VS030 BGI-LGW 1 Sep 09 (PE)

This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin

Ground Staff

Food & Drink

Entertainment

Seat

Cabin Crew

Check in at BGI really good, dedicated line for PE, and no problems at all boarded on time, and made our way to our 4 seats on the upper deck of a LGW 747.

Pre take off drinks all OK, and we pushed back on time and started are way back to LGW. The meal service was prompt, entertainment on, and then...... it all goes wrong.

80K is right at the back of the PE cabin and the food service started from the front, by the time they reached us, aaarrgghh.

Can i have the beef please?

Sorry we only have fish left

Really sorry i dont eat fish is there another option

Sorry Sir, only the fish, the catering has all gone wrong today, all the beef is in Economy'
(Not the right thing to say)

I settled for a veggie option.

In my eyes the crew member should have gone to the Economy cabin to see if he could sort something out, dont get me wrong I know that you cannot always have your first choice of meal, however its how the crew deal with the situation!! Surely I wasnt the only person who wants beef.

My wife then commented, 'did you receive a bread roll' as we saw the crew member come through the cabin with the rolls, neither of us received a roll, I called the crew member over.

Please can we have a bread roll, the response was unfortunately

rolls are in Economy today we have run out on the PE deck

That was it..................

You have no beef you have no rolls, you tell me everything is in Economy shall I fly economy!!!

Guess what the response was, if you want to be transferred to economy sir for your meal service we can arrange it.

I have been a loyal customer of Virgin for 20 years when ever I fly; I always use Virgin if they operate that route.

I wont leave Virgin over a bread roll and a meal, but their ability to deal with simple requests with a civil customer service answer would be appreciated. This is the first time i can honestly say that i felt like a number rather than an individual. Virgin used to give me the WOW factor.

Sorry to generalise but If the cap fits wear it, the crew on this flight were no more then immature staff who were more interested in discussing what happened in BGI, rather than dealing with customer issues, sorry !

I did not take the crew members advice and transfer to Economy i took it one stage further..

BA here I come,Virgin sort your life out!

Oh by the way dont ever fly in 80K right next to the galley , 8 hours of Galley FM is boring!!!! Oh and if the crew member on that flight that winged for 8 hours about how much she hates her job is reading this, do us a favour and leave because you are spoiling it for everyone else!

Flight landed on time and i was glad to get off and get home !!

Out of interest did you ask to speak with the FSM (incase you didn't spot him/her during the flight) ?
In my experience they can often sort out any problems mid flight before they escalate into an issue (and deal appropriately with the member of cabin crew in question).

HG

No i didn't but i wish i had bacuse i dont think i was unreasonable!!

[buns]

Shows how simple it is to loose a valued customer[V]

And of course such news travels fast, VS will loose even more custom as a result.

The 'We can arrange it' comment is totally unacceptable.

Let's hope that BA can capitalise on your change of preference


buns

A real shame to be honest, I am also in business, and in todays market you really have to go that bit futher because the competition is so strong.

To be honest i dont care about bloody beef or rolls but i am passionate about customer service, because thats what matters!!

Do they value my business

Very unimpressive indeed..

I echo what HG said re talking to a FSM..I would have certainly spoke to the FSM with my complaint, as you had a very valid one.

Once during a flight i got chatting to a member of the cabin crew, when asked did she enjoy her job by a fellow passenger, she replied with ' Same shit different day'.. Oops. Maybe a honest comment, however should not have been shared onboard with passengers.

What a disgusting attitude! I think I would of retorted, if I sit in Y can I get a refund from my PE ticket! I would of had a quiet word in the FSM ear. Just not on!

I can understand your frustrations. I had a pretty naff flight back from UVF in PE last year down to some poor attitude crew - although I would never go as far as purposely flying BA instead - the BA PE product is the poorest in the market in my experience and you can get naff crew from any airline from time to time. I hope VS wow you back to loyalty on your next flight!!!

I hope there is a pretty stiff email on the way to VS about the appalling service you received.

It won't be too difficult for them to identify who was assigned to the PE cabin etc and for them to be given a good talking too.

Would it have really been that much trouble to nip down the stairs and see what else was available?

quote:Originally posted by tontybear
Would it have really been that much trouble to nip down the stairs and see what else was available?


I think that's what I would find disappointing in such a situation, the apparent unwillingness to do something to manage the evident issue. Everyone knows that sh*t happens from time to time, but the offer of 'I'll go and see if I can rustle something up', even if the outcome is 'sorry, nothing doing', can act as a mitigating factor.

