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Lack of ability to offer compensation, toothless customer service

Lack of ability to offer compensation, toothless customer service

Old Apr 18, 2017, 12:44 pm
  #1  
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Angry Lack of ability to offer compensation, toothless customer service

A few weeks back I had an issue with BA's customer service and today on another different issue, it leaves me feeling the same way, that BA's customer service and ability to deal with issues of their making, they put two big fingers up to their loyal clients. Am I the only one feeling this these days?

Here are the reasons I feel as though BA are way way behind other companies like American Express and others;

I returned from Dubai this week to the UK in a 1,500 club world seat and was advised on arrival at the gate that my entertainment/screen was inoperable and that I should contact customer services to discuss compensation as there were no other seats available on the flight. Nothing I could do but accept 7 hours in the air during a daytime flight without a screen. What did customer services offer me when I called this afternoon? A miserable 40 or 9k of avios. Awful in my opinion. Furthermore, no option to escalate the complaint or discuss with a supervisor. 2.5% refund...

Two weeks ago, a similar situation, where customer services have to option available to a loyal customer, to discuss a grievance, with only CEDR offered as a next step. Here I had a expensive mistake of booking two flights to LA, because the first booked 3 months earlier did not show up on my Executive club list of forthcoming flights and I mistakenly booked again. It was only on the day of arrival, when I got a alert from MyFlights app that I saw a missed leg of a flight with a reference I did not recognise. Fact of the matter was that although I got the original booking email and BA confirmed my exec club number was attached to it from the start, there were no emails (before you fly, click in etc. etc.). Had I of realised before the dept date, I could have accepted a charge and changed the flight to a future date, but as it was, my only recourse was to claim 200 tax back. BA cust service said they understood my reason for raising the issue, but were not in a position to have my case reviewed.

And last but not least, when I asked a very friendly and understanding check in rep at LHR why in the last year, I have suddenly stopped receiving ANY upgrades, she advised that BA changed their policy a while back to not upgrade loyal exec members and instead upgrade non-status holders in the hope they will get a taste of a higher class seat and book that in future. She further added that only the team based in India can upgrade now and check in and aircrew did not have the authority unless a flight is oversold on the day.

All in all, the last few months are making me seriously consider if there are other better options for a regular traveller from the UK to the US and Europe and I would be interested in others thoughts and experiences as being a Gold member, which I push hard to achieve each year, is seeming like a status that BA no longer value...
sparky01635 is offline  
Old Apr 18, 2017, 12:52 pm
  #2  
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Sadly, that is BA in 2017.

YOU do not matter, as there will [probably] be someone else to buy your ticket. This may last for a year or so, until the numbers start to show up.

I have long since stopped expecting BA HQ to care, unless forced to by legislation.

PS: We fly AA to the USA [ex-DUB] a few times a year. We still credit to BAEC, for the 2-4-1 voucher benefits, but thats' it.
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Old Apr 18, 2017, 12:55 pm
  #3  
 
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Probably not what you want to hear, but your experiences are nothing compared to what others have gone through. On your 3 specific complaints:

1) I'd say a 2.5% refund is ok, although BA's service recovery is derisory and 100 would have been nice. Those days are long gone though - passengers are now treated as a necessary evil by BA.

2) You really have to take responsibility here - yes, BA's systems are not the best, but I can't see how you can blame anyone but yourself here.

3) This could be on the DYKWIA thread, but if BA has changed their approach (and BA staff are renowned for telling hearsay as facts), then I can understand why. Continually upgrading their most frequent flyers leaves little incentive for those passengers to book the higher class of service.

I'm no BA apologist, but I'm not sure the above is a valid reason to find another airline to fly, unless you can identify one that offers you the same routes for the same levels of price and service. You are correct on one thing though - BA no longer value their customers.
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Old Apr 18, 2017, 1:19 pm
  #4  
formerly southsidesilver
 
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1. I would say that 40 pounds or 9000K miles is not bad just for the TV not working. You still received all the other benefits that came with the ticket.

2.Did you not see a double charge on your credit card when you were billed for both sets of flights ? I would definitely notice a two large transactions on my credit card.
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Old Apr 18, 2017, 1:24 pm
  #5  
 
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I would of bargained and tried for 10K avios.
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Old Apr 18, 2017, 1:24 pm
  #6  
 
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I would not believe the story about the team in India being the only people able to upgrade you. Common sense and anecdotal reports suggest the team in India is absolutely powerless about anything to do with your flight.
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Old Apr 18, 2017, 2:00 pm
  #7  
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Originally Posted by sparky01635
What did customer services offer me when I called this afternoon? A miserable 40 or 9k of avios. Awful in my opinion. Furthermore, no option to escalate the complaint or discuss with a supervisor. 2.5% refund...
As is now well known here, BA changed their stance from being perhaps over generous to becoming overly stringent. The good news is that two can play that game: set your own compensation amount, and just pursue BA for it. It's not even a lot of work or difficult to do. So long as it is a reasonable / rational amount, there is a very high chance of you recovering it from the evidence I've seen in the public side of this forum and also via PMs. Your options here involve Section 75, CEDR, MCOL and Chargeback. I wouldn't over analyse it, just go and press the relevant buttons.

Originally Posted by sparky01635
Here I had a expensive mistake of booking two flights to LA, because the first booked 3 months earlier did not show up on my Executive club list of forthcoming flights and I mistakenly booked again.
I'm afraid I can only agree with some of the other contributors, I think that's the sort of thing where the responsibility rests with you. There is a 24 hours cancel process to accommodate this sort of thing. I doubt it's much consolation but it's the sort of thing one only does once in a lifetime.

