I saw a thread over on FT (I don't have it to hand) that had an example of calling in gone wrong, I thought it would be a good time to talk about when to call in.
First things first - I do not subscribe to NEVER CALL IN. I don't like to see it in comments, and I don't think it makes any sense to say this. In fact, it creates more problems than not. You see, if you are in an environment like FlyerTalk where people jump on you for suggesting things like calling the result is:
They will still call in, but they won't tell you, because you are confrontational. What's worse, you can now be viewed as the representative of 'the community' and they don't care for either of you.
When a persons money/tickets/whatnot are locked up for whatever reason, it is very much the case that they want to sort that out quickly and effectively, and that waiting around twiddling your thumbs and not calling in is daft. The people who scream DON"T CALL IN! (DCI) aren't going to reimburse you. As experienced members of the community I expect you to not cry DCI at every turn. I expect you to help resolve the issue. Unfortunately, (and I think quite likely because of toxicity) people often don't say they are going to call until you hear 'I called and...pooped the bed'.
This is the core concept behind The Forum. It is not about super duper secrets (though they emerge without doubt) it is about building a community that can navigate the problems, and also find new solutions. For that reason I get annoyed by comments asking for a Level 3, and suggesting that there are newbies here. It is supposed to have new people here, there are new people who will bring really great ideas to the table. Slamming them for trying is not cool. Though I am not adverse to a bit of snark, as I don't want this to be the boy scouts club.
When I'm not OK with calling in
In the FT thread, I wouldn't have been cool with that guy calling in. Actually, I'd kick them out of here for that. I hope it doesn't sound contradictory, but there are times to call in and times to not call in. It really comes down to the nuance of intent. In this case, the guy in question booked 5 tickets from himself, that were error fares (variation on trick fares) and called in to make sure that everything he had was ticketed, drawing attention to FlyerTalk and trying his best to get himself ticketed, regardless of the attention it drew to the ticket prices.
Without getting into the ethics of booking fares that perhaps aren't priced as intended, if you come to a place like the Mileage Run area of FlyerTalk to take a deal from them, you need to respect them and their rules, and it is common knowledge that speaking with an agent to get them to force a very low priced ticket will cause it to shut down.
It's all about when, and how.
If you call in when a deal like that is live, you are willing to kill it to ticket yourself. That's something I'd ban someone for. If you wait, and the ticket hasn't loaded into your profile and the fare has gone, perhaps you can find a way to call in and chase up the ticketing. Want the best practice on that -ask in the forum! Say "hey guys, I booked X tickets, nothing showing, thoughts?"
I'm not sure if this seems confusing, but it is congruent with my overall approach to the Forum. I don't mind if you talk about something here in confidence with a trusted friend, but if you repackage information for your own selfish needs, such as to convert credit cards on a blog, or buy your way into a forum or clique then I think that is unacceptable.
So you can call in, and you can talk about the Forum outside of here, but if you do so with blatant self centered goals, i'll have to boot you back to FlyerTalk and the big blue meanies. We are looking for people who can call in with skill, and with care. At the right time, and without ruining things for everyone. And I expect the 'old hands' to help cultivate that.
First things first - I do not subscribe to NEVER CALL IN. I don't like to see it in comments, and I don't think it makes any sense to say this. In fact, it creates more problems than not. You see, if you are in an environment like FlyerTalk where people jump on you for suggesting things like calling the result is:
They will still call in, but they won't tell you, because you are confrontational. What's worse, you can now be viewed as the representative of 'the community' and they don't care for either of you.
When a persons money/tickets/whatnot are locked up for whatever reason, it is very much the case that they want to sort that out quickly and effectively, and that waiting around twiddling your thumbs and not calling in is daft. The people who scream DON"T CALL IN! (DCI) aren't going to reimburse you. As experienced members of the community I expect you to not cry DCI at every turn. I expect you to help resolve the issue. Unfortunately, (and I think quite likely because of toxicity) people often don't say they are going to call until you hear 'I called and...pooped the bed'.
This is the core concept behind The Forum. It is not about super duper secrets (though they emerge without doubt) it is about building a community that can navigate the problems, and also find new solutions. For that reason I get annoyed by comments asking for a Level 3, and suggesting that there are newbies here. It is supposed to have new people here, there are new people who will bring really great ideas to the table. Slamming them for trying is not cool. Though I am not adverse to a bit of snark, as I don't want this to be the boy scouts club.
When I'm not OK with calling in
In the FT thread, I wouldn't have been cool with that guy calling in. Actually, I'd kick them out of here for that. I hope it doesn't sound contradictory, but there are times to call in and times to not call in. It really comes down to the nuance of intent. In this case, the guy in question booked 5 tickets from himself, that were error fares (variation on trick fares) and called in to make sure that everything he had was ticketed, drawing attention to FlyerTalk and trying his best to get himself ticketed, regardless of the attention it drew to the ticket prices.
Without getting into the ethics of booking fares that perhaps aren't priced as intended, if you come to a place like the Mileage Run area of FlyerTalk to take a deal from them, you need to respect them and their rules, and it is common knowledge that speaking with an agent to get them to force a very low priced ticket will cause it to shut down.
It's all about when, and how.
If you call in when a deal like that is live, you are willing to kill it to ticket yourself. That's something I'd ban someone for. If you wait, and the ticket hasn't loaded into your profile and the fare has gone, perhaps you can find a way to call in and chase up the ticketing. Want the best practice on that -ask in the forum! Say "hey guys, I booked X tickets, nothing showing, thoughts?"
I'm not sure if this seems confusing, but it is congruent with my overall approach to the Forum. I don't mind if you talk about something here in confidence with a trusted friend, but if you repackage information for your own selfish needs, such as to convert credit cards on a blog, or buy your way into a forum or clique then I think that is unacceptable.
So you can call in, and you can talk about the Forum outside of here, but if you do so with blatant self centered goals, i'll have to boot you back to FlyerTalk and the big blue meanies. We are looking for people who can call in with skill, and with care. At the right time, and without ruining things for everyone. And I expect the 'old hands' to help cultivate that.