We're at BAT again , time for the triple play

[freedom]

Yet you were perfectly happy to blame the complaints on pilots and F/A.....

Jim

true .. but that's not the past .... and it stands to reason SOME of the pilots and FA's might still be behaving the way some of us in fleet were .... and this problem won't go away ... so the question is how can we get around it ? with no forseeable new contracts for years to come , how can we hammer away at our last place ranking in terms of on board experince , if it even is a factor affecting our coustomers ?

 

[freedom]

I'm just curious if you're bipolar? If it affects you badly, its ok to not do the right thing. If it affects others badly, they should suck it up and do their jobs like they're supposed to because we're all of a sudden at the bottom? What about all those bags that didnt make the flights back when the ramp was negotiating. Maybe we could have pulled out of last place way back when and have already been on an upward trend instead of still struggling to get out of the bottom with MBRs and complaints. You cant have it both ways here. And now that you got your raise, should we expect 0 MBRs because now you're getting what you agreed to work for? I eagerly await the 0 MBR month and 0 baggage complaints associated with it!

I certainly CAN have it both ways ….

It’s called time … we had the time and the resources BACK THEN , to behave the way that unions always did behave … we all know when it comes time for contract negations if the unionized workers aren’t making progress they drag their feet in a silent protest … it drags down performance and the bottom line .. It’s a subtle tactic to hurt a company …

The big difference between now , and back then is that our nation and company has endured a watershed moment … these times are unlike ANY that have come before , and now ALL of the rules have changed .. I’m proud to report that we managed to get our newest contract in before the economic death knell for this country rang ….

What we did back then we could get away with doing , because it was possible to still do …now the world has changed … as I told those folks in the other unions long ago , if they didn’t hustle and get something done , then it would be a good long while , if ever before they saw the light of day . Even a year and a half ago I understood the urgency of the future while many in my union did not … it was imperative that we reach a new contract by whatever means possible to avoid the fate that alternative fate that could have been ours had we not secured a contract .

And now , in this new time , I’m telling every worker , in a new contract or not , that they need to go above and beyond , because there’s a knife at all our throats , and it’s called the faltering economy .

 

[BoeingBoy]

true .. but that's not the past ....

Since the DOT report by definition deals with the past (try finding one that gives October, November or December 2008 complaints), your assumption that it was the pilots and F/A's by necessity also deals with the past.

Jim

 

[john john]

Under staffing and over-reliance on kiosks has reduced the quality of customer service at US Airways. It is not customer service, its customer processing Management has said it is the agents responsible to push the customers in to the Kiosk Lanes
People who have made a $300 or so purchase for a product probably do not want to be "pushed" into any line, let alone a line that does not have an agent at the end of it.

 

[UPNAWAY]

DOT complaints are also driven by Perception. US could have a perfect operation for a year and will still be getting a disproportionate number.
It will take years of improvement before that is burned into everyone minds.

CAL experienced this exact same phenomenon after their Worst to First turn around.

 

[SS255]

I would venture to guess that a significant percentage of complaints are from people who were charged the bag check fee, and then US lost their bag without refunding the fee. A customer who in the past may not have filed a DOT complaint about a delayed/misplaced bag when it was free to check would have far more motivation to complain when they feel that US is selling them a service for which they are not delivering.

Also, US may be getting complaints from people who bought "choice seats," and then were forced by an FA to move to accomodate a family, or if they misconnected, ended up in 23E, and then had trouble getting their money for the "choice seat" refunded.

There are just a whole host of complaint possibilities that US has opened itself up to with implementing fees for services which were once buried in the ticket price. It is human nature to get angry when you feel like you are being ripped off.

 

[tadjr]

Also, US may be getting complaints from people who bought "choice seats," and then were forced by an FA to move to accomodate a family, or if they misconnected, ended up in 23E, and then had trouble getting their money for the "choice seat" refunded.

If I paid for a choice seat then I would politely decline the FAs request to change seats. There are enough nonchoice seats that someone else should be able to move.
Also, there should be no trouble in getting their choice seat refunded IF they did decide to move. All they have to do is call rez and it will be done. It shouldnt be any trouble at all.

 

[gaucho99]

I'll add my 2 cents since I've seen more than my share of complaints over the years. The most common complaint is operational, in other words delays and cancellations. However, a closer look reveals that the customer is not complaining about the cancellation itself, but rather how it was handled. Did we act sorry, try to help get them on a new flt? Or did we just say there are no more flights, there is nothing I can do. Passengers get mad from how we handle rough situations, not the situation itself. Other airlines have been better at dealing with these issues and I think we are finally getting there too.

Other complaints are directed at employees. She was rude, or unhelpful or abusive. Now, we have just as nice employees as other airlines but I think we've had stricter policies that some customers refuse to accept. After berating the employee for some time, some will finally blow up at the customer. Compare this with Southwest where their employees seem to be able to waive some unpopular policies that results in customers not getting as mad and filing a complaint. But I think we are starting to make headway here too.

The company is receiving fewer personnel and operational complaints as of late which should reflect in the
DOT complaints as well. The unpopular fees might add quite a bit though. I predict a 7th place finish for DOt complaints, first in on time and top 3 in baggage handling.

 

[freedom]

{so on and so forth }

The company is receiving fewer personnel and operational complaints as of late which should reflect in the
DOT complaints as well. The unpopular fees might add quite a bit though. I predict a 7th place finish for DOt complaints, first in on time and top 3 in baggage handling.

hmmm ...

i'm going to say

we finish 3rd in ontime arrivals .

