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Old 29th April 2016 | 22:35
  #28 (permalink)  
SouthendMike
 
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: Wiltshire
Since becoming disabled just over two years ago, I have benefited from PRM assistance provided by OCS at Birmingham, Bristol and Gatwick.

At Birmingham, the service was superb both o/b and i/b

At Bristol, on the days we travelled, they had "staffing issues" meaning that the whole experience was a pig's breakfast, both o/b and i/b

At Gatwick, o/b was very good, but i/b was a disaster area as we arrived mid-evening, when it appears there was a shift change and we were left driverless, in a buggy, in a long, deserted corridor, for over half an hour with no one to enquire as to what was going on. When we finally got to Baggage reclaim, the hall was empty and our luggage was nowhere to be seen. Our "handler" then had to ask someone in the Customs area where our luggage might be. It was eventually found, after much huffing, puffing and sucking of teeth, in a side room, out of sight of its' owners (us). An absolute shambles!

I'm flying across The Pond in 10 days' time, with BA from LHR, and the PRM service there is provided by "Omniserv" (never heard of them before!) I emailed them to ask where the Assistance phone is at Terminal 5 when I arrive kerbside, and got no reply. 10 days later I asked the same question through a different email address, and after a week, still got no reply.

In frustration, I emailed the CEO, querying why I had no response to two emails, and within 10 minutes I had a reply from him, explaining that he was abroad on holiday, but had forwarded my email to a LHR-based Director. Within minutes I had an email response from the Director concerned, followed immediately by an email and 'phone call from the Customer Services Manager at T5.

Having given my Car registration number and my expected arrival time, she is arranging for a wheelchair handler and baggage trolley to be waiting for me kerbside for when I arrive ("but give us a ring when you're about 15 mins away in case you're delayed") I'll report back on this thread when I return, particularly as I've requested PRM Assistance at Boston and Jacksonville, so I'll be able to make an experienced-based comparison of EU vs US PRM provision.

Wish me luck!
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