reroute till the cows come home that doesn’t fix the customer service problems at US

 

[john john]

Having read this thread and thought about it for a while, I have a problem with 3 agents just closing down and walking away while there is a long line of customers waiting to be helped.

I have a problem with 3 managers walking by a long line and not hiring more help. I have a problem with 3 managers walking by not addressing the problem with the reservation systems. I have a problem with management walking by with crews grounding A/C because of a safety/stress campaign..

 

[LCC_#1]

And don't say we complain but don't go anywhere--it's been a month since my last flight on US, and I have NONE booked looking forward. I can't rely on US to provide RELIABLE transportation so they do not deserve my business at this time.

It's about time you saw the light. If I didn't work here, I would NEVER fly this pig!!
Congratulations!!

 

[tadjr]

Having read this thread and thought about it for a while, I have a problem with 3 agents just closing down and walking away while there is a long line of customers waiting to be helped.

Without knowing the specifics of the agents on duty, its kind of hard to say they did wrong for their personal needs. While I agree that there should be someone to help the customers, do we know if the agents had been there all day long? Were they already mandatoried from the morning shift? Had they had a chance to go to the restroom during their day or eat something? We had agents today who came in at 445am and were due off at 6pm and were mandatoried to stay due canx flights. At what point in time (late night in CLT) does the employee who has been there all day say enough is enough? If there were other agents scheduled to be there, someone should have made sure the agents were there. If there werent agents available, management should have been there until someone arrived to assist. Maybe the agents were still working the delayed flights. Sounds like they should have more help. During the Apr storm I did 11 hours without a break and 9 1/2 the next day without a break and after 2 days of constant rerouting it takes a toll. If the agents had been there more than 12 hours already, then someone else should have been sent to cover the line. If the agents were just off and done with their 8 hours, then I would agree that they should have stayed, but I guess we'll never know.

 

[Art at ISP]

Tad,

You raise some good points....I may have a way to find out more about this. If the original poster can send me the approximate time this happened, perhaps I can get more information.

Even if the agents were "justified" in leaving, there is no reason someone could not have called for replacements....as another poster put it-management at its best.

I guess it's okay to tick off 100 customers, but keep the overtime down.......

 

[Harry Callahan]

I was talking to one of our ticket counter CSS's tonight & he advised that we just do NOT have enough people to do the job & handle the customers. He advised that most of the agents on the counter are new hires & the company would NOT authorise over time to help. He also said the CSS's had begged the ompany to hire earlier while they had time to train them & they refused.
As far as mandatory overtime 3 nights in a row in CLT. Like TADJR said most of these people have worked to the point of mental & physical exhaustion &unable to take it any more.

 

[JS]

So sad. It's like the old AT&T motto, "We don't care. We don't have to."

 

[wench1]

1) No ot
2) no vacation coverage
3) no breaks
4) no sick coverage.
5) Working short.
Sometimes you have to take control and do it yourself.
The Managers Budget is what it's all ABOUT!

Numbers stay low, THEY GET THEIR BONUS END OF THE YEAR!

Folks, sorry to say, this is The New USELESS AIRWAYS!

Do It Yourself.
Customer Service out the door...wwwhhheeewww!

 

[kubotapilot]

Hi art,

I think you are smart booking away from LCC.

My wife is a high miles FF and I advised her to not use LCC as they will be unreliable at best for the forseable future. Most of her trips are EU and always business class to boot !

BTW, I am an LCC pilot !



I have the same issue with ALPA and US East--the award may not have been fair (not going there), but to take actions which hurt customers is unconscionable, ESPECIALLY when the customer is not to blame for that situation.

IF you folks have it in your heads that you really want to be unemployed, go for it, because it's gonna happen. This airline is entering a spin from which there is no recovery, and we are just not going to wait around for impact.

And don't say we complain but don't go anywhere--it's been a month since my last flight on US, and I have NONE booked looking forward. I can't rely on US to provide RELIABLE transportation so they do not deserve my business at this time.

 

[Doc]

I have all these post and I feel that most just don’t get it…….

It’s not the just the bad tools we have been forced to use.

It really comes down to agents don’t care anymore and it all stems from lost wages no double time loss of pension while the guys on top are raking it in.

When this airline started making money again all Doug had to do was come to the CWA and say thanks for your help through two BK’s, here is 2 bucks your double time and we can talk later if things get better.

Can you imagine the moral booster that would have given this airline?

Bottom line is we are not respected at all so the respect for our customer is gone.