I flew recently with United Airlines, and while my flight was good, my suitcase was damaged, so I had to call to talk to them about it. I didn't have time to deal with it at the airport since I had to grab a taxi and run straight to a meeting. So when I got to the hotel later in the day, I gave United Airlines a call and was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I was able to get through the phone lines to talk to a representative.
I had honestly expected to be on the phone for at least an hour waiting on hold because nothing is off limits the way the flight industry is right now. However, despite the number of things people could be calling about, I got off the phone within five minutes, including the time I spent with the agent. There was hardly any wait, and the automated system was fairly easy to navigate. While I definitely wasn't happy about my suitcase, the great customer service helped to make the situation a little better.
When I first called, the voice assistant stated, "Thanks for calling United Airlines. For Spanish, press 1. Please note we are now offering you the ability to chat with our agents via text message. Would you like me to send a text message to you to have this conversation with an agent?" I had never heard about a text conversation before as a form of support, but I wanted to get this dealt with right, so I said no.
Then it gave me another array of options, including, "Track my bag, report missing bag, lost carryon item, other options." None of those options fit my situation, so I chose other options, and then the voice assistant stated, "Alright, other options. Update contact information, expense reimbursement, report damaged bag or main menu."
I stated, damaged bag, and it replied that to file a claim about a damaged bag I would need to have my flight number, bag claim number, and bag tag stub. I just got off the flight, so finding these materials wasn't an issue. It then told me to hold while I was transferred to an agent. A voice message told me about a survey, and then it instantly connected me to Vishnu. I had only been on the phone for two and a half minutes, so that was excellent service. Vishnu had a thick accent, but I was able to get my claim filed quickly anyway. Just a heads up, it's obvious they outsourced their customer service.