BA information on passenger' whereabouts
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Captivep did, I agree. And that is the level of discussion I was hoping for. Yes, I learned my lesson and I have to admit we didn't even think about these issues before. The only thing is I did not call without any information wanting to know whereabouts of person X (har har, evil lough) - then I wouldn't even be posting here. But I had name, date of birth, name of accompanying person, ticket number and record locator - so I had some information that not everyone was privy to but only persons with access to that information, e.g. the parent.
In any case, I guess I might have been less touchy if the handling BA staff would have been a bit more understanding and friendly and maybe explaining then my frustration would have been considerably less. The AA person tried with the same result of course as she referred at the end to BA - but the impression left was for me that I am not using BA again and that AA customer service was in contrast to BA really good.
Maybe we can agree that the one thing BA should have done differently in this case is the way how they are dealing with a customer who has an issue and is frustrated.
In any case, I guess I might have been less touchy if the handling BA staff would have been a bit more understanding and friendly and maybe explaining then my frustration would have been considerably less. The AA person tried with the same result of course as she referred at the end to BA - but the impression left was for me that I am not using BA again and that AA customer service was in contrast to BA really good.
Maybe we can agree that the one thing BA should have done differently in this case is the way how they are dealing with a customer who has an issue and is frustrated.
All I wanted to know is why BA could not give out just the simple information without any details which is they are or are not yet on their way - not where to, which flight, from where (London has several airports).
People don't 'hide behind laws' as you put it - they follow them.
Nobody is hostile but you certainly have an exaggerated view of your own importance and rather a low view of people who follow a sensible law designed to protect all children.
Its a real pity you obviously cannot see that.
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Some people claim that Britons and US Americans speak the same language. While some words may be the same, this whole episode goes to show that different cultural backgrounds, understandings and expectations can lead to misconceptions and confusion. Would that we had 'cultural interpreters' to help us through such UK/US communications.
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I am not originally from the US... And yes, the privacy laws are also very strict here, if not stricter, but still AA customer service had a different approach, apparently breaking the UK law according to the view of most posters (which I accept).
And to GrahamO - where you get the impression that I would have "an exaggerated view of [my] own importance and rather a low view of people who follow a sensible law designed to protect all children" from my comments I have really no idea. If you would have read my last comment thoroughly enough you may have understood what I by now was trying to get across. Too bad you didn't and continued in what I called earlier a hostile environment.
And to GrahamO - where you get the impression that I would have "an exaggerated view of [my] own importance and rather a low view of people who follow a sensible law designed to protect all children" from my comments I have really no idea. If you would have read my last comment thoroughly enough you may have understood what I by now was trying to get across. Too bad you didn't and continued in what I called earlier a hostile environment.
Last edited by grimmrad; 25th Mar 2013 at 21:59.
You're talking to a call centre agent. They have scripts. The scripts represent BA policy or the law. The law says that the law that a person provides to a third party is confidential unless a release is granted.
Now, do you SERIOUSLY expect a call centre agent to risk his/her job through a flagrant breach of the law?
No, I didn't think so either...
Now, do you SERIOUSLY expect a call centre agent to risk his/her job through a flagrant breach of the law?
No, I didn't think so either...
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grimmrad
Did they make it to Italy eventually? Did BA look after them during their delay?
Airclues
Edit.....sorry, just re-read your first post. I see that they made it to Italy. Hope their experience wasn't too bad.
Did they make it to Italy eventually? Did BA look after them during their delay?
Airclues
Edit.....sorry, just re-read your first post. I see that they made it to Italy. Hope their experience wasn't too bad.
Last edited by Airclues; 26th Mar 2013 at 21:05.
Grimmrad - I don't think anybody's been hostile to you; I think we're all just struggling to understand what you wanted BA to do given the legal situation.
It's been explained that they couldn't give you the information you requested. If they couldn't do that (which you now accept) then what could they possibly have done to satisfy you?
Or, to put the question another way - what, precisely did AA do that BA didn't?
It's been explained that they couldn't give you the information you requested. If they couldn't do that (which you now accept) then what could they possibly have done to satisfy you?
Or, to put the question another way - what, precisely did AA do that BA didn't?
Last edited by Captivep; 26th Mar 2013 at 09:49.
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grimmrad
Could it be possibly that he gets that idea from the very same place where you get the idea that most of the replies to you on this thread are "Hostile?"
I've read this thread three times now and the only person I would identify as "Hostile" is YOU!
DIVOSH!
