Can't help won't help

Just rang the flying club to ask if a special mention or small card can be given to some special friends who are emigrating because of I'll health. It seems 11 hrs is short of notice to do. I think it's these sort of touches that separate a airline or am I wrong.


Could anyone flying out today pass a message to concierge at the clubhouse for me. My friends on on the 603 tonight to Cape Town.

Thanks in anticipation

Jurgen

I appreciate your sentiments and have every sympathy for your friends I'll health. I hope they enjoy their new life abroad.

However, Do you genuinely expect someone at a call centre in Crawley (whose job is to sell tickets) to be able to co-ordinate a card for a couple out of the hundreds of passengers flying through the Clubhouse today, at less than a days notice, all free of charge to yourself?!

This is a global company we are talking about, so rather more notice and initiative from yourself (buy the card and ask where to post it maybe?) is required in future...

Actually, it's a perfectly reasonable request; I suspect the individual you spoke to got confused with the 24 hour cut off rule for surprise birthday gifts onboard. Were it me you spoke to, I would have sent a message to the clubhouse, or at the very least, put notes on thier booking so the crew could see. So appoligies that this wasn't offered.

On a separate note; Clarky, we don't just 'book tickets' like mindless automatons at Crawley - in actual fact, the list of things we have to do is rather more complicated than that.

I'm sort of with Clarkey on this (though may not have been so blunt)!

To me 11 hours IS too short of notice even though you were not booking a (paid for) gift.

You would be relying on the the message from Crawley getting through to the CH concierge or the CC (both of whom have other things to do and pax to deal with) noticing the request/note and then actioning it and to me there are just too many steps that could break down.

I think the person you spoke to was being very honest with you and rather than giving you false hope that a message could be passed on simply said no.

BTW there would be data protection issues for someone accessing another persons records without valid reason and how would the operator know any of your request (that your friends were ill or emigrating) was actually true. They should not even reveal that Mr X is on flight Y to a random caller.

Finally would your friend really want their reason for travelling to be known by a couple of hundred strangers?

Actually, it's a perfectly reasonable request; I suspect the individual you spoke to got confused with the 24 hour cut off rule for surprise birthday gifts onboard. Were it me you spoke to, I would have sent a message to the clubhouse, or at the very least, put notes on thier booking so the crew could see. So appoligies that this wasn't offered.

On a separate note; Clarky, we don't just 'book tickets' like mindless automatons at Crawley - in actual fact, the list of things we have to do is rather more complicated than that.

Oooh, you work at The Office too??

Agreed, the person you came through to could have at least offered some sort of work around, even if a card was out of the question.

Thanks for all your comments it's actually 5 days you have to give for a celebration and I only found out they were flying virgin on Monday. But a phone call maybe with I will try but I cannot be certain was I think a better answer than no. Many thanks again for your comments jurgen

I apologise for being rather more blunt than normal, was feeling a bit argumentative onthe train home, but I still stick to my point that it's rather far fetched to expect something like that never mind at 11 hours notice.

I think if we can fly halfway round the world in 11 hours a phone call or email is a tad quicker especially in this day and age. I think the real point was the customer service I normally get from virgin with people who always try to help hence many thanks that we see on here. Jurgen