Originally Posted by sparky01635
she advised that BA changed their policy a while back to not upgrade loyal exec members and instead upgrade non-status holders in the hope they will get a taste of a higher class seat and book that in future.
This is such an oversimplification it's difficult to know where to start - but a simple version would be that it's not true. It is the case that DUT is giving some taster OpUps, and there is some evidence of pushing Silvers up the tree a bit. But as you will see from the OpUp thread, status is still a powerful enabler of upgrades. The far, far bigger factor is that BA's services remain pretty full and full cabins = no upgrades. If it's important then the ability of BAEC members to AUP, POUG, UuA, GUF, WtP overload and more general DUT their way into higher cabins remains probably on a par with AA overall. With apologies for the alphabet soup there, but I think you're barking up the wrong tree here.
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Old Apr 18, 2017, 2:08 pm
  #8  
 
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Pretty much the same view here really.

Poor effort on point 1 but par for the course these days.

Point 2 - your error really. I don't blame the airline here.

Point 3 - moral of the story is book the cabin you wish to fly in. It's up to BA how it handles upgrades, if you come to expect them it always brings disappointment. Bit like the poster the other day who was miffed when some hen people got the F seats.
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Old Apr 18, 2017, 2:14 pm
  #9  
 
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Originally Posted by pontevecchio
I would not believe the story about the team in India being the only people able to upgrade you. Common sense and anecdotal reports suggest the team in India is absolutely powerless about anything to do with your flight.
That's why they have been given the responsibility of upgrading!
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Old Apr 18, 2017, 2:25 pm
  #10  
 
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Originally Posted by southsidesilver
1. I would say that 40 pounds or 9000K miles is not bad just for the TV not working. You still received all the other benefits that came with the ticket.

2.Did you not see a double charge on your credit card when you were billed for both sets of flights ? I would definitely notice a two large transactions on my credit card.
On 1) seriously? While I take my own entertainment, I can readily accept this could ruin a flight for some.
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Old Apr 18, 2017, 3:30 pm
  #11  
 
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Originally Posted by southsidesilver
1. I would say that 40 pounds or 9000K miles is not bad just for the TV not working. You still received all the other benefits that came with the ticket.
Originally Posted by sl1ppy
On 1) seriously? While I take my own entertainment, I can readily accept this could ruin a flight for some.
Ruin? Or make boring? On a flight the length of DXB-LHR you might be able to watch say 3 films and maybe a TV episode. On a small screen. Content that might cost say 35 to rent on Google Play/iTunes on the ground (and be able to play on a better quality screen)?

While it's disappointing, yes, is it ruinous?

If, heaven forbid, IFE content was chargeable separately, would you spend more than 40 to watch it?

Personally, I'd take the 40/9000 Avios as a rebate/bonus and move on.
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Old Apr 18, 2017, 3:33 pm
  #12  
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On 1) seriously? While I take my own entertainment, I can readily accept this could ruin a flight for some.
I mean it would ruin it for some. But what is the value of the entertainment here ? I personally think that the high price of the ticket the pax paid is for the seat and space and the enhanced cabin, not the IFE.

I personally never use IFE apart from to have the moving map on, or very rarely just to watch a TV show, I find the quality to enjoy a feature film fairly disappointing so don't watch the movies on my flights.
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Old Apr 18, 2017, 3:42 pm
  #13  
 
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Originally Posted by JAXBA
Ruin? Or make boring? On a flight the length of DXB-LHR you might be able to watch say 3 films and maybe a TV episode. On a small screen. Content that might cost say 35 to rent on Google Play/iTunes on the ground (and be able to play on a better quality screen)?

While it's disappointing, yes, is it ruinous?

If, heaven forbid, IFE content was chargeable separately, would you spend more than 40 to watch it?

Personally, I'd take the 40/9000 Avios as a rebate/bonus and move on.
On that basis (i.e. comparison to what you would pay on the ground), would you pay more than 40 for any of the constituent parts, the poor quality meal, the very narrow,half a single, bed ...etc
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Old Apr 18, 2017, 3:44 pm
  #14  
 
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Originally Posted by southsidesilver
I mean it would ruin it for some. But what is the value of the entertainment here ? I personally think that the high price of the ticket the pax paid is for the seat and space and the enhanced cabin, not the IFE.

I personally never use IFE apart from to have the moving map on, or very rarely just to watch a TV show, I find the quality to enjoy a feature film fairly disappointing so don't watch the movies on my flights.
Sure, but you're paying for the package and we all put different values on the parts of that package.
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Old Apr 18, 2017, 4:07 pm
  #15  
 
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@sparky01635 : many might agree with your description of the offer of compensation - in relation to fare paid - as "miserable" and "awful".

It would, however, not take very long at all for you to find detailed examples in recent threads of instances where the offer you received could actually appear almost generous - when compared to experiences recounted by other BA premium pax. One thinks in particular of cases where, say, a non-functioning seat for the entire duration of a lengthy sector in a First class cabin is deemed by BA to be a very minor failing, worthy of nothing more than a few token Avios, as distinct from some form of genuine, meaningful redress.

T1891 above puts things neatly into perspective when describing BA's approach to customer service, under the present-day regime, as being entirely driven by, and limited to, its legal obligations (and that's why you will tend to see more advice on the BA forum regarding possible options for securing a satisfactory level of compensation, and/or reimbursement, than almost any other airline forum). If you adopt that same mindset - as many BA customers have done - it helps a lot to manage expectations, whether at the point you make the conscious decision to give your money to BA ; and then again immediately prior to stepping onboard one of their aircraft.
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