No more humans

Sorry, I can not recall ever using "Live" Chat for any company. I talk to real people.

Frontier doesn’t do customer service. There’s no need to pay for agents. You need to understand when you book frontier or spirit that they just don’t do customer service. The FAA won’t let them cut out safety and they have to cut something to give you those low rate so customer service it is.

I seriously doubt you’ll see a difference between robots and humans, because the goal is not to actually do service

To Err is Human; To Really Foul Things Up Requires a Computer

My first thought when I saw the news; closely followed by Allan's assessment, which is not wrong.

In this day and age, I’m guessing most people that use a customer service line are not doing it for “common” problems. I’ve dealt with those “live chat” bots before and hope I never have to use them again. They rely on key words to get you headed in the right direction and if your problem doesn’t fit that, good luck. This would keep me from using Frontier.

The last 3-4 times I've tried to talk to customer service by phone, I gave up and switched to Chat. Either the person was too difficult to understand and could not help me at all (thanks, Amazon) or the wait was too long (I'm looking at you, Delta). That said, Chat actually worked very well with both companies when I used it, so I really don't mind. And it's not a bot - they both use real people. You may get an initial bot that tries to figure out what you want, but I've usually gotten to a real person fairly quickly.

I will say I've had excellent customer service by phone at both LLBean and Costco. They both had competent representatives who responded quickly, appropriately and helpfully. Also Tom Bihn.

I've never had a time sensitive problem solved by a travel service chat line. But I think everyone knows customer service and Frontier airlines don't belong in the same sentence.

Live chat is more cost effective to the business. When you call someone, they are taking care of you. But with live chat, the rep is "chatting" with a few people at a time.

Younger folk, of which I am not one, are used to dealing with things on the computer. Not so much talking to someone. We "older" folks are just the opposite.

Keep in mind that Frontier runs the super, cheap, model. Everything has a price. If you don't need it, you don't pay for it. If you want customer service -- pay for it. The flights are packed so some pesky customers enjoy the service (???).

I’ve used live chat multiple times with various companies with great outcomes. While it may take a message or two before you are connected to a human, once in the live chat it’s easy communication. Often much easier than the phone conversation. I don’t see reason for concern.

KLM uses bots. I've had mixed success with them.

My favorite airline industry blogger, Brett Snyder (aka Cranky Flier), bestowed a not-so-coveted award on Frontier for its decision.
He also shares his experience using the new customer service channel.

https://crankyflier.com/2022/11/28/frontier-earns-the-cranky-jackass-award-for-eliminating-phone-support/

On a side note, I've messaged the Delta bot on the Delta app several times. It never solved my problem, but it got me to a live agent who could.

They are providing what their customers want - low prices. For most infrequent fliers thats all that matters. If you need to call and complain, they don't want you as a customer.

I think live chat support is better than arguing with someone who can only read off a script.

Chat works fine for simple common problems, but if you’re dealing with something out of the ordinary, it’s crap. I can’t understand why companies make to so difficult to talk to a person. It’s a great opportunity to win a customer for life. Instead, they choose to frustrate you to death.

I think live chat support is better than arguing with someone who can
only read off a script.

It was an experience earlier this month with a live chat that helped inspire this post. It was clear that the live chat(ter?) was either following a script or was purposely avoiding my question. I finally gave up which I firmly believe was the goal. Several times I even asked for a phone number so I could speak to someone, but that question was ignored; not even a response that it may not be an option. I'm the type that will always select or request a live person. Even with a phone menu I'll try 0 first in an effort to speak to someone.

It’s Frontier airlines.
The title of this post needs to be “No more humanity”.