HighLife

A really black BA Friday for me today!

No complaints about BA check-in or fast track security at T3 this morning. Both were efficient.

Three of us were booked to BUD in CE and using my GGL status I wanted to invite my two guests into the T3 F lounge.

The dragon scanned my iPhone, looked up and told me that I wasn't in fact GGL and so I couldn't take in my guests. (Slightly embarrassing when with two extremely important business colleagues)

I politely asked him to check again, and so he said he would make a call. He called, and his colleague on the phone confirmed that 'sorry, the pax is just ordinary gold now'. This was repeated to me by the chap at the F reception.

As they don't need the cards anymore at T5 (and in my previous experiences at T3, and ALL other worldwide lounges!) I haven't bothered carrying the CCR or GGL cards around with me for the last few years, and so I had none with me this morning.

The lounge dragon said that I MUST have my card with me. He said that he works at T3 and T5 on a rotating basis and that this is a requirement

I decided not to argue and in order to save face I smiled and immediately invited my guests into the Club side of the lounge. As we were turning round a very famous film composer and his wife came through the reception doors and came over to the desk.

I happen to know this man and his wife very well and we have worked together on several occasions. On seeing us about to shuffle over to the club lounge he said 'oh, I would have thought you were gold by now!'

I smiled, introduced him to the two US film executives who were with me and said 'it's complicated'.. must be some sort of computer glitch and I can't be bothered to argue with the system... we're going to the other lounge'

Once we were settled, I took 2 minutes to log onto ba.com on my laptop and took it out to the lounge dragon.

He looked completely bemused and even though the screen said GOLD GUEST LIST, card valid until 8th April 2015 on it, along with 5790 TPs, he said 'well they can't be wrong at the executive club desk' which he had called.

So I took out my phone and asked him to call my contact at Special Services at T5 on his mobile.

Several people came through the door at this stage and the lounge dragon scowled at me and said he had to deal with people coming in first. Of course I had no problem with this.

So in came three different GCHs, all smirking at me with my laptop open on the other side, clearly looking at some poor fool who had just neen having denied access and was desperately trying to prove his entitlement

The young chap got my contact on the phone and introduced himself as a BA colleague on the T3 lounge desk.

I saw his face change as my contact talked to him. In the end he looked mortified

He gave me back the phone and my contact confirmed that he had had words and that he had asked his colleague to apologise to my guests and I on behalf of BA. He promised me that he would make sure this never happened again. I thanked him, and put down the phone. His colleague changed his tune completely, apologising profusely he offered to come into the Club lounge and come and escort us into the F side.

I thanked him but said that wasn't necessary. I had been embarrassed enough by BA this morning and that in any case we would soon be going to the gate, so no need to change lounge.

We then went over to the gate at about the time when they announced boarding. The gate was a total scrum, and as the gate team didn't think their tannoy was working well enough (it was working fine), one of the guys decided to shout into the large gate area at the top of his voice PEOPLE WHO NEED MORE ASSISTANCE BOARDING OR PASSENGERS TRAVELING WITH SMALL CHILDREN PLEASE BOARD NOW. He was right next to us and it was one of the most deafening and unprofessional boarding farces I have ever witnessed on BA... and as we all know, BA are generally pretty good at turning the boarding process into a farce worthy of Feydeau.

There then followed a totally lacklustre flight during which the basic CE service was performed by the two cabin crew, but during which I was not offered a single drink after the meal service.

Such a shame when decent crews sometimes do such a great job even within the limitations of the CE service, but sadly not unusual.

Oh well, I'll just put it down to black Friday

Paralytic

I can only imagine if you hadn't post this story, and another FTer had seen you stood their with your laptop proving your entitlement, what the initial post here, and the responses, might have been.

I can guarantee a good percentage of the posts would have include the phrase DYKWIA

Did your contact say what had went wrong - was the computer really telling them you were just a Gold, or did they not know what the GGL entitlement was?

