What is the best (proven?) email address to send a complaint as a 1K? Really first time i needed to. Thanks ClarkyBoy
Call the 1K Desk and let them know you want to speak to 1K Customer Relations since you're still traveling or just completed travel. If you're complaining about being double-upgraded to GlobalFirst because your TV in BusinessFirst didn't work then I don't know what to tell you. I think United did the right thing here by moving you up.
Data point: I just got a 1Kvoice email response from a communication I submitted on 3/29/12. Today is 4/20/12. Pathetic turnaround time in my opinion, but then again, I can't wait 5 mins at the drive through without getting pissed.
I don't think it's just you. Others have noted long turnaround times. Given that AA's email turnaround time is less than 24 hours for a GM, even during massive irrops, UA's clearly dropping the ball here.
Lol, NO WAY i would complain about that. I actually gave the stewardess a thank you card thingie. She was awesome. It did take 7 different people 9 days to mess up my upgrade, certificate got lost, system screwed up etc, etc. Spent over 12 hours (counted) in 2 weeks to get this upgrade 18 hours before the flight, and it shouldn't be that hard. ClarkyBoy
I'd love to know the proper channel to express complaints. . 1K voice is non existent via email, and customer relations response time is one week and counting
As a 1K, I just this week received a response to a serious complaint after a 24 day wait. The Customer Service Manager herself advised against writing an email for a problem: "Again I am sorry we were unable to respond prior to your departure. For future travel needing a more immediate assistance, you may contact the 1K help desk directly. Call, don't write.
I am not a 1K but when I had a few issues in the past, I just used the contact us link on the site and got a response (and $200 cert) in response about 1-2 weeks later. Of course this was premerger....but just barely.
FYI, you might want to edit the phone number out of your post. Yes, I know it's easily available if you Google it, but we shouldn't make it worse
Seems like with the new United, they only understand the language of the almighty dollar. So one possible solution is to start flying with a competing airline and email or fax them a copy of your receipt/boarding passes.
I did use Jeff Smisek email twice last month .... AND I got a response about 8 days later from somebody else in his Customer Care department.
I would almost never expect a direct response from a CEO, but the point is that he can forward it to someone who can fix the issue or at least get it top-down into the right queue to fix. I used his email address once and got my issue resolved in < 24h.
Not to be combative here, but for me, it would have to be a BIG thing for me to do that. To the level of "I'm outta here, here's why." I'm sure Smisek has gotten plenty of "fan" mail of late, anyway. But I am very judicious on when I send feedback to the 1K desk, positive, negative or a suggestion. Partly because of the abuse of the compensation system, and I feel messages are better sent in more extreme situations that run-of-the-mill annoyances. Plus, I'm sure they look up your history on comments too.
Big thing is relative, though. I haven't really said this in so many words, but here's my example: I checked on the phone about the DEQM promo for SFO-ORD before booking and twice after flying, and was told three times that I should receive the promo miles. That turned out not to be correct, but it was after 12/31 when I was told so, and I couldn't fix last year's flying at that point. So I wrote Smisek asking for the status anyway (but not the miles), which I received. I still had the opportunity to buy-up to 2P if I desired at that point, so I had an avenue if he'd said no. If I hadn't been told different stories, I might not have raised the issue, but instead sucked it up. I had no other reason to take that pair of trips, though, and I had planned it carefully (I thought). I also suggested a clarification in wording for subsequent similar promos that would eliminate the confusion that I, agents, and other travelers had had. In other words, I tried not only to ask for something but also to provide something useful going forward. I think it's useful where there's been a tangle of miscommunication and people need to get their messaging straight; that kind of thing is easier to clarify top down than bottom up. Obviously, I'd try the 1K desk first.
Incidentally, I've cc'd SMI/J on a few of my emails and have had two direct replies from his email box, written in a manner that suggests it might be him responding personally (one liners, BB or iphone type responses). If the original email is short, upbeat and includes a solution or revenue generating idea, he seems to respond.
Just as another data point, I received a reply back this week from 1Kvoice from a e-mail a month ago. I'm sorry, but being from the PMUA side this is just flat out sad. I would always get a response back within 48 hours. The worst part about the reply I got back was "sorry, but we did send your 1K card out again March 30th and you should see it in 2 weeks and as a sign of goodwill you will receive a customer appreciation e-mail following this for a e-cert". Well, a week later I have not seen my 1K card or this "customer appreciation" e-mail. Just sad to me to go through this change....
Whenever I write Smisek, I know it's him replying back although I do not write him for customer service issues. There's others I can get in touch with about that.
I find the single best way to communicate with a large travel-related company regarding a significant issue is with a well articulated written letter...sent via snail-mail....to headquarters. This has proven very successful in a number of instances for me. If you're complaining about the weight of the blankets in first class, save the stamp - but if the system just downright failed, you'll find this is the best way to go. With one carrier, I ended up having a forced overnight due to weather cancellations. You'd think I'm on my own, because it was weather related. Instead, I got the airline to cover my stay at the Four Seasons for a night, plus private ground transportation. The airline mis-handled things at the airport - it wasn't just weather - but had I not articulated myself so clearly, they would have just hidden behind weather. They covered my expenses, and gave me 19,000 miles to boot. With one luxury hotel chain, I had a five night points stay that just went terribly wrong. The stay was downright atrocious. I wrote in to HQ afterwards; they refunded all of my points for the stay, and gave me a four night gift certificate to return to the property. It takes a while to draft these letters...you need to make sure your assertions are well articulated and backed up with as many facts/specific times/people etc as possible. Something well written, sent high up in the organization, will invariably deliver results. PM me if you'd like, happy to share redacted version of such a letter.
