Poor VS Customer Service

I posted a recent topic on Vport being unavailable on both fights for our recent trip to Miami. Having sent an email to Customer Services more than a week ago and not hearing anything since I tried ringing them today without success.

I ended up speaking to someone in India who said that the standard response time for complaints is 28 days so I need to wait another 3 weeks. Is this right? If so I think that this is possibly the worst Customer Service experiance I've recently had. Four weeks to respond to simple complaint is appalling.

The complaint is actually quite straight forward but the delay in getting a response is making me quite angry to the point where I'm seriously considering using a different carrier for future plans.

I know that there are a few VS people on this board so can I just tell you that this is the first time in 5 years fying with you that I have felt the need to complain and this experiance is seriously tainting my view of Virgin.

We're already booked to go to Orlando in October so god help us if we have a more serious complaint from that trip.

Miopyk[:(!]

Hi,

I understand your frustration, there is nothing worse than not getting a reply, however standard procedure is in travel to answer your complaint of any kind within 28 days. [n]

Hope you get an answer soon!

Dominic

...especially when the response is the standard template, which could have been sent in 28 seconds let alone 28 days. It simply comes down to how much they really care about the people who ultimately pay their wages, who always have the option of the ultimate sanction...[:(!]

Ironically, I have just been on holiday in India and needed to contact them about my return journey but couldn't get through by phone (to India or Britain!!) and eventually sent an email - that was 10 days ago and I've still heard nothing apart from the obligatory "thank you for your email we get back to you blah blah". I arrived back in the UK last night and still heard nothing!!

I sent an email a while ago and got a reply within 24 hours.

Originally posted by BrightonCelt
Ironically, I have just been on holiday in India and needed to contact them about my return journey but couldn't get through by phone (to India or Britain!!) and eventually sent an email - that was 10 days ago and I've still heard nothing apart from the obligatory "thank you for your email we get back to you blah blah". I arrived back in the UK last night and still heard nothing!!

This happened to me in India and it's very frustrating. For example if you need to call VS outside Indian working hours you can't because all the numbers are 0870/0845 ones which you can't dial from India. I did complain and suggested VS put alternate numbers on the Web site, but to no avail. In the end, when I needed it, a kind VFlyer gave me a normal telephone number to get through to the Au team.

Also, if you're a Brit in India and want to make an internet booking you can't, because the VS Web site assumes you're an Indian national and auto fills the country information - meaning payments cannot be processed. I think this happens for flights originating in the US too.

This is all basic communication stuff that Virgin should resolve but ends up causing frustration. Grrrh!

Originally posted by 747340
Give them a chance 28 days is ok, let them look into it!!

28 days is not acceptable among certain types of people though (i.e. frequent business travellers).

But yeah they need to be able to look into it to see how much miles they'll give you alongside the standard apologies.

Originally posted by VS075

Originally posted by 747340

28 days is not acceptable among certain types of people though (i.e. frequent business travellers).

But yeah they need to be able to look into it to see how much miles they'll give you alongside the standard apologies.

It is not ideal, however in the travel industry there are laws governing complaint procedure, which states they have to reply within 28 days. 28 days being the latest they can reply. I personally think it is a long time, but that is the way it is. [n]

Dominic

Originally posted by GrinningJackanapes

Originally posted by DMetters-Bone
in the travel industry there are laws governing complaint procedure, which states they have to reply within 28 days. 28 days being the latest they can reply.

Thanks to Dominic for helping me learn something every day! [|:)]

GJ

Ahhh you are too kind GJ [:I] It was my pleasure [y]

Dominic

Isn't it amazing that your money is taken immediately to pay for your ticket, but a simple little complaint takes 28 days to respond to? Raising temperatures beyond boiling point and really really p****ng you off.[V]

Agree 100% we all want to see our complaints invesigated and resolved but does it take all that time to raise the customary template? And do the faults really get rectified?[?]

Come on VA, there are an increasing amount of unhappy people out there, address the matter now, before it becomes too late.[n]

Originally posted by GrinningJackanapes

Originally posted by DMetters-Bone
in the travel industry there are laws governing complaint procedure, which states they have to reply within 28 days. 28 days being the latest they can reply.

Thanks to Dominic for helping me learn something every day! [|:)]

Whilst I salute VS for trying to remain within the 28-day guideline, it sucks when your reply comes on Day 27. There's an inherent message of process dysfunction at best -- and sloth at worst -- in any company that waits until the last minute to deliver your reply.

Here's hoping VS come in sooner than that for you!

GJ

Originally posted by miopyk
I posted a recent topic on Vport being unavailable on both fights for our recent trip to Miami.
Miopyk[:(!]

Had a similar experience on a flight to the US a few years ago - but it was only one way that it wasn't working. I was already feeling less than happy to be placed in PE in the downstairs section, so to find out that I had nothing to look at on the long flight was pretty miserable. The staff were indeed lovely and offered a 'gift' from their brochure, to the value of £25 (I think) - and they also told us that if we wanted to take the matter further, this would not have any bearing on the process. Of course I did take it further and it did seem to take a long time to sort out - I didn't email though, I wrote to the FC office - got compensation by way of airmiles. Don't give up....

