This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
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AJC wrote:Update: Well I received a reply from Virgin HQ this morning and well what can I say other than fantastic. I would love to post the reply here, am I allowed to do that?
I do hope so as I am dying to read it !!!
Please do post their reply. I can't see an issue with this unless they have marked it confidential in any way, or stated that this information should not be shared with any third parties?
Do please post, we were all so gutted that you'd had such a bad experience and I'd like to see how VS redeemed themselves.
Ok 
Well when I contacted them rather than set it all out in a long winded email again, I simply sent them my trip report as posted here.
This is the reply I got this morning and I have to say, it had me smiling widely by the time I'd finished and I believe it is an example of why Virgin is so special.
"Dear Miss Gardiner
She sat down at her desk with the usual amount of apprehension for the day ahead. She knew her mission – make unhappy customers happy – but could she do it?
She entered the top secret passwords into the system and watched the lights flickering into life, followed by the usual bombardment of emails, updates and news. Ignoring these, she went straight to work.
Her first case – easy! Informing Mr X he could use the Upper Class lounge in Hong Kong. Thanks all around!
The next, a secret meeting with a “Premier Agent” to obtain vital information on flight prices. Another box ticked.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she selected her next dossier. If her day carried on in this way she could go home happy, maybe treating herself to a posh coffee on the way.
She started to read, and knew straight away something was different. The style, the tone and above all the sentiments. Her attention hooked, she read on.
At first, all was going well. A great experience in the Clubhouse, a welcoming receptionist, a happy son. As a parent herself, she knew how important that was to a holiday. So far so good.
Her happy mood however soon disappeared. A sorry tale then ensued of unwelcoming and unhelpful crew, unruly children and a faulty entertainment system – this was not good.
She felt her sympathy increasing as the writer detailed her how much they had been looking forward to this flight. The disappointment and irritation that followed was completely understandable to her and she wished she could turn back the clock.
She knew from her previous life as a crewmember, how little a warm welcome and smile cost, and how far they can go. She also understood that when a customer expresses concerns, the way it’s dealt with is vital. Acknowledgement and follow-up make the world of difference. While most people are entirely reasonable and understand that things go wrong sometimes – if ignored, she knew they would almost certainly return to the nemesis of her organisation.
This certainly wasn’t the standard she expected from her co-workers, and she felt her indignation bristle for this customer.
So… the big question…what to do? How could she convince Miss G to give us another chance? That she knew this wasn’t the norm for her organisation.
Time for a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit – that always helped focus her mind. First, people had to be told. A quick email to the crew training managers to let them know what happened should do the trick. She knew they were in the best place to remind her colleagues of the standards her organisation expected, and to implement any extra training if necessary.
Next, she wanted to let the client know she was valued and that they were sorry. A quick check of the Flying Club dossier showed her that 8,000 miles had been added by the crew. She supposed this was for the faulty entertainment, but knew this hadn’t been properly communicated to Miss G.
She remembered that a cabin upgrade using miles would cost 25,000 miles for both clients. Hoping that they would consider this an appropriate apology and use them to try again, after a quick calculation (despite maths not being her strong point!) she worked out that they would need a further 17,000. A few clicks later and it was done. Miss G now had 69,278 miles.
So, with crossed fingers, she composed her reply. Was it enough? Would Miss G and Matthew give them another chance? And most importantly, did they get to meet Mickey Mouse?
She dearly hoped so, and wanted to thank Miss G for taking the time to let the head of her organisation Mr Craig Kreeger know about her experience. While concerning to read, it was of vital importance to her organisation and would be used to make sure this didn’t happen again.
Kind regards"
Well when I contacted them rather than set it all out in a long winded email again, I simply sent them my trip report as posted here. This is the reply I got this morning and I have to say, it had me smiling widely by the time I'd finished and I believe it is an example of why Virgin is so special.
"Dear Miss Gardiner
She sat down at her desk with the usual amount of apprehension for the day ahead. She knew her mission – make unhappy customers happy – but could she do it?
She entered the top secret passwords into the system and watched the lights flickering into life, followed by the usual bombardment of emails, updates and news. Ignoring these, she went straight to work.
Her first case – easy! Informing Mr X he could use the Upper Class lounge in Hong Kong. Thanks all around!
The next, a secret meeting with a “Premier Agent” to obtain vital information on flight prices. Another box ticked.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she selected her next dossier. If her day carried on in this way she could go home happy, maybe treating herself to a posh coffee on the way.
She started to read, and knew straight away something was different. The style, the tone and above all the sentiments. Her attention hooked, she read on.
At first, all was going well. A great experience in the Clubhouse, a welcoming receptionist, a happy son. As a parent herself, she knew how important that was to a holiday. So far so good.
Her happy mood however soon disappeared. A sorry tale then ensued of unwelcoming and unhelpful crew, unruly children and a faulty entertainment system – this was not good.
She felt her sympathy increasing as the writer detailed her how much they had been looking forward to this flight. The disappointment and irritation that followed was completely understandable to her and she wished she could turn back the clock.
She knew from her previous life as a crewmember, how little a warm welcome and smile cost, and how far they can go. She also understood that when a customer expresses concerns, the way it’s dealt with is vital. Acknowledgement and follow-up make the world of difference. While most people are entirely reasonable and understand that things go wrong sometimes – if ignored, she knew they would almost certainly return to the nemesis of her organisation.
This certainly wasn’t the standard she expected from her co-workers, and she felt her indignation bristle for this customer.
So… the big question…what to do? How could she convince Miss G to give us another chance? That she knew this wasn’t the norm for her organisation.
Time for a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit – that always helped focus her mind. First, people had to be told. A quick email to the crew training managers to let them know what happened should do the trick. She knew they were in the best place to remind her colleagues of the standards her organisation expected, and to implement any extra training if necessary.
Next, she wanted to let the client know she was valued and that they were sorry. A quick check of the Flying Club dossier showed her that 8,000 miles had been added by the crew. She supposed this was for the faulty entertainment, but knew this hadn’t been properly communicated to Miss G.
She remembered that a cabin upgrade using miles would cost 25,000 miles for both clients. Hoping that they would consider this an appropriate apology and use them to try again, after a quick calculation (despite maths not being her strong point!) she worked out that they would need a further 17,000. A few clicks later and it was done. Miss G now had 69,278 miles.
So, with crossed fingers, she composed her reply. Was it enough? Would Miss G and Matthew give them another chance? And most importantly, did they get to meet Mickey Mouse?
She dearly hoped so, and wanted to thank Miss G for taking the time to let the head of her organisation Mr Craig Kreeger know about her experience. While concerning to read, it was of vital importance to her organisation and would be used to make sure this didn’t happen again.
Kind regards"
What a fantastic human response. 
Another confirmation of the VS customer ethos...business with fun!.
I'm so glad that you were given more FC miles. Are you going to use them though?
The very fact that this response was really, really personal and by ex CC, and ex CC with a great customer service attitude must dilute some of everything that you went through.
Brilliant
Another confirmation of the VS customer ethos...business with fun!.
I'm so glad that you were given more FC miles. Are you going to use them though?
The very fact that this response was really, really personal and by ex CC, and ex CC with a great customer service attitude must dilute some of everything that you went through.
Brilliant
What an absolutely fabulous reply ,well done to whoever took the time to do it ,enjoy using all those lovely miles
Well that's cheered me up and I wasn't even unhappy.
Dick D
Dick D
Ha! That was lovely What a wonderful response.
What a wonderful response.
What a fantastic response. So personal and with a great deal of thought. Well done to the letter writer for not using a standard reply and enjoy the miles.
dickydotcom wrote:Well that's cheered me up and I wasn't even unhappy.
Dick D
Lol
Well that was wonderful. They went the extra mile and more. A really super piece of public relations. 
Full marks to VS.
Full marks to VS.
Brilliant reply from VS - must have taken quite a bit longer to do than the normal cut+paste of the "We're really sorry to hear we did not get things quite right..." boiler-plate paragraphs.
I'd actually be tempted to email Craig Kreeger (Virgin CEO) to get the reply-writer a little recognition. Virgin cocked-up on the OP's outbound flight. They have held their hands up to it and given a very personal response to the complaint.
I'd actually be tempted to email Craig Kreeger (Virgin CEO) to get the reply-writer a little recognition. Virgin cocked-up on the OP's outbound flight. They have held their hands up to it and given a very personal response to the complaint.
Kraken wrote:Brilliant reply from VS - must have taken quite a bit longer to do than the normal cut+paste of the "We're really sorry to hear we did not get things quite right..." boiler-plate paragraphs.
I'd actually be tempted to email Craig Kreeger (Virgin CEO) to get the reply-writer a little recognition. Virgin cocked-up on the OP's outbound flight. They have held their hands up to it and given a very personal response to the complaint.
