Hi all,
I have good news - i've finally managed to get the deal I wanted with Virgin after much tooing and froing.
After receiving the pitiful reply to my original letter I felt compelled to reply that this was just not good enough so I sent a series of letters:
- the first was an email to the CS operative who sent the original reply
- the second was a hard copy with the copies of my receipts
- the third was another email to Steve Ridgeway asking him whether he was aware just how bad this now was.
In my final letter I reiterated my disappointment with Virgin - that my ideals of what they stood for had been tarnished and that they were no longer the poster boy for customer service in my eyes. For here we were being treated in the same way as any large corporation does when confronted with poor service complaints.
Very quickly I received a call from "Lou" who apologised for my treatment and that they were going to offer me everything that I had requested: a Full refund on my BA ticket, my expenses (phone and taxis) and two Virgin Return Tickets.
I couldn't believe it. I have to say I am happy but at the same saddened that it took such a huge amount of effort to actually get my point heard. This should have been the standard respone but the fact that I had to send so many emails and set up this blog is a disgrace really.
I have also received some emails from other passengers since my refund and it seems that so far I am in the minority in terms of finalising my offer. Virgin has ignored a lot of the complaints so far - a case of he who shouts loudest gets heard.
Let's hope you get your results too.
By the way - the contact was:
Lou Longworth (Miss), Customer Liaison Manager - Louise.A.Longworth@fly.virgin.com
Directors Correspondence Unit - Customer Relations Virgin Atlantic Airways
Tel: 08704 646747
Fax: 08701 434547
Good luck.
Charlie
Monday 30 April 2007
Tuesday 24 April 2007
Still avoiding Virgin...
I did eventually get 50000 miles from Virgin (which is 50% of an Upper Class trip to NYC), but can report that my commitment to not use Virgin for my long haul business trips is still underway.
I am following the approach Virgin took with us, and ignoring them.....
Since that trip I have done 6 long haul trips and all of these have been on BA (Club). They have been quite amazing and I forgot how slick and professional their Cabin Staff are. I have also been upgraded twice from Club to First without asking on return trips overnight so that has been an extra perk/ treat.
At this stage, the 1st time I use Virgin is due to be 1st week of May on a trip to Los Angeles as our corporate deal is £1500 (!!!!!) cheaper in Upper Class Virgin versus Club on BA so I am afraid money has to talk......
I am still amazed at how a simple round of letters and a genuine apology would have made everyone happy and they missed that opportunity...
I am following the approach Virgin took with us, and ignoring them.....
Since that trip I have done 6 long haul trips and all of these have been on BA (Club). They have been quite amazing and I forgot how slick and professional their Cabin Staff are. I have also been upgraded twice from Club to First without asking on return trips overnight so that has been an extra perk/ treat.
At this stage, the 1st time I use Virgin is due to be 1st week of May on a trip to Los Angeles as our corporate deal is £1500 (!!!!!) cheaper in Upper Class Virgin versus Club on BA so I am afraid money has to talk......
I am still amazed at how a simple round of letters and a genuine apology would have made everyone happy and they missed that opportunity...
Wednesday 18 April 2007
The nightmare continues
Hi All
Following on from the standard email from the Virgin customer services advisor I replied as I wasnt happy with the answers to my questions. They came back to me again with a rewording of the original response. I have since emailed their CEO Steve Ridgway. This was over a month ago and I got no reply, however when I resent the email on Monday I had an email from his PA saying she missed my original email and would get a representative from the team who look after complaints directed to Steve to answer my questions, she did promise this by the next day but surprise surprise still nothing to report. I also heard from a passenger I was travelling with and she has only just had a reply from Virgin, that is over 2 MONTHS since we travelled, this is not what I call even close to being acceptable.
I will keep emailing Virgin until I get an acceptable repsonse
Emma
Following on from the standard email from the Virgin customer services advisor I replied as I wasnt happy with the answers to my questions. They came back to me again with a rewording of the original response. I have since emailed their CEO Steve Ridgway. This was over a month ago and I got no reply, however when I resent the email on Monday I had an email from his PA saying she missed my original email and would get a representative from the team who look after complaints directed to Steve to answer my questions, she did promise this by the next day but surprise surprise still nothing to report. I also heard from a passenger I was travelling with and she has only just had a reply from Virgin, that is over 2 MONTHS since we travelled, this is not what I call even close to being acceptable.
I will keep emailing Virgin until I get an acceptable repsonse
Emma
Tuesday 17 April 2007
Well well well....
Following my last email to Virgin they had gone very quite. Not one person called or emailed so in a fit of anger I emailed Steve Ridgeway (VA CEO) AGAIN and finally got an answer.
A customer liaison manager within the customer care team called me to apologise and offer me our out of pocket expenses and to honor the original offer. To say I am pleased is not the half of it. The whole experience has been incredibly draining and frustrating.
The Customer Liaison Manager also said that the US Vice President of VA is taking a great interest in all the responses and that they are investigating how this could have gone so badly. I hope for other passengers sake that they learn something from all this - being quick, efficient and keeping customers informed is imperative.
Interestingly this all comes after I had an email from Emma Doyle, another passenger, this week - who said WatchDog is thinking of doing a story!!! Interesting. She had an email from the CEO's PA saying that they were going to get back to her asap. Are the two related I wonder?
Anyone else had offers in?
Charlie
A customer liaison manager within the customer care team called me to apologise and offer me our out of pocket expenses and to honor the original offer. To say I am pleased is not the half of it. The whole experience has been incredibly draining and frustrating.
The Customer Liaison Manager also said that the US Vice President of VA is taking a great interest in all the responses and that they are investigating how this could have gone so badly. I hope for other passengers sake that they learn something from all this - being quick, efficient and keeping customers informed is imperative.
Interestingly this all comes after I had an email from Emma Doyle, another passenger, this week - who said WatchDog is thinking of doing a story!!! Interesting. She had an email from the CEO's PA saying that they were going to get back to her asap. Are the two related I wonder?
Anyone else had offers in?
Charlie
Monday 2 April 2007
Shockingly poor
We finally received a response from Virgin and yes you've guessed it - it was the standard reply. To say we were livid is an understatement, so we drafted this response last week but as yet no reply (surprise surprise!)
Dear Sanchia,
Thank you for your email last week.
We have to say that we are both extremely disappointed and angry by your response -not least because this is clearly the standard reply you have sent to other passengers including the repetition of grammatical mistakes – do you actually proof read your emails?
Quite frankly your offer is insulting, especially as on Saturday 18th February we received a letter from Susan Ratigan offering us two free round trips – the letter indicated that this was for those who were travelling on VS118 but upon asking Susan she confirmed that as we had waited patiently with the other passengers, and were inconvenienced for some considerable time, we would of course be allowed the tickets or a complete refund of our Virgin Tickets. For you to now offer LESS than what was agreed is disgraceful.
You mentioned that you would ordinarily have rebooked your passengers with other carriers or new flights but there were just a “handful of seats”, we refer to our previous email where we explained that when we left on Sunday morning there was actually just a few of the original group left as the rest had clearly found alternative routes home. This highlights that your team had not tried hard enough to place us elsewhere – when we finally gave in to buy a new ticket it took us just TEN minutes, thus proving the point this was not difficult at all.
In addition, your letter says that Virgin realised "from the outset" that the necessary repairs would take "some time" yet it took your team a day and a half to tell us this - your lack of customer respect is astounding. This basic information would have prepared customers to what lay ahead and by not sharing it has merely compounded the aggravation.
You state below that staff were sent to the Hotel but “some” arrived after the coaches arrived – not “some” Sanchia but ALL, and when we say ALL we actually mean just one - a poor inexperienced young lady. And, despite trying to make it sound like it was 5 minutes afterwards it was actually more like FIVE hours which quite frankly is appalling.
