Is there anybody out there? Why won't Virgin reply to me?

[Darren Wheeler]

Has anyone else found that Virgin Atlantic Customer Relations are a bit lacking in the basics of responding to complaints? I first contacted them back in April, with a complaint about how bad their Air Miles rewards scheme is. I've written to various people and even tried writing to the Big Boss, Sir Richard - but no luck. In frustration I wrote a poem to express my feelings - I hope you enjoy it.

“VIRGIN ON ARROGANT”
(a cautionary tale for Virgin Flying Club members)

Oh Richard, Sir Richard what can I do
You don't seem to love me, for I wrote to you
Telling a tale of my recent frustration
Of being ignored by your Customer Relations.

A letter I sent you by registered mail
The reply I received makes a right sorry tale.
A Customer Relations Executive letter
So badly written, you could have done better.

But enough of all this, let me tell you my story
I won't scrimp on detail no matter how gory.
I've travelled with Virgin through Red card to Gold
And for seventeen years we've both travelled the world

The air miles I've collected are 200K
So two flights to Jo'burg six months away
seemed a good deal for my long term fidelity
So why can't I use them? It challenges credulity.

No Economy, no Premium and no Upper Class
No flights available - my word what a farce!
So what about upgrades if I buy my flight ticket?
No Premium, no Upper - Air Miles, you can stick it!

"So what is the point?" I wrote in frustration
And sent off an e-mail to Customer Relations.
Two weeks I waited and still no reply
So I sent off another to repeat my cry.

Still no reply, so to make me feel better
I sat at my keyboard and typed you a letter
And how did you treat such a long term Club member
In a manner so thoughtless I quite lost my temper.

“Virgin” on arrogant, “Virgin” on lazy
So badly managed it's "Virgin" on crazy!
"Emma replied to (email removed)
Please find a copy" - oops, something's wrong.

No copy enclosed, so no explanation
I'd changed that address. Can you sense my frustration?
They couldn't be bothered to check my profile
But your Marketing people have known for a while.

In fact just this weekend a call I received
The subject they mentioned, you wouldn’t believe!
“You’ve got all these airmiles, 200K
Have you thought where to fly to, how about JFK?”

The letters and e-mails I've already sent
Seem to be worthless and met with contempt.
I wrote once again, but I've had no reply
Am I surprised? Not really, but I
am now so frustrated and angry I think
I'll write off to Watchdog and raise such a stink
That maybe my poem will let people know
That Flying Club Airmiles just ain't worth the dough!

Oh Richard, Sir Richard what should I do?
The face of Virgin Airways is you
You speak to me softly when I board your plane
And seduce me with charm to fly Virgin again

From London to LA, New York and Hong Kong
We’ve travelled together. What have I done wrong?
Why do you forsake me and lead me to grieve?
The pain of your indifference is hard to believe

Your handsome visage promises all I desire
You had me at “Hello”, like Jerry Maquire
So enclose find my Clubcard. It used to be mine
Perhaps you can "file it" where the sun doesn't shine.

very entertaining!

I've got to be honest - if I received a poem like that as a complaint it would go straight in the "green ink" file. It certainly wouldn't be taken seriously.

Reward seats can be hard to find. It's the same on all airlines although with a relatively small fleet and network, your chances of getting a reward seat with VS on the exact date and route you want can be hit and miss.

But as any V-Flyer will tell you, the key is patience and persistence. Just because there's nothing available now doesn't mean there won't be tomorrow or in a month or four months. Reward seats can and do appear at random, but they get snapped up very quickly so you have to check regularly for availability and grab them when they pop up.

Ha ha, amusing Kit.

[Darren Wheeler]

Sometimes no reply is a reply.

Have you had no reply at all? Or just not happy with their reply? I made a complaint once that didn't get through to them as it got caught by their email filter for use of profanity! (I was quoting, not swearing at them!) It got through after I asterisked out a few letters.

From another thread, just posted:

Just booked flight for 4 adults 2 children using miles 10/05/15

See, it can be done.

