Brutish Airways

I’m back. And I’m inspired, which, if you’ve read any of these posts before, you’ll know that that means I’m pissed off. This time, at an airline.

Stragglers still exist. In an age where Apple, Google and Skype are give, give, giving to their customers and get, get, getting billions, you’d think that the airlines, banks, utility companies and cell phone “service providers” would get the point: there is a sharp difference between customer retention and customer loyalty.

British Airways is one of the stragglers. They’re so far behind, they don’t even give a shit about customer retention.

I’ve probably been on more airplanes than the average person, so let me say, based on direct experience, that I’d rather fly Aeroflot through Delhi than British Airways through Heathrow. Below is the breadth and depth of my recent correspondence with Brutish Airways to explain why.

The short version is that the trip was an unbelievable gong show and they offered us a $200 credit on future flights. Feel free to read further and use the credit. I sure as hell won’t use it.

(Also… My apologies to anyone of British descent – sorry, Stewart – I was feeling a little ornery when I sent the first message. I get that way when a portion of my income, however fractional, ends up on a CEO’s plate who doesn’t appreciate it. (I think that all CEOs have to take personal responsibility for how their frontline personnel service their customers. You know, kinda like Steve Jobs, Larry Page, Sergei Bryn and the Skype Guy do.))

 

EMAIL #1

BOOKING REFERENCE: YRR4MJ

E-TICKET NUMBER: 125 243 8930284

PASSENGERS: Scott Semple

 

Dear Brutish Airways…

For this Customer Relations email, I didn’t know how to classify whether this was an inflight, airport or baggage issue. I highly suggest you re-program the options to include “All of the above.”

In summary… our entire experience with Brutish Airways SUCKED. Here are the details:

MAY 9th

BA102 – Calgary, Canada to London, England

*Flight delayed two hours on departure;

*We spent the evening waiting in the Calgary airport rather than at home with our 3-year-old son;

*Due to the delay in Calgary, we missed our connection in Heathrow, which turned a 2-hour layover into a six-hour delay.

BA348 – London, England to Nice, France

*Delayed an hour, turning a 6-hour delay into nearly (all-told) an 8-hour delay;

*Despite sitting at Heathrow for over 8-hours, the morons on the baggage department still didn’t have enough time to get our bags to the flight to Nice. No bags on arrival in Nice.

MAY 11th & MAY 12th

*Despite being lied to that our bags would show up the next morning, they did not arrive at our hotel in Nice until 10pm on the second day (May 12th). Apparently the morons at Heathrow are also related to the morons in Nice, and it took them 48-hours to get our bags to our hotel. This delayed our travel plans out of Nice by a day and increased our hotel and food costs accordingly.

MAY 21st

BA347 – Nice, France to London, England

*Delayed 1.5 hours. At this point we were not surprised, having realized on our to-France journey that Brutish Airways couldn’t fly their way out of a wet paper bag. The best part was that there was NO INFORMATION PROVIDED OR AVAILABLE on our connection in London. Despite promises of assistance at the gate in Heathrow and profuse apologies, nothing was done.

BA103 – London, England to Calgary, Canada

*After de-planing in London and wading through the moronic mess of Heathrow to our departure terminal, we see on the monitor that our flight status for our connection does not say “Departed,” but “Go to gate 24.” (Other more competent airlines often announce connection information prior to landing. I suggest that BA start doing the same if they want to be competitive.) After seeing the flight status, we immediately sprint across the terminal to get to the gate to find… that all the passengers are still waiting at the gate “to allow for other passengers arriving on late connections.

“Great,” we think. “I guess we’ll be able to go home today after all.”

BUT NO. As we give the gate staff our PRINTED BOARDING PASSES to board the flight to Calgary, a shadow crosses her face. “Just a moment please…”

“We didn’t expect you to make it,” she said. “So we off-loaded you. We do have some empty seats, but I’m afraid they’re all broken, see… [holds up paper with seat numbers on it] …I have a list of the broken ones here. I’m afraid you won’t be flying to Calgary on this flight.”

So despite profuse apologies, unfulfilled promises and printed boarding passes, we end up wading through Heathrow again to wait 50 minutes for an every-15-minute bus, inhale a few packs of cigarette smoke, notice the “Warning: Asbestos. Do Not Disturb” signs at the bus stop, and finally climb onto a bus that takes us to a hotel for the night.

Meanwhile, our 3-year-old wonders why we didn’t show up when his grandparents told him we would. (Don’t worry, folks, I’ll explain it to him when he’s older.)

Thankfully, we found one BA employee who actually provided a genuine service. Christine Holton, Senior Connections Agent in Terminal 4, was very helpful in finding us a hotel and re-booking us on a flight home. Please feel free to contact Christine if you require corroboration of this story. Christine has a copy of my notes.

I do not want your promises or apologies. Your gate staff provided much of both, and without follow-up, their apparently honest sentiment was soon revealed as posturing and lies.

Terribly sorry, mum, but I’m all fed up wif English manners, deary. Time for the rubber to touch the road as they say, chum.

I WANT ACTION. I want you to DO something. We paid BA over $2500 for a 1st-world round trip from Calgary to Nice. What we received was less than third world. I’ve had better service from Aeroflot traveling through Delhi…

One of the gate staff in Heathrow, after reading my notes on our problems with BA said, “Wow, I guess you won’t be flying with us anytime soon.”

“It depends what gets done right now,” I said. Dare I think that something will?

