There have been a lot of comments on various web sites about the reducing quality of the product and service provided in Virgins Upper Class section, from the removal of small touches like the red satin pillows, flowers on the bar, reduction in choice of drinks, reduction in the choice and quality of the food selection etc, and lately the removal of an acceptable ameinity kit (already reduced from the good ones with the Virgin Vie in them) to basically a cardboard envelope with a minimal amount of products in it (not even a pen).
Looking on the V-Flyer site, a site which normally is very Pro VA, even they seem fed up with the standards being shown today.
There is a breifing from I take it, VA Management on the "Snooze Packs" which to my reading seems to be saying "this is cheaper for us, get used to it UC Pax, we really don't care what you think about these fantastic new enhancements to the service"
http://www.v-flyer.com/forum/topic.a...5&whichpage=15
"It is clear from your comments here that the introduction of the new Snooze Pack is a contentious and emotive issue. During my recent travels, I found that people understand and support the decision once it is fully explained to them. It is clear we could have done a much better job explaining what we are aiming to achieve, which is why I am writing this. I would like to take this opportunity to give you all the facts.
We were finding that passengers frequently left the old kits behind and discarded many of their contents. This was wasteful and not environmentally friendly, but it was also expensive and at odds with our Manifesto goal of driving efficiency and effectiveness. In fact we had lots of negative comments from staff and passengers alike complaining about the waste. We know that only 40% of items in the packs were used.
So we used this information to determine what our passengers really wanted and we put together a kit that only included those items that didn’t get returned. It is also worth mentioning that the reasons people fly Virgin is because of our legendary service: our staff, Clubhouses, limo transfers, the Upper Class Suite, onboard bar, in-flight massage, etc. The amenity kit needs to be seen in this context.
Nevertheless, since the launch we have listened to the feedback from Cabin Crew and passengers and decided on the following changes:
We have decided to include a toothbrush and toothpaste in the kit. Whilst only 40% of passengers used these we are reinstating them to facilitate a speedier service.
We are sourcing a larger wallet to include these items and at the same time we are also addressing the gluing issues that have been encountered with some packs. This will take some time to produce because our amenity kits are sourced in the Far East. So in the meantime, toothbrush, toothpaste and pens are to be offered on a tray. Sufficient numbers of each of these will be loaded so that every passenger will have one.
We already have a range of supplementary items that are available on request but we have decided to upgrade this service. So, we are developing an accessories service, with the help of the Cabin Crew and Inflight Services. We will source a range of better quality items (eg moisturisers, lip balm) that we will offer in addition to the Snooze Pack.
It is important we iron this out because we are not going to reintroduce the old amenity kit. Plus we can benefit from a significant saving of over £1m by eliminating waste, so we need to ask for your continued support with this."
What do you all think? is this good cost effectiveness or another diminution in an already falling service from VA??