Originally Posted by
BA850
If you pay thousands of dollars for a ticket, it's perfectly reasonable to expect an elevated service. I find it bemusing that so many US flyers are willing to excuse abysmal service.
Taking the OPs points:
- 3 Beverages in 10 hours is not enough.
- Single tray meal service should have been consigned to history with Covid. It was always a dubious "health measure", it's now just an excuse for laziness.
- If you have a uniform, stick to it. Particularly on international routes where not everyone flying Delta is going to recognise that crew members are wearing pink shirts for a given cause. A badge would be more appropriate and polo shirts in any colour are a big "no no".
- If you're flying in Delta One, you have every right to expect priority boarding and disembarkation. Airlines recognise that this is an added value for passengers, which is why they charge extra to select seats at the front of the economy cabin.
What's the conclusion here, anyway? That those who pay thousands of dollars for a ticket are just supposed to sit there, accept dreadful service and be thankful that some power-crazed FA doesn't
shout at them for using the call button? If you excuse bad service, you can expect bad service to become the norm.
The OPs complaint is not "elitist", it's commensurate with the level of service he/she would expect (but didn't receive) in Delta One.
Ok, so help me out here.
Which of the OP's perceived slights is an advertised benefit or service standard of Delta One?
Not "How you think things should be".
Not "How you wish things were".
Not "How things used to be, before {event} happened".
- Unloaded from plane first? Not a benefit of D1
- Being served before other D1 passengers? Not a benefit of D1
- Approve/disapprove of FA attire? Not a benefit of D1
- Requested beverage not provided in < 5 minutes? Not a benefit of D1
- Didn't get addressed by name? Not a benefit of D1
- Didn't get a paper menu? Might be a benefit of D1, so you've got me here.
- Meal wasn't brought on multiple trays? Not a benefit of D1. (I get that it used to be, but even the picture on their website shows all of the food on one tray. So it is what it is)
- Only 3x drink service on a 10 hour flight? Might be a problem, might not. Depends a lot on the time of day of the flight. If it's a redeye, nobody wants them up & down the aisle every 30 minutes while everyone is trying to sleep. Daytime flight? More than 3 is probably justified. But again, a specific number of drinks or a specific interval between drinks is not a benefit of D1
So, for me - I expect them to deliver what they promise. If they do more, that's awesome. If they do less, that's a cause for concern. If they deliver what they commit to, but it doesn't meet my standard for what I think it *should be*.... well, that's a "me problem", not a "them problem".