arpiuk

I agree that customer service in the US is much better, but doubt that it would have been different if entering a US based lounge, whether BA or not. How would the lounge reception staff know if the customer spends 300,000 USD or GBP with BA? Surely such information should not be available to the lounge staff. That is why you have a tier system. What next? A personal massage by Willie Walsh for someone who spends 10millions?

The poster's story is not very clear. If they travelled in CW or F, they should have had access to the lounge. If traveling in Economy, then he should be aware of the rules (it's still unclear whether he uses the lounge frequently or not - the poster contradicts himself/herself).

There have been instances where they've allowed 2 guests, but that is not an expectation. It's the same as being upgraded, it's nice to get it, but I don't expect it.

matthandy

What you are talking about there is a 'customer relationship management' (CRM) system. Large companies have one of these often including an 'interaction centre' which records all of your contact with the company. Take British Gas for example, they should know when you last rang them and what your issue was etc. Often, companies will perform some kind of ABC analysis on their customer base to understand their best value customers (why do you think that you get offered a platinum credit card but your friend doesn't). BA have something like this, the CIV index is it? It is highly unlikely that lounge dragons would have access, think about how long it would take to get into the lounge if they had to look you up each time and record how many rules breaks they've allowed this year, how many guests you've invited etc....

JonWB

I would make the following points. To the OP:

Firstly, your boss could have and should have bought at least Club tickets for his family. If work spend so much on his travel, then why the hell is his/her family travelling in a traveller cabin, if it is so important (s)he and his family goes to the lounge. If (s)he flies paid F from work, (s)he isn't going to be earning low wages is (s)he? So rather than BA refusing his/her family access to the lounge, (s)he has refused his/her family due to the tickets (s)he has bought. If (s)he didn't know the rules and flies as often as (s)he does, in the cabins (s)he does, well (s)he should.

Then you have several options, yourself:

- You have the opportunity to raise this issue with your bosses boss. Since when did lounge policy for travelling with family become the deciding factor for preferred airline status for corporate travel. What does that say about his/her decision making.
- If (s)he doesn't know or realise that flying BA is a big deal for you, (s)he should. A large of part of his/her job is getting the most out of his/her team.

As to revising the rules - I make these points:

- BA provide plenty of opportunities for families to plan travel in premium cabins with miles. It doesn't have to cost anything, so annual holidays should be in premium cabins if you fly BA that often.
- It may help if the lounge agents could (a) quote for an upgrade and (b) ticket and take payment there and then. This then puts the issue of not getting in the lounge back on the group trying to come in. If they want to, they can if they stump up the difference in fare.
- I'd be very surprised if the family weren't guested in by someone else who was alone, but had guest entitlement. I've done it once when asked.

Will BA lose revenue? Maybe they will, but maybe they won't. Will your boss fly in economy with his family again - probably not. Will he and his family fly with BA again - almost certainly yes.

vla

I will never get back the ten minutes of my life I've spent on this thread. I may be up for a bit of a sabbatical at the moment. Fortunately I've been watching Mock the Week simultaneously.

gaz68

Rules are there to be broken. I really can't see what the problem is. I'm sure most people on here have had rules broken for them in the past, not just on this topic but in any everyday situation somewhere. All you guys that are being so negative & say the rules shouldn't be broken are probably exactly the people that have had certain rules broken elsewhere.

dreamwks

JohnWB...Interesting way to look at business, to heck with customer service, the customer will always return even if we give them shabby service (Definitely British!). How about, Sir, you are they reason we are here, you pay our salaries, without your business, we wouldn't be in business, can I help you Sir?, (The American Way!)

Mathandy CRM ^

sunrisegirl

In my experience, and I talk from having lived and worked in the US and being a great fan of everything American, I have to say that service in some parts of the US is definitely not what it used to be, and not always as good as you seem to think.

HIDDY

Looks like it when you read this forum. Lets see.........There is the story of the Gold passenger who lives in the UK but has his BAEC address in Spain. At LHR he completely ignores the security chap when asked if he is carrying any liquids even though he knows his bag is full of them. He then blags his wife and two kids into the lounge then proceeds to allow his kids to run riot annoying fellow lounge guests. Before he leaves the lounge he stuffs his pockets with as many goodies as he can and fills up his hip flask with some JW.