I've often wondered about the wisdom of a fish option on the menu. Like 747340, it's a no no for me.

Paul

[Scrooge]

WOW, totally unacceptable on all levels.

Absolutely awful - is it so bad though as to want to suffer WTP on BA? One dud flight in twenty years and all ...

Not that I disagree with your reaction at all. This CC member needs to go back to school or move out.

As others say, and advice for all, if it's not working in any way seek out or ask to talk to the FSM. At the very least, write in to VS now and comment, fairly and evenly, about your trip informing them where you were sat etc. - VS can find the CC working in your part of the plane and if they want to, will take some action.

I am getting very depressed at how often these 'one off' bad flights are occurring. There is no excuse for this poor service and no-one should ever have to experience it.

It is easy to say this was just a bad flight with a below par member of cabin crew, or was it!

As a pax paying for a PE service and having this attitude put upon you I do not think your expectation was unreasonable. Shame you got the cabin crew who thought differentley.

Iain

Wow am shocked. Whilst as you point out, we are all aware that first choice meals are not always available the lack of willingness to help is ridiculous.

Just to add insult to injury, on previous flights I have been given a W meal when the choice has run out in Y (W had finished their meal and had left overs). As for the roll, surely the flight is loaded with the correct number of rolls?

Was this the 'red eye syndrome' creeping back in? It seems to have been absent in recent reports however the unwillingness of the crew member to run downstairs and get a meal from Y for you seems to highlight it may be back.

As others have said, in these times, it is almost criminal to see any business not caring about its customers.

OMG !! These are just the sort of crew members we need to get rid of. Please do write in and let Virgin know exactly what was said to you. As others have mentioned it will be easy for them to check which crew members were working on the upper deck. It's a real case of 'I can't be bothered' and is completly unacceptable. So sorry you expereinced such bad service.

quote:Originally posted by willd

Just to add insult to injury, on previous flights I have been given a W meal when the choice has run out in Y (W had finished their meal and had left overs). As for the roll, surely the flight is loaded with the correct number of rolls?



I see CC often running backwards and forwards looking for a meal to accommodate pax as choices nearly always seem to run out, it was a disgracefull attitude shown by the immature person and hopefully your letter into VS will name & shame the individual.

cheers

alex

quote:Originally posted by virginboy747
OMG !! These are just the sort of crew members we need to get rid of. Please do write in and let Virgin know exactly what was said to you. As others have mentioned it will be easy for them to check which crew members were working on the upper deck. It's a real case of 'I can't be bothered' and is completly unacceptable. So sorry you expereinced such bad service.


VB747

That is why so many of us genuinely care about VS and the service we receive, because of cabin crew like you, and the so many others that we come across on a daily level, who knows and cares for the industry they are employed in.

Well said

Iain

[mitchja]

Do contact VS about this but I wish you good luck trying to get past the brick wall that is VS customer relations. Most of the satff there seem to have the same 'can't be bothered' attitude at the moment as well [:(!]

Regards

As has already been alluded to, this seems to be the old story of LGW bound flights on B&S routes: weary, overly-relaxed or just plain giddy returning crew who care more about gossiping in the galley than doing their jobs properly.

Had hoped this sort of thing had been nipped in the bud. It clearly hasn't.

[Nottingham Nick]

Agree you should send an email / letter to VS, the attitude you experienced is just poor!

If you do email, it may be worth including a link to this thread [8D][;)]

BTW, you didn't miss anything with the 'hot rolls'. I have stopped having them. They are usually too hot on one side and rock hard / inedible on the other. [n]

Nick

quote:Originally posted by mitchja
Do contact VS about this but I wish you good luck trying to get past the brick wall that is VS customer relations. Most of the satff there seem to have the same 'can't be bothered' attitude at the moment as well [:(!]

Regards


My experience has been different recently - I had a very straightforward response to a recent critical note that was very much appreciated.

It is always worth writing in IMO, there are people who listen.

WOW

To be honest i did'nt expect such a reaction from so many people on v-flyer, thanks.

I doubt BA is any better in their WTP class, but what i will do is write to Virgin and complain at least i can make my thoughts known.

I really wish i had asked for the FSM, is that the one that wears a black shirt ?

[Decker]

Well unless Oswald Mosley has reincarnated - that's the one!

quote:Originally posted by Decker
Well unless Oswald Mosley has reincarnated - that's the one!

We had an FSM on a flight recently who was the spit of Mosley, right down to the moustache. Mind you, poor girl probably found it quite difficult to get a date...