Originally Posted by
intuition
...I asked to be served a light meal 3 hours into the flight as I wanted to rest a bit first.
After 3 hours nothing happens. Well, it is not like I am going anywhere so I decide to wait and see. Half an hour passes and then one FA approaches me:
- Do you want to eat now?
- Yes please!
- OK, give us 20 minutes to heat your meal.
...I continue to wait. 45 minutes later my cold meal arrives...
When '3 hours' turns into '4 hours 15 minutes' it seems rather pointless to set a dining time in advance.
Am I expecting to much when I think the dine-on-demand concept should deliver the ordered food within say ±10 minutes?
I think a ten minute margin on a planned dining slot is over enthusiastic - unless you are willing to intervene with some polite chivying. Remembering the sequence of service, three hours into the flight could be in the awkward time when the regular meal service is being cleared away, and the galley is a busy place.
In your case the crew missed the three hour "wake-up" call, and then spent 25 minute longer than planned preparing your meal.
Either the timing was important to you (in which case you'd want to remind crew of your request after three hours was gone), or it wasn't important (in which case .....).
The clue might be in the label
dine-on-demand: rest, sleep, read ..whatever, then press the call button when you want to eat.