Don't use Virgin back office

[gcgang]

I love flying Virgin America. Planes are newer, cool colors, every seat has its own free, controllable monitor, and even the gate agents and flight crew act like they're having fun.

I dreaded hearing Alaska had bought them. I wondered how this would affect Virgin, fearing that it wouldn't be good. The "not good" has started.

I was looking at changing my departure time. I called the Virgin #. Could hear a click, and a (very competent) Alaska agent picked up. When told I'd booked the flight through Virgin's website, she said she couldn't help, but could transfer me to a Virgin agent. Great!

The Virgin agent came on after a reasonable wait. She talked over everything I tried to say. Her system had gone down. When I suggested I give her my info, I think she said she COULDN'T have a pen! I then asked, after she kept repeating her system was down, was there a # I could call Virgin directly. After five minutes on hold (what, she doesn't know her own number?), she came back with the number on the website, which I had originally called. After a few more hold minutes, she asked for my number. I'm dubiously awaiting her return call.

The good news is, the original (and acquiring company) agent was good. The bad, Virgin back office seems hollowed out.

Any Virgin flights in future I'll book through Alaska site, if that's possible.

Hoping their flights stay high quality.

 

[Rustward]

<snip>

When I suggested I give her my info, I think she said she COULDN'T have a pen!

This is policy in some organizations and is quite common in larger call centers. When someone writes something on paper, that information exists at that location only. When the information is entered into a computer system, it is instantly backed up in multiple locations and is available to any agent who has access to the system -- such agents could be anywhere - any one of multiple call centers, or working from home in thousands of different locations.

 

[gcgang]

This is policy in some organizations and is quite common in larger call centers. When someone writes something on paper, that information exists at that location only. When the information is entered into a computer system, it is instantly backed up in multiple locations and is available to any agent who has access to the system -- such agents could be anywhere - any one of multiple call centers, or working from home in thousands of different locations.

Understand the idea. Doesn't help much when the computer system is down.

 

[painterbill]

I flew with Alaska Airlines frequently from 2007-2011 while working in Alaska before I retired in 2011. I was always pleased with with their customer service, website and flight crews during that time. The website was easy to navigate and their rewards program very easy to use. Most of their customers also used the Alaska Airlines credit card to earn miles, 1 mile/dollar, and I don't remember ever being on a flight that I didn't pay for partially/completely with miles earned. Alaska Airlines only flies(or did) different variations of the B737 and I saw the other day they flew their last flight with the B737-400 Combi that would haul freight igloos (containers) on the front half of the aircraft and about 18 rows of seats in the back half of the aircraft when we flew out to villages. They flew only B737 to eliminate the need to train flight crews, mechanics, etc on anything other than B737's and only needing to maintain parts for 1 manufacturer, with Virgin I believe they mainly fly A320's along the same concept. The gist is I believe you will be very satisfied with Alaska Airlines and how they treat their customers.

 

[nwsteve]

Be very very glad one of the legacy carriers like United or low cost like Frontier were not the buyers. Alaska is having growth pains but the record is very customer centric

 

[Freedom56]

I love flying Virgin America. Planes are newer, cool colors, every seat has its own free, controllable monitor, and even the gate agents and flight crew act like they're having fun.

I dreaded hearing Alaska had bought them. I wondered how this would affect Virgin, fearing that it wouldn't be good. The "not good" has started.

I was looking at changing my departure time. I called the Virgin #. Could hear a click, and a (very competent) Alaska agent picked up. When told I'd booked the flight through Virgin's website, she said she couldn't help, but could transfer me to a Virgin agent. Great!

The Virgin agent came on after a reasonable wait. She talked over everything I tried to say. Her system had gone down. When I suggested I give her my info, I think she said she COULDN'T have a pen! I then asked, after she kept repeating her system was down, was there a # I could call Virgin directly. After five minutes on hold (what, she doesn't know her own number?), she came back with the number on the website, which I had originally called. After a few more hold minutes, she asked for my number. I'm dubiously awaiting her return call.

The good news is, the original (and acquiring company) agent was good. The bad, Virgin back office seems hollowed out.

Any Virgin flights in future I'll book through Alaska site, if that's possible.

Hoping their flights stay high quality.

We have been flying Virgin for the past 6 years several times a year from LAX to FLL. The alternatives, United and Delta, are horrible. The last time I flew was in August 2017. I booked through Alaska Air's website. I can tell you first hand that the "cool factor" is starting to disappear. The satellite TV was not working. You have to return to the Virgin America site to check in and get your boarding pass. We are flying back to FLL in December but this time on Jet Blue. We want to try their Mint service. Jet Blue is normally more expensive than Virgin on the LAX-FLL route but not this time. I hope Alaska Air maintains some of the cabin features and appearance that Virgin has.

 

[Rustward]

We have flown Alaska twice, and they acted like they wanted us to be there.

Once, as we were checking in, we were told that we had one bag over the weight limit, and another under the limit. The agent suggested that we transfer stuff from the overweight bad to the other, and waited there for us to do it right there while others were in line behind us.

Excellent customer service.

 

[braumeister]

Once, as we were checking in, we were told that we had one bag over the weight limit, and another under the limit. The agent suggested that we transfer stuff from the overweight bad to the other, and waited there for us to do it right there while others were in line behind us.

Same thing happened to us a few years ago in Anchorage. Amazing.

As to Virgin, I only have two experiences. I had a Delta flight out of LHR cancelled and they put us on Virgin instead. We had premium economy seats on Delta but they put us in the very last row of cattle class on the Virgin plane. I saw that there were empty premium economy seats so I showed the FA our original reservations and asked if we could move but she said it was impossible. I considered that extremely bad customer service.

OTOH, the last time I was in LHR we got to use the Virgin lounge and it was the best one I've ever been in.