I had some issues with miles not being posted to my American Airlines AAdvantage frequent flier loyalty program account; and those issues had been ongoing for almost exactly one year.
There were several issues — including how in the world I arrived in Cairo without leaving the United States; but I returned to the United States — and yes, it is possible to have these issues by flying as a passenger on different airlines which are members of different alliances. That was not the case here; but I must admit that the crediting of the AAdvantage miles I had already received looked comical when not including the credit for the missing flights.
I must say that every time I called a customer service agent of the American Airlines AAdvantage frequent flier loyalty program, I always had a cheerful and helpful person assist me from the other end of the telephone. Male or female, I could almost hear them smiling as they spoke to me amidst the clamor of all of the typing they were doing on their computers in order to resolve the issue I had…
Should You Call For Service During a Holiday Weekend — or Not?
…but today is the Friday prior to Memorial Day weekend here in the United States. I know of many people who already left to travel for the holiday. Would I get some replacement worker who was not knowledgeable about what to do with my situation?
Before I was able to completely explain the issue I was experiencing to Christopher — with whom I spoke to only about an hour ago — he placed me on a significantly long hold. I was in no hurry, so I was fine with that…
…but as I was prepared to explain the rest of the issue to him, he already had most of it resolved; and he quickly resolved he remainder about which he did not yet figure out.
What a pleasant customer service experience I have had with representatives of the American Airlines AAdvantage frequent flier loyalty program — although one can argue that missing miles should not have occurred in the first place.
Summary
I think you already know the answer to my question: I really do not believe that the time one calls a telephone reservation center of an airline will affect the quality of service as much as the luck of the draw as to exactly who is providing the assistance — as well as whether or not the agent with whom you are speaking is in a good mood.
Imagine how difficult providing the best customer service you could offer might be after completing a telephone call with a customer who hoped that you and your family would “die in a plane crash” for not being able to seat all of the members of the family of the customer together on a flight…
…but many of the agents who work for airline customer support reservation centers are professionals who unfortunately do endure unnecessary abuse from time to time from customers.
Christopher seemed pleasantly surprised when I ended the call thanking him for his assistance and that I appreciated it. I suppose agents who work for airline customer support reservation centers do not hear that nearly often enough…
…so if one of them happens to help you resolve an issue or problem with which you might be experiencing, please take a moment to thank him or her and let that person know just how much you appreciate the service — whether or not you happen to call during a holiday period — as you just might be the bright spot in his or her day…
Yes, I know — these are not the typical headphones used by customer service agents who work for airlines — but photograph ©2016 by Brian Cohen anyway.
