Contrasting Excellent / Pathetic Service
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2006
Programs: AMEX PP;BAEC Bronze;Tesco CC Preferred;
Posts: 219
Contrasting Excellent / Pathetic Service
Yesterday I booked two return SQ business class seats Stockholm to Auckland via their Mumbai call centre (£2120 each – A350 / A380 - amazing!) and all done and dusted in 8 minutes, including payment, ticketing and seat selection. ^ Found them via ITA Matrix.
Rang You First after that to ask if our August LHR – CPT / JNB – LHR First flight was ticketed, as it was not showing online. It had been. I then asked if they could check the preceding, connecting BA Comair flight from Windhoek, on a different PNR that I gave the lady. I was told that she could see the answer, but because it was a different PNR and I was flying Club class I would have to ring the normal Blue line for the answer: she was forbidden to tell me, and apologised.
So I dialed Delhi, waited 14 minutes, was told that it was ticketed and confirmation would be emailed to me immediately. Needless to say nothing has arrived 24 hours later, nor is it showing as ticketed online.
I have now decided that BA is not really interested in my future business and would rather introduce petty rules for the staff to follow (even if there is a First segment in our journey) than allow them to use their initiative or be the slightest bit helpful. Pathetic really …..
Rang You First after that to ask if our August LHR – CPT / JNB – LHR First flight was ticketed, as it was not showing online. It had been. I then asked if they could check the preceding, connecting BA Comair flight from Windhoek, on a different PNR that I gave the lady. I was told that she could see the answer, but because it was a different PNR and I was flying Club class I would have to ring the normal Blue line for the answer: she was forbidden to tell me, and apologised.
So I dialed Delhi, waited 14 minutes, was told that it was ticketed and confirmation would be emailed to me immediately. Needless to say nothing has arrived 24 hours later, nor is it showing as ticketed online.
I have now decided that BA is not really interested in my future business and would rather introduce petty rules for the staff to follow (even if there is a First segment in our journey) than allow them to use their initiative or be the slightest bit helpful. Pathetic really …..
#2
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: London
Posts: 3,500
Out of all the crazy, customer-hostile and downright rude things we've heard about over the decades here, this has got to be in the top 10. How on earth does this person get a role working YouFirst / GGL calls? What does she think she's achieving here?
#4
Join Date: Aug 2010
Programs: AA,CX, BA, Priority Club, SPG, Hilton
Posts: 1,397
Of course, I could be plain wrong, but that's not what I expect or experienced with BA, and I am pretty new with BA.
#5
Unfortunately same thing happened to me before I was GGL. I called you first about one trip to assign seats and book spa, asked about another trip in club and was told to ring gold line. I found it pathetic customer service.
#6
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club, easyJet and Ryanair
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: UK/Las Vegas
Programs: BA Gold (GGL/CCR)
Posts: 15,924
As for the OP, I think that was a little harsh. Whilst the agent appears correct, given the information was already on the screen I would have thought the information could have been passed on provided there was no other assistance needed.
This is about BA attempting to protect the service it provides to those booked in First (and, as it is the same team, GGLs). In both these instances passengers were attempting to use a service they were not entitled to.
#7
On the contrary, You First is there for passengers travelling in First, it is not there as a back door to the GGL team for those who otherwise wouldn't have access to them. By assisting passengers who are not entitled to the service they may be inconveniencing those who are. Well done You First I say.
As for the OP, I think that was a little harsh. Whilst the agent appears correct, given the information was already on the screen I would have thought the information could have been passed on provided there was no other assistance needed.
This is about BA attempting to protect the service it provides to those booked in First (and, as it is the same team, GGLs). In both these instances passengers were attempting to use a service they were not entitled to.
As for the OP, I think that was a little harsh. Whilst the agent appears correct, given the information was already on the screen I would have thought the information could have been passed on provided there was no other assistance needed.
