InternationalShannon
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OMG. Why , yes, I do. And they are all going "MINE!! MINE!! MINE MINE MINE MINE!" like on Nemo.
International Shannon
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InternationalShannon
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I don't work for an airline, so when you read this, remember that you agree and acknowledge that. This post has nothing to do with any airline in operation today, any similarities are just too frickin bad for you and not intended. Read at your own risk, but watch out for venom.
I was wondering what I would do if I worked for an airline and this happened:
I get to work at my fabulous job and I find that for the fifth day in a row, I am assigned to some nightmare flight that is oversold (sometimes even downsized) and there is absolutely no protection.
Policy would say that I am to solicit for volunteers and put them on the next available flight on same airline, but when the next available flight is basically two weeks later, I really can't make that announcement with a straight face. I also can't tell people when they're going to get out should they get bumped because , like I said, next available flight on my airline is not for two weeks. Even if a seat were to open up on tomorrow's flight, which I know my unlucky gnome hiney would be assigned to, the numbers tell me that I am just worsening my situation tomorrow and it's twice as embarrassing to put the same person through.
I would offer them a Rount Trip Flight Credit!! OoOoOO!!!! Except you know what? I wouldn't think that flight credit would be worth much because they're likely originating from or traveling often to , say, BEATTLE, and BEATTLE is always oversold and good luck with that. So I have to offer that with a straight face knowing it possibly isn't good for anything if they plan to get out of or into BEATTLE.
So you know what I do then? OFFER TWO VOUCHERS!!! TWO!!! OMG!!! Wait. No one wants this deal either. They want to go on another airline and get free tickets.
So, in order to get people off the plane for people who are adamant about getting on and not getting the monetary math formula I've never been able to figure out (I hear it's like 4 dollars)
I end up doing what I have to do to get them off the airplane to avoid a DOT complaint that would come the second I said "see you in two weeks on the next available flight"
After using every resource available to me, and not able to find a supervisor, or other competent human on the planet, I end up calling another carrier to see if I can have those first class seats I see that they have. After charming them and asking them what it's like to work for a REAL airline, and buttering them up, I obtain the seats, but my computer for some reason won't do the exchange. So, I need to get a written ticket, but surprise, I gotta go to the ticket counter for that. I can't leave these people, and the boarding agent is pushing the plane back because the tower is getting all itchy because the next plane is on the ground. Holy crap did we get it out on time? Really!! (haha no one cares)
Wait, Mister Misconnect. No, I couldn't have held the plane. Please do not throw your shoe at me.
Wait, Mister Misconnect's five year old!! That is NOT good manners!! I can't believe you are flipping me off!! Where did you learn that?
Oh, that must be your mommy over there double flipping me off. Okay, everyone calm down. I'll help you after I help these volunteers.
I get the tickets all written and it's really hard because the plane that just pulled in has no jetway driver and the tower is calling me on the phone and I can't answer it because I've got a Continental Agent on the cell phone who I'm telling looks hot in that tie and he's JUST about to give me some seats on his plane, so the plane can wait, and now the passengers on the next plane are behind him wanting to know if they can switch seats, upgrade, etc.
Somehow I get the tickets written and send them to the ticket counter to check in for tomorrows flight, with vouchers, and paper tickets, and they're not even mad anymore and I have to sort through this denied boarding report. I want to put "HALF THE RESERVATIONS YOU TOOK!" on it, but I can't because there's no place for it. OH LOOK!! Here come that party of 8 from the daily late inbound from Banbun, Bexico that took care of 8 of my oversales. I try to tell them to go to special services, they stomp off, and are back in three minutes telling me that the girls there were shutting down for their lunch break.
What is lunch? What is break?
I send them to the special services counter on the other concourses and they all collectively tell me to do things to myself that would not be appropriate in public and also my airline is the crappiest ever and they hate me.
I go drop off the copies of the MONEY I SENT THE OTHER CARRIERS FOR TAKING OUR PASSENGERS, and in the middle of it I hear every supervisor in the airport (oh therethey are) shreiking that I REALLY need to go to the ticket counter, where evidently, during all the chaos , I booked these people on the wrong flight.
Now my coworkers want me to do things to myself, but they can't say it because I'll get a zero tolerance. Those annoying people!! They interrupted my conversation about that hot guy in baggage!! Seriously, I do not have time for this, Gnomegirl!!
