Originally Posted by
Flying Winemaker
On a constructive note, I would be interested to hear views from posters as to how the BA public relations machine should be handling this disaster (instead of maintaining radio silence).
Obviously, now that we have the report, they cannot play the "new kitchen" card, as many of the non-conformities refer to basic food handling issues, independent of the equipment.
My own view is that they need to:
1. Issue a full and frank admission that food hygiene fell below the standards that passengers are entitled to expect.
2. Give assurances that corrective actions were implemented as soon as the report was received.
3. Give assurances that senior BA (not BS) staff are monitoring the situation on a daily basis.
4. Give assurances that BA and BS are confident that the next inspection (October?) will result in a 5 rating.
Anyone got other ideas? I am sure BA would be grateful for any input!
Well I must say I never thought out of date eggs would have been an issue, which just shows how bad things are! Sometimes food might get stored at less than ideal temperatures, mistakes happen, but the only way they could be using out of date eggs would be if they're buying eggs on the cheap that are near use-by date. They must go through so many eggs that getting them in fresh they'd have no chance of hitting expiry.
The only thing BA can do is be honest. Say they made a mistake and are doing everything they can to fix it (remember Tesco with the horsemeat apology ads).
Originally Posted by
mjh0
However, I don't see any reason why this is worrying for them. Unless we're talking about an individual who is clearly guilty of serious wrong doing, their jobs are relatively safe, for even if BA terminated the contract with BaxterStory tomorrow, the staff would be protected by TUPE, and life would go on as before.
I think I would be worried if I worked in these lounges even with UK employment protection laws. Even if you're one of the decent ones you'd still get worried you'd get lumped in with the bad ones. Also if you decided to leave, have BaxterStorey, Heathrow T5 on your CV might put people off.
BaxterStorey really does need to ensure morale is improved and those staff that have done well know they're appreciated and their jobs are safe whatever happens to the catering contract.
Sixth Freedom I know you like East Coast and GNER previously, did you ever experience it during the National Express era? Staff morale was very low then, although they still managed a good service but you could tell they were unhappy. As soon as East Coast took over the staff became their cheery selves again like they were under GNER.
Originally Posted by
bafan
They shouldn't happen in the Club Lounge kitchen either....
Out of interest does the club lounge (south) use the same kitchen?