USAir gives a smarta** reply to Navy man

[tea42]

“theyâ€￾ need to let the agents do their jobs and provide good customer service NOT some stepford child agents.Situations like this should never get to a e-mail/ queue limited staff procedural person away from the exact situation.Agents in the field ATO work under an M.A.S.H type environment. Management has to put trust in the hands of the workers

About 5 years ago....we did have empowerment.....calling it like it was.....

 

[tea42]

TRUE, you do upgrade Military regularly as I've often asked an agent to do it as a CP companion traveler. Again it's to G/A dependent. The Stepford often can't, don't or flat out won't for reasons known only to them. I suspect many are so new and ill trained they might not know how. The experienced agents like john-john will do it in half a heartbeat.

....hmmmm...not sure if we have any new agents---we better not since I am furloughed....I have to disagree with you...i have seen many seasoned employees' ruder than rude....quite a culture shock....the real proble is that CSA HAVE heard it all. And that one single time that we show some heart----well, we get burned as we are called in on it.

 

[Travel Is My Life]

.the real proble is that CSA HAVE heard it all. And that one single time that we show some heart----well, we get burned as we are called in on it.

This is so true in any customer service environment. The scammers/cheaters ruin it for everybody else..

 

[Dog Wonder]

This is so true in any customer service environment. The scammers/cheaters ruin it for everybody else..

Do you treat all customers like scammers?

Do you deal with customers at all?

 

[SparrowHawk]

This is so true in any customer service environment. The scammers/cheaters ruin it for everybody else..

Well it goes to attitude of the company as well.

US Airways is very very concerned about being scammed. If they are convinced that you're not a scammer they will do a great deal for the customer.

You have to ask why the near paranoia when it comes to compensation? One answer could be that because as a company US Airways has management that is untrustworthy and therefore lacks credibility they assume that everyone else is that way?

 

[SpinDoc]

Well it goes to attitude of the company as well.

US Airways is very very concerned about being scammed. If they are convinced that you're not a scammer they will do a great deal for the customer.

You have to ask why the near paranoia when it comes to compensation? One answer could be that because as a company US Airways has management that is untrustworthy and therefore lacks credibility they assume that everyone else is that way?

Bingo! Give that man a cigar. Upper management at US Airways trusts NO ONE on the front lines. They ALWAYS assume that they are going to be scammed, whether it is an agent giving too many waivers and favors to customers (which by the way creates goodwill and customer loyalty, at a negligible cost I might add), or if it is an employee legitimately using their allotted amount of sick time. The problem lies with upper management because the bad apples who abused the system in the past have been promoted into positions of responsibility, and since they got away with scamming the system, they assume EVERYONE else is also doing the same. The apple is rotten to the core, and it will not change until the real scammers are shown the door. That will never happen though because the scammers stick together and ruin it for the customer and their fellow employees.

 

[Travel Is My Life]

Do you treat all customers like scammers?

Do you deal with customers at all?

Why do you have to make this personal? What purpose does that serve?

Well it goes to attitude of the company as well.

US Airways is very very concerned about being scammed. If they are convinced that you're not a scammer they will do a great deal for the customer.

You have to ask why the near paranoia when it comes to compensation? One answer could be that because as a company US Airways has management that is untrustworthy and therefore lacks credibility they assume that everyone else is that way?

The problem lies with upper management because the bad apples who abused the system in the past have been promoted into positions of responsibility, and since they got away with scamming the system, they assume EVERYONE else is also doing the same. The apple is rotten to the core, and it will not change until the real scammers are shown the door. That will never happen though because the scammers stick together and ruin it for the customer and their fellow employees.

Most airlines I've noticed seem to operate in the same way in terms of once you can prove you are not coming up with a story, that they will help you. Its not just a US Airways thing. With using management as an excuse, that just shows that the response to the reasons why the airline operates as it does is opinion and just that. You will find people that have no issues with current management and people that do. So posting something that is filled with a personal hatred (sorry cant think of any better terms to describe what I've been reading) really doesnt prove anything with regards to the topic at hand.

 

[Dog Wonder]

Why do you have to make this personal? What purpose does that serve?

posting something that is filled with a personal hatred (sorry cant think of any better terms to describe what I've been reading) really doesnt prove anything with regards to the topic at hand.

Nothing personal. Just wanted to know your perspective. You answered the question. Thank you.

Spin Doc's and SparrowHawk's comments are an accurate representation of the station management I have worked with. There is no "personal hatred", just recognition of the management mindset.

 

[Travel Is My Life]

Nothing personal. Just wanted to know your perspective. You answered the question. Thank you.

Spin Doc's and SparrowHawk's comments are an accurate representation of the station management I have worked with. There is no "personal hatred", just recognition of the management mindset.

What they said might apply to station management in some cases but upper management was being referenced not station management. In the big picture of an airline, I wouldnt consider station management to be upper management. Thats more middle management.

 

[Dog Wonder]

What they said might apply to station management in some cases but upper management was being referenced not station management. In the big picture of an airline, I wouldnt consider station management to be upper management. Thats more middle management.

Upper management depends on where you are in the food chain.