It is offensive that you have requested for our receipts for “consideration” only as we believe this should be a given and not just something you wish to peruse. We will be sending copies of receipts to you today for your files but after all this we fully expect ALL expenses to be paid, including the new flights we were forced to pay for.
We look forward to receiving your reply this week - and not in your "usual" 21 days please.
Many thanks,
Charlie Morgan & Ben Fowler
Dear Sanchia,
Thank you for your email last week.
We have to say that we are both extremely disappointed and angry by your response -not least because this is clearly the standard reply you have sent to other passengers including the repetition of grammatical mistakes – do you actually proof read your emails?
Quite frankly your offer is insulting, especially as on Saturday 18th February we received a letter from Susan Ratigan offering us two free round trips – the letter indicated that this was for those who were travelling on VS118 but upon asking Susan she confirmed that as we had waited patiently with the other passengers, and were inconvenienced for some considerable time, we would of course be allowed the tickets or a complete refund of our Virgin Tickets. For you to now offer LESS than what was agreed is disgraceful.
You mentioned that you would ordinarily have rebooked your passengers with other carriers or new flights but there were just a “handful of seats”, we refer to our previous email where we explained that when we left on Sunday morning there was actually just a few of the original group left as the rest had clearly found alternative routes home. This highlights that your team had not tried hard enough to place us elsewhere – when we finally gave in to buy a new ticket it took us just TEN minutes, thus proving the point this was not difficult at all.
In addition, your letter says that Virgin realised "from the outset" that the necessary repairs would take "some time" yet it took your team a day and a half to tell us this - your lack of customer respect is astounding. This basic information would have prepared customers to what lay ahead and by not sharing it has merely compounded the aggravation.
You state below that staff were sent to the Hotel but “some” arrived after the coaches arrived – not “some” Sanchia but ALL, and when we say ALL we actually mean just one - a poor inexperienced young lady. And, despite trying to make it sound like it was 5 minutes afterwards it was actually more like FIVE hours which quite frankly is appalling.
It is offensive that you have requested for our receipts for “consideration” only as we believe this should be a given and not just something you wish to peruse. We will be sending copies of receipts to you today for your files but after all this we fully expect ALL expenses to be paid, including the new flights we were forced to pay for.
We look forward to receiving your reply this week - and not in your "usual" 21 days please.
Many thanks,
Charlie Morgan & Ben Fowler
Sunday 11 March 2007
A month later
Hi All,
Sorry for the lack of posts lately but i've been away. I have YET to receive a response from Virgin, despite it being a month since our trip. It seems incredible to me that such a prestigous company such as Virgin would let their customers down in this way. Anyone else managed to get a suitable reply yet?
Charlie
Sorry for the lack of posts lately but i've been away. I have YET to receive a response from Virgin, despite it being a month since our trip. It seems incredible to me that such a prestigous company such as Virgin would let their customers down in this way. Anyone else managed to get a suitable reply yet?
Charlie
Monday 5 March 2007
The compensation is less than the letter says it is...
After sending and email chasing them, I got a reply over the weekend from their Customer Services Team. This was interesting in itself since they had about 10 days ago sent an email saying my complaint had been forwarded to Richard Branson's office.
What I got, despite the detailed letter I had sent, was the same standard reply someone earlier has posted but with a change saying as Upper Class I would get 50000 miles. The letter clearly states that they were offering a free round trip and miles. But when I queried how to claim the flight they sent an email back saying you can choose EITHER the miles OR the flight. 50000 miles is not an upper class return flight.
Here is the text of the email they sent:
"Dear Mr Bembridge
Thank you for your email. Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in responding.
