Sep 29, 2013, 4:07 am
Last edit by: 710 77345
A Food Safety Inspector from the London Borough of Hillingdon has inspected the food preparation areas of the Concorde Room and Galleries First Lounge at Heathrow Terminal 5 (run by BaxterStorey on behalf of British Airways) and has indicated under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme that Food Hygiene and Safety is POOR:
It's an appalling score, putting the lounge in the bottom 10% of food establishments in England (worse than many burger vans and kebab shops!).
A 5/5 score was awarded in the past year to BA's T3 and (unspecified) Galleries T5 lounges (whilst under Compass' control prior to handover to BaxterStorey). Galleries Club Lounges in Terminal 5 A were reassessed in September 2013 and scored 4 (North Lounge) and 2 (South Lounge) - both are discussed here. Aer Lingus, Cathay, AA, Virgin and other airside lounges all scored 5/5. Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food received a 2/5 rating (food being cooked in a different way to the manual, burgers being kept warm rather than hot, a broken fridge and washing hands in a "utensil only" sink).
5 days after the score was first revealed on Flyertalk, BaxterStorey posted a statement just prior to a story being published in the Daily Mail (which was sourced from this thread!). A spokesperson for British Airways said "We work with BaxterStorey to provide a high quality service to customers using our lounges, and take all feedback seriously. We continue to invest in our product and are currently renovating our kitchen facilities.”
The Council's Report was obtained by Fife, published in .pdf here. The reasons for the poor score were not just the kitchen facilities, but included the following areas for immediate rectification:
Out of Date Ingredients: eggs and quince beyond their safe use-by date were being served to passengers.
Meat Stored at Room Temperature: ham sandwiches and cooked ham left at 16°C/61°F. The maximum safe temperature is 8°C/46°F
Hot Food Not Hot Enough: sausages and scrambled eggs left at 50°C/122°F. The minimum safe temperature is 63°C/145°F
Dirty Kitchen: 7 separate areas were found to be so dirty they needed an immediate thorough cleaning.
Cross Contamination of Food: a member of staff handled raw salmon, then immediately performed other kitchen duties without removing their gloves, or washing their hands, risking cross-contamination.
Risk of Access by Rats, Mice and Insects: a long gap in a kitchen back door required immediate filling to minimise pest entry points.
In addition, BaxterStorey were given until the end of September to accurately record the training given to their staff - Compass did not pass on their training records to BaxterStorey, and as BS had no record of training performed since it took over, BS was unable to hand any record of compliance with training standards to the inspector.
It's an appalling score, putting the lounge in the bottom 10% of food establishments in England (worse than many burger vans and kebab shops!).
A 5/5 score was awarded in the past year to BA's T3 and (unspecified) Galleries T5 lounges (whilst under Compass' control prior to handover to BaxterStorey). Galleries Club Lounges in Terminal 5 A were reassessed in September 2013 and scored 4 (North Lounge) and 2 (South Lounge) - both are discussed here. Aer Lingus, Cathay, AA, Virgin and other airside lounges all scored 5/5. Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food received a 2/5 rating (food being cooked in a different way to the manual, burgers being kept warm rather than hot, a broken fridge and washing hands in a "utensil only" sink).
5 days after the score was first revealed on Flyertalk, BaxterStorey posted a statement just prior to a story being published in the Daily Mail (which was sourced from this thread!). A spokesperson for British Airways said "We work with BaxterStorey to provide a high quality service to customers using our lounges, and take all feedback seriously. We continue to invest in our product and are currently renovating our kitchen facilities.”
The Council's Report was obtained by Fife, published in .pdf here. The reasons for the poor score were not just the kitchen facilities, but included the following areas for immediate rectification:
Out of Date Ingredients: eggs and quince beyond their safe use-by date were being served to passengers. Meat Stored at Room Temperature: ham sandwiches and cooked ham left at 16°C/61°F. The maximum safe temperature is 8°C/46°F Hot Food Not Hot Enough: sausages and scrambled eggs left at 50°C/122°F. The minimum safe temperature is 63°C/145°F Dirty Kitchen: 7 separate areas were found to be so dirty they needed an immediate thorough cleaning. Cross Contamination of Food: a member of staff handled raw salmon, then immediately performed other kitchen duties without removing their gloves, or washing their hands, risking cross-contamination. Risk of Access by Rats, Mice and Insects: a long gap in a kitchen back door required immediate filling to minimise pest entry points.
Response from BaxterStorey [lounge food hygiene "poor" rating]
Sep 26, 2013, 10:37 am
#151
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: England
Programs: Executive Club Silver
Posts: 711
That is an excellent email. If that email address listed is correct then it will go straight through to Mr Williams and not to the Customer Service department who take months to respond? You could also email Willie Walsh, but I doubt his email address is public.
