Living as I do on this mystical island (ha!) to the west of most of you (and to the east of the rest of you) I have found there are distinct disadvantages to being a VS aficionado. For starters the Virgin credit card is off-limits [:(] (as it is for all of you living outside the UK) and then there is the impossibility of booking on-line since the billing address for the card must be the same as the country of departure. [n] All those bonuses are out of my reach. I have however discovered an additional bonus denied to all of you who book on-line.
Until fairly recently I did all my booking through my local travel agent which is entirely visible from my house and about 75 yards away. However one year I had a convoluted itinerary with several flights and would have been screwed with the service charges of so much per leg if it were not for the fact that I had taken part in a consumer survey the previous year and had received a voucher which went in some way to offset this charge. After that I decided I would go the direct route and call VS direct.
My first experience was absolutely delightful.
I wanted a Z fare to SFO but there was none available for the date I wanted to return. We discussed the various permutations of using miles to upgrade; M+money; everything. When I said I needed to think it over the Premier team member gave me her extension to call back. When I did she was on her break but within ten minutes she had called me back and the flight was booked. The whole experience was terrific and left me feeling warm and woozy inside. This was definitely the way to go!
For my next flight, a guy answered the phone and (I’m sorry, guys) although he was totally professional that personal touch was missing. I hummed and haa-ed the next time before booking but that and the following one restored my faith in the direct approach to VS
Yesterday I called VS to book my flight to Dubai. It was the extremely pleasant experience I have come to expect but with an added bonus. We got to the part where I gave my name and address whereupon this lady said “I think I have taken a booking from you before. I recognise the address” OK, so I have to spell it out every time, but it’s nice to be remembered. Then when I went to give my FC number she said “Oh, you’ve gone to gold. Congratulations!” Wonderful!
Today, I went into the Update Booking section of the website to show my son the seats we had been allocated (incidentally I had presumed it would be the ordinary 343, but it was showing as a UCS configured. WhooHoo!) and to my horror the date was wrong and as I had been given her extension number I called back. She was not available but I explained my dilemma to the girl who had answered the phone. Because it was a Z fare I thought I was stuck with it but after a couple of minutes she came back to confirm the change and gave me her name. At this point it was my turn to say “ I think you have taken a booking from me” Whereupon she agreed and said she thought she had recognised my voice.
The listed advantages of being silver and gold are priority this, that and the other. I am beginning to think that the advantage is that you become known and recognised by the staff and are valued by who you are. That's what makes VS special
Until fairly recently I did all my booking through my local travel agent which is entirely visible from my house and about 75 yards away. However one year I had a convoluted itinerary with several flights and would have been screwed with the service charges of so much per leg if it were not for the fact that I had taken part in a consumer survey the previous year and had received a voucher which went in some way to offset this charge. After that I decided I would go the direct route and call VS direct.
My first experience was absolutely delightful.
I wanted a Z fare to SFO but there was none available for the date I wanted to return. We discussed the various permutations of using miles to upgrade; M+money; everything. When I said I needed to think it over the Premier team member gave me her extension to call back. When I did she was on her break but within ten minutes she had called me back and the flight was booked. The whole experience was terrific and left me feeling warm and woozy inside. This was definitely the way to go!For my next flight, a guy answered the phone and (I’m sorry, guys) although he was totally professional that personal touch was missing. I hummed and haa-ed the next time before booking but that and the following one restored my faith in the direct approach to VS
Yesterday I called VS to book my flight to Dubai. It was the extremely pleasant experience I have come to expect but with an added bonus. We got to the part where I gave my name and address whereupon this lady said “I think I have taken a booking from you before. I recognise the address” OK, so I have to spell it out every time, but it’s nice to be remembered. Then when I went to give my FC number she said “Oh, you’ve gone to gold. Congratulations!” Wonderful!
Today, I went into the Update Booking section of the website to show my son the seats we had been allocated (incidentally I had presumed it would be the ordinary 343, but it was showing as a UCS configured. WhooHoo!) and to my horror the date was wrong and as I had been given her extension number I called back. She was not available but I explained my dilemma to the girl who had answered the phone. Because it was a Z fare I thought I was stuck with it but after a couple of minutes she came back to confirm the change and gave me her name. At this point it was my turn to say “ I think you have taken a booking from me” Whereupon she agreed and said she thought she had recognised my voice.
The listed advantages of being silver and gold are priority this, that and the other. I am beginning to think that the advantage is that you become known and recognised by the staff and are valued by who you are. That's what makes VS special
[:p]
