Sean Doyle apology email!

[greggrant]

I really do think this thread is mistitled – there was no apology in Sean Doyle’s email. Not once did the words apologise, apology or sorry appear. It was basically an admission of failure and some vague statements that things will improve.

This is such a typical BA communication – written from on high with very little consultation with customers or those working on the frontline. It’s not even personally addressed.

Do we really like the ‘improved’ table service in the lounges? No one asked me and I really don’t like it.

SD says that “we’ve been working hard to create a more premium experience for you”. Really? Have you been to one of your lounges lately? Is that bacon and potato breakfast roll really fit for purpose?

Why do I need to chase up bonus tier points that don’t appear when they are supposed to? And I can only do that via a link on a non-BA forum!

SD says that ‘taking calls has been longer which has pushed up our waiting times’. He fails to acknowledge that actually trying to get your call answered in the first place was very difficult for many, many months. And we only had to call because much of the IT functionality was disabled.

Yes, Sean you have tested the loyalty of your most valuable customers. It’s a shame that you haven’t actually apologised for this.

[Abdul]

Email says water and snacks to stay- so like terrible Lufthansa, but the Mail have it mentioning cold and hot drinks?

Is BA bringing back adult drinks in EuroTrash?

‘In an open letter to customers, Sean Doyle said they will be entitled to a free snack, bottle of water and array of hot and cold drinks – perks that were axed on short-haul flights six years ago’

[mallin1321]

I also received this email and cannot see how the staff will cope with everyone wanting to order at table service. As all the flights are pretty much all operational with a full or even half full lounge how will you ever get your food before you fly?

We like the variety of the self serve as you can see exactly what you are getting and as I personally only like smaller portions and my OH large it should be fun. One of the niceties of the lounges are the self serve food.

Hope they change this in under 8 weeks for when we travel.

[meta]

You know exactly what you’re getting with BA as menus rarely change and food always looks the same. There are no surprises there.

I prefer table service as it’s more premium. I don’t want to wait and waste time for someone to finish making coffees for their entire party. Especially if this is the only thing I want.

And in regards to capacity, other airlines’ lounges manage to do table service well, so can BA.

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[jj]

I’m another big supporter of table service in the lounge.

It’s not that I’m particularly bothered about other people coughing and sneezing over my food, but there is always a semi-industrial 1970s vibe something to the sight of a buffet groaning under the weight of mass-produced slurry; somehow, the same food looks so much more attractive when it’s been carefully arranged on a plate. And table service removes the angst of hoping that no-one has decided to nick my laptop, join me on the sofa or rummage through my hand baggage while I’m traipsing around balancing plates, cups and glasses on my wrists.

I have no need to shove my hungry nose in a porcine feeding trough, so I really don’t care if the table service portions are small. I can always order again if I need to.

[Rhys]

Abdul wrote:

Email says water and snacks to stay- so like terrible Lufthansa, but the Mail have it mentioning cold and hot drinks?

Is BA bringing back adult drinks in EuroTrash?

‘In an open letter to customers, Sean Doyle said they will be entitled to a free snack, bottle of water and array of hot and cold drinks – perks that were axed on short-haul flights six years ago’

You can buy on board.

Nothing in the email was new information – they announced water and snacks were permanent in July – but lots of the press seem to think it is a new commitment. Same with Speedbird becoming Buy on Board too – been around for a while.

[Supergers49]

AndyGWP wrote:

It took me over six months to get a refund from Easyjet on one occasion, and I had to s75 them and also Ryanair on another.

SAME. I had to S75 Ryanair, easyJet and Alternative Airlines/LOT. Ryanair was by far the worst. The claim was through Amex and Ryanair clearly knew how to play the game. They kept responding to Amex’s request for information with random documents, as they knew anything hitting the system from the merchant would reverse the refund. In the end, I had to escalate and threaten to cancel my Amex Plat before Amex actually looked at the documents Ryanair were sending and realised they were utter nonsense.

Alternative Airlines refused to refund me as LOT hadn’t refunded them. I had sympathy with this for about 90 days but in the end had to S75 them but they tried to challenge it by reaching out to me directly.

easyJet were just slow and didn’t respond to the S75.

All that said, easyJet and Ryanair have been better to deal with in 2021 whereas BA continue to be utter tripe (well except the English speaking Spanish call centre – they are excellent).