Wow, I am so sorry to have ruined your night. So I go and I rebook them in first on another flight, that gets in later, and jacks up the pax's plans, who are really pissed now (but for some reason not at me), and I send them off.
I spend the next hour explaining why I wasn't in recheck, and how, OMG HOW COULD YOU send the revenue over to another airline and you need to pay more attention to what you are doing!!
If this actually happened, I would say that the airline responsible for retard overbooking needs to take their head out of their stupid cornhole and realize what they are dealing with. I would suggest someone from corporate come get their hands dirty for 30 seconds of this gharish nightmare and you tell me what the puck they would decide to do?
Dear fictional airline, you are sending revenue to other airlines by being reckless with your overbooking, due to pax taking their own initiative and NOT rebooking, and your agents have no other choice sometimes other than to endorse the ticket over because your cheap, cheap, "cost saving" epic fail of a computer system decides when it does and doesn't want to work.
GUESS HOW MUCH A FULL FARE TICKET FROM BLT TO BEA costs FIRST CLASS? FULL FARE, IDIOTS!! FULL FRICKIN FARE! Because your system wont work, because you oversold the one flight you have even though you say you cant afford to run another one, because all segments westbound are oversold and you wonder why the hell your customer service rating is in the crapper.
It is a good thing I do not work for this fictional airline, and did not work this fictional situation that I just completely made up because if I did, I would need to be VERY SERIOUSLY SEDATED just to function.
I HATE YOU.
(I work at Wendy's, not an airline)
I was wondering what I would do if I worked for an airline and this happened:
I get to work at my fabulous job and I find that for the fifth day in a row, I am assigned to some nightmare flight that is oversold (sometimes even downsized) and there is absolutely no protection.
Policy would say that I am to solicit for volunteers and put them on the next available flight on same airline, but when the next available flight is basically two weeks later, I really can't make that announcement with a straight face. I also can't tell people when they're going to get out should they get bumped because , like I said, next available flight on my airline is not for two weeks. Even if a seat were to open up on tomorrow's flight, which I know my unlucky gnome hiney would be assigned to, the numbers tell me that I am just worsening my situation tomorrow and it's twice as embarrassing to put the same person through.
I would offer them a Rount Trip Flight Credit!! OoOoOO!!!! Except you know what? I wouldn't think that flight credit would be worth much because they're likely originating from or traveling often to , say, BEATTLE, and BEATTLE is always oversold and good luck with that. So I have to offer that with a straight face knowing it possibly isn't good for anything if they plan to get out of or into BEATTLE.
So you know what I do then? OFFER TWO VOUCHERS!!! TWO!!! OMG!!! Wait. No one wants this deal either. They want to go on another airline and get free tickets.
So, in order to get people off the plane for people who are adamant about getting on and not getting the monetary math formula I've never been able to figure out (I hear it's like 4 dollars)
I end up doing what I have to do to get them off the airplane to avoid a DOT complaint that would come the second I said "see you in two weeks on the next available flight"
After using every resource available to me, and not able to find a supervisor, or other competent human on the planet, I end up calling another carrier to see if I can have those first class seats I see that they have. After charming them and asking them what it's like to work for a REAL airline, and buttering them up, I obtain the seats, but my computer for some reason won't do the exchange. So, I need to get a written ticket, but surprise, I gotta go to the ticket counter for that. I can't leave these people, and the boarding agent is pushing the plane back because the tower is getting all itchy because the next plane is on the ground. Holy crap did we get it out on time? Really!! (haha no one cares)
Wait, Mister Misconnect. No, I couldn't have held the plane. Please do not throw your shoe at me.
Wait, Mister Misconnect's five year old!! That is NOT good manners!! I can't believe you are flipping me off!! Where did you learn that?
Oh, that must be your mommy over there double flipping me off. Okay, everyone calm down. I'll help you after I help these volunteers.
I get the tickets all written and it's really hard because the plane that just pulled in has no jetway driver and the tower is calling me on the phone and I can't answer it because I've got a Continental Agent on the cell phone who I'm telling looks hot in that tie and he's JUST about to give me some seats on his plane, so the plane can wait, and now the passengers on the next plane are behind him wanting to know if they can switch seats, upgrade, etc.
