MSN095

We were just asked to leave the first lounge at Gatwick. I'd tried to top up our champagne as we left but the single bottle was empty.

We found a pair of seats in the Galleries lounge and asked a staff member for a refill. "When I get a minute, yeah?" was the snapped response.

Is it my fault that they are so stretch. Have I set my expectations of polite service too high?

Fifteen minutes later and still waiting for that refill BTW. Too frightened to ask again.

EDIT: And there it is - it has arrived, approx 30 minutes after ordering. It's Castelnau. Not quite the refill that we had hoped for. Not the Taittinger we had enjoyed in the other lounge. Time to move on. Thankfully, BA have given us about 10 minutes to neck it before boarding.

johnaalex

Seems to be par for the course these days in Flounge at LGW, your experience is very similar to what I experienced on Monday morning.

Swiss Tony

Presumably there will be a whole bunch of people here looking at P45's with their January pay-packet...

It's not a good situation, but you can quite see why morale may be in the toilet.

corporate-wage-slave

Unacceptable either way, and unusual at LGW in my experience. However I have noticed a few new members of staff who I haven't seen before. The BS staff were indeed going to be made redundant in January, there was a subsequent press report suggesting that in fact no one would be made redundant but it was unclear if that related to BA or BS staff specifically. Having said that, I doubt anyone would be unemployed for too long in that neck of the wood, particularly in Hospitality, many companies in LGW are short staffed.

Anyway, ask for the BS duty manager, or speak to the BA staff on the front desk to complain, it may not be very British but it is likely to have a better outcome than whinging online here.

HIDDY

I don't actually see anything wrong with the response. How it was said may offend some people especially if they're gasping for more drink.

MSN095

We're sat at the gate, waiting for the flight to be called. I agree with HIDDY - we were gasping after our one drink in the thirst lounge. It's our fault for turning up at the lounge with less than two hours before departure with the expectation of enjoying a couple of glasses before a long weekend. Shame on us.

C-W-S, thank you for your help, as always. We did the British thing and rather than complain, we've headed for the gate.

BotB

Next time don't be British, instead be a Flyertalker and order two glasses each once you are in club terraces (anticipating the long delay) after first mixing a stiff lounge cocktail 'traveller' from the F lounge @:-)

After all lounge runs can be thirsty work and you can't be expected to mix with regular 'club' pax without some lubrication.

bafan

I'm sure they were doing something far more important, which meant they couldn't help a customer with a reasonable request...

HIDDY

Well to be fair to the GC service staff you can't expect them to drop everything just because a refugee from the F lounge turns up and requests a glass of Champagne.

I suspect if they'd added a 'Sir' at the end of their ''when I get a minute'' comment this thread wouldn't have been posted.

LondonElite

Why were you asked to leave the lounge? Or was it quittin' time?

710 77345

BA strives for the ultimate in cleanliness, so closes its Gatwick first class lounge at 3pm each day for cleaning. It opens again the next morning, and gold card holders are asked to move to the business class lounge in the meantime.

So how long is an acceptable time to wait for champagne after ordering at a busy time?

TyneTraveller

Not that I've ever requested champagne before, but it's certainly not the response I would expect to hear. I would be surprised if it was meant the way it came accross, but non the less the 30 minute wait for a 30 second job is not acceptable.

The LGW staff in GC must be under increasing pressure, but compromising service standards is not the way to deal with it in my eyes. Probably not worth a complaint now, but at the time I agree that a quick word with the BS GC duty manager would probably have been the best course of action in this instance.

LondonElite

That's what I thought. I unfortunately fly through LGW enough that I know you are making the first bit up/trying to be funny at my expense.

ETA: in case it was't obvious (after a few G&Ts)

HIDDY

Obviously 30 minutes is pushing it but I would never have sat that long anyway. I'd have assumed it had slipped her mind and enquired further or gone and poured myself a glass of wine instead.
No big deal really especially in what is just an airport lounge. I do accept others expect much higher standards of service than me though.

710 77345

I would never be anything other than serious at all times here However, the next bit is absolutely true: