Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Airlines and Mileage Programs > British Airways | Executive Club
Reload this Page >

Your recent feedback on catering in our lounges [Focused personal feedback]

Old Jun 4, 2013, 11:15 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: sigma421
This thread has specific feedback on specific lounge visits by flyertalkers since the change to BaxterStorey. Here's a list of specific reviews in this thread by lounge.

General Discussion is found on a separate thread

T5 Concorde Room
Hannibal Lecter 2 vists
G-BPED May 18th
Genius1 19 May
Squeeler c.May 21st
BizFlyin c.May 28th
Land-of-Miles 1st June, Land-of-Miles 1st June
harryhv June 12th


T5 Galleries First
PUCCI GALORE 17th May, 20th May
Flying Doctor 23rd May
lorcancoyle 25th May
itsmeitisss 26th May, itsmeitisss 26th May
brutha 26th May
BizFlyin 27th May
MarkLHR 28th May
BAAZ 28th May
mclachlan4321 28th May
DominicB 28th May
Arbeiter2 30th May
PleasureFlyer 31st May
paulieuk 31st May
PleasureFlyer 31st May
GUWonder 31st May
thebestbf 1st June
BA235 (10 Visits) 1st May - 1st June
mclachlan4321 2nd June
brunos 2nd June
nobbyclark 2nd June
squeeler 3rd June
paulwuk 3rd June
Layz 4th June, Layz 4th June
orbitmic 12th June
InfiniteCycle June 17th

T3 Galleries First
Petrus c.20th May
economyman 27th May

T5 Galleries Club
londonflyingbird 1st May
Genius1 11 May
Genius1 19 May
TheDafariMan c.22nd May
bafan 22nd May
GLA 23rd May
jamiebf 24th May
0hnoes 25th May
rossmacd 26th May
EuropeanPete c. 28th May
BingBongBoy 29th May
IAMORGAN 1st June
KeaneJohn, 1st June
HIDDY 1st June
drsh99 2nd June
CT-UK 3rd June
visualAd 3rd June
Private Pyle 14th June
Private Pyle 16th June
sigma421 13th July and 19th July

T3 Galleries Club
Kimml Early May

T1 UK + Ireland
BahrainLad June 13th


T5 Galleries Arrivals
windowontheAside 18th May

LGW Galleries First
orbitmic, May 30th
travellinglight, 1st June

LGW Galleries Club
missdimeaner, May 11th

MAN Terraces
rossmacd 26th May
visualAd 3rd June

EDI Galleries
nobbyclark 2nd June

All lounges
corporate-wages-slave 34 lounge visits in 26 days!
Print Wikipost

Your recent feedback on catering in our lounges [Focused personal feedback]

Old May 22, 2013, 10:49 am
  #1  
Company Representative - British Airways
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Posts: 834
Your recent feedback on catering in our lounges [Focused personal feedback]

Moderator notice:
This thread captures your own feedback, the responses posted here were all originally posted in http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...iscussion.html thread. Since that thread has grown limbs, can I ask that you focus your own personal feedback on the lounge food and beverage offer in this thread, and enjoy the continued general discussion in the sister thread.

Thanks for you support and understanding.

Prospero
Moderator: BAEC forum



__________________________________________________ ____________________________________
Dear all

Thank you for your feedback so far both on the threads and via pm - we recognise how important our catering in our lounges is to you.

The team has been working hard during the transition to Baxter Storey since 25 April which will complete with T1 on 13 June. As our hospitality partner we believe that their ethos around fresh food and good service will help us provide a premium service in our lounges. In response to your feedback we wanted to provide some background and an update on where we plan to make changes.

Our customer research clearly showed that customers wanted something appropriate for the time of day, improved choice and variety. In response to this we introduced a buffet from 12pm-3pm and from 6pm-close. We chose to focus on a high quality afternoon tea offering between 3pm-6pm in all lounges. During this period, anyone who prefers not to take afternoon tea can choose from sandwiches, soup and the fruit and ambient snacks that are available all day. There are no plans to re-introduce a continuous buffet but we will continue to monitor your and other customer feedback on this issue.