Somehow I get the tickets written and send them to the ticket counter to check in for tomorrows flight, with vouchers, and paper tickets, and they're not even mad anymore and I have to sort through this denied boarding report. I want to put "HALF THE RESERVATIONS YOU TOOK!" on it, but I can't because there's no place for it. OH LOOK!! Here come that party of 8 from the daily late inbound from Banbun, Bexico that took care of 8 of my oversales. I try to tell them to go to special services, they stomp off, and are back in three minutes telling me that the girls there were shutting down for their lunch break.
What is lunch? What is break?
I send them to the special services counter on the other concourses and they all collectively tell me to do things to myself that would not be appropriate in public and also my airline is the crappiest ever and they hate me.
I go drop off the copies of the MONEY I SENT THE OTHER CARRIERS FOR TAKING OUR PASSENGERS, and in the middle of it I hear every supervisor in the airport (oh therethey are) shreiking that I REALLY need to go to the ticket counter, where evidently, during all the chaos , I booked these people on the wrong flight.
Now my coworkers want me to do things to myself, but they can't say it because I'll get a zero tolerance. Those annoying people!! They interrupted my conversation about that hot guy in baggage!! Seriously, I do not have time for this, Gnomegirl!!
Wow, I am so sorry to have ruined your night. So I go and I rebook them in first on another flight, that gets in later, and jacks up the pax's plans, who are really pissed now (but for some reason not at me), and I send them off.
I spend the next hour explaining why I wasn't in recheck, and how, OMG HOW COULD YOU send the revenue over to another airline and you need to pay more attention to what you are doing!!
If this actually happened, I would say that the airline responsible for retard overbooking needs to take their head out of their stupid cornhole and realize what they are dealing with. I would suggest someone from corporate come get their hands dirty for 30 seconds of this gharish nightmare and you tell me what the puck they would decide to do?
Dear fictional airline, you are sending revenue to other airlines by being reckless with your overbooking, due to pax taking their own initiative and NOT rebooking, and your agents have no other choice sometimes other than to endorse the ticket over because your cheap, cheap, "cost saving" epic fail of a computer system decides when it does and doesn't want to work.
GUESS HOW MUCH A FULL FARE TICKET FROM BLT TO BEA costs FIRST CLASS? FULL FARE, IDIOTS!! FULL FRICKIN FARE! Because your system wont work, because you oversold the one flight you have even though you say you cant afford to run another one, because all segments westbound are oversold and you wonder why the hell your customer service rating is in the crapper.
It is a good thing I do not work for this fictional airline, and did not work this fictional situation that I just completely made up because if I did, I would need to be VERY SERIOUSLY SEDATED just to function.
I HATE YOU.
(I work at Wendy's, not an airline)
US Oringinal
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Thank god you work at Wendy's, that fictional airline sounds like a total nightmare!!!
But a few things I would do is:
--Drink heavily on your time off,
--Document the horrors and pound your managers, supervisors and THE MAGIC SANDCASTLE with the horror stories in writing--demanding written responses
--Try not to blame the poor people affected by this fictional disfunction
--Drink heavily on your time off
--Go over and above realizing the only pride you can have doing your job for such a fictional airline is to take personal pride in your work
--Smile, smile, shrug, smile, nod your head, smile (and realize there's a drink(or pill) with your name on it when your done
--Drink heavily on your time off
--Enjoy those rare instances at the fictional airline when things go smoothly
--Laugh with a coworker at the fictional absurdity of it all
--Drink heavily on your time off
--And keep the faith that someday things will improve at the fictional airline(although there is no fictional proof that it will happen...)
xoxoxo
...bet you are the best employee at Wendy's...would love to have you handle my order at the drive-thru!!!!!!
But a few things I would do is:
--Drink heavily on your time off,
--Document the horrors and pound your managers, supervisors and THE MAGIC SANDCASTLE with the horror stories in writing--demanding written responses
--Try not to blame the poor people affected by this fictional disfunction
--Drink heavily on your time off
--Go over and above realizing the only pride you can have doing your job for such a fictional airline is to take personal pride in your work
--Smile, smile, shrug, smile, nod your head, smile (and realize there's a drink(or pill) with your name on it when your done
--Drink heavily on your time off
--Enjoy those rare instances at the fictional airline when things go smoothly
--Laugh with a coworker at the fictional absurdity of it all
--Drink heavily on your time off
--And keep the faith that someday things will improve at the fictional airline(although there is no fictional proof that it will happen...)
xoxoxo
...bet you are the best employee at Wendy's...would love to have you handle my order at the drive-thru!!!!!!
