CWA, IBT Urge US Airways to Restore Customer Service
Following a meltdown in US Airways' computer reservations system that resulted in long customer lines and other problems at Charlotte, Buffalo, Philadelphia and other airports in early March, CWA and the Teamsters urged US Airways' CEO to restore customer service staffing to levels necessary to relieve an overworked and overburdened workforce.
"We are writing to express the serious concerns and frustrations coming from customer service agents," wrote CWA President Larry Cohen and IBT President James P. Hoffa in a joint letter to US Airways Chairman and CEO Douglas Parker. "The effects of continued short staffing have been wearing enough on US Airways agents," they told Parker, "but the recent computer reservations system switchover has made the situation intolerable for customers and agents." CWA and IBT jointly represent the airline's 8,000 agents.
Within hours of the airline's March 4 switchover to another reservations system, the system imploded, creating interminable delays in the eastern U.S., as agents struggled to access customers' reservations and ticketing records. In addition, nearly three quarters of the airline's entire network of self-service "kiosks" were also shut down.
The agents, whose total workforce at the combined US Airways-America West has fallen from 14,000 to 8,000, worked through their shifts without going to the bathroom, taking breaks, or even getting water. Local managers required agents to continue working into overtime despite being exhausted at the end of their regular shifts.
"I have never seen our people so upset," said Janice Garris, president of CWA Local 3641 and a former US Airways customer service agent. "We had senior people who were so stressed out because they were unable to help their customers. Many agents were literally in tears," she said. Garris said that the agents received three days of training, but were trained "in theory" using manuals and a mock-up of the system, not the actual program.
Some managers actually blamed agents for the breakdown and delays, something Cohen and Hoffa told Parker was unacceptable. "The switchover. . . caused an enormous amount of turmoil at airports across the system," they said, noting, "This resulted in agents who take pride in their professionalism and ability to service customers being unable to do so, yet in many cases they were being blamed by local managers for the meltdown."
The union presidents said understaffing and mandatory overtime are routine at many airports. In Charlotte, for example, there are 38-40 vacancies on a daily basis in airport customer service, with similar short staffing at Philadelphia and other locations, they wrote. The union presidents reminded Parker that union representatives had "raised the issue with management for more than a year, with no results."
Following a meltdown in US Airways' computer reservations system that resulted in long customer lines and other problems at Charlotte, Buffalo, Philadelphia and other airports in early March, CWA and the Teamsters urged US Airways' CEO to restore customer service staffing to levels necessary to relieve an overworked and overburdened workforce.
"We are writing to express the serious concerns and frustrations coming from customer service agents," wrote CWA President Larry Cohen and IBT President James P. Hoffa in a joint letter to US Airways Chairman and CEO Douglas Parker. "The effects of continued short staffing have been wearing enough on US Airways agents," they told Parker, "but the recent computer reservations system switchover has made the situation intolerable for customers and agents." CWA and IBT jointly represent the airline's 8,000 agents.
Within hours of the airline's March 4 switchover to another reservations system, the system imploded, creating interminable delays in the eastern U.S., as agents struggled to access customers' reservations and ticketing records. In addition, nearly three quarters of the airline's entire network of self-service "kiosks" were also shut down.
The agents, whose total workforce at the combined US Airways-America West has fallen from 14,000 to 8,000, worked through their shifts without going to the bathroom, taking breaks, or even getting water. Local managers required agents to continue working into overtime despite being exhausted at the end of their regular shifts.
"I have never seen our people so upset," said Janice Garris, president of CWA Local 3641 and a former US Airways customer service agent. "We had senior people who were so stressed out because they were unable to help their customers. Many agents were literally in tears," she said. Garris said that the agents received three days of training, but were trained "in theory" using manuals and a mock-up of the system, not the actual program.
Some managers actually blamed agents for the breakdown and delays, something Cohen and Hoffa told Parker was unacceptable. "The switchover. . . caused an enormous amount of turmoil at airports across the system," they said, noting, "This resulted in agents who take pride in their professionalism and ability to service customers being unable to do so, yet in many cases they were being blamed by local managers for the meltdown."
The union presidents said understaffing and mandatory overtime are routine at many airports. In Charlotte, for example, there are 38-40 vacancies on a daily basis in airport customer service, with similar short staffing at Philadelphia and other locations, they wrote. The union presidents reminded Parker that union representatives had "raised the issue with management for more than a year, with no results."
