United to Close Dulles Reservations Center

[TravelDude]

United to Close Dulles Reservations Center
----------------------------------------------------
United announced this week that it will close its
Reservations call center in Sterling, Virginia,
effective October 16, 2006.

* The center's approximately 410 IAM-represented
employees will be offered system furlough options in
accordance with their contract, at call centers in
Chicago, Detroit and Honolulu.

* These employees can also file a transfer request
for other positions throughout the company that may
open in the future.

* Consolidating call center work reduces United's
lease and facility costs.

* A growing number of customers are using united.com
and our voice recognition unit (VRU) system for
ticketing processes.

* We also have third-party vendors taking North
America sales calls.

* Realigning staffing at the Chicago, Detroit and
Honolulu centers utilizes excess capacity at these
facilities.

* United continues to look at organization staffing
levels and facilities across the company, while we
work to improve overall service to our customers.

* Going forward, Reservations' call centers of
excellence are focused on revenue maximization and
customer satisfaction.

 

[novaqt]

United to Close Dulles Reservations Center
----------------------------------------------------
United announced this week that it will close its
Reservations call center in Sterling, Virginia,
effective October 16, 2006.

* The center's approximately 410 IAM-represented
employees will be offered system furlough options in
accordance with their contract, at call centers in
Chicago, Detroit and Honolulu.

* These employees can also file a transfer request
for other positions throughout the company that may
open in the future.

* Consolidating call center work reduces United's
lease and facility costs.

* A growing number of customers are using united.com
and our voice recognition unit (VRU) system for
ticketing processes.

* We also have third-party vendors taking North
America sales calls.

* Realigning staffing at the Chicago, Detroit and
Honolulu centers utilizes excess capacity at these
facilities.

* United continues to look at organization staffing
levels and facilities across the company, while we
work to improve overall service to our customers.

* Going forward, Reservations' call centers of
excellence are focused on revenue maximization and
customer satisfaction.

Not only are they closing Dulles Reservations, but they CS agents in COS and are turning it over the UAX operated by Skywest and MESA. They are also closing Shanghai Rerservations.

 

[JungleClone]

Sad as it always is to see any jobs eliminated, it's a simple fact that technology and outsourcing will continue to conspire to take away nearly all call-center type work activities for many U.S. companies, not just airlines.

 

[Kev3188]

Not only are they closing Dulles Reservations, but they CS agents in COS and are turning it over the UAX operated by Skywest and MESA. They are also closing Shanghai Rerservations.

Are any other stations being "turned over" to other companies/parties?

 

[novaqt]

Kev3188:

The entire Sales Deptment is being outsourced to Manila. The Rate Desk and Customer Relations is now in India. So all frontline jobs are not safe including airport CS. They are already looking at vendors to handle these jobs. Bags at the airports are being tagged by vendors.

 

[novaqt]

Kev3188:

The entire Sales Deptment is being outsourced to Manila. The Rate Desk and Customer Relations is now in India. So all frontline jobs are not safe including airport CS. They are already looking at vendors to handle these jobs. Bags at the airports are being tagged by vendors.

Since "The World Is Flat" (Thomas L. Friedman), it is now time for all the corporate CEO's, senior management and BOD jobs to be outsourced overseas. I'm sure the corporate decisions can be made just as well from there as they are here. That would really bring down cost structure. The same holds true for bankers.

 

[jimntx]

Are any other stations being "turned over" to other companies/parties?

If UAL is anything like AA, you will see more and more stations either turned over to your regional carriers or to outside vendors.

A lot of our stations have now been "downgraded" to American Eagle--I put that word in parenthesis because about the only thing being downgraded is the station employees' pay. Other stations, such as BHM and SLC, have been turned over to 3rd party vendors. The agents at most of the outsourced stations are very nice, but as people who don't even get travel benefits on AA are not wildly committed to going beyond the minimum required. In some of the stations, they don't even get a 40-hour workweek for their barely minimum wage pay.

 

[Kev3188]

If UAL is anything like AA, you will see more and more stations either turned over to your regional carriers or to outside vendors.

Working at NW, this is something I'm sadly familiar with...

 

[JungleClone]

I hate to say it, but going forward, as the price of oil continues to put cost pressure on airlines, outsourcing will only get worse. It wouldn't surprise me to see near virtual airlines, where the airline name/livery exists, but nearly all employees work for third party vendors. Bean counters and executives should remember one thing, though: you get what you pay for!

 

[novaqt]

I hate to say it, but going forward, as the price of oil continues to put cost pressure on airlines, outsourcing will only get worse. It wouldn't surprise me to see near virtual airlines, where the airline name/livery exists, but nearly all employees work for third party vendors. Bean counters and executives should remember one thing, though: you get what you pay for!

I heard United is bringing Customer Relations back to DTWRR, but they are outsourcing HKGRR to an outside vendor.

 

[scootcha]

"The Rate Desk and Customer Relations is now in India."

I just had the worst CSR experience I have ever had trying to deal with I assume India. 3+ hours to accomplish nothing!

I will REALLY miss you local folks and I am sorry but I am going to avoid using ever UA again. The call call center agents just did not get the fact that a credit was due o matter how hard I tried and only attemted to placate me with vouchers.

It's too sad.

 

[noname]

United to Close Dulles Reservations Center
----------------------------------------------------
United announced this week that it will close its
Reservations call center in Sterling, Virginia,
effective October 16, 2006.

* The center's approximately 410 IAM-represented
employees will be offered system furlough options in
accordance with their contract, at call centers in
Chicago, Detroit and Honolulu.

* These employees can also file a transfer request
for other positions throughout the company that may
open in the future.

* Consolidating call center work reduces United's
lease and facility costs.

* A growing number of customers are using united.com
and our voice recognition unit (VRU) system for
ticketing processes.

* We also have third-party vendors taking North
America sales calls.

* Realigning staffing at the Chicago, Detroit and
Honolulu centers utilizes excess capacity at these
facilities.

* United continues to look at organization staffing
levels and facilities across the company, while we
work to improve overall service to our customers.

* Going forward, Reservations' call centers of
excellence are focused on revenue maximization and
customer satisfaction.

I hope that the powers that be at UA take a close look at what the former MisManagement at US Airways did and the results when they outsourced. They outsourced Res to Manila and Mexico City and outsourced dividend miles to El Salvador. That was over 15 months ago and they still haven't recovered. They are going to try to bring Res back inhouse due to the gross incompetence of the outsourced offices ( that's the last I heard anyway, I left U Aug 05). We in res tried to tell them it would be a disaster, but what did we know? We only did the fricking job!!
Good luck to you guys.

 

[novaqt]

I hope that the powers that be at UA take a close look at what the former MisManagement at US Airways did and the results when they outsourced. They outsourced Res to Manila and Mexico City and outsourced dividend miles to El Salvador. That was over 15 months ago and they still haven't recovered. They are going to try to bring Res back inhouse due to the gross incompetence of the outsourced offices ( that's the last I heard anyway, I left U Aug 05). We in res tried to tell them it would be a disaster, but what did we know? We only did the fricking job!!
Good luck to you guys.

Its my understanding from the folks in Winston-Salem NC that US has already brought Res back in-house. Seems what US does, UA follows a few years later. The experiment of outsourcing is not working for the customer, only the bottom line of the companies.

 

[whlinder]

I hope that these positions aren't offshored, but I am not surprised at all that UA wants to close Dulles res. Northern VA has become so expensive to live in these days, I can't believe that UA could retain talented agents in this area at the wages they want to pay.