And to GrahamO - where you get the impression that I would have "an exaggerated view of [my] own importance and rather a low view of people who follow a sensible law designed to protect all children" from my comments I have really no idea.
I've read this thread three times now and the only person I would identify as "Hostile" is YOU!
DIVOSH!
In London Heathrow Airport T5 (the BA terminal) there are :
- Places to buy mobile phone chargers and/or plug converters.
- Payphones that provide international credit card calls, and also (as a last ditch) international collect calls.
- Prominent information desks provided by the airport operator with staff who have all this detail to hand and are familiar with in directing foreign travellers to them, or even suggesting them in the first place.
- Plenty of BA staff to ask who can direct you to the nearest information desk.
If the person travelling with your child was unable to handle any of these then I refer you back to the comment at the top.
Last edited by WHBM; 26th Mar 2013 at 12:40.
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Grimmrad, the reason BA did not give you the information you wanted is the same reason in 1987 TWA would not give me the same info when my wife was flying from London to Pittsburg and got on the wrong flight in PHL. I arrived at Pittsburg to meet her and my daughter, no one turned up. I contacted the airline by phone and they would not give me any information either. Unlike you, I accepted this, maybe because I worked in the industry for 45 years, but I realised why they could not give me any info. You could be anyone on the phone, just accept it as you would not have gotten any more out of a US airline, and if you had I would make sure I never ever flew with them.
Paxing All Over The World
If nothing else, this thread has served as a really helpful instruction to whoever may be sending people (of any age) on a trip. 
My contribution to emergencies is a tough lesson that I learnt in August 2003 when the whole of NYC and the surrounding area lost power for 24+ hours.
I had in my back pack: Cell phone with a fully charged spare battery; food, water. What I did NOT have enough of was $$$. When the electric has gone, the plastic don't work - so cash is king!!! So make sure folks have the Cell + Charger + Cash!
happy landings
My contribution to emergencies is a tough lesson that I learnt in August 2003 when the whole of NYC and the surrounding area lost power for 24+ hours.
I had in my back pack: Cell phone with a fully charged spare battery; food, water. What I did NOT have enough of was $$$. When the electric has gone, the plastic don't work - so cash is king!!! So make sure folks have the Cell + Charger + Cash!
happy landings
Last edited by PAXboy; 26th Mar 2013 at 20:00.
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Quite why someone should risk their job in the current climate is beyond me. Not exactly a lot of jobs going about these days...not sure why people who do their jobs properly are the subject of such abuse. I do think the term "jobsworth" says more about the ignorant person using the term than it does about the person on the receiving end.
If sticking to the rules and regulations and doing what you're paid to do is now a bad thing then I must be the biggest "jobsworth" in the world. I work in passenger services (face to face, not in a call centre) and I would never give out a passengers details and I don't know anyone who would. I've had all sorts of abuse from all sorts of people but I will never give out a single detail about someone, especially if a child is involved. The only time I would give it out is if someone is dropping off an UMNR and they have to be told about delays or rerouting etc, or if they are picking up an UMNR and have the documentation and ID to show they are the person picking them up. Anyone else can rant and rave all they like but they don't get a word out of me. Call me jobsworth, insult me all you like but I was told not to give out passenger details to third parties and I never do. That's part of my job, a job I like doing and a job I get paid pretty good money to do, so I have no intention of losing that job any time soon.
Sorry but in this case BA were 100% correct and I for one would feel that little bit better travelling with them knowing that my details are secure with their staff.
If sticking to the rules and regulations and doing what you're paid to do is now a bad thing then I must be the biggest "jobsworth" in the world. I work in passenger services (face to face, not in a call centre) and I would never give out a passengers details and I don't know anyone who would. I've had all sorts of abuse from all sorts of people but I will never give out a single detail about someone, especially if a child is involved. The only time I would give it out is if someone is dropping off an UMNR and they have to be told about delays or rerouting etc, or if they are picking up an UMNR and have the documentation and ID to show they are the person picking them up. Anyone else can rant and rave all they like but they don't get a word out of me. Call me jobsworth, insult me all you like but I was told not to give out passenger details to third parties and I never do. That's part of my job, a job I like doing and a job I get paid pretty good money to do, so I have no intention of losing that job any time soon.
Sorry but in this case BA were 100% correct and I for one would feel that little bit better travelling with them knowing that my details are secure with their staff.
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Don't see why and where I am hostile - I accept your position (well, for most of you, blocked some guys by now) and the legal situatuion, apparently many of you are not able to understand mine.
