[canucklad]

Sadly FCW, we are all now at the mercy of computer software.

From the comments I read here, I can only deduce that BA’s management micro manage cost and as a result, that will lead to their staff being about as empowered to deliver personalised solutions as a new born kitten.

You’re simply a victim of the computer says no culture, that most companies have now adopted.

[FirstClassWannabe]

I am not sure why some people think I blame BA, I don’ t. It would appear just the mention of BA on this forum is red rag to a bull and some posters go straight on the attack, without even reading the original post correctly. I have always been a fan of BA and will continue to fly with them. At no time did I expect BA just to change me onto another flight free of charge.

My main gripe was the lack of care and service. Some of the replies I received from Customer Relations would make you howl. The grammar is dreadful and I have received replies that make no sense at all, informing me of the costs involved in my missed flight that had to be passed onto me. Not once did I try and claim any money back as I knew I had missed it and that was that.

Yes I did book the cheapest ticket but I wonder how many people on a leisure route actually book the fully flex fare as the difference in price can be vast. Given the choice of one way for £150 non flex or a fully flex for £500+, would many go for the more expensive option?

BHX was actually more convenient but the flights were more expensive (as so called low costs often are) and I had extra luggage which pushed the cost up even more. To make use of my OW benefits I decided to go ex-LHR.

You live and learn so I will put this down to experience, a bad one at that, but I recently flew on one of those fantastic ex-DUB J fares to LAX, that was a good experience.

Thank you to those who gave balanced opinions.

[rferguson]

It reminds me of a news item on another travel related site recently where a passenger had reproduced their ‘apology letter’ from United which literally ran along the lines of:

Dear (insert name here),

We are sorry you were not pleased with the service received on flight (insert flight number) on (insert date). Lol

Let’s face it – the aim of contacting BA to complain was to vent your displeasure. Will BA change their policy regarding ticketing rules on the back of such complaints? No way. I guess at least BA replies unlike some airlines even though the replies are obviously computer generated. And at least there was some form of a goodwill gesture.

The way BA’s customer relations works is follows: received communications (online or written) get sent to India to be batched into groups. The complaint is then forwarded to the appropriate department of it needs investigation (for example ‘a member of staff told me to f*** off). If it is a complaint where rules have been properly applied and there is no investigation warranted a generic reply is sent and the complaint subject logged for monitoring of trends.

[Ah,Mr.Bond]

This is the same response that you would get from every single carrier. The plane leaves on time whether there is a pile up on the M25 or not. Anyone who misses wil have to rebook, as this is now last minute it generally equates to many, many times the original cost paid, it’s down to booking class availabiliy, not simply seats being available in whatever cabin….. and that is assuming that there is availability at all at this now last minute. If flights are full you will be paying the full Y Class fare, no one will be clearing a cheap fare class just to get you back on with you just paying the standard change fee.
A complaint re this will get no where I am afraid .

[AllOverTheGaff]

KarlMarx – 25/02/2015 07:26 GMT
1 – it doesn’t care about you as a customer
2 – it may provide the semblance of giving a sh*t when you are a sales target, but see #1 for all other times
3 – It will take every opportunity to gouge you for the highest amount of money, by policy, e.g. the walk up fare
4 – it sometimes fails to deliver on reasonable expectations for service and product

In a nutshell, I think the above is spot on.

In your case FCW, I think it not an unreasonable expectation that the agent you dealt with at LHR could check the internet, see that indeed there had been an issue outwith your (and their) control with regards to the accident and to have offered you a fare from LGW at a reduced rate. The aircraft was flying anyway and they’d have benefited from additional revenue in the shorter term, and customer loyalty in the longer.

My own recent experience with their “customer service” is very much like your own where their apathy is overwhelming. I said it before, the airline ticketing system stinks, and it stinks to high-heaven with them getting away with gouging us foolish enough to have to change plans thousands of times a week. Their revenue stream from unfortunates in your/my position must be enormous and the margin verging on the outrageous.

Like KarlMarx, I’ve voted with my feet, BA are on my no-fly-list for every and all future flights, and it isn’t a protest at them, it is simply based on their complete and utter failure to treat me as a valued customer.

Rgds.
AOTG.

[MartynSinclair]

@AOTG – play the game, play the game..

Customer Services and the products are (to a degree) secondary to me…. cost is the most important factor and over 20 free flights into Europe last year (mix of economy and club) and cheap ex Europe business class tickets to USA and Asia, is the pay off I make….

I have noticed that my European BAEC (Gold) qualification has increased this year….. but I will remain in Europe to play the game and qualify for avios bonus in Q4 each year….

[AllOverTheGaff]

MartynSinclair – 25/02/2015 12:13 GMT
Customer Services and the products are (to a degree) secondary to me…. cost is the most important factor and over 20 free flights into Europe last year (mix of economy and club) and cheap ex Europe business class tickets to USA and Asia, is the pay off I make….

For Europe stuff I am happy with EZY or even Jet2, both of whom can fly me directly from EDI or GLA without having the slog to LHR. My main criteria in selecting an airline from my part of the world, in regards to Europe/short-haul, is if they can get me there directly.

For long-haul east I cannot see past EK who offer me a consistently high quality in every department, and for West, I am VS all the time now or AA on their new 777’s. Cost for me has to come second, I did one long-haul BA flight last year based on an excellent fare, but have now decreed that I’d much rather pay a little more and get a lot more in return. As an aside to this, I have had occasion to interact with AA, VS & EK’s customer service department for one reason and another, with only VS offering the pitiful levels of service one gets from BA, however, VS’s on-board product and lounge offering is excellent and whilst I didn’t get the answer I wanted from VS, I did at least get through to them within 10 minutes.

I pay for all my own flights out my own pocket, I don’t find price motivates me now that I know there are better flight experiences to be had.

