[chersmi]

I have only recently come across this forum so my experience is a couple of months old now.
My mother and I recently travelled from Las Vegas to LAX. Having travelled from Australia a week earlier and being checked throught to LV we were not aware of AA self check in policy. We have similar in Australia but it is the customers choice if they want to use self check in (our major airline calls is Quick check).
After attempting to check in using the kiosk, I was not having any luck at all, I noticed a female employee going around helping people well I thought she was. I tried to explain to the employee I was having difficultyld in a curt response swipe your e ticket, I tried to explain my documents were from Qantas in Australia and was met with a rude 'you have to swipe your documents' Baffled I went to try again and it still did not work, by this time the lines were getting longer, I tried to get this employee's attention twice more, she knew I required her assistance but she chose to ignore me. I ended up practically begging a female AA employee behind the counter to assist me who kindly provided me with a reservation number that I required and that I did not have.
I don't know what AA are trying to achieve but there service is disgraceful. For anyone out there travelling to Australia, forget self check in being compulsory, you have a choice down under to attend a counter for service or check yourself in.
I loathe American Airlines their service never changes

[airhead]

You mention one employee who was rude then you mention another that was helpful. Then you conclude that the entire company is rude? How biased! Shame on you and your negative impulsions. I hope you meet a whole staff of "friendly" agents of AA on your next journey! I bet that still would not be enough for you to be happy or to even go out of your way to compliment.

[Eagleguy]

I could not agree more with Chersmi. I HATE those self service devices. They take forever, they do not read passports all the time, they are impersonal, and just altogether bothersome. I HATE that I "have" make passengers use them. Seriously the managers and regional managers monitor daily usage of them. They can see what percentage used them and what percentage of passengers were checked in with an agent. BELIEVE YOU ME I have several times brought up this complaint with management in every single meeting that I have been in.

The whole point of having those awful contraptions is for people who know how to use them i.e. frequent fliers, computer savvy folks, or whoever just wants to use them. I personally love using them when I am travelling because in Chicago I just go straight to one to check in and do not have to wait forever in line. That is only because I know how to use them. But forcing passengers to use them is just awful awful awful customer service. Just between you and me, whenever no one is watching I just tell passengers to come to me instead. I can check-in a passenger 10 times faster than that devil machine.

[ChrisH]

Eagleguy is right. As employees, we are told to make passengers use those kiosk machines to check in. The numbers are monitored, as to the percentage of people who checked in using the kiosk machines, and those that used an agent to check in.

Personally, I'd rather check people in at the counter, and not make them use the kiosk machines, but when a manager, or supervisor is hovering around the counter, and really have no choice.

The machines are slow, don't scan passports, drivers license's, credit cards, etc., half the time. Other times, they go through five minutes of having to answer questions, only at the end to be told "an agent must assist you". I can check 5 people in, by the time is can take one person to check in at one of these kiosk machines.

I like using the Kiosk machines, personally, when I fly, and many frequent flyers do, but as an employee, if someone would rather check in, with me, at the counter, I'd rather help them, than stand at a slow kiosk machine for 5 minutes, waiting for it to check them in.