I hope you let us know if you get a reply, I wonder if they will try and market the extra filth and grime as a special 'enhancement'
I hope you let us know if you get a reply, I wonder if they will try and market the extra filth and grime as a special 'enhancement'
Sep 26, 2013, 10:43 am
#152
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: UK
Programs: BA S, VS S, SQ G, HH D, IHG D/A, Marriott G, Radisson G, Hertz PC
Posts: 3,945
Wow - thanks so much to Fife for obtaining the report under FOI. Very interesting reading - as others have commented, it really is basic food hygiene that they've failed on - nothing to do with kitchens, nothing to do with being airside, nothing to do with equipment, just core basic stuff. Can't understand why they had such confidence in management given these basic failings!
Sep 26, 2013, 10:45 am
#153
Join Date: May 2005
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR/Lifetime Gold, Hyatt Lifetime Globalist, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 559
That is an excellent email. If that email address listed is correct then it will go straight through to Mr Williams and not to the Customer Service department who take months to respond? You could also email Willie Walsh, but I doubt his email address is public.
I hope you let us know if you get a reply, I wonder if they will try and market the extra filth and grime as a special 'enhancement'
I hope you let us know if you get a reply, I wonder if they will try and market the extra filth and grime as a special 'enhancement'
I know it is the correct e-mail address, as I have had cause - once before - to write, and used it on a very serious issue. I got a direct reply back, and a subsequent follow-up e-mail.
Sep 26, 2013, 10:46 am
#154
Join Date: Sep 2010
Programs: VS Silver; BA Blue; HH Gold; SPG Gold
Posts: 779
Goats cheese starter. Beef main. Cake desert.
Happily our 10 month old had none of that or anything else (largely as we were told they could not just get him some veg because "we are in a secure zone, you know. Everything is preparered". What a load of ****).
Very happy it was just my wife and I that got ill, the boy getting ill would have ruined much more than just the flight, a day in Singapore, second flight and morning in sydney given some previous issues with food he has had.
Happily our 10 month old had none of that or anything else (largely as we were told they could not just get him some veg because "we are in a secure zone, you know. Everything is preparered". What a load of ****).
Very happy it was just my wife and I that got ill, the boy getting ill would have ruined much more than just the flight, a day in Singapore, second flight and morning in sydney given some previous issues with food he has had.
Sep 26, 2013, 10:47 am
#155
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: BOS
Programs: BA Silver, Mucci
Posts: 5,289
Just for comparison, keeping cold food waiting to be added to the buffet out at too high a temperature, and hot food on the buffet being out too long at too low a temperature, is exactly what got a local Chinese restaurant permanently closed last year. The inspectors here follow up quite quickly to make sure that necessary improvements have been made. No improvements had been made so they lost their licence. End of story.
With these kind of violations, I'm surprised that BA / BS weren't given quite a short time frame to fix them and that follow up inspections have not taken place.
Obviously trusting BS to do things properly doesn't work.......
With these kind of violations, I'm surprised that BA / BS weren't given quite a short time frame to fix them and that follow up inspections have not taken place.
Obviously trusting BS to do things properly doesn't work.......
Sep 26, 2013, 10:50 am
#156
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: UK
Posts: 11,969
It is the correct address but as I understand it the exec team reply in his name ..
good luck
Sep 26, 2013, 10:51 am
#157
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: EDI
Programs: BD*G -> BA Gold + A3*G (now dropped to BA Silver)
Posts: 1,083
I wonder if there's any truth in the comment on the Daily Mail page, that the staff refused to eat the lounge food.
In software development we use the term 'eating our own dogfood' to refer to using our own software on a day to day basis to help identify issues before release. The BaxterStorey food would probably be turned down by a dog!
Originally Posted by DM Comments
I used to work in the lounge in terminal 5 first class and club lounge the food is all done in the microwave nothing is freshly cooked. It all comes in massive cartoons ( the soups the currys etc everything you can think of!!) The bread rolls are all from packets we were offered lunch if we wanted it and none of us ever had it as everyone knew what it really was! I could go on and on about all the food but im sure its boring for ya!! Apart from that the lounge is lush haha
Sep 26, 2013, 11:13 am
#158
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: A hop, skip and jump away from MAN.
Programs: BAEC Gold, ex-VS Gold, ex-UA Gold, Premier Inn Platinum-Iridium
Posts: 1,114
Also one request, please be polite to the staff. Although there's some that obviously need retraining or fired (if they'd been recently trained and were willingly ignore the rules) there's still a lot of good staff there and the current situation can be worrying for them.
It appears they are poorly trained, likely undervalued and badly motivated, possibly even poorly recruited (i.e. in the wrong job), by their allegedly ineffectual management. (What was it Howard said... "Teflon-shouldered"?)
They therefore have to deal with some crap as it is. It is probably a very sucky workplace environment, so no wonder there's a poor work ethic.
However, I don't see any reason why this is worrying for them. Unless we're talking about an individual who is clearly guilty of serious wrong doing, their jobs are relatively safe, for even if BA terminated the contract with BaxterStory tomorrow, the staff would be protected by TUPE, and life would go on as before.
Conversely, I don't advocate a culture of fear as being a good way to get your staff to outperform either.
This makes it quite hard to change, as you can't fix it by just changing the people, but instead by only changing one or two key people.
It's therefore a fairly crap corner that BA need to dig themselves and the LHR lounges out of.