I’m so sorry to read that you were delayed by two days after flight VS18 diverted to JFK, following its departure from Newark on 15 February. The precautionary decision to divert was taken after the crew discovered a technical problem. It was clear from the outset that the necessary repairs would take some time and two engineers were flown in from London to start
work.
Ordinarily we would have re-booked everyone onto other flights with us, or with other airlines, but there were only a handful of spaces available. We arranged hotel rooms in New Jersey as there weren’t enough in the New York area, and five coaches to take everyone there. A combination of bad weather and confusion over the correct route meant that this was a very
long journey too. We accept that this wasn’t handled very well and we took this up with the bus company before they returned on Saturday 17 February to collect everyone again.
Although Virgin Atlantic staff were sent to the hotel, we’re aware that some didn’t arrive until after the coaches. By early morning on Friday 16, we knew that the flight wouldn’t be leaving until Saturday so staff were on hand to answer questions and handed out letters explaining this.
On Saturday 17 February, your flight was re-numbered VS118 and left JFK at 10:43, 50 hours and 23 minutes late.
It’s very difficult in a letter, to acknowledge how much frustration an experience like this causes and we’re so sorry that you were affected. Of course, we occasionally have flight delays but rarely this long and very rarely when there are no options to move people to other flights. It was
for this reason that we offered you a free round-trip ticket on a future service, which I do hope you’ll get a chance to use.
Regarding the compensation, all Upper class passengers were offered 50,000 miles to be credited to their flying club account, which I have done for you.
If you incurred any costs for your immediate needs during the delay, like meals, phone calls, emails etc, please send us the receipts for consideration. We will also be passing on your comments within the airline, when we assess how this was handled.
Thanks very much for taking the time to write.
Yours sincerely
Nella Ellams (Mrs)
Customer Relations Executive"
What I got, despite the detailed letter I had sent, was the same standard reply someone earlier has posted but with a change saying as Upper Class I would get 50000 miles. The letter clearly states that they were offering a free round trip and miles. But when I queried how to claim the flight they sent an email back saying you can choose EITHER the miles OR the flight. 50000 miles is not an upper class return flight.
Here is the text of the email they sent:
"Dear Mr Bembridge
Thank you for your email. Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in responding.
I’m so sorry to read that you were delayed by two days after flight VS18 diverted to JFK, following its departure from Newark on 15 February. The precautionary decision to divert was taken after the crew discovered a technical problem. It was clear from the outset that the necessary repairs would take some time and two engineers were flown in from London to start
work.
Ordinarily we would have re-booked everyone onto other flights with us, or with other airlines, but there were only a handful of spaces available. We arranged hotel rooms in New Jersey as there weren’t enough in the New York area, and five coaches to take everyone there. A combination of bad weather and confusion over the correct route meant that this was a very
long journey too. We accept that this wasn’t handled very well and we took this up with the bus company before they returned on Saturday 17 February to collect everyone again.
Although Virgin Atlantic staff were sent to the hotel, we’re aware that some didn’t arrive until after the coaches. By early morning on Friday 16, we knew that the flight wouldn’t be leaving until Saturday so staff were on hand to answer questions and handed out letters explaining this.
On Saturday 17 February, your flight was re-numbered VS118 and left JFK at 10:43, 50 hours and 23 minutes late.
It’s very difficult in a letter, to acknowledge how much frustration an experience like this causes and we’re so sorry that you were affected. Of course, we occasionally have flight delays but rarely this long and very rarely when there are no options to move people to other flights. It was
for this reason that we offered you a free round-trip ticket on a future service, which I do hope you’ll get a chance to use.
Regarding the compensation, all Upper class passengers were offered 50,000 miles to be credited to their flying club account, which I have done for you.
If you incurred any costs for your immediate needs during the delay, like meals, phone calls, emails etc, please send us the receipts for consideration. We will also be passing on your comments within the airline, when we assess how this was handled.
Thanks very much for taking the time to write.
Yours sincerely
Nella Ellams (Mrs)
Customer Relations Executive"
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