Should I complain and what would it achive??

Hi all,
Just had what I can only describe as, well, let's just call it my most "unloved" VS experience in 12 years back from MCO (there is a TR).
I have never felt the need to complain to VS before but the whole experience has left a bit of a bad taste as I believe it is more down to a VS Corp / Design decision than (most) of the CC on the flight.

If I do take the time to complain will it make any difference or will it just vanish in to a bit electronic hole??

Would like to hear about other complaints and how you think is the best way to go about it.
Thanks

[buns]

I suppose it boils down to whether you think your feedback will makes things for the future or whether you are seeking to restore your former expectation of VS

If the latter, I would venture to suggest that it is not worth it

buns

Whenever I have seen fit to complain it has been as whatever is annoying me is happening ): .... the benefit of doing so on board is the FSM writes it up so you know at least it goes through someone's ears.

As for the outcome, usually you get the don't call us and we will call you speech. To VS praise they have always called back - better track record than some dates I've been on

Are you looking for compensation or some kind of reimbursement? If so, they are unlikely to give you any money, miles or retail therapy vouchers seem to be the norm.

My advice would be, if they have given you cause to feel dissatisfied with the service provided, give them a shot at making it right by you. Who knows, you may be pleasantly surprised. y)

[Nottingham Nick]

I agree - if the top brass at the dream factory in Crawley, don't get evidenced criticism, they will cling onto their belief that everything in the air is rosy and VS are still everyone's special airline. 8D

Nick

I would complain ,I've just had a poor flight back from st lucia and will be letting my feelings known.i felt more of an inconvenience than a customer in economy but pe exp on way out was better

Thanks all,
In response to is it monetary not at all. They indeed did fulfill their part of the contract to fly me from A to B safe and sound so have really not done anything wrong.

I just wondered if would fall on less deaf ears if a AU holder that has been on one or two aircraft over the past 12 years feels they have to make a comment on service / design where they haven't before that perhaps it needs to be at least taken on board before being dismissed ) )

Having read your TR I'm not entirely sure what your grounds for a complaint are.

You clearly didn't get the seats you wanted - but VS never guarantee specific seats so they haven't failed to deliver there. The fact you didn't like them is purely down to personal preference and clearly VS can't give every passenger their perfect seat.

There were no problems with food or IFE - two things that ARE worth complaining about if they are sub-standard.

As for the CC call bells - don't they sound the same throughout the cabin? I wouldn't have thought they're any louder in one seat than another but maybe I'm wrong.

I agree CC chatting to each other when you're trying to sleep could be annoying - but I would have simply asked them politely if they could keep the noise down.

So in summary - I agree with you that the 330s are an inferior aircraft to the 747s, from a passenger's point of view at least. And don't get me wrong - I'm a firm believer in complaining when you haven't received something you've paid for. But as you said, you have. Maybe you expected better, but VS haven't actually done anything fundamentally wrong.

Having read your TR I'm not entirely sure what your grounds for a complaint are.

You clearly didn't get the seats you wanted - but VS never guarantee specific seats so they haven't failed to deliver there. The fact you didn't like them is purely down to personal preference and clearly VS can't give every passenger their perfect seat.

There were no problems with food or IFE - two things that ARE worth complaining about if they are sub-standard.

As for the CC call bells - don't they sound the same throughout the cabin? I wouldn't have thought they're any louder in one seat than another but maybe I'm wrong.

I agree CC chatting to each other when you're trying to sleep could be annoying - but I would have simply asked them politely if they could keep the noise down.

So in summary - I agree with you that the 330s are an inferior aircraft to the 747s, from a passenger's point of view at least. But have VS let you down by failing to deliver the service you've paid for? I'm not sure they have. Maybe you expected better, but they haven't fallen below their published levels of service which would have warranted a complaint.

Without meaning to sound rude Gumshoe - I not sure you fully understood my post??
I have already stated that VS DID indeed meet their end of the bargain as far as getting from A to B.

My second post pointed my complaint (perhaps more views ) were towards the design / layout of the new aircraft and a huge reduction of what VS call a premium product in that location.
After all you pay more for extra leg room. If you go to a concert / theater and the seat location has issues (sound / view) you are told before hand.

Not getting the ideal seats (I didn't specify any particular seats) was more to do with two children (11 and 12) not being able to sit with their parents which had long been forgotten.

I am interested on your views stating the IFE being a point worth complaining about (this is also not a guaranteed part of the service, like seat requests, and has frequently failed) while not being able to sleep on night flight where they dim the cabin lights etc to aid but due to the design of the cabin your can't get to sleep is not

Finally, as for the call bells. I would think, and may be incorrect, that seeing the number of CC walking up to seats and asking pax what their needs were, then the pax not even knowing they had mistakenly pressed the button that would answer that question for you.
Sitting only feet away from the position they make a noise, is frankly, yes, bad.
J

Hi
Im struggling to understand what the issue was regarding the service buzzers.
Obviously the call bells ring once every time they're pressed but that's only controlled by pax. Other noises come from indications and other things which are necessary in flight.

Unfortunately inbetween services crew will be in the galleys, sitting, chatting ( usually at an acceptable level), especially on the. 330 as there is nowhere else to go. It's not that you have a lazy crew or anything it's just down to the fact that on the 330 the galleys are the only place for crew to be when not in the cabin!

Regards.

I'm really not sure what VS can do to help.

I assume the call bell design and sound are a feature of the aircraft, outside VS's control. I can't recall ever being on a flight where they're not audible throughout the cabin.

