hydro001

I think that's a bit of a sweeping statement. Whilst incompetence could be a factor, there might have been other extenuating circumstances which takes a crew/ ifm out of the service and thus further affects the service delivery timings. E.g. dealing with issues in another cabin, IFE, anticipated turbulence which meant crew had to remain seated (wait for the double ding scenario ) etc, customer profile (now that there is no separate sleeper / goodnight service on shorter flights ), crew experience etc

Without being there and knowing the full facts, it's a bit sweeping to just say it's incompetence.

If something affects the delivery timings or service standards sccms are meant to record it too.

This response is related to the example given in J, not the OP's example where the IFM revisited customer and seemed disinterested. That itself is poor in my opinion.

Can I help you

You are correct it is a sweeping statement but one made with many years of experience, if we were still delivering the most awful trolley service I could understand it but with the simple hand run service there is no excuse.

so3003

The worst service I ever had in BA F had a similarly disinterested (and arrogant beyond belief) CSD. I suspect he was the problem on the aircraft that day actually rather than the seemingly mediocre / incompetent F crew members...

Bar Operator

Who is currently managing cabin crew on a day to day basis ? I’d heard due to events and reorg that most of the managers had left or been reassigned, and that perhaps only a handful were left to fight fires and not much else. I’m referring of course to ground-based managers as opposed to the onboard managers.

Most of us like to work within a structured environment - if that’s gone, then perhaps that might partly explain why standards of service have started to vary wildly?

TangoOneSeven

This sounds very frustrating, especially on a relatively short TATL flight. I don't wish to diminish your concerns but I did want to say that as always it seems to come down to the crew - last week I had what I would consider my best flight in F to DFW. Canapes and champagne served before flight (first time I've had canapes on the ground), drink and meal orders taken at that time, first drink arrived basically as soon as the seat belt sign was off, first choice of meal wasn't available but was offered a CW meal (refused, and took two appetizers instead) and then bed was made up at around 2 hours after take off. Crew were present (and chatty to passengers) the entire flight.

hydro001

I think that is partly the issue, but partly to do with the current standards which crew who have been off are not familiar with, and nor customers used to, as well as complete change of galley layouts stowages etc. For example a lot of crew who used to know a galley/ aircraft like their back of their hands have come back after a period of furlough finding everything has moved to a new location/ reconfigured etc. Just the variants of the 777 alone now is staggeringly confusing, let alone the service standards have changed in the 18 months many crew have been off. For example no sleeper/ goodnight service currently yet customers might still expect it; and bar drinks is taken at the same time as the meal now, before being delivered ahead of the meal, etc, rather than the bar delivered first then meal order then meal delivery.

But to answer your question, yes the ground management team has been downsized restructured and taken on wider responsibilities including attendance welfare and sickness/ coronavirus regulation advice/ support etc.in addition to any performance / conduct. I think there are 20 odd for the whole crew community now. And on MF previously each CSM was a ground manager as well as onboard manager so there was a tighter direct performance management of crew , which is no longer the case.

AlwaysOnTheRoad

Expected replay from BA.

An apology from British Airways

We're very sorry to hear about what happened on your flight from London Heathrow recently. As it took over two hours to receive your main course, we appreciate why you needed to complain. We'd like to thank you for your patience whilst we got back to you about this.

We don't underestimate how frustrating it must have been when you received your meals a lot later than you had requested, which meant you were unable to rest. I know this isn't what you expect when you travel with us, and I'm disappointed to learn that when you eventually received your meal, this didn't meet your expectations. I understand that you spoke with our Cabin Service Director, but felt that they were uninterested in your concerns. This certainly isn't the level of service we're aiming for.

Thank you for taking the time to tell us about what happened when you travelled with us. I’ve shared it with my colleagues in our Management team, and we’re using your comments to help us focus on where we need to improve.

As with any large organisation, it can sometimes take time for us to fix problems, but nothing is forgotten, and we’re always working hard to improve. Our Chairman and CEO, Sean Doyle, is particularly focused on making sure we improve continuously across all areas of our business. I hope you’ll see these positive changes very soon.

Thanks for contacting us and we're sorry once again for what happened. We value your continued support as a member of our Gold Guest List and if there's anything else I can help with, please let me know.

Best regards

Gold Guest List Customer Relations

AnaTravel

AlwaysOnTheRoad - British Airways benefits from your comments at no cost. The customer receives no compensation for time wasted, being inconvenienced, and the poor service received in F. Shoddy, stingy, tone-deaf British Airways on this occasion. Good on you for providing feedback. Worth taking further?

crazyarmadillo

Let's hope it does get fed back to the respective teams.

Have never experienced the service you got. Hopefully the feedback will help prevent it happening again, hopefully......

A P Yu

The IFM was probably helping a disabled child or a nervous flyer

Can I help you

I think Customer Relations need to update themselves on the cabin crew management structure! 😠

EJetter

allturnleft

I thought this was a spoof on first reading!

Confus

LOL classic. You do realise BA still gets your money even if you fly AA?!

IAMORGAN

Agreed - but the key is to manage expectations then and advise on solutions. “Excuse me, I’d like to sleep as much as possible tonight so please could I eat as soon as possible?”

“Of course you can mr x. I’m afraid tonight we’ve got a few glitches so it is likely to be several hours before I can serve you a hot meal. I’d be happy to bring you a drink and some soup [pre loaded in flasks so just pour into bowl], cheese & biscuits and fruit if you’d like to eat now.”