Rgds.
AOTG.

[SimonS1]

AOTG – “In your case FCW, I think it not an unreasonable expectation that the agent you dealt with at LHR could check the internet, see that indeed there had been an issue outwith your (and their) control with regards to the accident and to have offered you a fare from LGW at a reduced rate.”

Whilst I generally agree with your thoughts, and avoid BA if I have a choice, I don’t agree with this bit.

It isn’t BA’s job to be checking the web and changing its pricing due to traffic accidents etc. That is what travel insurance is for. BA is a commercial business and its job is to maximise income for the company. If you have an inflexible ticket, fail to show on time for a flight and need to buy a new ticket that isn’t their issue. Everyone knows that last minute tickets are expensive and the fact that other airlines were fully booked illustrates why.

However there is no reason why it couldn’t be handled in a more sympathetic way, and certainly no excuse for the half baked standard letters.

No airline really cares about your business these days. Even on EK (which I also use) you don’t seriously think they give a toss whether they get your business? It’s a means of getting from A to B and let’s face it when anything goes wrong EK’s service leaves much to be desired (regardless of what NatGeo documentaries would have you believe).

[AnthonyDunn]

@ SimonS1 – 25/02/2015 12:34 GMT

+1 Thank you.

[BusinessBabble]

No you have no right to complain, I’m surprised they even gave you 10,000 avios.

It’s not their problem you didn’t make it to the airport on time for whatever reason.

[AllOverTheGaff]

SimonS1 – 25/02/2015 12:34 GMT
It isn’t BA’s job to be checking the web and changing its pricing due to traffic accidents etc. That is what travel insurance is for. BA is a commercial business and its job is to maximise income for the company. If you have an inflexible ticket, fail to show on time for a flight and need to buy a new ticket that isn’t their issue. Everyone knows that last minute tickets are expensive and the fact that other airlines were fully booked illustrates why.

I never said it was “BA’s job”, I said it is a reasonable expectation that FCW could have received far better customer service, particularly when he/she is a loyal customer of theirs. Well, let me rephrase that, it is a reasonable expectation of just about any business other than the airline industry which has an apathetic attitude towards offering even the most meagre of concessions to placate their frustrated customer base.

Just when is one supposed to set off for a flight? Should we leave 5 hours before? Should we go 10 hours? Stay the night before? Years and years ago I got stuck on the Forth Road Bridge whilst heading to London for something or another, I literally watched my flight take off. I went to EZY’s desk, with my wallet in hand and simply shrugged at the sales agent and explained that I’d been stuck in hideous traffic and could I please pay for the next plane. Now, at that time because I’d arrived within an hour of take off (this is from memory) I was allowed to change planes FOC, the Forth Bridge up here is notorious as a traffic snarl, as is the M25. It cost EZY absolutely nothing, and I mean not a solitary cent to make this concession for me. I don’t honestly know if the same applies now as I’ve not missed a flight since then. But this very modest concession, instead of hiding behind T & C’s which I know is the norm and it appears the apathy is contagious. “They’re all as bad as each other”, “it isn’t the airlines fault” and “claim on your travel insurance”…….FCW wasn’t asking for a whole hill of beans, but not only was his modest request not granted, BA took the opportunity to gouge him/her for an inflated fare on another of their planes, as we say up here, that sticks in yer craw.

The net result is that a loyal customer of BA’s (FCW) is now questioning that loyalty and potentially taking his/her business elsewhere, I don’t see that as good business practice, in fact, it stinks.

It’s a means of getting from A to B and let’s face it when anything goes wrong EK’s service leaves much to be desired (regardless of what NatGeo documentaries would have you believe).

Yeah, I hear this a lot about EK, yet I’ve never found this to be the case, and I fly with them rather a lot. And having emailed their customer service very recently about one of their drivers who I found rude, smelly and who actually got lost (I’m not kidding) their response was excellent, and as should be the case, I don’t so much dwell on the initial complaint, I instead remain impressed with their timeous and courteous response.

I understand that almost all airlines would operate the same in the same circumstances, the point I make is that it needn’t be this way, and it does not detract from the frustration with their lack of customer focus, it is a repetitive theme on this and many other boards whenever BA’s brand is mentioned.

Rgds.
AOTG.

[canucklad]

@ SimonS1 – 25/02/2015 12:34 GMT
Your comment sadly just re-enforces my earlier point ……
As we have advanced with technology, we’ve actually regressed with customer service. And as you rightly point out, it’s not just BA, in fact it’s not just airlines, but most businesses.

And in particular those companies that profess to invest in improved customer service by spending a small fortune in CRM solutions that are data led. By removing the human touch, these companies have delivered a more consistent experience for all.

But, they’ve lost the ability to make a small touch that could have made all the difference. Why do you think half baked loyalty programmes were invented? It’s a form of buying our loyalty rather than earning it?
And I’ll disagree with most; you do have a right to complain. But only if the LHR person was rude, or ignorant, or importantly gave you wrong advice. The definition of a complaint, at least in my organization is when a “service level” falls below the expected standard. And the complaint would have to be directed at that individual.

What I would challenge is this…” They said there were extra admin fees when amending my ticket to which I replied I had not amended it but missed the flight and had to buy a new one.” Specifically the definition of Admin charges. I’d also be looking for a refund of APD & BA’s own mad add on’s !!

[AllOverTheGaff]

canucklad – 25/02/2015 12:58 GMT

+1

Maybe it’s a Scottish thing.

😉
Rgds.
AOTG.

[FaroFlyer]

FCW, you asked for advice. My advice would be to always check the price of a return ticket, for about 3 weeks later, before buying a one way. That would probably have been cheaper.

[woking1]

Life is too short move on BA are allways the same you are in the wrong and they are always right

[Author]

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