"I don't think that anyone is expecting fine dining, nor do the vast majority of complaints in this thread reflect that kind of expectation. One recent poster has had rather obnoxious expectations, but that's not the majority, or even close to it.
I don't know anyone who has reported snapping their fingers at the flight attendant or expecting that an F/A could do anything about a meal on board.
At the same time, when someone pays to sit in a premium cabin that advertises, and I quote, "
full chef-curated meal service" as part of the first class experience, it is reasonable to expect that the food will be decent. It is reasonable, for example, to expect that bread won't be soggy or frozen, or that a salad will consist of more than a few pieces of shredded iceberg lettuce. While I agree that one can't expect the same level of service that one might expect in a international J or F cabin, one can certainly expect food that is of higher quality than institutional cafeteria lunch food. It is all the more frustrating to have sub-par meal service at a time when they are selling, rather than giving away via upgrades, more first class seats than ever." Very well said - sorry the FT quote system isn't working. Nobody blames an FA for this and I have never seen anyone complain to an FA about a meal. Several times I have seen FAs recognize "the look on someone's face" that they were disappointed with the meal and offer one of the coach snack boxes or an extra pass at the snack basket, which has always been very well received. Also, nobody expects fine dining, but we also know what Delta is capable of because of what they executed in 2015. Although not 5 star quality, the food was undoubtedly good. We see portions, quality and creativity declining rapidly in a very short period of time, while the PR fluff about how "amazing" the food is only gets more inflated. Whether in life or in business, I always try to manage expectations and deliver on what you say you are going to do (a promise). Delta has failed in that regard. They can do whatever they want with upgrades - if you didn't buy the seat, its not yours, but if a person or a company is going to fail to deliver on their promise or marketing, I am going to do my best to hold them accountable (and by them I mean the appropriate entity, not the FA) as they would do (and I want them to do) to me.