SNAFU revisited - Delta Medallion Qualifying Segments

Readers will recall a blog posting that noted Delta's SkyMiles online system SNAFU in that it's showing Medallion (frequent flyer) members a different set of miles and segments than what they've actually flown.

Delta's response to the blog post, in part, reads like a textbook for bad management:

I can assure you we'd like nothing more to have a few things to do and only activate them when they actual worked. Regretfully, this cannot happen and even though the new platform technology is quite awesome, there will be the 'bugs' and 'hiccups' to work out with these growing pain.

Translation: we're too busy to be bothered by our customers, while we work to provide customer service. In other words, too much to do without customers getting in the way . . .

The response went on to say:

At this time our technology team is aware of the problems you describe in your blog, due to the system integration. Regretfully, we do not have a timeline on when the issues you describe will resolved on delta.com. We have been advised the fixes probably will not happen until after the merger is complete sometime early in 2010. However, please know that your feedback will be forwarded to the technology team.


This response misses the issue, since I'd been told before writing the initial posting, that the tech team was fully aware but that management had not committed the resources to fix an issue that's been in place for well over two months now.

For me, personally, it's not worth flying an airline that had a perfectly good system prior to integration - and even had a good system for a month after the integration started - but that can't seem to understand that customer comfort extends to not having to frequently check up on the airline's performance and accuracy after EVERY SINGLE FLIGHT.

Until the time that I hear it's resolved, I've begun booking flights on another airline. Given the uncertainty on Delta's part, maybe I'll make the same level of status with the other airline before Delta resolves this unacceptable issue.