Originally Posted by
Often1
Lounge eligibility in general, cries out for a simple software solution. Whether one is eligible and, if so, how many guests one may bring, and if so, the conditions of their travel, are easily programmable such that staff should not have to be trained or even understand why one is eligible. The same software which causes status to be printed on a boarding pass or a fee to be waived for luggage would solve all of these problems.
In addition, when there are overcrowding situations, it should be for the manager to inhibit entry and an appropriate message to be displayed for staff, e.g. "I see that you are entitled to 5 guests, but as you know, that is subject to over-crowding restrictions and today we are over limit."
Simple steps and simple solutions.
I totally agree with this -- as I was alluding to in the last sentence of my post. This would also lessen the impact of the inconsistency in attitude and customer-friendliness of the lounge staff, many of whom are excellent but some of whom -- as I experienced -- either don't belong in a customer-facing environment or at the very least need some further training.