YVINTERN
Veteran
...bet you are the best employee at Wendy's...would love to have you handle my order at the drive-thru!!!!!!
She is the best...the only employee at Wendys I'd do anything for 😉 Although Too Much Drinking would lead to an Attendance Policy issue and you know how leery we are with that policy now 😉
hp_fa
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Good luck getting anyone from revenue management, or whatever they call the Ouija board players, to actually leave their cubicle and come see the mess they create for real people with their "ANALysis". It won't happen. Adding that emotional experience to their lives would ruin their supposed objectivity when setting the booking levels for various flights.
In the summer of '99 (I know, a century ago) I was a passenger service supervisor for HP at PHX. HP was just coming off the FAA naughty list for maintenance issues that arose when William Franke decided to cut a lot of maintenance personnel, spare parts, etc. and the FAA caught a bunch of problems and got a wee bit peeved. Anyway, as we were coming off that bad boy list some VP in charge of Maintenance got the brilliant idea that he would ask the FAA for waivers on heavy maintenance until September so we could have all the planes available for the summer season. Oh, and BTW, the planes in question were predominately the 757's, our largest airplanes at that time.
Well the FAA, lacking any sense of humor, said no. Not only did they say no, they said don't you dare fly those planes one cycle, day or hour past their specified limits before performing any required maintenance. Of course, as I recall, we got this lovely bit of news in May and it included about nine of our thirteen 757's.
Well, the first problem the executive had was finding repair facilities of these aircraft on short notice. He did find a few, but at very high premium prices and the planes were going to be out-of-service for 7-15 days each for the required service. So, with William Franke having already placed policies in effect for aggressively overbooking flights, we lost a substantial proportion of our largest aircraft fleet. 757's downgraded to 320's. (190 seat vs. 150 seats) 320's downgraded to 737-300's, 200's and a few 319's. (150 seats vs 134, 126 or 124 seats.) Our hanger queen 737-100 was pushed into daily service. (90 seats)
This travesty went on for 8-10 WEEKS. The AU's for the flights were still set entirely too high and they would not reduce the levels. The PHX airport supervisors actually tried to have revenue management Ouija board folks to come out and see the mess, but they politely declined because of their delicate sensibilities in dealing with ANALysis of how many people might actually show up for their scheduled flights, let alone the folks we already re-accomodated (screwed) previously.
So Shannon, I have lived your nightmare. Fortunately for you, you work at Wendy's.
In the summer of '99 (I know, a century ago) I was a passenger service supervisor for HP at PHX. HP was just coming off the FAA naughty list for maintenance issues that arose when William Franke decided to cut a lot of maintenance personnel, spare parts, etc. and the FAA caught a bunch of problems and got a wee bit peeved. Anyway, as we were coming off that bad boy list some VP in charge of Maintenance got the brilliant idea that he would ask the FAA for waivers on heavy maintenance until September so we could have all the planes available for the summer season. Oh, and BTW, the planes in question were predominately the 757's, our largest airplanes at that time.
Well the FAA, lacking any sense of humor, said no. Not only did they say no, they said don't you dare fly those planes one cycle, day or hour past their specified limits before performing any required maintenance. Of course, as I recall, we got this lovely bit of news in May and it included about nine of our thirteen 757's.
Well, the first problem the executive had was finding repair facilities of these aircraft on short notice. He did find a few, but at very high premium prices and the planes were going to be out-of-service for 7-15 days each for the required service. So, with William Franke having already placed policies in effect for aggressively overbooking flights, we lost a substantial proportion of our largest aircraft fleet. 757's downgraded to 320's. (190 seat vs. 150 seats) 320's downgraded to 737-300's, 200's and a few 319's. (150 seats vs 134, 126 or 124 seats.) Our hanger queen 737-100 was pushed into daily service. (90 seats)
This travesty went on for 8-10 WEEKS. The AU's for the flights were still set entirely too high and they would not reduce the levels. The PHX airport supervisors actually tried to have revenue management Ouija board folks to come out and see the mess, but they politely declined because of their delicate sensibilities in dealing with ANALysis of how many people might actually show up for their scheduled flights, let alone the folks we already re-accomodated (screwed) previously.
So Shannon, I have lived your nightmare. Fortunately for you, you work at Wendy's.
