NellieVA

I just had to vent about the hours I spent on the phone today with Executive Club, and there are still problems. I have an award booking on RJ, booked with Avios miles on the BA website. The website won't let me make any changes to the booking, so I have to call Executive Club. i won't go into details here, but suffice it to say, I had to call three separate times during the day today, and the SHORTEST wait time I had was 35 minutes, and the longest was 57. How can this be?! At the end of one of the calls, I realized that the booking number they had given me was incorrect. It wasn't linked to my EC account either, so called in the regular reservation number, thinking the hold would be shorter, and all I needed was a booking number. That time I waited ONLY 20 minutes, only to be told that they can't look up an award booking...even when I told them the date, flight number, and name of passenger.

In the end, after my marathon 57-minute hold and another 20 minutes speaking to the agent, I was told my reservation would be cancelled and the Avios put back into my account. Not so fast. If I attempt to access the booking, it says it is being cancelled, but there are no miles added back to my account nor have the fees/taxes been refunded. EC has already closed for the night, and I'm already dreading another morning of listing to the endless BA commercials and god-awful music while I wait on hold.

Is this normal for BA? How can they justify such a third-world customer service set-up?

Thank you. Vent over...for now.

DWFI

...because the program is still better than AFKL Flying Blue or LHLX Miles&More. Enough to win the Flyertalk award for best European frequent flyer program for the third year in a row...

It's got to be maddening and BA definitely needs to fix it, but one can certainly understand why they have little incentive to do that.

FlyerTalker7654

I dont think it has anything to do with winning a Flyertalk award?

It has everything to do with the fact that BA are making a killing and as a result wont improve any areas, such a waiting times on the phone, because why should they? I completely agree, its annoying and frustrating, but they wont change any time soon!!

DWFI

My point is that despite all of BA's shortcomings, people still find it the best. So they have no need to improve.

LTN Phobia

Captive audience, no imperative to reduce the hold time, especially since those who tend to part with money with BA / OW quite a bit tend to get a short hold time and they are OK with it?

pipsi

I'm trying to get through to BA to chase up some missing avios from a hotel booking. I called just over a week ago and spoke to someone who said the avios would credit to my account within a week. Over a week later and still no avios so I thought I'd give them another ring to chase it up.

I've called the number four times so far this morning and after selecting option one (for BAEC members) and option two (for avios queries) I get a recorded message staing they are busy and I can visit the website to change booking etc etc etc ( the generic message they usually play), then I get a ring tone and then the line goes dead and I get the 'call failed' message on my iPhone.

Has anyone else experienced the same problem today? As the missing avios are from a hotel portion of a booking I can't chase it up online like missing avios from flights, as it happens all of my flights from the same booking credited with a dag or two of flying.

FlyingScientist

Had exactly the same yesterday...

DomesticusTaxmius

Been trying to book a flight home from Rome all afternoon with no success. Systems seem to be all haywire today. Killing my Friday afternoon productivity.

Paralytic

I got through to the Gold number OK today. The agent was completely useless, but I did get through.

nbevan

I have found that the shortest wait times are at 8am (or earlier).

KenJohn

Write a letter to complain and see if you are entitled to compensation
Write a letter to the press and copy in someone in BA
Form a page on social media gather support to build momentum to get BA to react

HIDDY

I thought this was going to be about hold times over Lambourn.

Yes call holding times of any sort are unacceptable in my book so BA should make it a priority to improve in this area. Not that I call them that often but when I have done I've never waited more than a minute.

mfhstid

Based on a sample of one - me - I can't think of another company that has consistently longer wait times than BA.

missdimeaner

I held for BA last weekend in NYC as they had cancelled my flight home as a pre emptive weather strike.
I was also online trying to rebook....the system was certainly glitchy that day and it took me several attempts to rebook, and 'the system' would only let me book AA code shares .

I gave up on the phone call when I finally managed to rebook myself......not good for someone who is not as stubborn as me .....and OT I was in Y and I will NEVER, EVER complain about the IFE on BA 747's again, AA IFE is not worth the seat back space.

Hoch

I sympthaise with the OP. I know when I had to call back in January I waited about 20 minutes. It's frustrating but just a sad state of life these days.

I haven't done this BA but about a year ago when I had to call BT for something and waited 30 minutes, I vented my frustration by putting them on hold for 10 minutes.

H