This is about BA attempting to protect the service it provides to those booked in First (and, as it is the same team, GGLs). In both these instances passengers were attempting to use a service they were not entitled to.
BA should absolutely protect the line, but telling customer she sees the booking and the answer but can't say so is not good customer service
#8
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: BAEC Gold, Marriott Plat
Posts: 686
I completely agree that you should be dealt with by the correct CS team member, but to refuse to give a yes/no answer in this particular situation just seems ridiculous. Yes, it gets the OP off the phone five seconds quicker, but then wastes a further 15 minutes of everyone's time down the line.
Surely a little bit of commonsense would have gone a long way here?
Surely a little bit of commonsense would have gone a long way here?
#9
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club, easyJet and Ryanair
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: UK/Las Vegas
Programs: BA Gold (GGL/CCR)
Posts: 15,924
I completely agree that you should be dealt with by the correct CS team member, but to refuse to give a yes/no answer in this particular situation just seems ridiculous. Yes, it gets the OP off the phone five seconds quicker, but then wastes a further 15 minutes of everyone's time down the line.
Surely a little bit of commonsense would have gone a long way here?
Surely a little bit of commonsense would have gone a long way here?
#10
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Thames Valley
Programs: BAEC, LHM&M, and even a dusty KLFB!
Posts: 894
On the contrary, You First is there for passengers travelling in First, it is not there as a back door to the GGL team for those who otherwise wouldn't have access to them. By assisting passengers who are not entitled to the service they may be inconveniencing those who are. Well done You First I say.
As for the OP, I think that was a little harsh. Whilst the agent appears correct, given the information was already on the screen I would have thought the information could have been passed on provided there was no other assistance needed.
This is about BA attempting to protect the service it provides to those booked in First (and, as it is the same team, GGLs). In both these instances passengers were attempting to use a service they were not entitled to.
As for the OP, I think that was a little harsh. Whilst the agent appears correct, given the information was already on the screen I would have thought the information could have been passed on provided there was no other assistance needed.
This is about BA attempting to protect the service it provides to those booked in First (and, as it is the same team, GGLs). In both these instances passengers were attempting to use a service they were not entitled to.
I would have thought that BA's motivation in providing the YouFirst service was to provide fast and convenient service to F travellers, rather than to be able to process queries relating to F bookings quickly (since a booking is an inanimate intangible object which frankly doesn't care how it's processed, whereas travellers are people with finite patience, credit cards and itchy feet). Hence surely the idea is to keep those F travellers happy, and therefore - with some provisos like "first query should relate to the F booking" and "no new bookings which aren't in F" - the staff should be empowered to be flexible to answer other queries whilst the customer is on the phone?
#12
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: DUB/ORD/SIN/PVG
Programs: EI AerClub Concierge, EK Gold, BA Gold, BD Gold (Retired), HHonors Diamond, Bonvoy Lifetime Gold
Posts: 2,923
Imagine if Blue Card Holders figured out that booking a fully flexible F leg for travel in the distant future was a backdoor to using You First services for their annual LGW-LCA jaunt in Y? Chaos! And we --- can't --- have --- chaos.
Last edited by Dambus; May 9, 2017 at 4:56 am Reason: Irony and hyperbole
#13
Join Date: Aug 2010
Programs: AA,CX, BA, Priority Club, SPG, Hilton
Posts: 1,397
?? OP Is talking about a connecting flight on 2 PNR. Very different situation, if 2 different bookings on different days, then of course that's not covered.
#14
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Thames Valley
Programs: BAEC, LHM&M, and even a dusty KLFB!
Posts: 894
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2006
Programs: AMEX PP;BAEC Bronze;Tesco CC Preferred;
Posts: 219
Your second comment is all that I needed and asked for. Either the agent was not empowered or had not been trained / encouraged to be reasonably helpful. For my part I was miffed but did as asked, and lost yet another bit of respect for this airline that I have flown for some 55 years.
I feel much better today now that I have been sent a BA online Survey to fill in about this call: catharsis!