redsox1918

Just a thoguht.

I often find John Lewis staff to be a real delight. Having said that I also find the majority of people on the check outs at supermarkets to be real stars also. Always so friendly. Makes me want to go back

I gave this some thought and realized what both the stores where I shop share in common is that the staff have a real incentive to be friendly. Both these sets of staff receive either shares at below market price or a share of the profits if the company achieves certain profit levels.

Now taking this back to BA what is the incentive for the staff apart from a job if they get nothing for being friendly? I have always believed in if all share a common goal which they can benefit from then they all work together.

As Dorris on customer service may think why should I care about future bookings when I get nothing for it. Maybe only the senior management team will get a bundle of shares if the company does well.

bealine

Well, that's might strange because the lounges are staffed by the same people that man other positions on the ground.

Maybe it's because the lounge atmosphere is calm and unhurried?

FrancisA

I have said it before, but I really cannot see why BA cannot get priority boarding right on SH at LHR.

LAN can manage to do priority boarding on a one class service for the benefit of status passengers in the middle of a rain forest (Igazu Falls - IGR), yet BA cannot do this at the flagship terminal of their main home hub!

It cannot be a question of cost. LAN allocate a separate line for status passengers, a sign to say this, print preferential boarding on boarding passes and use gate staff to enforce this. Apart from cost of a sign and a software change to print preferential in BP, there is nil cost to this (and neither of those items are essential).

BA clearly think priority boarding is important as CS apologised for the lack of prioirity boarding as an example of things that had been cut during the strike, when my complaint was about the awkful J catering.

I wholly agree with a previous poster who suggested that BA senior management review the whole SH premium experience. I would do this from arrival at the departure airport to exit from the destination airport. With clear guidance and service standards for staff and contractors, and proper performance monitoring (which managers should be doing anyway), BA could address so many problems at virtually no cost. This could sort out priority boarding, consistent in-flight service standards, encroachment of Y luggage into J overheads, priority luggage and a number of other niggles. Get these things right, and the experience of SH J customers could be significantly improved.

Come on BA, is this really that difficult?

Lobengula

No it's so easy and will not cost any money. A way to enhance the product for free. Send that lazy BA manager to the US and let him/her study how AA does it.

It's a management problem and this person responsible for this should get a hard kick in the rear

malkie

An even better example might be the success with which EasyJet and RyanAir manage priority boarding on their flights. It only goes wrong when they bus people to planes, but that's more common at the outstations rather than their hubs (and reflected in the reduced price of the priority boarding).

The incentive for them is they charge ~£5 for the priority boarding, so they have to get it right so that people will continue to pay for the service.

I don't understand how BA can charge what it does for CE without absolutely ensuring priority boarding (and of course also for SC and GC holders, who are clear revenue generators).

[please don't shoot for me flying EZ and FR, I live 10minutes from LTN]

BOH

Ok, but why would you check (or even care) what is under your seat. It's not yours to use, that space belongs to the pax seated behind you.

Genius1

By any chance was she booked in the BA1452 from LHR to EDI yesterday (18th June) in seat 4D? That may explain why I was moved from 13D to 4D at the gate when I had requested a seat further forward but the flight was 100% full!

Palmer

The FA tried stuffing the bag under the seat but couldn't becuase of what ever it was already being there. I didn't look. I assume the flight crew have the authority to decide what gets placed where and who can and can't stow belongings. The girl in 1E had her hand luggage taken on to the flight deck.

It was the 15:50 out of LHR. I can't recall her flight number.

Palmer

HIDDY

I suspect it comes down to money again. Operating costs at BUD will be a fraction of what they are at LHR and other places.
From what I've seen in my small sample of flights where I qualified for priority boarding with other European airlines BA aren't the only ones who fall short in the PB department.

8420PR

However neither easyjet or ryanair have assigned seat numbers, so there is no drop in efficiency from allowing priority boarding.

I admire SWISS in Zurich, who board the plane by row numbers starting from the back, and rigorously enforce cabin baggage limits. Surely this is the most efficient. Lufthansa used to have different zones printed on the boarding card, which were rumoured to be based on window first and then aisle seats.... didn't seem to work and now they are gone.

I don't care about priority boarding, as I mostly want to leave other people to queue and then get on the plane last. What I do care about is that everyone gets on the plane as quickly and smoothly as possible - there are some airports where it just seems to take ages to board a 737/A320.

Genius1

That was it! Can you thank her for cancelling for me? ^

Swanhunter

Interestingly, the same number of staff at the gate at both airports. So while BUD will be cheaper BA certainly aren't investing that "saving" in extra people

bealine

Really?

Very Interesting!

I suggest our managers avoid American Airlines in Miami then because the customer service skills I witnessed there were the absolute pits! Tell me, do they still throw you a muffin and a can of Diet Coke while you're queuing in the jetty ("Here, Catch Buddy!") on their short hauls?

Nah - I don't think AA can teach us much!

Lobengula

While I find the "buddy" approach of AA (and other US carriers) amusing, I do not want this on BA

No, I'm talking strictly about the boarding process. The priority lane where status/J/F pax easily get to the front of the scrum. And this costs nothing except a sign. No extra staff needed.

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

And they also specifically call First class to board first ( hit and miss whether BA calls F/CW to board first or a general call to board with the added " F /CW may use the fast track lane")

Regards

TBS