A Station Director is upper management for station staff. And any Director is upper management (unless some one is already at that level).

 

[SparrowHawk]

What they said might apply to station management in some cases but upper management was being referenced not station management. In the big picture of an airline, I wouldnt consider station management to be upper management. Thats more middle management.

I don't hate a single living soul!

Upper Management at US Airways lives and dies by the spreadsheet.

Why does it happen in this manner?

Simple economics. If 100 people call, e-mail or snail mail regarding a similar issue and as a company I can frustrate 80 of them into going away, another 17 into the “At least I got somethingâ€￾ category and 3 who were actually a big enough annoyance that the company offers them what should have been offered to all for their error, then as a company I lower operating costs.

Take a look at the economics of bad customer service.

Take the above numbers and let’s say that a modest, yet fair compensation would be a $200 travel voucher. With a total of 100 people that means the company has a maximum exposure of $20,000. About 80 percent of our imaginary group just go away, leaving the maximum exposure now at $4,000. The 17 who raised a bit of a fuss each get $100 vouchers, while the 3 who raised a major stink now get $300.

The best part of it is when you take a look at the numbers. In my example the company had a $20,000 exposure that it made go away for $2,600 or 13 cents on the dollar.

If you believe as airlines do that all customers want is a cheap fare then the type of spreadsheet mentality will continue unabated. The current crop of MBAs running domestic airlines often can’t see beyond the metrics and grasp the simple fact that passengers are not self loading cargo, rather they are someones son, daughter, aunt, uncle, or grandparents, and as such have a reasonable expectation of having what they purchased delivered as promised and if not then a reasonable avenue to pursue to seek compensation, refunds and the like.

Airline executives thus operate with the sure knowledge that no matter how badly they mistreat their paying customers, those customers will be back at the airport queuing up for more abuse sooner rather than later

 

[Travel Is My Life]

Upper management depends on where you are in the food chain.

A Station Director is upper management for station staff. And any Director is upper management (unless some one is already at that level).

But as I said in the big picture of the airline, station directors/managers are not upper management. Sure at the station level they would be the top dog, but not at the airline as a whole.

Upper Management at US Airways lives and dies by the spreadsheet.

This is pretty much the case at any domestic airline or many customer based businesses for that matter. Its not just a US Airways thing.

 

[SparrowHawk]

This is pretty much the case at any domestic airline or many customer based businesses for that matter. Its not just a US Airways thing.

You'll get no argument here as this is not unique to US Airways

In MBA-speak, customer service is “outside the value stream.â€￾ In other words, it’s an expense that only drains the bottom line without contributing to profitability. So obviously it’s among the first things to be downsized, outsourced, or possibly eliminated when a CEO seeks to “unlock shareholder value.â€￾

 

[flypg]

I don't hate a single living soul!

Upper Management at US Airways lives and dies by the spreadsheet.

Why does it happen in this manner?

Simple economics. If 100 people call, e-mail or snail mail regarding a similar issue and as a company I can frustrate 80 of them into going away, another 17 into the “At least I got somethingâ€￾ category and 3 who were actually a big enough annoyance that the company offers them what should have been offered to all for their error, then as a company I lower operating costs.

Take a look at the economics of bad customer service.

Take the above numbers and let’s say that a modest, yet fair compensation would be a $200 travel voucher. With a total of 100 people that means the company has a maximum exposure of $20,000. About 80 percent of our imaginary group just go away, leaving the maximum exposure now at $4,000. The 17 who raised a bit of a fuss each get $100 vouchers, while the 3 who raised a major stink now get $300.

The best part of it is when you take a look at the numbers. In my example the company had a $20,000 exposure that it made go away for $2,600 or 13 cents on the dollar.

If you believe as airlines do that all customers want is a cheap fare then the type of spreadsheet mentality will continue unabated. The current crop of MBAs running domestic airlines often can’t see beyond the metrics and grasp the simple fact that passengers are not self loading cargo, rather they are someones son, daughter, aunt, uncle, or grandparents, and as such have a reasonable expectation of having what they purchased delivered as promised and if not then a reasonable avenue to pursue to seek compensation, refunds and the like.

Airline executives thus operate with the sure knowledge that no matter how badly they mistreat their paying customers, those customers will be back at the airport queuing up for more abuse sooner rather than later

You are perfectly right ! As for the the other way to manage, grow, vision, marketing etc ? One word : Southwest.

 

[john john]

....hmmmm...not sure if we have any new agents---we better not since I am furloughed....I have to disagree with you...i have seen many seasoned employees' ruder than rude....quite a culture shock....the real proble is that CSA HAVE heard it all. And that one single time that we show some heart----well, we get burned as we are called in on it.

New agents. Where is the line drawn between experiences and new? HP pay and work rules for agents was the worst of all the major airline by a large margin. The effects of that is/was turnover. Who said anything about being rude? There has been rules regulations and polices with the airlines since there conception and they have been used for guidelines and some situations. Flexibility is a must to achieve good customer service. HP management is not use to having seasoned agents making good decisions and taking them out of the process.Not a day/month/year goes by without me saying. Just went I thought I seen/heard it all
That’s what makes this job