What I am trying to grasp is:
BA: "If you are not on the ticket I cannot give you that information." - But I have all the information, ticket number, dob etc. - BA:"If you are not on the ticket I cannot give you the information"
AA:"Oh, I am sorry to hear that. Let me see what I can find out. Hm, yes, that flight was cancelled, I am trying to find if they have another, can you hold a second - [some other tries here and there] sorry, you have to speak to BA..."
Maybe indeed they did both the same thing, they both adhered to the respective laws in their countries and, yes, I got it - they couldn't / woudn't give me the information - however, if I had a choice (and as a customer I have) - I know to whom I will not stick in the future just on the basis how they dealt with me as customer.
What I am trying to grasp is:
BA: "If you are not on the ticket I cannot give you that information." - But I have all the information, ticket number, dob etc. - BA:"If you are not on the ticket I cannot give you the information"
AA:"Oh, I am sorry to hear that. Let me see what I can find out. Hm, yes, that flight was cancelled, I am trying to find if they have another, can you hold a second - [some other tries here and there] sorry, you have to speak to BA..."
Maybe indeed they did both the same thing, they both adhered to the respective laws in their countries and, yes, I got it - they couldn't / woudn't give me the information - however, if I had a choice (and as a customer I have) - I know to whom I will not stick in the future just on the basis how they dealt with me as customer.
Last edited by grimmrad; 27th Mar 2013 at 00:20.
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WHBM - that is an entire other story. Why she didn't call I have yet to find out and why I have no issues giving her my kids technically savvy she ain't.
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yeah, gimmrad, it's clear.
people on here tried to help you to explain why any company would be stupid to give out the information on the phone. Even if it was something like 'that flight was cancelled and they're on another flight'.
And you, having to comply with HIPPA, should know this more than anyone. Nothing is as restrictive as HIPPA. You can call the house of a patient, have met the husband of the patient, know it's the husband of the patient, been told by the patient that it's her husband, and told by the patient you can talk to her husband about it, but by law (and you can lose your license) you can't tell the husband the results of the test.
Even if you are both in the same PTA and you play bridge with them both on the weekends, your kids have grown up with their kids, but if you tell the husband the results of a simple test, you could lose your license.
Well, if an airline, any airline, any where in the world, including AA in the good ole US of A, were to tell you anything about a passenger travelling on their airline, guess what? they open themselves up to libel, law suits, and more.
We don't live in the world that we once lived in, there are too many people who want to take advantage of the rest of us.
If I were you, I'd write a nice letter to BA thanking them for protecting information about your child and mother. And a letter chastizing AA for giving you any information about your child and mother.
people on here tried to help you to explain why any company would be stupid to give out the information on the phone. Even if it was something like 'that flight was cancelled and they're on another flight'.
And you, having to comply with HIPPA, should know this more than anyone. Nothing is as restrictive as HIPPA. You can call the house of a patient, have met the husband of the patient, know it's the husband of the patient, been told by the patient that it's her husband, and told by the patient you can talk to her husband about it, but by law (and you can lose your license) you can't tell the husband the results of the test.
Even if you are both in the same PTA and you play bridge with them both on the weekends, your kids have grown up with their kids, but if you tell the husband the results of a simple test, you could lose your license.
Well, if an airline, any airline, any where in the world, including AA in the good ole US of A, were to tell you anything about a passenger travelling on their airline, guess what? they open themselves up to libel, law suits, and more.
We don't live in the world that we once lived in, there are too many people who want to take advantage of the rest of us.
If I were you, I'd write a nice letter to BA thanking them for protecting information about your child and mother. And a letter chastizing AA for giving you any information about your child and mother.
Grimmrad - correct me if I'm wrong but the difference appears to have been:
AA told you there was another flight to Pisa
BA wouldn't tell you that a particular person was on a particular flight
My reading of that is that you asked two fundamentally different questions. I guess it might have gone something like this:
To AA - "My child's flight to Pisa has been cancelled - is there a later one?"
To BA - "My child's flight has been cancelled - can you tell me if he is on the next one?"
There is a (not so subtle) difference between the two questions.
AA told you there was another flight to Pisa
BA wouldn't tell you that a particular person was on a particular flight
My reading of that is that you asked two fundamentally different questions. I guess it might have gone something like this:
To AA - "My child's flight to Pisa has been cancelled - is there a later one?"
To BA - "My child's flight has been cancelled - can you tell me if he is on the next one?"
There is a (not so subtle) difference between the two questions.