If only we were all treated like this

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Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)

  • CathayLoyalist2
    Participant

    I have been flying with CX for 31 years, the last 25 years at Diamond Level. Back in Sept last year, and not having travelled at all to HKG because of the riots, whilst walking our dogs I slipped, overstretched my leg resulting in a torn quadricep muscle in my right knee. That was followed by surgery and 5 weeks in plaster and physiotherapy started in November. The upshot of surgery was no flying for 6/7 weeks and certainly no long haul flying because of the risk of DVT.

    Fast forward to the present and having worked out that I would not get anywhere near close to achieving Diamond renewal I wrote to CX two weeks ago and “bending on the equivalent of an electronic knee” I asked/requested if they would consider renewing me at Diamond purely based on my track record. I got two emails one from my local Marco Polo contact who advised they would look at it. Then a further email some days later from the Head of the Marco Polo Club, Jessica Meyers, saying she would like to talk to me.

    So this morning she duly did. Jessica , who was a delight to talk to, said they could not renew me at Diamond, given the gap between actual and the renewal goal was to large. However they would renew me at Gold,one level down from Diamond. The next bit was completely unexpected. Jessica gave me 4 four upgrade vouchers valid for a year plus the next time I was in HKG I was to let her know and we would meet up.

    To say I was delighted would be an understatement. What could have been better than a call from the Head of Marco Polo Club and the offers she made. On the face if it the cost to Cathay is negligible but the impact on me considerable. So as I put in the topic heading I ask “why canĀ“t airlines, hotels and the like think abut treating all their customers, particularly the frequent flyers, like Cathay have treated me


    capetonianm
    Participant

    Excellent and I’m glad you were well so well-treated, but the cynic in me says that CX are having to work very hard to keep every customer they can, given their traffic will have been badly affected by Corona virus, and the political situation in HKG, and maybe even ‘flygskam’.

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    nevereconomy
    Participant

    Actually BA did likewise on at least 2 occasions with my Gold status after a lot of years of good spends with them…

    2 users thanked author for this post.

    Montysaurus
    Participant

    BA did the same for me as I didn’t think I would reach the required number of points. I wrote to the EC and they wrote back to say that my level would be renewed automatically given my 20+ consecutive years as a Silver. As it happened a last minute flurry of travel got me passed the threshold anyway.

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    I wonder how BA will view the number of passenger that will not reach status due company travel to Asia / China being restricted for at least the next 6 – 9 months. I liked the solution for CathayLoyalist2. By their own admission, not expected, but gratefully received. I think the offer of a personal contact/meet shows the firm are serious in trying to resolve their problems very much in a personal way. I know people will say, BA has far too many challenges to offer this level of personal service, but BA probably employs far more staff to be able to provide this level of service, but they all hide in the back office. Well done CX.

    My own experience of CX C/S has not been that helpful (I’ve had 2 issues over the past year), but that could be down to the fact I have no CX status (only BA). Any vouchers BA issue (GUV) are generally only good for shorthaul, not longhaul (as not enough longhaul seats are released)


    CathayLoyalist2
    Participant

    I do recall after SARS went away in 2003/2004 that CX automatically renewed everyone at their current membership level regardless of whether they qualified or not. It reamins to be seen whether CX will do that again once the effect of the virus is known, short lived or with much more impact


    K1ngston
    Participant

    Thank you CathayLoyalist, you have prompted me to write to SQ as for the first time in about 9 years I didn’t reach the desired level to maintain Elite Gold due to constant health issues in 2019. I will let the forum know the feedback, I guess if you dont ask you dont get …..


    Cedric_Statherby
    Participant

    After well over 10 years solid Gold on BA (usually somewhere between 2500 and 3500 tier points), I was very ill in 2012 and stopped all flying for nearly a year. When I was planning my tentative return to work, and so business travel, my former Gold status would have become not silver, not bronze (which I don’t think existed then) but Blue.

    I asked BA for flexibility and observed not just my long history but also that, just then, Gold status would be at its most useful as I tried to return to flying despite some residual fragility. To my surprise the charming manager at BA Exec Club said “Well, you don’t know this, but later this year we’re going to be introducing Gold for Life, and since you have enough lifetime points to qualify, I’ll just bring you GFL status forward”. Which she did, and not just a Gold card, but confirmation of my GFL status, arrived less than a week later.

    4 users thanked author for this post.

    KSHaggag
    Participant

    I am always delighted to praise CX on every occasion I can !

    The treatment and courtesy extended to CathayLoyalist2 is nothing odd at CX ;I still recall the superb experiences both in the air and on the ground that I have lived with CX over the last 20 years .I am currently flying Eastwards much less than before and consequently have much lower chances of being on a CX flight ,however I am always hopeful that the good old days will come back soon .

    I sincerely wish CX all the best in the coming months and years and hope to see all PREMIUM carriers in this world flourish in the face of the declining standards that are nowadays becoming the trend in this industry .

    1 user thanked author for this post.
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