4th place for MBR

and 8th for customer complaints ..

 

[NCFL]

I predict a 7th place finish for DOt complaints, first in on time and top 3 in baggage handling.

i'm going to say
8th for customer complaints ..

Gaucho - I agree with everything you said, except the 7th place part. And Freedom, I'm not sure where you get the 8th place thing.

Unless you are using the "fuzzy math" that excludes the "other" carriers from the DOT's report. The DOT's report includes 19 airlines - all of those that account for > 1% of domestic scheduled-service passenger revenue. To make themselves feel better, and to get to spin things the way they want to, airline execs start carving out certain airlines that "don't count." Rakesh used to do that all the time, except he changed the "didn't count" carriers on a whim.

So, having not seen internal spin, I'm going to wager y'all were told on the last DOT report you were 3rd in on-time and 2nd in MBRs, right? Reality is you were 7th in on-time and 5th in MBRs. For the month prior, you were probably told 3rd on-time and 4th MBRs. Reality is 8th and 8th.

And in complaints, the answer is 19th of 19.

 

[InternationalShannon]

Out of curiosity, freedom, do you even know what categories the complaints fall into? Without knowing what the complaints are about (at least in general), all the cheerleading in the world won't do much good.

Jim

Psshhh, I beg to differ. My pom poms just figured out the meaning of life, cured cancer and we're working on world peace. I'll work on Dougy some more....maybe he will remember me

 

[happy01]

If I paid for a choice seat then I would politely decline the FAs request to change seats. There are enough nonchoice seats that someone else should be able to move.
Also, there should be no trouble in getting their choice seat refunded IF they did decide to move. All they have to do is call rez and it will be done. It shouldnt be any trouble at all.

Normally it's not a problem to get the choice seat refunded, but the refunds department handles it not rez. The only time its a problem is when the passenger is moved and the manifest hasn't been updated. If the refunds department can't prove the seat number the passenger was moved to, then they can't issue a refund.
I have seen the complaint report and if a specific employee is named it is sent to the employees manager. So, if you were doing something wrong that seriously p@!!ed off a passenger I guarantee you would know about it. Portions of the report are sent to the managers of each department as it pertains to their department, so they can improve their departments and advise their employees how to handle situations in the future. A lot of the complaints are passenger perception, and I have seen a lot of abuse of the DOT complaint system. Example is the passenger shows up late and isn't allowed to board the plane because they are late. So, now they're mad and they're are convinced that the agent is doing it just to be mean and will file a complaint with the DOT. Then they decide they should be given a refund on their non-refundable ticket, since the agent was mean and wouldn't let them board, their refund request is then denied and they file another complaint with the DOT. So, there's 2 complaints from one passenger that aren't valid.
Added to the passenger's perception is Customer Relations perception as well since they are the ones who handle and code the report. So, Customer Relations misperception can be added to the passenger's misperception because they would code it against the station for the mean employee and the refunds department for making the passenger mad since that is specifically what the passenger complained about.

 

[tadjr]

Normally it's not a problem to get the choice seat refunded, but the refunds department handles it not rez. The only time its a problem is when the passenger is moved and the manifest hasn't been updated. If the refunds department can't prove the seat number the passenger was moved to, then they can't issue a refund.

Well, surprise, surprise, this ISNT the way it was explained to us in our Choice Seat briefing. Somehow I'm not surprised that those of us on the front line are not being trained with the proper info.

 

[NCFL]

A lot of the complaints are passenger perception, and I have seen a lot of abuse of the DOT complaint system. Example is the passenger shows up late and isn't allowed to board the plane because they are late. So, now they're mad and they're are convinced that the agent is doing it just to be mean and will file a complaint with the DOT. Then they decide they should be given a refund on their non-refundable ticket, since the agent was mean and wouldn't let them board, their refund request is then denied and they file another complaint with the DOT. So, there's 2 complaints from one passenger that aren't valid.
Added to the passenger's perception is Customer Relations perception as well since they are the ones who handle and code the report. So, Customer Relations misperception can be added to the passenger's misperception because they would code it against the station for the mean employee and the refunds department for making the passenger mad since that is specifically what the passenger complained about.

So wait a minute, Happy. What you're saying is that if the customer perceives he or she was treated badly, but the policy dictates he or she was in the wrong, then the complaint is automatically bogus? To me, and many others, your assertion doesn't hold water since in the end, you still have a dissatisfied customer. Maybe someone needs to look at the policy? Maybe the individual employee needs to look at his or her customer interaction skills and needs to stop being so defensive or dismissing negative customer perception because "Mr. Passenger was wrong so his complaint is bogus."

It IS possible to tell someone "no" in a way that doesn't come across as Draconian or like you're being a big meanie. It IS possible to tell someone "no" and have them actually understand. They might not like it, but at least they'll understand. One way is to present "no, with alternatives." "Mr. Smith, I'm sorry, but you've arrived too late for this flight; as soon as I finish this flight's final paperwork, I'll see what I can do to get you on your way to Tampa. Have a seat, I'll be with you in five minutes." Compare that with "You're late; go to special services up the hall on the left next to C-13."

Not paying attention to customer perception is a very dangerous position to take. If you ignore it, which many seem to do, you run the risk of getting the exact sort of reputation US has today: the kind of company that doesn't give a damn about its customers.

In the end, if you ignore passenger perception, and they all perceive you as crap, you'll find yourself without any (passengers that is). Let me know how that turns out for you.

 

[Dog Wonder]

Now you went and stole his pom-poms.