I agree 100% with that.

Not in relation to the post made - the thread title makes an statement that the service is poor, not that in your opinon the service is poor

You having an opinion doesn't extrapolate out to it applying to all and becoming an absolute

Hi Dave I think op's was just trying to put forth his view that service is poor. To be honest I think all airlines have it's share of of detractors and advocates.

While I am overall quite pleased with EK's product and services, I too have a fair share of unfortunate services. Plus if I ever got an award ticket in first, I would hope this rare treat will be a truly "WOW!" experience.

I too would hope you have that "WOW" experience !

But I also feel you should not set the expectation levels too high. EK are more than capable of providing exceptionally good (truly memorable, even) service in First. In such cases you realise why they collected so many awards in years past. Yet they are equally capable of leaving you to think: "hmm.....perfectly adequate, but really nothing special". And - just occasionally - it can even be thoroughly disappointing.

In short, I find it's the sheer inconsistency that is so frustrating.

I'd say my experiences on EK (in all classes) have been :-

WOW! - 10%
Great - 50%
Acceptable - 35%
Poor - 5%

Anything but y is acceptable to me!

Had good service this morning, my wife replied "well she got nothin else to do"! As it was 5/12...glass never reached 1/3 full, made 2 bottles in 3 hours :D

2 bottles DP for 32k miles. Fair enough

DYKWIA - I think your percentage breakdown is a fair reflection of the inconsistency I was talking about.

m3red - each to his/her own, I personally would never be inclined to judge an airline on how quickly/frequently they can top you up with booze (and in so doing keep pace with your level of consumption :D). In truth, it's the sort of task that even a sleazy pub in a rough part of town should be able to manage with reasonable efficiency.

I do think however that there are rather more fundamental questions about EK's ability (and, yes, I'm conscious that there are far worse carriers out there ...) to deliver a 'total', fully-integrated quality service that they can be truly proud of : highlighted not least by the concurrent thread with sundry tales of shambolic boarding procedures - in their HOME base ; and, for example, the number of times I see advice (which I have often had cause to follow myself) to hang up and call the support centre again in the hope that you might 'get lucky' and find a member of staff who is equipped with the knowledge & understanding to process routine tasks.

The boarding today was a total joke...shambolic gate c

They tried to check my wife's carry on bag...she had one bag and f was 5/12...

Absolute joke...

Was the bag in compliance with the EK's allowances for hand luggage ( within 18 x 14 x 8 inches and weighed no more than 7Kg ) ?

Yes!

My experience in Emirates F has been OK+. I agree with most of the posters that the onboard experience is spotty, depending upon the crew. The onboard service on a recent flight from Los Angeles to Dubai was quite good - the return was less much less satisfactory. The attendants seemed unaware of what is typically expected of a world-class carrier - topping off drinks and anticipating passengers' needs without having to resort to call-buttons. The hard product remains top-notch, however, which is why I continue to fly Emirates.

Shorter flights to and from DXB (I mean DXB-JED and returns) are OK as far as service is concerned - the carrier uses older 380s on that route with the old i-pad controllers. Of course, those flights are 'dry' but they tend to do a larger variety of fresh juices, I think. Meals are not as 'special', but one doesn't expect superb cuisine for a 3 hour flight. (Showers are available only upon request - I've never felt the need to shower after such a short flight - I have wondered why a person would need to shower on a Europe-DXB sector, in fact!).

My next LAX-DXB-JED-DXB-LAX is booked in the next couple of months. I would like it if the crew took lessons from BA, SQ, or CX but I don't expect it. What I do expect is a very nice hard product with the ability to refresh myself onboard after a 16 hour flight. For me, it is worth having to press a call button if I want something.

A type of regression towards the mean? In this case the mean seems generally OK.
My experience of 20 or so F sectors on EK (a beginner I know) fits with DYKWIAs report. The difficulty is always reporting bias. If I get a 'WOW' flight I'm likely to post about it (especially if early in my EK F experience) and if I get a Poor experience I will definately share it on FT ;). I suggest that most Great and God flights pass without mention.

Having arrived at the airport straight from work with no time to shower in the lounge.

People on an overnight flight who need to go straight to the office. The is nowhere to get a shower at the airport on arrival.