I am seriously impressed by the way Tata Neu customer care on their travel section resolved my issue. I used to be Vistara Gold (courtesy Axis VI) and had a god chunk of CV points, upgrade and b-class vouchers.
I had an upcoming travel scheduled in the last week of November, a return trip, but had to book before 12 November (AI-Vistara merger date) so I would not be able to use my points or vouchers, so I booked revenue tickets of AI through the Tata Neu App. When I booked, I was a Red tier member on AI, hence I would need to pay to select my preferred seats (any decent seats for that matter). I thought I would try and see if I could book preferred seats for free on 12th November, once the AI tier was upgraded to Gold post the merger and did not select any seats at the time of booking.
Since 12th November, while my membership status was upgraded and it reflected appropriately on the AI app and website, it still showed me as a Red tier member on the my bookings/trips section on the website and app. As a result, the seats were still showing as paid and baggage allowance was as per red tier. Since 12th November, tried calling AI customer care, calls were never picked up. Requested for a callback, never received it. Tried chatting with chat support, only AI bots, totally useless. Raised a ticket via customer service email and received a number, but status stuck at acknowledged and wouldn't move forward. I had almost given up and thought would try my luck at web-check-in or at counter.
However, today I tried the customer care section on the travel section on TATA Neu. First call, got disconnected - here we go again - was my first thought. That's when there was an immediate call back from Tata Neu customer care apologising for the call drop. Executive heard the issue patiently, and said that this can be solved by AI only, but since it may take a long time to get hold of them, he said he will first drop an email on my behalf marking me on cc so that the issue is documented and then he will try to call them and once they are on the call, he will give me a call back for a conference call, as the AI people will need conformation from me. About 20 minutes later, I received the call, with the AI customer care guy on conference, cocky with the standard response - 'there might be some technical issues due to the merger etc. etc.'. However, he said he could update this at his end over the call, and he confirmed my preferred seats on both the flights. Throughout the call, the Tata Neu customer care executive remained present and post the resolution, apologised for the experience (the Air India guy never even apologise once). Once done, I checked the AI app and the website, the bookings now show the selected seats and the enhanced baggage allowance as per eligibility of Gold.
Too long a post for a small issue like free seat selection, I know. But I wanted to share that maybe the Tata Neu customer service is the route to take if you need to reach AI customer care or resolve any issues with them. They made sure that they get it resolved.
I had an upcoming travel scheduled in the last week of November, a return trip, but had to book before 12 November (AI-Vistara merger date) so I would not be able to use my points or vouchers, so I booked revenue tickets of AI through the Tata Neu App. When I booked, I was a Red tier member on AI, hence I would need to pay to select my preferred seats (any decent seats for that matter). I thought I would try and see if I could book preferred seats for free on 12th November, once the AI tier was upgraded to Gold post the merger and did not select any seats at the time of booking.
Since 12th November, while my membership status was upgraded and it reflected appropriately on the AI app and website, it still showed me as a Red tier member on the my bookings/trips section on the website and app. As a result, the seats were still showing as paid and baggage allowance was as per red tier. Since 12th November, tried calling AI customer care, calls were never picked up. Requested for a callback, never received it. Tried chatting with chat support, only AI bots, totally useless. Raised a ticket via customer service email and received a number, but status stuck at acknowledged and wouldn't move forward. I had almost given up and thought would try my luck at web-check-in or at counter.
However, today I tried the customer care section on the travel section on TATA Neu. First call, got disconnected - here we go again - was my first thought. That's when there was an immediate call back from Tata Neu customer care apologising for the call drop. Executive heard the issue patiently, and said that this can be solved by AI only, but since it may take a long time to get hold of them, he said he will first drop an email on my behalf marking me on cc so that the issue is documented and then he will try to call them and once they are on the call, he will give me a call back for a conference call, as the AI people will need conformation from me. About 20 minutes later, I received the call, with the AI customer care guy on conference, cocky with the standard response - 'there might be some technical issues due to the merger etc. etc.'. However, he said he could update this at his end over the call, and he confirmed my preferred seats on both the flights. Throughout the call, the Tata Neu customer care executive remained present and post the resolution, apologised for the experience (the Air India guy never even apologise once). Once done, I checked the AI app and the website, the bookings now show the selected seats and the enhanced baggage allowance as per eligibility of Gold.
Too long a post for a small issue like free seat selection, I know. But I wanted to share that maybe the Tata Neu customer service is the route to take if you need to reach AI customer care or resolve any issues with them. They made sure that they get it resolved.
