Revenge is sweet

[Final 3 Greens]

Two weeks ago I flew on a very Big Airline from London to the very near continent. I paid GBP445 for a business class ticket.

Enroute, my suitcase was broken and written off.

The process for handling this was awful, basically "nothing we can do other than send a replacement (inferior type, no other choice) to your house within 5 days."

Considering I was due to fly back in two days, this was not very helpful, especially when I asked how I could get my possessions home wiht a broken suitcase "Ah, you can check them in and we'll ask you to sign a limited release." Gee thanks, only paid GBP445 for this "service."

Well today was the first day I could so something practical about it, since I tend to use this big airline for long haul travel too.

I've just booked a full fare J class ticket to the south of the USA - with another airline.

In the bigger scheme of things it means little, but it really made me feel better.

And guess what, I won't be booking to many more european tickets with them either.

In the past three years, FQTVs have endured three sets of industrial action and limited catering for a ridiculously long period of time.

Well, enough is enough.

[lexxity]

I recently flew with not the big airways but another British carrier, my suitcase was also written off. I arrived home on the sunday, reported it straight away and by 10am Tuesday morning I had a replacement. The replacement is supplied by one of the most respected names in luggage. :ok:

So F3G I can reccommend the service in this case to you.

[Hand Solo]

In the past three years, FQTVs have endured three sets of industrial action

I know its quibbling but it was only two sets of industrial action.

[Final 3 Greens]

2?

iARM/ATR (2003)

CC action (2004)

Ramp support of GG (2005)

= 3

[Hand Solo]

Could you explain those acronyms for the benefit of those of us who work for BA? I have not the faintest idea what iARM/ATR means, and if CC refers to Cabin Crew then there was no cabin crew industrial action in 2004. The only events I can think of were the terminal staff walkout c. July 2003 and the ramp staff walkout of 2005.

[Riverboat]

Big Airlines is an excellent airline in many ways, but they are nearly all inside the aircraft. Yes, there is the occasionally snotty cabin attendant, and maybe a snotty pilot as well, but overall I believe the flying staff are excellent: they really try and do a good job. Fundamentally, an excellent team.

Where it goes wrong is outside of the aircraft. The lost baggage example is a case in point. Why be so mean and miserable about it. When the flying staff are demonstrating a touch of class, who are the nameless ones usdoing all the good work?

Also, who is responsible for the fiasco that is Terminal 4 arrivals, with delays getting off the aircraft sometimes up to an HOUR! Anything less than 10 minutes and you feel lucky. Go to nearly every other airport in the world and you would expect to get off the aircraft within 5 or 10 minutes of touchdown. Not at T4, and it is often BA arrangements that are the problem.

There is a real gap between the good and inept at BA, and Willie really ought to be sorting out the inept first. Maybe he is doing - we shall see.

[Final 3 Greens]

Riverboat

Big Airlines is an excellent airline in many ways, but they are nearly all inside the aircraft

I tend to agree with you.

Hand Solo

Firstly, I must apologise to the BA CC for my inadvertent mistake above, which I unreservedly withdraw.

In fact, I note that there was no industrial action by the ramp workers and check in staff in 2004 - it was resolved at the 11th hour - well done to all involved - not, for causing the angst that I remembered resulted me in having to reschedule several flights because of the uncertainty about whether they would operate.

Let me help you with the acronyms, iARM is integrated airport resource management (system) and ATR is automated time recording - maybe the latter will ring a few bells?

[FormerFlyer]

F3G - while I understand your decision surely it's only revenge if they are aware. If they aren't then why not use the link from their website to let them know what you've done. Perhaps even give them your locator/PNR to help them validate that you really have gone elsewhere.

You never know - as well as making you feel better, something might actually, God forbid, happen!

cheers ;)
FF

[Bangkokeasy]

Ah..revenge... a dish best served cold... :}

FF - you write as if this were a note placed in a drawer and gloated over in private. This is an open forum and read by many in the industry. I would suggest this is an excellent place to make a point like this!

As someone who has been involved in drafting and implementing CRM programmes in the past, I can say there are a few facts that are driven home as a basis for every system. One is that received complaints are always the tip of an iceberg. Another is that you should not educate a customer to follow your system, but rather make your system flexible enough to accommodate the customer. To try to do the former displays a lack of customer focus. It is exactly the customer who hasn't got the time, or refuses to use your chosen conduit for complaint (particularly if they are so pi##ed off) that you want to identify and address. If I have been severely annoyed by my service provider's system, do you really think I am more likely to spend more of my valuable time dealing with that system again, in effect doing their job for them, then sit back and wait for them to maybe listen, or maybe not, according to whim? No - I am going to walk and I am going to tell people about it. The final fact we should remember, is that a dissatisfied customer, while he may not tell the provider he is dissatisfied, he will surely tell his friends (and pprune!!!), which is exactly why service providers always try to empower the person at the point of delivery to resolve issues before they become problems.
These points seem to have escaped the attention of this Big Airline. And I always wondered what my colleagues in the industry meant, when they referred to "Bad Attitude"...

[PAXboy]

Bkk SPOT ON!!!!

As to why one airline might have an attitude problem, more than another, I think that we must draw back from the airline world and remember that ANY company that has been in business for more than (stab in the dark) 40 years will exhibit this kind of behaviour. Some will have more of it than others, of course, but all companies that are well established will become focused on their system, rather than the customer. They will work their statistics and not the ones that are actually telling the story. And, of course, the older the company, the more they do this. Eventually, they collapse and get taken over.

Now, I am NOT saying that I want that to happen to any particular airline - but it is an inevitability and the interesting part is waiting to see who wil make the most mistakes.

[YOWGirl]

I haven't bought a new suitcase in about 4 years. Thank you Air Canada, for smashing my bag on an annual basis, but replacing it quickly and satisfactorily. So far have always been able to select my own style/colour within a particular price range from their designated retail establishment.

[Desert Diner]

My main problem with that Big Airline is that if you purchase any ticket at less than full price. You are guaranteed to be treated like sh:mad:

I was scheduled to fly back to the Middle East during GWII on the only day that they cancelled their flight to BAH.

When I called, they rebooked me on the next days flight. When I asked to be rebooked on one of the two daily GF flights, the girl on the phone spent almost 30 minutes advising me that I should have bought a full fare ticket.

The real rub: My "discounted" R/T BAH-LHR ticket cost more that a full fare R/T LHR-BAH.