Sep 26, 2013, 11:17 am
#159
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOD
Programs: BA Silver, AF Gold
Posts: 609
On a constructive note, I would be interested to hear views from posters as to how the BA public relations machine should be handling this disaster (instead of maintaining radio silence).
Obviously, now that we have the report, they cannot play the "new kitchen" card, as many of the non-conformities refer to basic food handling issues, independent of the equipment.
My own view is that they need to:
1. Issue a full and frank admission that food hygiene fell below the standards that passengers are entitled to expect.
2. Give assurances that corrective actions were implemented as soon as the report was received.
3. Give assurances that senior BA (not BS) staff are monitoring the situation on a daily basis.
4. Give assurances that BA and BS are confident that the next inspection (October?) will result in a 5 rating.
Anyone got other ideas? I am sure BA would be grateful for any input!
Obviously, now that we have the report, they cannot play the "new kitchen" card, as many of the non-conformities refer to basic food handling issues, independent of the equipment.
My own view is that they need to:
1. Issue a full and frank admission that food hygiene fell below the standards that passengers are entitled to expect.
2. Give assurances that corrective actions were implemented as soon as the report was received.
3. Give assurances that senior BA (not BS) staff are monitoring the situation on a daily basis.
4. Give assurances that BA and BS are confident that the next inspection (October?) will result in a 5 rating.
Anyone got other ideas? I am sure BA would be grateful for any input!
Sep 26, 2013, 11:23 am
#160
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Cheshire/Wiltshire/Berkshire
Programs: BA GGL FL, AA EXP, MR Titanium, HH Dia, Hyatt Globalist, IHG Spire, Melia Plat, Amex Centurion
Posts: 184
Sloppy slop slop
Just for comparison, keeping cold food waiting to be added to the buffet out at too high a temperature, and hot food on the buffet being out too long at too low a temperature, is exactly what got a local Chinese restaurant permanently closed last year. The inspectors here follow up quite quickly to make sure that necessary improvements have been made. No improvements had been made so they lost their licence. End of story.
With these kind of violations, I'm surprised that BA / BS weren't given quite a short time frame to fix them and that follow up inspections have not taken place.
Obviously trusting BS to do things properly doesn't work.......
With these kind of violations, I'm surprised that BA / BS weren't given quite a short time frame to fix them and that follow up inspections have not taken place.
Obviously trusting BS to do things properly doesn't work.......
It is noted in the report that BS did not have the staff training records which are required. A competently executed TUPE process would have ensured that BS had copies of these records from Compass. BS should have verified that they had these records.
It seems BS are just incompetent and slap-dash all round in their approach to running this lounge.
They certainly dont inspire me with any confidence in management, unless it is measured by how "sharp" the BS managers look in their fancy suits?
I wish they produced food of the same quality...........
Sep 26, 2013, 11:24 am
#161
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: BOS
Programs: BA Silver, Mucci
Posts: 5,289
On a constructive note, I would be interested to hear views from posters as to how the BA public relations machine should be handling this disaster (instead of maintaining radio silence).
Obviously, now that we have the report, they cannot play the "new kitchen" card, as many of the non-conformities refer to basic food handling issues, independent of the equipment.
My own view is that they need to:
1. Issue a full and frank admission that food hygiene fell below the standards that passengers are entitled to expect.
2. Give assurances that corrective actions were implemented as soon as the report was received.
3. Give assurances that senior BA (not BS) staff are monitoring the situation on a daily basis.
4. Give assurances that BA and BS are confident that the next inspection (October?) will result in a 5 rating.
Anyone got other ideas? I am sure BA would be grateful for any input!
Obviously, now that we have the report, they cannot play the "new kitchen" card, as many of the non-conformities refer to basic food handling issues, independent of the equipment.
My own view is that they need to:
1. Issue a full and frank admission that food hygiene fell below the standards that passengers are entitled to expect.
2. Give assurances that corrective actions were implemented as soon as the report was received.
3. Give assurances that senior BA (not BS) staff are monitoring the situation on a daily basis.
4. Give assurances that BA and BS are confident that the next inspection (October?) will result in a 5 rating.
Anyone got other ideas? I am sure BA would be grateful for any input!
Sep 26, 2013, 11:30 am
#162
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOD
Programs: BA Silver, AF Gold
Posts: 609
But my point was to ask posters how they would manage this sort of PR disaster.
Sep 26, 2013, 11:37 am
#164
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Near Edinburgh
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 9,034
Sep 26, 2013, 11:37 am
#165
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2007
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 12,046
However until a better score is posted on the FSA site I shall avoid dining in the lounges.
Possibility 1
Dear Mr. Sixth Freedom, Thank you for your e-mail which A, B and C. Kind regards, Keith Williams, Chief Executive Officer British Airways, tel. fax. e-mail etc...
This means that the team wrote it.
Possibility 1
Hi Sixth, Thanks for your note and A, B and C. Cheers, Keith
This means that the CEO himself wrote it!
Sometimes you get both which can be quite entertaining, especially if they say opposite things and normally the CEO is more lenient!