[Alan H]

I’m not a fan of the bacon and hash brown rolls which taste awful; just bring back the old bacon rolls!

Couldn’t agree more with the comment, ” he missed out ‘without spending any money’”. Just returned from GCM last week. There are no lounges at the airport and so for as long as I can remember they have provided a voucher to Silver and/or Club travellers to pay for refreshments at the airport prior to boarding. Not any longer: all to save £15 on a £2500 fare!

[meta]

@Supergers49 & other complaining about S75

Should have gone to MCOL and it would have been done and dusted withing 2-3 months maximum. There are times when you need to weigh up which option is the best.

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[NorthernLass]

@Alan H – how was your visit? We are booked to go in July but all the testing is really putting me off. So they’re not even giving the vouchers at the airport, that’s just mean, even though Subway was pretty much the only place you could spend them!

[NorthernLass]

I’ve got a flight in F to BOS at the end of March. In MMB it says “You can’t choose a meal this close to your flight time”. Does this mean we’re getting Chicken Tikka Masala with our LPGS?!

[AndyGWP]

meta wrote:

@Supergers49 & other complaining about S75

Should have gone to MCOL and it would have been done and dusted withing 2-3 months maximum. There are times when you need to weigh up which option is the best.

RyanAir promised a cash refund (this was for passengers of all cancelled flights who requested it) on a certain date – which given the extraordinary times, and the assurance I had been given I didn’t object to.

That date arrived and we were all emailed vouchers (this was picked up on on MSE). As soon as this occurred, I did a S75 which was immediate and undisputed, so probably a lot easier and quicker than a MCOL.

[Alan H]

NorthernLass wrote:

@Alan H – how was your visit? We are booked to go in July but all the testing is really putting me off. So they’re not even giving the vouchers at the airport, that’s just mean, even though Subway was pretty much the only place you could spend them!

3 lateral flow tests on day 2,5 and 10 were a pain and clearly just a money making exercise ($25 each time). What it does do is make you wary of circulating too much in places for fear of catching covid (1 in 12 have it on island) and being required to isolate for 14 days (and therefore missing flights home). Everything seems to have gone up in price massively ( Pint of Guinness now over $10!), although still managed to get my usual discount at Andys Car Hire although petrol now at UK rates and Georgetown is basically still closed and deserted. Hotels are clearly pretty empty. Flights were fine and pretty full and yes Subway and the bar are the only place open at the airport. Despite all that booked again for June and October for which there was Avios availability in J.

[NorthernLass]

@Alan H, don’t you have a house there though? At least you’d be able to quarantine in comfort! I managed to get a decent rate at Andy’s though I’m going to have to change it due to BA cancelling our return flights and us now having to come home a couple of days early.
Yes – we’ll be packing as many non-perishable goods as our CW baggage allowance will contain! I bet they are going mad about the fuel prices, that used to be the one thing that was cheaper there. We’re just happy to hang out on the beach/poolside and eat where there are outdoor tables so that should minimise infection risk.
At the rate it’s going (I read 6000 in quarantine!) they might even close the borders again before our trip 😬 Also booked accommodation for Easter 2023 as we can book that far ahead at Morritt’s and we’ll still be stuck to school holidays at that point.

[Alan H]

NorthernLass wrote:

@Alan H, don’t you have a house there though? At least you’d be able to quarantine in comfort! I managed to get a decent rate at Andy’s though I’m going to have to change it due to BA cancelling our return flights and us now having to come home a couple of days early.
Yes – we’ll be packing as many non-perishable goods as our CW baggage allowance will contain! I bet they are going mad about the fuel prices, that used to be the one thing that was cheaper there. We’re just happy to hang out on the beach/poolside and eat where there are outdoor tables so that should minimise infection risk.
At the rate it’s going (I read 6000 in quarantine!) they might even close the borders again before our trip 😬 Also booked accommodation for Easter 2023 as we can book that far ahead at Morritt’s and we’ll still be stuck to school holidays at that point.

I do indeed have a house but that’s why I needed to get there and do two years maintenance and repair damage from TS Grace. At least they’ve now relaxed the entry restrictions for children so I’m sure that helps you and more will start to visit, particularly once the US airlines start normal schedules.