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First Class service standards (meal plating/courses, hot towels, etc.)

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First Class service standards (meal plating/courses, hot towels, etc.)

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Old Feb 15, 2016, 4:37 pm
  #1  
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First Class service standards (meal plating/courses, hot towels, etc.)

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Last edited by AS Flyer; Feb 18, 2016 at 12:10 am Reason: I didn't start this thread...
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Old Feb 15, 2016, 8:12 pm
  #2  
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The snack basket seems to be left out often by the galley. So if one doesn't get up towards the end of the flight you miss out.
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Old Feb 16, 2016, 6:03 am
  #3  
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Originally Posted by AS Flyer
All the items aren't supposed to be served at the same time. The service is supposed to go as follows:

Drink & nuts (unless on breakfast flight then just drink - nuts later in flight) followed by,

The "First Bite" which is currently the Caprese skewer. Followed by,

The three menu selections served on the tray with a roll. Followed by,

Dessert which is currently a honey bourbon cheesecake bite and mocha cheesecake bite.

Later in the flight the snack basket is supposed to be offered through the First Class cabin.
Herein lies one of the ongoing problems I've seen with Alaska's service:

There appears to be a standard - as you've indicated above - but little to no enforcement of that standard. As a passenger it's frustrating to be served by a slacker who's too lazy to do the service properly. I should imagine as a flight attendant it's equally frustrating because these people - through their haphazard approach to service - have the potential to cast you all in a diminished light amongst new or occasional flyers.

Does any self-policing go on amongst the crews?
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Old Feb 16, 2016, 9:35 am
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Originally Posted by Seat 2A
As a passenger it's frustrating to be served by a slacker who's too lazy to do the service properly.
(Off topic of actual food)
I'm less passionate about things than the esteemed Seat 2A, but I'm still conceptually interested in helping AS keep to its standards. Is there a good option we as passengers have to mention this kind of thing? I was actually pretty happy with everything on the flight so I'm not seeking punishment or anything (eg it could be genuine issues with familiarity of the new system) but if nobody mentions anything to the FA I don't know what would cause a change in behavior. There's the Alaska listens feedback dealie - is that the most helpful approach?
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Old Feb 16, 2016, 9:53 am
  #5  
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Originally Posted by LwoodY2K
There's the Alaska listens feedback dealie - is that the most helpful approach?
yes and i think in this case my personal feedback would be something like "the new service and food is great, but it would be wonderful if the food was metered out a little more slowly. the tray was very crowded, and some of my food got warm/cold before i could consume it. spreading out the service slightly into courses would be preferred"
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Old Feb 16, 2016, 12:02 pm
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Originally Posted by AS Flyer
All the items aren't supposed to be served at the same time. The service is supposed to go as follows:

Drink & nuts (unless on breakfast flight then just drink - nuts later in flight) followed by,

The "First Bite" which is currently the Caprese skewer. Followed by,

The three menu selections served on the tray with a roll. Followed by,

Dessert which is currently a honey bourbon cheesecake bite and mocha cheesecake bite.

Later in the flight the snack basket is supposed to be offered through the First Class cabin.
This is how I thought it was suppose to be. They never served the old transcon meals all at once so I'm a bit surprised to see them doing it now. One question, and a very minor one at that, is there a particular time for the hot towel service? Most hand them out before the meal, but yesterday from ABQ-SEA, they were handed out by an amazing FA as we descended into SEA.
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Old Feb 16, 2016, 1:29 pm
  #7  
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I've seen the towels passed out irregularly on flights- sometimes at the start of service, just before landing, or not at all. I haven't determined a pattern- time of day or stage length.
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Old Feb 16, 2016, 1:43 pm
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Originally Posted by PV_Premier
Originally Posted by LwoodY2K
There's the Alaska listens feedback dealie - is that the most helpful approach?
yes and i think in this case my personal feedback would be something like "the new service and food is great, but it would be wonderful if the food was metered out a little more slowly. the tray was very crowded, and some of my food got warm/cold before i could consume it. spreading out the service slightly into courses would be preferred"
I did do alaska listens and I said pretty much exactly this about enjoying the new menu but preferring it to be served in courses
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Old Feb 16, 2016, 1:44 pm
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Originally Posted by AS Flyer
All the items aren't supposed to be served at the same time. The service is supposed to go as follows:

Drink & nuts (unless on breakfast flight then just drink - nuts later in flight) followed by,

The "First Bite" which is currently the Caprese skewer. Followed by,

The three menu selections served on the tray with a roll. Followed by,

Dessert which is currently a honey bourbon cheesecake bite and mocha cheesecake bite.

Later in the flight the snack basket is supposed to be offered through the First Class cabin.

Thank you for sharing this with us, AS Flyer. It's nice to be able to confirm what the standard is supposed to be on the flights.

I take detailed notes during each flight and plan to continue providing feedback on service - both good and not-so-good - via AlaskaListens.com. And via Twitter, because the Social Media Team members rock.
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Old Feb 16, 2016, 1:45 pm
  #10  
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Agree Alaska Listens is a good venue for delivering feedback.
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Old Feb 16, 2016, 2:25 pm
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Originally Posted by beckoa
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I've seen the towels passed out irregularly on flights- sometimes at the start of service, just before landing, or not at all. I haven't determined a pattern- time of day or stage length.
Originally, when hot towels were only offered on transcon and Hawaii flights, they were supposed to be done at the end of the flight on descent. When some enhancements were made to the first class service and the hot towels extended to more flights, they were added to any flight where a meal was served and the policy was changed to offer them at the very beginning of the flight before the first drink is served.
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Old Feb 16, 2016, 2:30 pm
  #12  
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Originally Posted by BeNeLuxFlyer
Originally, when hot towels were only offered on transcon and Hawaii flights, they were supposed to be done at the end of the flight on descent. When some enhancements were made to the first class service and the hot towels extended to more flights, they were added to any flight where a meal was served and the policy was changed to offer them at the very beginning of the flight before the first drink is served.
Personally, I prefer them at the end.

I understand why they are done prior to meal service (allow you to rinse your hands for cleaner eating), and that is how United does it on all their meal flights, but my face tends to get dirty and grimy after a long transcon, and I appreciate the ability to do a little refresh before arrival. (Either that or offer me a lounge with a shower upon landing!)

Ideally, perhaps they could load up two sets of towels on transcons and do it both at the beginning and the end?
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Old Feb 16, 2016, 4:27 pm
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Totally agree!!!!
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Old Feb 16, 2016, 5:31 pm
  #14  
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I've had 4 flghts now with the new transcon menu. Nearly every time they came out separately as stated by AS Flyer except once. I just assumed it was because there was a lot of turbulence during the food portion. We even had our meals before they could get the carts out in Y.. . it was a breakfast flight, no way they could have fit it all on one tray on a lunch/dinner flight with the dessert.
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Old Feb 16, 2016, 10:11 pm
  #15  
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Thanks for the towel updates ^

Agree on transcons it would be nice to have 2 sets of towels if space permits.
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