Great report - as usual - thanks for posting ^

I was fascinated to see some of the inconsistent/poor service issues that you encountered. I flew the same route (rtn) a few weeks back in F having selected BA for these First Class long-haul flight after pro-actively switching my business to Star Alliance carriers (mainly SQ/LX/TG) following some disappointing BA experiences. I genuinely wanted to give BA another chance. I believe that the level of service/product I experienced was rather poor. In summary:

Outbound, LHR-YVR:
1. Grumpy "welcome" in CCR at LHR T5. No explanation of services offered to us.
2. No pro-active service delivery in CCR - I had to request any beverage/food from the bar. Wait staff stood around, occasionally clearing tables. Also, no snacks (except biscuits!) in the CCR? Was told we had to go to the Galleries First lounge if we wanted nibbles – how odd!
3. Upon boarding the a/c, not shown to my seat in the FIRST cabin. Nonchalantly pointed towards the seat.
4. Seat/panels/cabin environment very tatty/worn/dirty.
5. Starter was not as menu - Potted Crab - missing two of the three key ingredients - luckily not the crab!
6. Main course meal totally inedible - Spring Lamb Assiette – at least 2 x other pax sent it back too. Selected a CLUB meal as the only other suitable replacement.
7. Afternoon Tea service sandwiches were bordering on stale - hard, curled edges.
Crew were sympathetic but, in general, could only work with what they are given. Actually had quite a chat with the First Purser, who said he was sick-to-death of apologising on behalf of the product/airline and has to do so on virtually every flight!

YVR-LHR:
1. Similar to the above in regards to the state of the cabin.
2. TV monitor was absolutely filthy when used at the safety demo by crew - no offer to clean it – it must have been obvious to the crew who set up the monitor for the safety briefing.
3. The seat did not recline/move at all until a crew member spent a considerable time "fixing" it. Embarrassing, really.
4. The service delivery was somewhat shambolic:
* Salad delivered before soup, despite my requesting the opposite.
* Missing cutlery (soup delivered with no spoon)
* The dessert I chose, Banana Spring Roll, was inedible and a somewhat bizarre concoction to say the least. Even the crew s......ed at this mess of a dish.
In summary, no-one died, no-one was injured (to my knowledge) and we arrived in relative comfort BUT I do not believe we received appropriate value from the First product - not a First Class experience at all - certainly not as advertised/marketed by BA:

“First offers exceptional comfort and refined surroundings with an individual yet discrete style and the finest quality of service. The result is a flying experience that is unmistakably First”