After my initial annoyance I think I've moved on. If this is the industry standard I don't think the standard is very high but there isn't much I can do about it other than take my custom elsewhere. However I guess that if I have a similer problem with an alternative carrier I'm probably in the same boat (or is that plane) as I am now.

At the end of the day we like flying with VS and have already booked some PE flights to MCO with them later this year. But after more than 5 years custom and the kind of money we spend with them (£5K+ last year alone) I just wanted to be treated a little better than this.

Oh well that's the rant over, only another two weeks till the deadlines up for a response.

Miopyk[8D]

my family and i have spent over £20K last year flying UC and not without its problems
we booked another last December (UC) and after numerous emails and letters I eventualy got a response this week - all I wanted was written cnfirmation of my next reservation! but its taken nearly 3 months

To spend that amount of money and still be treated in that way is disgraceful[V]

On a positive[y] I pursued Customer Svcs and eventually received a response[y]

Originally posted by flyingdoc
my family and i have spent over £20K last year flying UC and not without its problems
we booked another last December (UC) and after numerous emails and letters I eventualy got a response this week - all I wanted was written cnfirmation of my next reservation! but its taken nearly 3 months

I fly a lot. A heck of a lot, and not just on VS.

I find that VS seem to have the most cabin defects of any airline I travel regularly with - apart from one very rocky period with UA during Ch. 11, that since improved.

I've come to two conclusions:

1) VS cabin interiors are designed to look swish, not be robust against the variety of travellers who walk through the door of a VS plane.
2) VS work their fleet so hard, there isn't enough down time to repair the cabin interior when it inevitably does break, meaning it stays broken for days or weeks.

Mike

Originally posted by mike-smashing
I fly a lot. A heck of a lot, and not just on VS.

I find that VS seem to have the most cabin defects of any airline I travel regularly with - apart from one very rocky period with UA during Ch. 11, that since improved.

I've come to two conclusions:

1) VS cabin interiors are designed to look swish, not be robust against the variety of travellers who walk through the door of a VS plane.
2) VS work their fleet so hard, there isn't enough down time to repair the cabin interior when it inevitably does break, meaning it stays broken for days or weeks.

Mike

I'm interested in your observations, as I had been thinking recently that the cabins were looking in better nick - however that's biased by recent travel in new PE and in UC.

One airline that suffers really badly is AA - their business class hasn't been upgraded in decades (well a bit of an exageration ...) and I've flown on their 777s with bright yellow sticky tape holding down the carpet, seats that are uncomfortable anyway just sort of dangling about ...

I've only sat in the new PE 4 times, and on at least 2 trips the white metal strip around the seat was coming off on 18C on one plane, and 18D on another. Also the leather arms were looking worn on the corners far faster than I would have thought.

I think some parts of the plane see more traffic than others, hence why they show their age faster.

Originally posted by GrinningJackanapes

Originally posted by ukcobra
I think some parts of the plane see more traffic than others, hence why they show their age faster.

Rather like people, don't you think?

Why, I may only be a youth, but I have the ****** of a 70-year old.

GJ

[:o)][:o)]

Originally posted by GrinningJackanapes

Originally posted by ukcobra
I think some parts of the plane see more traffic than others, hence why they show their age faster.

Rather like people, don't you think?

Why, I may only be a youth, but I have the ****** of a 70-year old.

GJ

Ho ho, what do we think GJ has that has an effective age of 70?

My guess is .... teeth, or perhaps .... kidneys

Cheeks, GJ?[:I]

Originally posted by GrinningJackanapes

Originally posted by ukcobra
I think some parts of the plane see more traffic than others, hence why they show their age faster.

Rather like people, don't you think?

Why, I may only be a youth, but I have the ****** of a 70-year old.

GJ

Originally posted by slinky09
I'm interested in your observations, as I had been thinking recently that the cabins were looking in better nick - however that's biased by recent travel in new PE and in UC.

I'm not just talking seats, also things like inop lavs, and broken galley things that stay broken for weeks - because I've been on the same aircraft just a few weeks apart and the same things were broken.

Even things that I had the FSM put in the cabin defect log were still broken next time I joined that same aircraft several weeks later.

One airline that suffers really badly is AA - their business class hasn't been upgraded in decades (well a bit of an exageration ...) and I've flown on their 777s with bright yellow sticky tape holding down the carpet, seats that are uncomfortable anyway just sort of dangling about ...

I've generally avoided AA because I don't have any status on Oneworld, and I've heard that AA can be really bad when they are bad. So, I can't really speak to the experience on AA, but it sounds pretty harsh!

Mike

Originally posted by GrinningJackanapes

Originally posted by slinky09

Originally posted by GrinningJackanapes
[quote]Originally posted by ukcobra
I think some parts of the plane see more traffic than others, hence why they show their age faster.

Rather like people, don't you think?

Why, I may only be a youth, but I have the ****** of a 70-year old.

GJ

Ho ho, what do we think GJ has that has an effective age of 70?

My guess is .... teeth, or perhaps .... kidneys

Neither of your choices fit the # of stars on there, dear.

GJ
[/quote]

Go on GJ do enlighten us! [:I]

Originally posted by mike-smashing
...

Even things that I had the FSM put in the cabin defect log were still broken next time I joined that same aircraft several weeks later.

...
Mike

Ah! The old adage:
"If it ain't fixed, you can't break it"