Airline call centre staff not cooperating? Time to do the HUACA!

Writing about the fact that Batik Air Malaysia has no telephone customer service got me thinking about airline customer service on the ground. One of the things I have come across over the years is the concept of HUACA.

For the uninitiated, HUACA is an acronym used among frequent flyers and it stands for “Hang up and call again”. Why would anyone need to do that though, surely everyone who works for an airline knows what they’re doing, right?

A Question of Training

Well, no. Many airlines outsource their call centres (isn’t contact centre the more current name? – ed.) to places with much cheaper labour costs. Your airline might be based in the United States, but you’re speaking to people in The Philippines. I am sure many of us are familiar with this kind of thing in our own organisations. IT is commonly outsourced to India, as there are many organisations there that specialise in that area.

What generally happens is that the airline’s trainers will train the trainers in the outsourced partner. From there, they leave them to it, so people who don’t work in the industry are responsible for training others who also aren’t in aviation. This sometimes works out just fine and other times it’s a recipe for disaster.

HUACA all the time!

With the proliferation of blogs, forums and general chatter online, there are many times when a layperson will know more about their chosen airline’s product than the people representing the carrier at the other end of the phone. Part of this is because airline ticketing and frequent flyer awards are a hellishly complicated minefield of varying terms, conditions, awards and so on. Couple that with a turnover of 30-45% of staff annually and you will often have wet behind the ears newbies trying to answer your query.

This is where HUACA came from. Talking to the airline and know your ticket lets you do something but the agent says no – or worse – doesn’t understand? Hang up and call again. Asking about something to confirm your knowledge and the agent gives you information that seems completely at odds with what you know? HUACA.

Overall Thoughts

Ultimate there is no point in getting into an argument with someone half way around the world earning $2.00 an hour (less than most American wait staff!). If you think you can do something and that the agent is wrong, HUACA. It’s something you need to be prepared for in the world of today.

Of course, savvy frequent flyers also know when to shut the hell up. Sometimes the inexperience of an agent can mean you get something you’re absolutely not entitled to. I once had a Qatar Airways agent misinterpret the rules and as it was a win for me, I kept schtum.

What is your experience with airline phone service? Have you had to HUACA? Any great errors their side which were a win for you? I’d love to hear about it. Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image by David Syphers on Unsplash.
Other images by Singhira and Kellie Walenciak respectively via Wikimedia Commons.