Sincerely,

Scott Semple

 

EMAIL #2

From: Scott Semple

Date: Jul 4, 2007 10:09 AM

Subject: Fwd: Brutish Airways

Hello British Airways,

On May 23rd, I sent in this summary of our unpleasant trip. The outline was sent through both email and fax. I am very disappointed that I have received no contact whatsoever. I can only assume that BA is indifferent to our experience and also to any future business.

I own a winter apparel company. Several times a year, myself and my staff must fly throughout the US, Europe and Nepal in order to attend tradeshows and meet with producers of our products. British Airways is obviously an option for these international trips, but I must say that until I receive some sort of correspondence and compensation for the horrible trip detailed below, we will not even consider flying British Airways again.

When we have a dissatisfied customer in our business, we do whatever is required to make up for our mistake. I think that most 21st century businesses operate in a similar fashion. As a major international airline, I would hope that British Airways conducts themselves in the same manner.

The details are below. I look forward to your response.

Regards,

Scott Semple

 

RESPONSE #1

On 7/5/07, BA Customer Relations wrote:

Dear Mr Semple,

I am sorry to learn about the difficulties with your luggage. Thank you for your email. So that I can deal quickly with your claim, please could you send me good quality photocopies of the following documents, and include your case reference number. I have ticked the ones I need to see. Please do not send multiple times as it will delay our response time.

( ) Your baggage claim tag
(x) The Property Irregularity Report (the baggage report)
( ) A completed copy of our Lost Baggage Questionnaire
(x) Receipts to support the expenses you are claiming
( ) Receipts, card slips, insurance valuations, quotations or other documents to support the value of your missing/damaged property
( ) The Cabin Service report completed during your flight
( ) Your BA Executive Club number (if you’re a member)

As a preference, please fax to: 347-418-4813. Alternatively, if you do not have access to a fax you may mail to:

British Airways
Attn Baggage Claims
PO Box 690098
East Elmhurst, NY 11369-0098

I should add that airlines have only limited liability when it comes to compensation in a situation like this. So if you had travel insurance, can I suggest you also inform your insurance company about what’s happened. Once I have received the documents I hope we can resolve things swiftly for you.

Sincerely

TIMOTHY HOSEA
British Airways Customer Relations

Your case reference is:5641779

 

EMAIL #3

ATTN: TIMOTHY HOSEA

PLEASE READ THIS IN ITS ENTIRETY. “BAGGAGE” was selected as the Issue Type, because there isn’t an “All of the above” option.

____________

Hello Timothy. Thank you for your response.

Unfortunately there seems to be some confusion over the nature of my complaint. Our entire experience with BA was horrible; it was not limited to our baggage problems.

Please re-read my previous email in detail, check BA’s flight records, confirm with Christine Holton in Terminal 4 at Heathrow if necessary, and get back to me with how you would like to proceed.

I look forward to your response.

Regards,
Scott

 

RESPONSE #2

From: BA Customer Relations Date: Jul 6, 2007 8:07 AM

Dear Mr Semple,

In my office, we only handle baggage claims, I will pass your case onto our New York office. They can better help you with the issues you have.

Sincerely

TIMOTHY HOSEA
British Airways Customer Relations

Your case reference is:5647194

 

RESPONSE #3

From: BA Customer Relations [mailto:gsrreplies@contact.britishairways.com] Sent: July 10, 2007 12:16 PM Subject: Your Response from BA Customer Relations

Dear Mr Semple

I am so sorry your flights and baggage were delayed when you traveled with us recently. I can understand how anxious you must have been.

I am concerned by what you tell us, and I’m grateful to you for following it up with us. We set high standards for every aspect of the British Airways service. So if a customer has been disappointed, as you clearly were, we like to hear from them so that we can do all in our power to put things right for the future.

As an apology, I have arranged for you to have a travel credit of $200 each, which you or one of your family may use, with my compliments. You are welcome to put it towards the cost of any British Airways service. This credit is valid for a year from July 10, 2007 and is not renewable. Please note it cannot be used on ba.com.

This is an electronic credit, so there is no paper voucher. When you are ready to make your booking, simply call our reservations team at 1-800-AIRWAYS, quoting your reference, CR Credit 5554945. Our sales agent will make your travel arrangements and put this credit towards the cost.

Thank you again – and please allow us to restore your confidence in the British Airways service by flying with us again soon.

Sincerely

Mary Ellen Burke
British Airways Customer Relations

Your case reference is:5554945

 

EMAIL #4

And then I emailed again and said, “Uh, I don’t think that’s equivalent to the headache and hassle we experienced. A refund would be a good place to start.”

 

RESPONSE #4

From: BA Customer Relations [mailto:gsrreplies@contact.britishairways.com] Sent: August 9, 2007 10:00 AM Subject: Your Response from BA Customer Relations

Dear Mr Semple

Thank you for your email.

I am sorry you were not happy with my response and offer of $200 Customer Credit each – for you and Ms Holbrook- Ambler. I hope you will reconsider.

Unfortunately, I am afraid, I cannot offer a refund on your ticket as it has been used.

I realize you feel we have not met our usual high standards this time, and I hope that we can show you the best side of British Airways when you next fly with us.

Sincerely

Mary Ellen Burke
British Airways Customer Relations

Your case reference is:5554945

Please do not reply directly to this email as direct replies are sent to an unmonitored mailbox and cannot be actioned. Please use the link in ‘How To Contact Us’ below to reply to Customer Relations.

 

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