Xyzzy and IAH-OIL-TRASH ... did you have LHR based or SFO/IAH based crews? When I thanked the Purser and Galley FA for everything they did, we were talking and they explained flying with a mixed-base LHR/SFO crew on their outbound, which caused some tension because the LHR crew members in the front galley wanted a completely different approach to service than they did ... I.e. no PDB, single tray, refills in galley, etc. Apparently the LHR base members are very upset about additional workload with PDBs, etc, while reduced crew staffing remains.

I flew out SWISS First, so was bracing myself for the return on UA, but was really pleasantly surprised.