vibguy

My comments in CAPS. I further want to add :

No wifi
Appaling ground services (no meet and greet for F, no escort to the plane or boarding gate)
Poor condition and availability of showers at LHR
Very poor T3-T5 transfer (not a First experience)
Poor on board recognition of very frequent flyers
F does very often not get disembarking priority
Cramped F cabins (especially on 747)

For the rest everything is OK.

Wozza2404

My biggest gripe is when the crew member says "just push the call bell if you need anything" and then it gets ignored repeatedly. Happening more and more lately.

orbitmic

Absolutely. And to clarify, I wasn't trying to find BA (or anyone else) an excuse for not answering it, just pointing out that there is a bit of a cultural divide so that CX staff will not only call as soon as you call, but even give you a big smile when you explain you just want a glass of water even in Y, rather than a "you scared the sh.. out of me! Don't ring it next time!" look on many European airlines when they find out that you are not dying just yet after all.

NYLON Boy

To clarify, this wasn't a do for "FT types"; the invitation list was "high-value customers", some of whom are FTers and many of whom, no doubt, are not.

Let's not beat about the bush: this was a very uncomfortable meet & greet for the BA managers who bothered to show up on Monday -- especially for Troy Warfield, who is in charge of y'all's delightful "customer experience" these days. To say that he got a very public earful from a number of influential GGLers would be an understatement. Rarely have I seen anyone look so uncomfortable in public.

So yes, I wouldn't be surprised if Cruz saw the writing on the wall and hid from us. Quite a contrast to his predecessor, who would use these get-togethers to at least pretend to listen to feedback from some of his most high-value customers.

Last Monday's was the most adversarial of these do's that I've been to. It's definitely diminishing returns, since I've heard various BA bigwigs make the same speech many times over the years, with little subsequent action. It's telling, in my mind, that only around half the name tags on the table outside the venue were in use: many fellow GGLers, having RSVP'ed yes, chose not to bother in the end. Given the downward trajectory and the stuck-record nature of BA's message, that's probably the right attitude these days.

subject2load

Interesting first-hand report from NYLON Boy. Very interesting.

With those HVC's present making their views so clearly known, you can't help but wonder whether the message really did get through, to the point where the current rush to mediocrity will actually see a tangible reversal.

Time alone will tell ; but the fact that BA management have, as mentioned, been making the very same noises for years doesn't augur well.

simons1

A few different issues really.

1. I really doubt that Cruz was scared of a few GGL types (ok they might not have been FT ers). Probably just thought his lieutenants were quite capable of reporting back.

2. Re the downward trajectory/stuck record, well we all know that.

3. You have heard the same speech many times over the years...more fool you for continuing to go.

Maybe as earlier posters have highlighted the penny will drop. Its interesting to hear that the atmosphere was adversarial as my suspicion has always been that these events have always been reserved for those ultra loyals guaranteed to puff smoke up the CEO's backside. Perhaps those people no longer exist?

subject2load

I too doubt that Cruz was "scared of a few GGL types". But it could still be a sign of reluctance to confront some harsh realities as voiced by paying customers.

And is he totally safe, I wonder, to rely on his lieutenants ?

Over the years, many leaders - both in industry and politics - have found out the hard way (and often too late) that they have been fed the sort of messages which their 'lieutenants' believe they want to hear, rather than what they should hear.

I'm reminded of CEO's who shy away from allocating even a very limited part of their time to read customer complaints, because they feel they always have more important/interesting things to do.

simons1

OK put it another way. I am sure Cruz has plenty of other mechanisms for testing the temperature of client satisfaction and I doubt he needs to pitch up in person at a meeting with a few GGLs to work it out.

Who knows why he wasn't there, but I think it's unlikely he was afraid of the attendees.

NYLON Boy

I doubt you would say that if you had ever met the man... a people person like Rod Eddington or Keith Williams he ain't.

mikebg

I totally agree. I recall another airline which I used to fly with a great deal, who have had a succession of CEOs over the years, some better, some less good, and some downright hopeless. At one point they had a really excellent CEO, and the company ran really well. Both financially and for customers. I remember two things though: One was when one of the ground staff told me that the CEO "spends too much time dealing with customer relations so he can't be running the company well". The other time was when I was sitting in their lounge waiting for my flight when I noticed someone wandering from passenger to passenger and talking a little with them. When he reached me he introduced himself as the CEO and he would like to know if there was anything I thought needed to be done to improve the customer experience! I was totally stunned. I didn't even have any real status with them either (besides, I didn't wear a name tag so he couldn't know who I was anyway). Unfortunately, he was made to resign a few months later because the press made a fuss about something he said which was not politically correct ...

DFB_london

Whatever your self interest in being the defender of Mr Cruz (and I am sensing quite a lot of that here. Also sensing a tinge of jealousy that maybe somebody never gets invited to these events?), CEOs who won't listen to their customers and ignore their staff in a service business do so at their peril. This is clearly a case in point.

Havin met the previous occupiers of his role at these events, as it is confirmed he did nt bother to show, then clearly either Cruz is utterly blind to the damage his actions are creating in the core customer base or holds that customer base in contempt too. (And it does not appear that solving the MF strike has troubled him - judging by today's news)

And let's be clear - what matters here is the GGLs - not what an FTer thinks.

subject2load

Yes, I was beginning to sense this myself on reading the comments by simons1.

Something of an irony that he should be so dismissive of a fellow FT-er for his decision to actually attend the meeting as a paying customer ("more fool you for going ....." ), while seemingly finding nothing wrong with Cruz's failure to show up as CEO.

orbitmic

Thanks. One of the frequent comments we read on this forum is that those of us who complain that the BA proposition has been deteriorating quite a bit in recent month is that FTers are a bunch of non representative weirdos who care about things the immense majority of passengers don't even notice let alone care about.

It seems that your experience suggests that at least amongst other high contribution passengers, we are not all that unique and whether that's a group BA can afford to see melt is for them to decide.

As for the more occasional pax, I'm sure we all have plenty around us, and those around me are not very happy either and most don't even know about BoB yet.

corporate-wage-slave

I think Seņor Cruz has attended about 6 customer facing or related events in the last 2 months or so, and he is more visible around T5 than his predecessor (though admittedly he had a remarkable ability to blend into the background). I wouldn't read anything into it: he could have had the sniffles, he could have been stuck in traffic, he may have had family responsibilities, he may have had some other unexpected or urgent business with which to deal.

IAN-UK

He's not a natural smoocher, but you don't get to his position without developing inter-personal skills, and the ability to throw on a thick-skin.

I'd expect a CEO to turn up to a meeting with business peers and commercially important customers. But i can also think of many reasons he might have been prevented from attending without citing a reluctance to face criticism.