My thoughts exactly, credit where credit is due. It can't be an easy job and for someone to take the time to reply to me in that way really made my day. I will be drafting something tomorrow and posting on my FB and Twitter fan pages
And to Craig Keeper too!
Wow!! That really is some response
Apart from the resolution of the problem, I'd agree with Kraken that the CS agent should be given appropriate recognition.
It reminds me of my first trip with VS when anything that could go wrong did. I wrote to SRB (it was long before VF and all the helpfulness here and indeed email was in its infancy) about the various issues, acknowledging that some were outside VS's control but that others indicated training issues. I sent it off and promptly forgot about it but some three weeks later, a call came to my office. It was from VS who had contacted the travel agency I had used. The girl there who answered, knew me and knew where I worked and so gave them my work phone number and the result was a goody bag second to none for Aer John and me! (At that stage I was a FC innocent!
)
Apart from the resolution of the problem, I'd agree with Kraken that the CS agent should be given appropriate recognition.
It reminds me of my first trip with VS when anything that could go wrong did. I wrote to SRB (it was long before VF and all the helpfulness here and indeed email was in its infancy) about the various issues, acknowledging that some were outside VS's control but that others indicated training issues. I sent it off and promptly forgot about it but some three weeks later, a call came to my office. It was from VS who had contacted the travel agency I had used. The girl there who answered, knew me and knew where I worked and so gave them my work phone number and the result was a goody bag second to none for Aer John and me! (At that stage I was a FC innocent!
)
Great reply & result! The PAX with broken entertainment system on our last flight in UC also got 8k miles - I guess that's the standard?
taffytorchy wrote:Great reply & result! The PAX with broken entertainment system on our last flight in UC also got 8k miles - I guess that's the standard?
I got 8k also a few years back.
What a great response!
We can get better, because we're not dead yet
I got 8k miles for the rude "Mr G4S" gate agent / security person at Manchester.
This was completely out of Virgin's control - other than that they decide which companies to out-source work to.
This was completely out of Virgin's control - other than that they decide which companies to out-source work to.
What a fantastic response from VS, such care and concern shown by that staff member and yes, they deserve recognition.
Will you feel able to trust VS again and use the miles AJC?
Will you feel able to trust VS again and use the miles AJC?
Well, I started a thread regarding whether feedback to airlines works a short time back.
I had an instance where it didn't...
But this one is special.
1) A very personalised response, clearly crafted individually and in a matching style (which was brilliant in it's own way already);
2) Clear from the letter that the feedback has been passed on to the correct people so that remedial actions can be taken (the bit that is often missing);
3) Some compensation to give you the opportunity to try the product once again.
A first class piece of customer relations - and as others have said, this agent deserves credit for that response.
VS - that's more like it, brilliant.
I had an instance where it didn't...
But this one is special.
1) A very personalised response, clearly crafted individually and in a matching style (which was brilliant in it's own way already);
2) Clear from the letter that the feedback has been passed on to the correct people so that remedial actions can be taken (the bit that is often missing);
3) Some compensation to give you the opportunity to try the product once again.
A first class piece of customer relations - and as others have said, this agent deserves credit for that response.
VS - that's more like it, brilliant.
Concorde RIP - the most amazing machine to grace our skies
Fantastic response from the VS agent. I hope this restores some faith AJC!!
AJC I am very pleased for you and agree with the other posters, this was a truly excellent response from VS. It deserves to be shouted from the rooftops.
Being in CS must be a difficult job and one where the daily grind might be very tedious. I had a tear in my eye reading it and thinking of the lovely author having a moment of fun composing it. How nice that you both made a difference to each other's days.
I'm already looking forward to you booking the next flight with all those lovely miles.
Being in CS must be a difficult job and one where the daily grind might be very tedious. I had a tear in my eye reading it and thinking of the lovely author having a moment of fun composing it. How nice that you both made a difference to each other's days.
I'm already looking forward to you booking the next flight with all those lovely miles.
What a credit to VS this staff member is. Hopefully the senior management will recognise what a great customer focus this employee has and nurture her career accordingly.
What a fantastic response and a great can do attitude to put things right. Every organisation has blips sometimes and its how you put them right that matters and Virgin certainly came up trumps on this occasion. I flew Upper for the first time from Man to MCO in October and had a wonderful experience with the family the Captain even came down to see my son and spend five minutes. When they get things right they are head and shoulders above most. Can't wait for the return report!
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