Only if you knew the long pass history of customer service of our airline
You’re just wet behind the ears
Dog Wonder
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After reading that story it is obvious you do not work at a real airline.
InternationalShannon
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Wet behind the ears? Do you think having your whole head in the kool aid, or swimming in a toilet bowl full of it for x amount of years gives you some kind of rite of passage?
The fictional airline I'm talking about has their head so far up their blowhole I don't even care right now.
Shannon, do what we do at our *Independently Owned and Operated Franchised Windays. We try our best to do what they want us to, but sometimes, the cubicle geeks just dont get it. So, do whatever it takes to get the people gone. Yesterday we had one flight over by 25 and another one over by 20. Add in the cancel noshows because some city up North didnt close the flight out right to protect the misconx and now we're edging up to the 30s. You know what. If it takes a BIGGIE SIZE to make them happy and get them out of the drive thru, UPSIZE IT! If you have to send them to the Arch Place to get a shake, send them. No one is going to care that you got your gnomey little a&& kicked today and its easier to say, sorry, one less invol than it is to try to get someone to authorize the drive over to that other place. (And why is it when this happens, those who are IN CHARGE are nowhere to be found? If you arent there when I NEED YOU TO BE, then I really dont care what you have to say after the fact Jack!!!!!! 
) Also remember that WE DO NOT DO WORKAROUNDS on this system, ok? Some more excellent advice coming from a cubicle geek!
) Also remember that WE DO NOT DO WORKAROUNDS on this system, ok? Some more excellent advice coming from a cubicle geek!Hypothetically speaking, what would happen if the Wendy's proletariat decided to unite and let pick-up window lines back all the way up to the curb and out into Billy Graham Parkway all over the system because the workers decided to...
- Solicit DBC per regulation, but don't fight. Just take the invols, write the $800 checks and move on.
- Stop doing the work-arounds (that can't be done anyway)
- Don't push until everything's straightened out
- Tell all the customers it's beyond your control, that some pencil pusher in Tempe overbooks habitually and refer them to the corporate switchboard to ask for Revenue Management
- Tell them to file a complaint at www.dot.gov
I know this is contrary to all of the "let's focus on the customer" rhetoric I've ever said, but it really does seem to be crap they're trying to peddle, so deliver the product they're designing.
Just a thought.
- Solicit DBC per regulation, but don't fight. Just take the invols, write the $800 checks and move on.
- Stop doing the work-arounds (that can't be done anyway)
- Don't push until everything's straightened out
- Tell all the customers it's beyond your control, that some pencil pusher in Tempe overbooks habitually and refer them to the corporate switchboard to ask for Revenue Management
- Tell them to file a complaint at www.dot.gov
I know this is contrary to all of the "let's focus on the customer" rhetoric I've ever said, but it really does seem to be crap they're trying to peddle, so deliver the product they're designing.
Just a thought.
I wonder how many of these cubicle geeks ACTUALLY know how to use EXCEL and ACCESS 🙂 I'm just sayin'...
US Oringinal
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If I worked at Wendy's I would follow the advice of the above two posters...they seem to know a thing or two about the realities of working in the fast-food industry.
Chiefly, Dear SNN--get them the frick outta your drive thru lane and out of your face---whatever it takes!!! Throw extra fries at them, BIGGY SIZE them, send them to the clown's mouth--just do what you have to....and when they're REALLY UPSET--suggest they write the Dept of Healthportation....these complaint numbers are the only ones that your bosses at Wendy's care about....
Chiefly, Dear SNN--get them the frick outta your drive thru lane and out of your face---whatever it takes!!! Throw extra fries at them, BIGGY SIZE them, send them to the clown's mouth--just do what you have to....and when they're REALLY UPSET--suggest they write the Dept of Healthportation....these complaint numbers are the only ones that your bosses at Wendy's care about....
Do they really care? Or has the fryer gotten so dirty that they have just given up cleaning it...
Experience and seasoned passenger service agents should be value and consulted. Some agents have seen all this before each year with a different twist. Newcomers come and go and have to earn there abilities or go back to selling real estate or become a flight attendant .being a long term agent has a lot of knowledge and tenacity. The ones that leave can’t handle the involvement it takes to get management to change. I guess you just got a tee shirt
Now your experience is showing
GOOD LUCK AND A GOOD NEW YEAR WELL GET THUR IT
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