BA Really know how to alienate new customers...
Sep 4, 2015, 4:14 am
#16
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 932
I think there is also a wider point here about BA's treatment of new customers which is one of the potentially more dangerous parts of BA's business model. BA provides fairly good perks to frequent travellers (i.e. BAEC Gold members), but seems to forget that customers have to (normally willingly) go through other levels to get there. This is especially problematic given that e.g. BA doesn't offer status matches.
New customers from say VS or other non-OW airlines think they'll give BA a try and book a TATL J or similar, then find they have to pay to reserve a seat even on a relatively high value ticket. They therefore don't select a seat until check-in when all the UD and probably decent window seats are gone and find themselves banished to a middle of the plane dorm-type CW seat. This combined with the inconsistency of service leads them to have a sub-par experience and not realise BA J can be much better than this.
I realise that BA has chosen to reward frequent flyers above all which is fine (as opposed to e.g. QR which doesn't seem to care about frequent flyer status but instead skews things towards paying premium passengers), but they need to at least provide a reasonable standard of service before this point so that customers are willing to get there. I am in my 20's, just starting my career and would think I'm a reasonable proxy for future possible BA frequent fliers. I've already had enough bad customer service experiences with, e.g., poor service from the India call centre non-Golds are subjected to that I wonder whether BA is really for me.
New customers from say VS or other non-OW airlines think they'll give BA a try and book a TATL J or similar, then find they have to pay to reserve a seat even on a relatively high value ticket. They therefore don't select a seat until check-in when all the UD and probably decent window seats are gone and find themselves banished to a middle of the plane dorm-type CW seat. This combined with the inconsistency of service leads them to have a sub-par experience and not realise BA J can be much better than this.
I realise that BA has chosen to reward frequent flyers above all which is fine (as opposed to e.g. QR which doesn't seem to care about frequent flyer status but instead skews things towards paying premium passengers), but they need to at least provide a reasonable standard of service before this point so that customers are willing to get there. I am in my 20's, just starting my career and would think I'm a reasonable proxy for future possible BA frequent fliers. I've already had enough bad customer service experiences with, e.g., poor service from the India call centre non-Golds are subjected to that I wonder whether BA is really for me.
Sep 4, 2015, 4:24 am
#17
Fontaine d'honneur du Flyertalk
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Morbihan, France
Programs: Reine des Muccis de Pucci; Foreign Elitist (according to others)
Posts: 19,174
That's totally unfair - it does so depend on where the crew is based. ORD is not the best - LAX is pretty good - that said with US Airways in the mix and all sorts of changes due to seniority this may no longer apply. As a passenger I have only encountered one dreadful - and I mean dreadful purser (Eurofleet). Lazy, rude and arrogant. A pretty combination.
Sep 4, 2015, 4:34 am
#19
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: scotland/EDI
Programs: BAEC , M&M , VIRGIN FC , FLYING BLUE
Posts: 1,438
there is nothing worse than recommending a product or service and then feeling very let down when things don't go as they should have
but im pretty sure BA will still be around in 15 years as I cant see who can fill the gap
Sep 4, 2015, 4:37 am
#20
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: The Hague, NL
Programs: GMLFL, Life 2.0 - Mucci Premiere Classe & des Chevaliers Toulousiens
Posts: 22,911
Sep 4, 2015, 4:40 am
#21
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: London / Brighton
Programs: BAEC Gold / M-Life Gold / HH Diamond
Posts: 1,634
That's totally unfair - it does so depend on where the crew is based. ORD is not the best - LAX is pretty good - that said with US Airways in the mix and all sorts of changes due to seniority this may no longer apply. As a passenger I have only encountered one dreadful - and I mean dreadful purser (Eurofleet). Lazy, rude and arrogant. A pretty combination.
), but generalised crew-bashing is just ridiculous. I sometimes wonder whether passengers (and FTers) ever appreciate that the crew are real people too, some of the crap I've observed them putting up with I know I'd be less smiley with everyone else afterwards.Treat people the way you want to be treated ^