Welcome to Flyertalk. You've had a lot of good advice up-thread, but I would like throw my tuppence worth in. Firstly I think that to call this a nightmare is a bit of an over-reaction. Your wife coped on the way out, and I'm sure that she'll cope even beter on the way back whether you are sitting right next to her or a couple of seats away. I have two children (now 6 months and 3 years) and my wife has managed to travel with them, and without me, without resorting to emotive language.
Originally Posted by
FamilyTraveller
I got a supervisor on the phone fairly quickly this time. She told me that per policy, I would not be allowed to sit next to my wife and child because we were not on the same booking. She didn't care that this was not by our choice as it was a necessity due to differences in our overall itenerary.
I told her that I would be making sure to report on my experience to any interested news media and travel blogs. She responded that she would note on my account that I had threatened legal action. I told her that I had most certainly not threatened legal action nor had I threatened her nor anyone else personally, which she did agree. I think it says a lot about a company's customer service that when you say you are going to pass along an honest account of your interactions with them in which they believe they are acting appropriately, they consider this a threat. A company with good customer service would be proud of their actions and want others to hear about your interactions with them.
Do you not think that this could come across as threatening? There have been a
number of stories recently where tourists have threatened hotels with bad trip advisor reviews if they didn't give them free upgrades etc. - how different is this?
Originally Posted by
FamilyTraveller
I got the impression that such things were standard practice and acceptable for BA customer service.
That doesn't tie in with my experience at all.
Originally Posted by
FamilyTraveller
I'm still undecided about how big of a stink to raise..... I must admit I don't mind if this gets a little bit of public viewing as well as BA deserves some bad publicity for this kind of lack of service.
Hanging-up or getting cut off three times in a row can't be bad luck, and your experience is, in my view, unacceptable in that. However, BA are doing what they have promised in their
seating guide - that a traveller with an infant can select seats for free. Maybe they could make it more clear that if there are people travelling on different bookings that it doesn't apply to all travellers in the party.
I hope that you get this sorted out to your satisfaction, but the only issue I can really see is getting cut-off three times.