Recently, I found myself speaking to one of the loveliest United reservations agents I had ever encountered.
She was so cheerful and competent. I needed some help with an award ticket, and that can get very tricky when working with United’s frail award booking system. She knew exactly what to do. And she had a German accent. I’m a sucker for German accents…
Suddenly the call dropped (I was on Skype) and I slammed my fist down on the table in disgust. We were right in the middle of a booking and I knew it would be difficult to find another agent who would be so helpful.
Sometimes when you call an airline right back after being disconnected, the system recognizes the caller ID and reconnects you the same agent. No such luck here. In fact, the next agent was precisely as feared: she had no idea what to do.
Suddenly, a thought came to me.
United offers reservation assistance in several languages. These language-qualified speakers also speak English, so if you find yourself facing an extended hold time, calling one of the numbers below will typically get you through much quicker to an English-speaking agent.
I called the German number. Lo and behold, the first agent answered! It was like a joyous homecoming. She was shocked I was able to reach her again and we had a nice chat in addition to completing the ticket. While United reservation agents do not have direct lines, you can probably guess which number I am calling next time I need something…
CONCLUSION
Sorry for this self-congratulatory post. If you do learn anything, though, know that during bad weather you can all one of the language numbers and the agents all speak English…it may save you hours of waiting.
i dunno if it was the regular platinum line was jammed or what, but once i was accidentally routed to the GS line hahaha
thus henceforth I shall only call the German line if I want someone competent – thanks for the tip!
Hmm, perhaps German speakers have less patience for incompetent agents?