No-one relishes sitting near the galley. Or the loos for that matter. They invariably mean some extra disturbance. But someone always has to and unfortunately on this occasion you drew the short straw. It's not something you can really complain about. If the CC really were making unacceptable amounts of noise - above and beyond what you'd expect in a working environment - then a quiet word with the FSM or CSS may have done the trick? But on a busy aircraft in a non-business class cabin I'm afraid you can't expect total silence.

If one of your children was forced to sit on their own, that's a serious problem. But they weren't as presumably one of you parents sat on your own while the other was next to the children? Annoying yes, but not a serious problem. As you say, if it's full it's full. Someone had to lose out.

Without wishing to sound like the VS customer service team, I'm sorry you had a bad flight. Perhaps we've all been spoilt by the 747s but in these tough times they're presumably not a viable option for every flight on every route.

Hi Hunty88,
From what I could tell when the CC use the service buzzers to communicate with each other, during service or other times, or any of the other 300 plus pax request service the buzzer does not go off at the seat, rather in the galley where the CC are located. When the CC use them they are pressed three of four times at once to alert someone in the galley!!
These were only 4 feet from my ears and were going off, once airborne nearly all the flight up until the seat beat lights went on for landing, it felt like every 10 mins and woke not just me but my whole part in that row throughout the flight. Sorry, I call that an issue?? I did ask one member of CC of they could be turned down and the answer was "Sorry, they can be a pain."
I have never really noticed these on an aircraft before and they have certainly never kept me awake.

Your second paragraph seems just to agree with my point that the design of this aircraft is bad.

Perhaps we've all been spoilt by the 747s but in these tough times they're presumably not a viable option for every flight on every route.

I tend to agree 100% on this point. The 747's are great aircraft. I just find it amazing that people that are paid lot of money to design these things miss points. I can only put it down to the continuing financial pressures. Less room, more seats.

Sorry LovingGold, could you be talking about the phone's at the crew stations? They make a similar noise to the call buzzers, the only diff that I have noticed is the light that pops up on the curtain arch is red as opposed to blue.

If people were accidentally pressing the call button without knowing it that sounds like a design flaw.. I would tell VS. Although thinking about it could it have been a wiring problem with the flight ?| Regardless, I would let them know.

As Nick said tell "the dream factory in crawley" - love that description btw, made me think about charlie and the chocolate factory... so a message off to Willy Wonka sounds like a good move to me. Who knows, ya may get some miles or retail therapy vouchers out of it y)

[Darren Wheeler]

If people were accidentally pressing the call button without knowing it that sounds like a design flaw.. I would tell VS. Although thinking about it could it have been a wiring problem with the flight ?| Regardless, I would let them know.

On the 330's, aren't the call buttons built into the handset on the back of the seat in front?

If people were accidentally pressing the call button without knowing it that sounds like a design flaw.. I would tell VS. Although thinking about it could it have been a wiring problem with the flight ?| Regardless, I would let them know.

On the 330's, aren't the call buttons built into the handset on the back of the seat in front?

Would point to a wiring problem wouldn't it.... Unless of course people were jabbing at the call button thinking it was the light switch ?| I have seen stranger...

They are indeed in the back of the seat.
I did think at once very tired point int he flight that the reclining of the seats in front was causing this issue a bit as when the guy in front of me reclined, my knees were in the back of the seat when on the foot rest.
Of course there is always (even tho it has a picture of a light on it) which one is the light v(

Think about it: a complaint is you giving Virgin a second chance.

I would certainly share your experience with VA (if I was you!!) it provides an opportunity for them to understand and learn and feedback to those concerned.

Jon

I'm in the "let them know you're not happy" camp. Perhaps as a set of observations from a long time, frequent, VS flyer rather than as a "complaint" per se.

I'm in the "let them know you're not happy" camp. Perhaps as a set of observations from a long time, frequent, VS flyer rather than as a "complaint" per se.

Agree totally. Certainly forget the word 'complaint'

Put pen to papeer explaining you feel the need to share with them your concerns. Come from the angle that you hope they'll empathise with your unfortunate experiences. Certainly lay it on, the fact that your previous VS have been positive.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained ii) ii)

I fly regularly in UC between Sydney and London and generally find the VA experience to be excellent, certainly in terms of dollar for dollar comparison to other carriers. However there have over the years been a couple of truly appaling experiences.

Both times I wrote lengthy letters (e-mails) of complaint to the customer services team and both times received prompt and courteous responses.

I doubt that any actual changes were implemented to ensure that the issues I faced would not happen again, however they did in each case make a gesture that ensured my continued loyalty to the brand. On the first occasion this was simply a bunch of miles added to my account. The second time it was a complimentary upgrade from PE to UC between Sydney and London.

My advice, if you feel let down then you should complain, and they should do something to put the situation right. However, if you are seeking actual change...you may be wasting your words.

Sometimes unless people raise "issues" nothing will change, despite people getting annoyed by it. Maybe there is an issue about where the call button is located. Many will remember the inconvenience of accidentally touching the seat recline or table release button on the UCS - probably people's feedback led to the fitting of the cover over the buttons.

Thanks for all the input. I have used the on-line feedback form to let VS know my thoughts on my return flight. As prompted by others (thanks) I have made VS aware that these are my comments as a regular flyer rather than an out and out complaint.

The on-line form is a little lacking in feedback. No Thanks, no email saying they have received my email / comments. Very strange.
I will let you all know the out come.
J