Apart from echoing what the others have said I am not 100% clear on what the OP is expecting. Seats can be had, I am testament to that. Reward seat to BOS, LAX, SFO and even the dreaded LAS on the dates I wanted
If the OP is expecting that only due to the fact that he is AU and has 220k of miles that VS will open seats for him then I am afraid the OP will very disappointed.
Reward seats have always been not the simplest item to obtain, after all VS is in the market to make a profit.
If the OP has had no reply at all that's bad form, if he was expecting a reply from SRB, perhaps that may be hoping a little, I can only imagine the amount of emails get sent to that inbox each day.
Lastly, the poem, not sure that is way I would go if I was registering a complaint but does show a creative side. Perhaps a career in Revenue Management is calling

If the OP is expecting that only due to the fact that he is AU and has 220k of miles that VS will open seats for him then I am afraid the OP will very disappointed.
Reward seats have always been not the simplest item to obtain, after all VS is in the market to make a profit.
If the OP has had no reply at all that's bad form, if he was expecting a reply from SRB, perhaps that may be hoping a little, I can only imagine the amount of emails get sent to that inbox each day.
Lastly, the poem, not sure that is way I would go if I was registering a complaint but does show a creative side. Perhaps a career in Revenue Management is calling

+1 to all that.

I may be wrong but I think the OP DID get a reply, initially to an old email address but apparently received eventually.

"Emma replied to (email removed)
Please find a copy" - oops, something's wrong.
No copy enclosed, so no explanation
I'd changed that address. Can you sense my frustration?
They couldn't be bothered to check my profile
But your Marketing people have known for a while.

+1 to all that.

I may be wrong but I think the OP DID get a reply, initially to an old email address but apparently received eventually.

"Emma replied to (email removed)
Please find a copy" - oops, something's wrong.
No copy enclosed, so no explanation
I'd changed that address. Can you sense my frustration?
They couldn't be bothered to check my profile
But your Marketing people have known for a while.

Then in that case I guess it's a case the OP wasn't happy with the first reply. Will be interesting to see if and how the OP responds. We are a forum for discussion after all....

Thanks for your feedback everyone. I suppose the initial frustration at not being able to use air miles for any kind of award 6 months away was then compounded by how badly it was managed. I sent 2 e-mails to Customer Relations and didn't get a reply. I wrote to SRB and got a reply which demonstrated how casual their attitude is.
1. They had replied to an e-mail address which is obsolete and the replies would have bounced back. If they had bothered to look at the e-mail address I had used when I sent the e-mails they would have noticed it was not the same.
2. I had changed that e-mail address 2 years ago in my Flying Club profile, so I don't understand why they had used it. As I said in my poem, the Marketing boys are switched on enough to notice, so why not Customer Relations?
3. To write a letter referring to a reply sent (copy enclose) and then not enclose it is pretty casual and careless.
I wrote back to the Customer Relations Manager over 2 weeks ago and have not received a reply.
It is pretty frustrating to be ignored when you have been disappointed and all you want is an answer. If I was a casual flyer with Virgin I can understand, but I've been using them for 17 years.
So that's why I reverted to prose. I have now exchanged all my air miles for Virgin Wine tokens (750 quids worth). I booked a return flight to NY with Virgin a few months ago, before all this happened. So I will fly my last flight with Virgin Atlantic next week, toast their Customer Relations with my Virgin Wine and take my 30 long haul flight per year business elsewhere.

and take my 30 long haul flight per year business elsewhere.

The no response is not good and that should never happen.
However with that amount of flights, over all those years, the amount to Tier Points you should have earned would mean you are in the VIP sections and would have your own "special" number to call??
I know its not automatic but I would have certainly been on the phone. and you must have a lot more than 220k of air-miles unless of course you have been using those 30 flights a year with others.
Still, its always a shame when VS lose a value customer they are trying so hard to attract and keep.

Did you try emailing the CEO Craig Kreeger?

I've had a reply direct from him (or maybe his PA but it seemed quite personal) before.

With most companies, I find dealing with faceless customer services departments - or worse, filling in generic "contact us" forms on websites - rarely gets results.

Better to track down an email address for a named senior manager. Your complaint may or may not ever actually reach them but it should at least be seen by someone at HQ and taken seriously rather than just get lost in the system or ignored.

Did you try emailing the CEO Craig Kreeger?

I've had a reply direct from him (or maybe his PA but it seemed quite personal) before.

With most companies, I find dealing with faceless customer services departments - or worse, filling in generic "contact us" forms on websites - rarely gets results.

Better to track down an email address for a named senior manager. Your complaint may or may not ever actually reach them but it should at least be seen by someone at HQ and taken seriously rather than just get lost in the system or ignored.

This ^..... after my BGI fiasco a year ago, I did.

The email address is on the net and is his and it does work.

I am surprised you could find nothing to spend your miles on. I can't say I've ever had an issue.