Hiring Off The Street For Res?

I included my estimates for the first 5 year payscale per the last agreement....

-pre-cut - 21%cut
Starting pay- 9.52 - 7.52 *****
year 1 - 10.07 - 7.95
18 months - 10.63 - 8.39 (lower pay than when these reps started)
year 2 - 11.23 - 8.87 *****
year 3 - 11.91 - 9.40
year 4 - 12.40 - 9.79
year 5 - 16.32 - 12.89


With the new February flight schedule we are in effect adding 27 mainline and 15 regional jets worth of flights through better utilisation. As of right now in res if we run a sale or due to some extenuating circumstance we will have extremely long hold times. I have heard people say they had to hold as long as 45 minutes or longer to reach an agent. Between now and February I would expect higher than normal attrition, to say the least. Most are due to planned retirements, but after this first judicially pilfredged paycheck I would expect some unaanounced resignations.

I am refering in particular any agent who has been here less than 3 years. I know I am thinking about moving on right now, I could not imagine that I would be able to stay knowing that I make less now than when I started.

My question is does anybody know what will happen to call volume when we add these flights? Does management assume all these extra callers will book exclusively via the website?

I believe that they are close to the end of the voluntary furlough list, so they will soon have to hire off the street. The company has not yet received the right to contract out Res, and I am not assuming they won't try later because I would not put that past this slippery bunch. So assuming that they will have to hire off the street what caliber of employee do you think you can get for 7.52 per hour?

In Winston-Salem, Greensboro I believe most fast food places start around 8.00 per hour, better hours, free food and if you get bored you can even spit in the food for spite.....Hell, Chick-Fil-a closes at 10pm and they get holidays off, and are closed every Sunday and I'd imagine you'd get those tasty nuggets. Places like Target, Cost-co and Home Depot start off no less than 8.00 something too and then again you have better hours.

So who are they going to hire for 7.52 per hour when you have to re-bid your shift every 3 months, they do not allow flexible scheduling for students, if you are a parent you cannot get a shift where you can take care of your children, no sick time, 75% pay for vacations, you work holidays and weekends, possibly overnights. So parents looking for supplimental part-time income and college students are out.

Not to mention you used to get 200 bucks per week for training and the training class is 4 weeks. People who do not pass the city codes test (I Think it was 90% or better, but not sure) are let go. Then you have to pass the rest of the tests or they do not offer you the job..... Who will stay for the four weeks? Will we have to lower the standards?

Now consider that I am just talking about Res....Now consider people applying for Ramp, and ATO who have to pass FAA background and drug testing

Hmmmm maybe at 7.52 per hour they ought to consider dropping the drug testing......LOL
 
Speaking of drug test...all who were accepted into training and drug free are all now ON drugs! Surprise!!!!!!!
 
Don't forget the valium and bottle of Jack Daniels! Paramedics will be on standby!

No, it's a Prozac salt lick. A few licks as you come in and once every couple of hours will get you through the day without a major breakdown.
 
I believe that they are close to the end of the voluntary furlough list, so they will soon have to hire off the street. The company has not yet received the right to contract out Res, and I am not assuming they won't try later because I would not put that past this slippery bunch. So assuming that they will have to hire off the street what caliber of employee do you think you can get for 7.52 per hour?

I don't think that the company would be considered to be outsourcing if they opened a call center off shore if no domestic res sales agent jobs are lost in the process. Say good-bye to that call volume and that "A" scale overtime folks. Any bets on where it is going to be? India? Malaysia?
Res isn't going to be able to make up that pay cut with overtime because there won't be any.
 
I think you're exactly right, EIGHTYSIX. The exec's and current management have such a low regard for employees, that outsourcing is something that should be expected IF the company makes it past Feb. Im not sure that's even possible at this point, but if by some miracle, the company does get thru the next 4 months, we're going to see lots more Kiosk at the airport, fewer agents boarding flights, and less staffing in the call centers. Thats a given Im sure. The only question now is where will the calls be sent? India or Philippines?????
 
When GoFares are implemented systemwide, the company expects Rez call time to be reduced from 5 to 3 minutes. Moreover, there is a push to double Internet ticket sales.

This is part of the reason there were the recent Sales Department layoffs.

Unless something changes, the company could be over staffed by about 50% of the Rez agents. Rez currently has about 1,800 RSA’s with about half in Pittsburgh and the other half in Winston-Salem. Separately, the company has rejected the Pittsburgh reservation sales office lease and in my opinion, this facility could close in February.

If true, this could result in about 800 Agent layoffs and would ease the staffing issue.

Do I like this? No, of course not. It appears the only way the CWA can avoid this is to negotiate a TA.

Regards,

USA320Pilot
 
USA320Pilot said:
Do I like this? No, of course not. It appears the only way the CWA can avoid this is to negotiate a TA.

Regards,

USA320Pilot

Hah- the company closed SYR res and I think SAN under the contract. If they wanted to close PIT res they could do it tommorow. What's a TA going to do? Promise to keep it open? No way the company would agree to that. There is currently enough call volume to justify another res center, and I would bet it isn't going to be in the good ole USA.
 
EightySix said:
There is currently enough call volume to justify another res center, and I would bet it isn't going to be in the good ole USA.
[post="193150"][/post]​


I must say something about off shore call centers. I believe it is a HUGE mistake.

I have used several services who have call centers and frankly, I hate calling them. They have to repeat everything they say at least twice as do I. The accents are way too heavy to understand clearly.

If I can not find a North American based call center for a product, I do one of two things. Either I fix the issue myself, or I take that product back to the store. I just don't want to deal with an accent so deep I can not understand them.

Booking a plane ticket is stress enough, combine that with a thick foreign accent and you have a recipe for "NO SALE". I hope that will not happen here.

"2 more of my pennies"
 
Customer Support for Dell Computers is in India.....I have so much trouble understanding when I call, that I just give up. I wrote my displeasure to the corp. hdqrs, but no answer about that....just another of the aggrivations of dealing with "cheap" companies...Ill never buy another product that results in my having to deal with off shore service issues.
 
They are clearing the cow pasture now in Mobile for the next reservation center.

Mabel and Bertha will be glad to take your call.
 
:( Most of the people who applied and were sent to clt to take the power test.. failed....so now they have to lower their standard because they don't have enough people to hire for these jobs.........

and get this most gsc and css get sent for an alcohol test.. geez you think we'd be drinking at work... :p (you think mgmt is on to us)..................................... lol :shock:

not us............. we just take prescription drugs :D

after the crap we've been taking its no wonder...........
 
People that have never done it don't realize how shi++y an ATO job is. Lets face it we are here for the money. I feel sorry for the hand full of agents that stay on for little or no pay .... noone to work with but newbees and temps.
 
USA320Pilot said:
When GoFares are implemented systemwide, the company expects Rez call time to be reduced from 5 to 3 minutes. Moreover, there is a push to double Internet ticket sales.

This is part of the reason there were the recent Sales Department layoffs.

Unless something changes, the company could be over staffed by about 50% of the Rez agents.

Regards,

USA320Pilot
[post="193147"][/post]​

Yes I can see it now, bad weather in the northeast everything running late, lots of cancellations thousands and thousands of passengers traveling on gofares. A hand full of people in reservations trying to handle it, two agents and 15 Kiosks at the ticket counter. Everyone left standing making $8 an hour .... most hiding in the backroom if that's all they make. Good luck to the kiosks and the traveling public. Sounds like a good TP to me.....
 

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