Originally Posted by
HilFly
We're not really talking about expectations. We're talking about a product that we buy after reading the specifications. I can't think of another industry in which not supplying the product as described would engender such defence of the supplier that reneged on the deal.
I don't think many complaints are so substantial as not being supplied a product that was not the same as specifications though, and also it's about how they present a complaint. Rant tends to be met with an "apologist" response. A calm complaint tends to be met with sympathy, although there may be some attempts at offering "the alternative explanations" etc. That has generally been my observation anyway.
Another thing is, unlike a car which is an object, services are essentially often somewhat variable and BA's "product" may be affected by factors that are beyond their control, e.g. weather, ATC strike etc. If a car does not turn up by the delivery date but it is due to a strike at their transporter, I think we would mostly understand it. To me, there are more of those 'external' factors in flying than supplying an object and therefore rendering the situation somewhat more complex and thus the need for more 'allowances' to be made.
If there is absolutely no way that the dealer can supply leather seats, the trunk cover, etc, I think you would be looking for some compensation - a partial refund or other accessories of the customer's choice, or a discount on the car you are buying for your son next week.
The thing is, people do get compensated for not getting what they paid for.
The other day due to fog at LHR my BA flight was cancelled and BA put me on LH. BA gave me a £15 refreshments voucher even though I never mentioned anything like that at all. I assume it was for missing out on the BA F lounge, although I assume they would have realised that I had "some kind of lounge access" on LH as well as I was in business class anyway (and besides, I have *A Gold). I did not use the voucher but I appreciated the gesture.
Another thing is, when an item supplied is incorrect, people would normally take it up with the seller and sort it out. There is a tendency on this forum to complain online, sometimes with very strongly wording, rather than taking it up with BA. Maybe people do not know how to complain to BA about service failures even though they know how to complain to a supplier that supplied them with a wrong item. But if they did complain to BA, they get some kind of a reaction much of the time, even if that's just having miles/Avios thrown their way, or an apology.
In other words, I think buying services like air transportation and buying goods are quite different.