Variety in snacks was also a strong theme from our research. We now provide a greater selection of fresh fruit as well as a better quality range of biscuits and cakes. The packaging limited our options, so we chose a fresher product that could also be displayed in an attractive way. Current consumption of cakes and biscuits has increased significantly plus we have had many positive comments about the quality and variety so we have no plans to change this.

In the First lounge and the Concorde Room, we accept there have been issues during transition. We moved from a pre-prepared product to a fresher product on all day dining, which required a different skill set from the team, and we have now made changes to address this and have received positive comments from our customers in regards to the food that is now being offered from our menus. We are working on the F class buffet as we accept that changes are needed and we have reviewed and incorporated current feedback in the offer which will be implemented shortly.

We have also received some general feedback about lounge appearance and clearing away, especially at busy times. We have deployed extra staff to ensure that we maintain the high standards that our customers expect.

Finally, please accept our apologies for any disappointment related to the transition. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for your patience during this time and give you our assurances we are committed to making improvements and we are confident that we can deliver these and more through our new partnership.

As ever, please do continue to tell us your feedback on this thread and we will monitor it closely.

Warm regards

Nicci

Last edited by Prospero; Jun 3, 2013 at 2:28 pm
BA Executive Club is offline  
Old May 22, 2013, 10:53 am
  #2  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Mostly UK
Programs: Mucci Extraordinaire, Hilton Diamond, BA Gold (ex BD)
Posts: 11,203
Thanks for your reply, and I don't want to shoot the messenger.

But nothing said there has reassured me for the future.

As I have a good position on the thread I should link to some photos for those who've not seen these 'enhancements':

Before - what the F lounge buffet used to look like:


After - the new Flounge hot buffet (the famous gloop/slop):


Club lounge 'breakfast':


Salad bar:


T3 flounge breakfast (better than the club breakfast, but not very substantial):


Champagne bar (showing issues with restocking):


http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...ns-2013-a.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...ns-2013-a.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...il-2013-a.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...ay-2013-a.html
layz is offline  
Old May 22, 2013, 11:01 am
  #3  
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: London, UK
Programs: Not much these days: BA Silver, Bonvoy Lifetime Gold, HH Gold
Posts: 1,323
Thank you Nicci for the feedback. I don't agree with the decision to remove a continuous buffet but accept that I am a sample size of 1 and 100% disagreement in a sample size of 1 is not statistically significant.

I look forward to the improvements in the F lounge and hope that this restores the level and quality of service to the previous level.
Morland is offline  
Old May 22, 2013, 11:05 am
  #4  
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Programs: MUCCI
Posts: 5,706
Originally Posted by BA Executive Club
We chose to focus on a high quality afternoon tea offering between 3pm-6pm in all lounges. During this period, anyone who prefers not to take afternoon tea can choose from sandwiches, soup and the fruit and ambient snacks that are available all day.
Could someone clarify what this is in practice?
Pictures / details?

I've been in the MAN lounge in this time window since the change over, while there were nice cakes, I don't know what the offering was before to compare to. At LHR I do, but I've not been there in this time slot since the change over.

There are no plans to re-introduce a continuous buffet but we will continue to monitor your and other customer feedback on this issue.
Assuming this is a reference to the hot buffet, I think this is a horrendous mistake.

People are hungry at different times for different things. Not only personal cultural differences, but also timezone ones. People have arrived from different places, etc.

In the T5 GC I previously felt I could always get something appropriate, using the same mix of available items to make something appropriate for MY time of day. (In fact, I felt more flexible in the GC than the GF), and I certainly valued the GC buffet during the time period you mentioned 3-6pm.

I've not had a chance to be there during this window since the change, but I'm concerned. It sounds like the terrible cut backs to CE meals all over again.
David-A is offline  
Old May 22, 2013, 11:06 am
  #5  
Suspended
Hilton Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 4,959
Dear Nicci,

Many thanks for taking it upon yourself to post a response to the extensive feedback on here.

I can only speak for Galleries Club lounges at Heathrow, so I will not comment on your details on the First lounges.

I feel that a "high quality afternoon tea" should involve:
Sandwiches (which you do provide)
Cakes (of which there were 2 provided - I would really like to see more options)
Scones, clotted cream and jam - (which were not provided)

Unfortunately, the Galleries Club "high quality afternoon tea" involves severely undersized plates, no scones, no cream, no jam, extremely limited cake selection and sandwich trays which seemed to run out.