Filthy Monkey

What a rubbish experience and, knowing the type of people you hob-nob with, I can only imagine how embarrassing and frustrating it must have been! sounds like you handled it well though ^

travelwithross

I would have been livid. I think you handled that pretty well!

visualAd

I once had a similar situation a GC North at T5 early this year. Being a lowly Gold the lounge agent explained to me I wasn't entitled to lounge access on a domestic flight unless I had a fully flexible ticket.

Thankfully, my colleague who had a silver card was able to guest me in with his fully flexible ticket.

Sometimes it's just not worth the fight, especially at 6am in the morning.

I do get the impression that they make the rules up as they go though.

DYKWIA

What has the occupation of your friend "famous film composer" or colleagues "US film executives" got to do with the story?

corporate-wage-slave

As I understand it the screens don't actually say GGL or CCR, they do show CIV, and it maybe that for some reason your CIV has dipped below 96, or it was mis-read as such (or they thought GGL was 100 plus). However I do carry my card with me, it's not that big or heavy, I do get asked for it in some places, notably USA and on Air Berlin services.

HilFly

Far be it for me to answer for High Life, I thought it had been included because this embarrassing debacle was witnessed by an important ?client?

Doc Savage

DYKWHI?

Good grief, OP, don't you realize the best way to have appeared cool and unflappable would have been to roll your eyes, say something brief about computer foulups, and go into the Club side? You succeeded in making a mountain out of a molehill. I can just imagine how your furious computering and running up with laptop ablaze must have impressed your business contacts.

But YMMV.

Safe Travels,

Doc

vanmunchen

Well it impressed me

J-Class

I'm highly sympathetic to the OP.

BA has historically offered its clients all the complex snobbery of the British class system: four classes of travel; three classes of lounge; and a frequent flier programme with at least six tiers, ranging from pleb to oligarch. More recently BA has followed also some of the pay-as-you-go elements of its classless competitors, the LCCs: hand baggage only fares, paid seat reservation and so on.

The problem is that BA's IT systems were built for a simpler time and don't seem to be able to keep up with its pursuit of ever more complex iterations of British snobbery. The OP's travails are just one example. To give another: this week BA cancelled my flight in Club on a 777 and rebooked me onto a 747. MMB didn't work and I couldn't see whether my paid seat reservation had carried over in any sensible fashion. I called BA who didn't want to allow me to choose a seat, even after I told them I had paid for a seat reservation. After several minutes of arguing, the phrase "please put me through to your supervisor" finally led to a cure for the problem.

Aloxford

When my BP is scanned I've seen on the screen words to the effect of Gold Guest List member, acknowledge and greet. Perhaps some IT change has removed this prompt to the Lounge Angels very recently?

MrSimonR

I understood that the screen did flash up something, whether "GGL" or "entitled to 2 guests" when they scanned your BP. I have always been asked where my 2 guests are, when they scan it at the Flounge.

The other way it to get them to "add guests". I assumed that a GGL BP would permit them to add 2 guests whereas the system would not allow this. Maybe I am wrong, but I assumed it worked this way.

HighLife

Of course I only posted this story for the entertainment of this board. After I had huffed and puffed in my mind for all of three seconds it really was water off this duck's back


All (or mostly all) in your mind I'm afraid. I was calm and collected at every moment and my two colleagues had no idea that I nipped out in order to nip this issue very discreetly in the bud and they had no idea on my return either. Of course standing there with my laptop open probably made me look like a noob to others going in, but a calm noob at least.

It really is as simple as that. They wouldn't care, but it did make me look like a bit of a chancer, whereas the fault was entirely with BA.

I should really carry my BA cards with me. You are right that they are not heavy, I have just NEVER been asked for them until earlier today.

I thought my CIV would never dip below 97? Never really looked at their screens, so not sure what was or was not displayed.


Added colour for the reader's benefit. Sorry it was all too much for you.



Yes, the printingandbreakfast side of the story would have assumed I was some sort of prat doing a DYKWIA and trying to chance my way in!

No, I didn't bother really pursuing it this morning and just assumed it was a computer failure.

I have since been PMd by a senior BA figure who is going to look into it (don't ever assume BA don't take this board seriously)

MSN095

What's wrong with the noodles in the CX lounge?