sparky01635

A few weeks back I had an issue with BA's customer service and today on another different issue, it leaves me feeling the same way, that BA's customer service and ability to deal with issues of their making, they put two big fingers up to their loyal clients. Am I the only one feeling this these days?

Here are the reasons I feel as though BA are way way behind other companies like American Express and others;

I returned from Dubai this week to the UK in a £1,500 club world seat and was advised on arrival at the gate that my entertainment/screen was inoperable and that I should contact customer services to discuss compensation as there were no other seats available on the flight. Nothing I could do but accept 7 hours in the air during a daytime flight without a screen. What did customer services offer me when I called this afternoon? A miserable £40 or 9k of avios. Awful in my opinion. Furthermore, no option to escalate the complaint or discuss with a supervisor. 2.5% refund...

Two weeks ago, a similar situation, where customer services have to option available to a loyal customer, to discuss a grievance, with only CEDR offered as a next step. Here I had a expensive mistake of booking two flights to LA, because the first booked 3 months earlier did not show up on my Executive club list of forthcoming flights and I mistakenly booked again. It was only on the day of arrival, when I got a alert from MyFlights app that I saw a missed leg of a flight with a reference I did not recognise. Fact of the matter was that although I got the original booking email and BA confirmed my exec club number was attached to it from the start, there were no emails (before you fly, click in etc. etc.). Had I of realised before the dept date, I could have accepted a charge and changed the flight to a future date, but as it was, my only recourse was to claim £200 tax back. BA cust service said they understood my reason for raising the issue, but were not in a position to have my case reviewed.

And last but not least, when I asked a very friendly and understanding check in rep at LHR why in the last year, I have suddenly stopped receiving ANY upgrades, she advised that BA changed their policy a while back to not upgrade loyal exec members and instead upgrade non-status holders in the hope they will get a taste of a higher class seat and book that in future. She further added that only the team based in India can upgrade now and check in and aircrew did not have the authority unless a flight is oversold on the day.

All in all, the last few months are making me seriously consider if there are other better options for a regular traveller from the UK to the US and Europe and I would be interested in others thoughts and experiences as being a Gold member, which I push hard to achieve each year, is seeming like a status that BA no longer value...