I propose you rethink the proposition.

Think along these lines:


Tiered plates could fill the cabinets and be presented attractively. It would look really impressive.

Not this:


Finally, I feel dinner should start at 5pm not 6pm.

Thanks.
FlyerTalker6245 is offline  
Old May 22, 2013, 11:21 am
  #6  
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: EDI
Programs: BD*G -> BA Gold + A3*G (now dropped to BA Silver)
Posts: 1,083
So following on with the popularity of afternoon tea in Club Europe it has been introduced into the lounge?
browserden is offline  
Old May 22, 2013, 11:28 am
  #7  
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Yorkshire Dales, UK
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold, Marriott Platinum Elite, Avis President's Club
Posts: 120
Sat in Galleries First at the moment and the offering is alright, nothing special.... Not really discernibly different to the old offering apart from the GIANT salad bowls!

Enjoyed trying to get the sloppy chilli con carne out with the slotted spoon provided though!
jonnywishbone is offline  
Old May 22, 2013, 11:30 am
  #8  
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Brighton, UK
Programs: BA Gold, IC Ambassador, HH Gold, SPG Gold, Fairmont Platinum
Posts: 3,166
Arrow

Could I echo the thanks to Nicci for the feedback.

Whilst most of the comments are welcome, I find the decision on the buffet and menu items in the afternoon (if this means that no hot items are available in the GF lounge between 3 and 6 pm) totally absurd.

Maybe I am in a minority of one (I doubt this however), but I find CE afternoon tea a complete and utter waste of time and poor nutritional value. This is not the type of stuff that I would eat at home and is not the sole choice that I would want on a plane. Previously I have eaten very satisfactorily in the F lounges at either LHR or LGW and have refused the afternoon tea on the plane.

It seems now that BA only wishes to offer me afternoon tea in the lounge or afternoon tea on the plane. I am afraid that I have a choice that I can make and that is to fly with another airline for any times where otherwise I would be at the airport or in the air between 3 and 6 pm. If I like my new choice, I may also choose other times too.

Obviously, I do not want to shoot the messenger, but I think BA could do well to consider very carefully what its market research is actually telling it. Apparently "customers wanted something appropriate for the time of day, improved choice and variety". Offering only afternoon tea may fit the first apart of this sentence, but it fails to offer either choice or variety, improved or otherwise.

Previously, afternoon tea was offered in addition to the hot buffet and to order menu items. Those who wanted afternoon tea got their wish; those avoiding afternoon tea on their flight could do that. It seems that this is no longer the case. I would strongly urge BA to reconsider this.

Could I also ask anyone who agrees with this to make their views known to BA, perhaps via a comment in the lounge book, saying that they would welcome choices other than afternoon tea.
FrancisA is offline  
Old May 22, 2013, 11:36 am
  #9  
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold, A3 *Gold
Posts: 887
Good to hear the flounge buffet is to be improved, that was always the biggest problem. However I do think the reasoning behind the afternoon tea is deeply flawed for two reasons:

1. As a major international hub flagship terminal it stands to reason that there are a large amount of transfer passengers in the lounge for whom it isn't 4pm, it's 1pm, or 8pm or some other time when they want a proper hot meal.

2. Most Brits with a normal appetite about to get on a flight leaving between 6 and 7pm are going to want to have their dinner between 5 and 6pm. Inflight catering is not reliable enough or large enough to provide a dinner when you might not be getting to your destination until late evening.

I can see where the afternoon tea idea is coming from but with only 3 choices of sandwich there is a good chance of finding there is nothing substantial that you like in order to fill up.
RobDBA is offline  
Old May 22, 2013, 11:38 am
  #10  
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: London
Programs: BAEC, AA, Emirates, Hilton, Hyatt, Taj Hotels
Posts: 2,339
Originally Posted by browserden
So following on with the popularity of afternoon tea in Club Europe it has been introduced into the lounge?
My thoughts exactly. BA's obsession with Afternoon Tea finally hits the lounges. Great

We've largely moved our intra-Europe travel from BA to other carriers as a result of the poor on-board catering. We used to get arguments that the food in the lounge was a reasonable fall-back if time permitted. This sort of nonsense just pushes us further away.

Hope the situation improves soon.

Thanks for the feed-back.
Betteronacamel is offline  
Old May 22, 2013, 11:39 am
  #11  
Hilton Contributor BadgeHyatt Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In the air
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy LT Plat, Hilton Diamond, GHA Tit, BA Gold, Turkish Elite
Posts: 8,683
Firstly, thanks to Nicci for conveying the message and thanks to BA for responding to what's obviously turned into a bit of a storm on here.

It's good that there's obviously senior management attention on some of the simple things which I hope will be addressed relatively promptly (I don't think it's uncharitable for me to draw contrasts with CCR issues over the last couple of years).

Seeing as I'll be back to Gold again in a few days, I'd like to echo those who say that removing the buffet for the afternoon (and I believe much of the morning?) is not a good idea.

I would hazard a guess that a significant minority of your most frequent travellers would be health conscious and so would try to avoid bread in the middle of the day. For all of those, this would leave only soup for much of the day which would be a dramatic change in the role of the lounge as a place to eat. The (as yet unseen) move to fresh, seasonal ingredients is BA keeping up to date with modern trends, but that tends to go with healthy eating rather than relying on cake and sandwiches to feed some of your customers going through T5 so frequently that this becomes a major part of their diet.

I count as one of those and so for many of my flights I'll either have to plan in advance, pick up a picnic at Plane Food or try to get a flight from T3 where I can use one of the other OW lounges.
EuropeanPete is offline  
Old May 22, 2013, 11:43 am
  #12  
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Bath, Toronto, Hamburg, Seoul
Programs: BA Gold, *A Silver
Posts: 481
Again, of course I don't want to shoot the messenger, but...

Originally Posted by BA Executive Club
Our customer research clearly showed that customers wanted something appropriate for the time of day, improved choice and variety.
You needed research to tell you this? I'm struggling to think of anyone who wouldn't want something appropriate to the time of day, improved choice and variety.

The point is that 'appropriate to the time of day' is not the same thing to all people. If I am flying on a 6pm ET flight, I won't be landing until say 10pm CET and thus have the choice of cake/sandwiches in the lounge, biscuit (or wrap if I'm very lucky) on the plane, or eating at 11pm in a hotel.

A plate of pasta or chilli from the lounge at 5pm may not be ideal but it's far better than the above.

This doesn't mean 'four different kinds of slop' is much better, but something that can make a simple, hot, filling, healthy meal should be provided as an option, e.g. a bowl of pasta with some pesto, a little parmesan, a small bowl of salad.
magyaar is offline  
Old May 22, 2013, 11:44 am
  #13  
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Programs: Lots, some no/low status some high status, can't be bothered to list them :-)
Posts: 1,951
Thank you Nicci.

The decision not to run a buffet all day is bad one as far as I'm concerned. Then again if it doesn't improve I wouldn't touch it anyway.

Afternoon cakes and sandwiches (and biscuits that are already out) do nothing for me at the times you serve them. Having to option to grab something from the buffet in those hours of 3-6pm was fantastic.

Where did you get all this feedback from and how big was the sample size of this feedback? I assume FT users weren't involved anyway
Private Pyle is offline  
Old May 22, 2013, 11:47 am
  #14  
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Programs: MUCCI
Posts: 5,706
Originally Posted by magyaar
The point is that 'appropriate to the time of day' is not the same thing to all people.
Quite apart from it not being the same thing to all people, people have also arrived from different places, or have their clocks offset, etc.
David-A is offline  
Old May 22, 2013, 11:50 am
  #15  
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Programs: MUCCI
Posts: 5,706
Originally Posted by FrancisA
... and don't forget that this will only apply to the GCs. In the F lounge soup is not put out and so won't be available in the afternoon either ...

Welcome back to the new improved F lounge
As a Gold card holder, I often go first to the Galleries Club to eat, as it is so much easier to do so there, using the hot buffet (including 3pm-6pm), and then head up to the F lounge after eating for more space and quiet.
David-A is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.