Long wait times to speak to a Delta phone representative — only to receive subpar service weren’t exactly uncommon during the past several months.
Even those who are Diamond Medallions (the top Medallion status tier) experienced problems. To put this in some context: Pre-pandemic, Diamond calls usually were answered within a minute. The service was excellent. The reps were almost always top-notch. And they made “one-time” exceptions with some frequency.
But once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, most of that went down the drain. Hold times were hours long. They were an issue discussed during a recent Delta investors call. The automated call-back feature provided some relief — but you still had to wait several hours before Delta rang you back.
And when you finally spoke to someone, it was a crapshoot as to whether or not a rep knew what they were talking about. Case in point: some didn’t know about Delta’s Accelerator feature in place through the rest of 2021. We heard reps trained to deal with “general” reservations questions were fielding Medallion calls. In other words, employees who could help Dick and Jane Public book their annual flight to see the grandkids were also tasked with searching for upgrade certificate inventory. And some were clueless about that.
(Side note: if Delta received a bunch of federal money, why did it have to get rid of so many reps?)
Well, two data points from the past couple of days indicate some major improvements are being made.
Improved Call Back Times
A trusted friend spoke to a Diamond Medallion rep on Tuesday and reported:
A Diamond line agent just told me they got an email this morning that, after working day and night for weeks, they’ve finally fixed the virtual call back feature. The queue for Delta Diamonds will be shorter. Elite line agents will no longer be taking all calls.
In other words, Diamonds (theoretically) won’t have to wait so long to speak with someone. And reps trained to work with high-level Medallions should have more time to help those members — instead of being shuffled off to those without status.
Better Customer Service
One perk of elite status — especially with Delta — is that reps sometimes “make magic happen” when it comes to something you need that’s normally forbidden in the Delta rules.
A lot of that went out the window during the pandemic.
Another Diamond friend of mine and I had this text message exchange on Monday night:
Friend: My gosh, what happened to the Diamond line???
Me: ???
Friend: They have gone from “no no no!” to “what can we do for you?” … Maybe I just got a good rep but to me the tone has changed
Final Approach
We’re glad to hear Delta is making some much-needed technical and service-oriented improvements. Hopefully, it’s a trend that not only stays in place by quickly trickles down to all customers.
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The last time I called, yesterday, there was no callback and I waited 10 minutes. However I noticed the same on Friday after calling back after I had been called back.
AA EXP desk answers within a minute even during IRROPS for me. United as a Silver, no problem! Delta has become Americas worst major airline. They haven’t restored a damn thing in first class.
They actually have. They are now offering a full beverage service, and snacks. The only thing missing now is meals on long domestic flights. That was as of last week when I flew to and from the West Coast from the East Coast.
I called in twice yesterday and neither time did I get the automatic callback feature. Both times I waited online more than 30 minutes to get an agent. The assistance is the worst I’ve ever had. I’m having nothing but trouble applying upgrade certificates and getting complementary upgrades. The system seems to be broken.
I called last Saturday, left a callback number, and heard from an agent 20 minutes later.
The real problem is that even when you speak to a rep they most often don’t work the Diamond desk which was excellent most of the time. Now the rep might not now Delta’s policy as well as I do. So it is back to hang up and call back……and another wait.
Hopefully … but, Just called – 12:30pm – Diamond – 1:47. Yesterday was it 2:20 Wait. Still need help w/ res change and RU edit must. Not seeing much change from recent bad times. And, if I never see another Bistro box it will be too soon.
How many agents do they have left that can book an award on Kenya Airways? Have every heard of Delta Twem, let alone use it? The solution remains the same for over a decade: bring back NWA systems and website.
@Stefan – Never gonna happen. Keep in mind a few years back when I talked to them at the Freddies in ATL about my frustration over a normal Skyteam ticket booking as two tickets vs just one they said – “You have a problem paying for two?” (when it should have been just one)!
The only changes that will be made to Delta.dumb is if it is better for REV MGT folks – not us.