On entering the aircraft despite his wife and kids travelling in Y and he in WT+ he sees three empty seats beside him in the WT+ cabin and tells his family to sit in them and start crying. He requests the CSDs attention then tells her that they are on their way to a funeral and as they are all so upset he would really like to have all his family sitting together. The CSD is not so sure but after slipping her a couple of tickets for a Brian Ferry concert his wish is granted. The kids then spend the entire flight running riot in the WT+ cabin and raiding the CW kitchen.

When they return home he sends in a letter of complaint stating how they were all treated so rudely by the BA staff and stating he will never fly BA again despite having three ex EU tickets already booked with no intention of flying any of the last legs.

Flying Lawyer

I do not second that. I do not know whether or not I am a typical GCH but I fly maybe one two TATLs in C or F, a few flights in OW and a bunch of BA Economy flights between Europe and LHR.....

sunrisegirl

^^

SteveF

If he travels so much on BA why didn't he just use some of his pile of miles to buy three J tickets? Personally I don't see why he's any better than any other silver or gold and I agree with the decision to refuse access.

Lobengula

You're sarcastic aren't you?

Customer service in the US is nonexistent unless you bribe with dollars. Ok, I hate to generalise but it's not far from the truth.

The few times I have been annoyed with BA, CS has helped me. Now, I'm a gentle person and I wouldn't dream of asking someone to break the rules. If i think the rules are wrong I would complain to CS, not arguing with staff that are instructed to enforce those rules.

For example, I will in a few weeks arrive in JNB connecting to a non-OW flight. This will be around 11 am and I know that the lounge will be almost deserted at that time (F not even open). I can't bring a guest according to the rules. What I will do is asking the lounge agent: "Sorry, I'm not sure, am I allowed to bring a guest?". If she/he says "sorry no you're not" I will just say "thank you, I suspected that, my fault" with a smile and leave.

I don't think it's wrong to try but it's wrong to put the lounge agent in an awkward situation. And I would not even try at T5 as those lounges are more or less always busy.

ok, enough rant, but a humble attitude is always more effective than the dykwia if you know you're pushing the envelope.

NickB

That is very true. Had it been an American airline with an American staff on an intra-American itinerary and the OP elite of an American FFP, the OP would not have been entitled to entry into the lounge, period, let alone with family in toe since lounge access is primarily based on paid club membership, not elite status.

In that sense, this would have been a non-issue indeed.

hammythehammer

You have to be kidding !!!
A classic example I've experienced so many times is the " You are sure that you won't charge my credit card again for this transaction" ....."Of course we won't Sir"
Wait till following Month to dispute extra charge.

So many experiences where if Candid Camera or Jeremy Beadle were still filming, you'd expect someone to jump out on you .

I love the ones where they argue with you because you've done what they tell you to do.....too many to post on here.

elitetraveler

In my own experience as GGL, I travel alone on business (95 percent of my trips) and when I travel with my GF we are in F on redemptions so I while I may have read the +1 guest at some point, it never was really something I needed to think about.

Last summer flying JFK-LHR-JFK with my three children in CW we were able to use the F lounge at JFK, nothing being said, and perhaps that the JFK staff seem to know me since I am there about once a month or more.

On the return we got a snooty gatekeeper at the LHR T5 F lounge. Mentioning that we hadn't had a problem at JFK, she was "schoolteacher - like" in that I should have know the rules and JFK shouldn't have broken them. At any rate, we jumped upstairs to the Galleries Business Lounge which was fine.

I do think however some of the suggestions such as earning an extra guest pass for every 250 or 400 TPs or the like would be nice in that many GGLers and Golds are traveling on business and never use the +1 but it would be a nice facility to be able to use it once or twice a year on vacation.

I also think (as mentioned) it would be a great idea for BA if the passenger's score or revenue, or that he/she is an executive at a BA preferred corporate account would be noted. I am sure the last thing a lounge gatekeeper wants to do is do anything that decreases the business BA is getting. The current scenario however puts the gatekeepers in a position of traffic cop.

I think the more information front-line employees have about who is standing in front of them, the better job they can do. That doesn't mean providing bad service to lesser customers, but making sure BA is positioned to get as much revenue out of big customers as possible.