Who gets the steak?

[RichardMannion]

Thanks for the clarification declan, so you used to get a list of upgrades but don't anymore so that everyone gets the same service. Mmm, that is a bit of a disppointment really for several reasons and it has made the outbound crew of my recent flight and customer relations completely incorrect. I was assured that upgraded passengers would be at the bottom of the pile (aside from staff) for meal priority and IFBT. Oh well.

Thanks,
Richard

[Bazz]

I suppose the one exception to this is where the ground crew come onto the aircraft after the pax have boarded and invite people to accept an upgrade, this is pretty obvious to the cabin crew. When it last happened to us we were not given replacement boarding passes for the new seat as we had already boarded so still retained the old ones.

Going back to your question of who should get steak - from my point of view (being a savage in economy) A should get the steak, as you should get what you paid for. As B probably has been disappointed before and C is just happy enough to be where they are. I am not sure about the fact that "they should have no expectation of U/C food" That comment makes them sound like a moron who knows no better. People like me would love to fly PE or Upper Class but unfortunately you can only do what you can afford. Flying Virgin is good enough for me - it's the best I can afford.

[RichardMannion]

Unfortunately the plot thickens further - both Premier and the most senior person in Customer Relations confirmed to me today that the crew should have a list onboard of who is who, and who has paid, who has been op-upped etc as service will be dictated by this. Priority will be given to confirmed upgrades (mileage) and true revenue fares. Customer relations are investigating further now.

Thanks,
Richard

This is an interesting one....Hopefully this will be cleared up soon. I can see both sides of the discussion here, Tricky one!

When I was Op Uped (the one and only time!) I was told that we would not get the UC Meal. Also when we used miles at the airport to U grade we were told the same thing. (I am generally asleep before the meal is even thought about!)

I can't answer the poll really. Why cant a K class Silver member get it?

Just because we are Silver it doesnt mean we are unworthy! or any less loyal it may mean that we dont get as much time off! or have to travel so much for work etc.

[Decker]

Ultimately whilst VS love the "heart" loyalty they tend to favour the loyalty that involves wallets. Has more of an impact on the bottom line and keeps shareholders happy

Umm. When you are op uped you get the J meal. VS will not serve Y meals in the UC cabin. When you do a miles upgrade you also get full J service.
Why can a silver member not get what?

But at what cost? So Silver members are given Naff all rewards and after the struggle I have had lately to redeem miles almost 60k each. I have to question if it is worth being a member. But it can't do any harm I suppose collecting miles.

Originally posted by sailor99
Umm. When you are op uped you get the J meal. VS will not serve Y meals in the UC cabin.

Not always - it depends on if they've got enough catering onboard.

Personally, I'd be happy to accept an op-up to UC, even without the full catering

Cheers

Michael

Sorry, don't understand your post. To what does "but at what cost" refer?
The (limited) benefits of silver have been debated here before. You may want to re-open the debate (and I suspect you may get some support) here

I take your point on op upgrades Mcuth that sometimes the catering is not there, but I am sure you will agree that is rare - perhaps you will not get your first choice. But I do not believe it happens for miles upgrades, and would certainly warrant a refund of miles from VS if it did.

[RichardMannion]

Originally posted by RichardMannion
Unfortunately the plot thickens further - both Premier and the most senior person in Customer Relations confirmed to me today that the crew should have a list onboard of who is who, and who has paid, who has been op-upped etc as service will be dictated by this. Priority will be given to confirmed upgrades (mileage) and true revenue fares. Customer relations are investigating further now.

Thanks,
Richard

And now they have changed their mind. Declan/Tinkerbelle I offer my apologies for questioning you on this policy. Customer Relations were unaware that crew are no longer given the sheet of whom has been upgraded. So basically, it doesn't matter anymore if you have paid full fare or are op-upped - all passengers in UC are treated the same in regards to priority.

Can't say I agree with the logic personally. Devalues the offering that do actually buy UC tickets. Would love to hear what others think - should those that booked Upper Class (be it via an upgrade with miles or a true revenue ticket) get priority over someone that has been op-upped?

Thanks,
Richard

Everyone in UC however they got there should be treated the same. The Class system really shouldn't come into effect. Those who pay the UC fare can be smug in the knowledge they get the extras the CH the Limo etc etc etc the gold card! The others can be smug in the knowledge they haven't paid the full fare!

We were op-upped inbound from Antigua in 2004 along with quite a few others. The crew were aware and most people op-upped did not get sleep suits and amenity kits - there wasn't enough. We did get a full UC meal but not everyone did.

There was one lady near us who had obviously paid in full because the crew sincerely apologised to her for not being able to give her the full service. So they definitely knew the set up. I'm sure that must have made their job easier in this situation.

Jilly

Originally posted by sailor99
I take your point on op upgrades Mcuth that sometimes the catering is not there, but I am sure you will agree that is rare - perhaps you will not get your first choice.

Oh absolutely, but that's why I said "not always" I've seen reports that it's happened before.

But I do not believe it happens for miles upgrades, and would certainly warrant a refund of miles from VS if it did.

Agreed 100% [y]

Cheers

Michael

For me this one is a no-brainer.

The crew should always aim to offer everyone the same high standard of service including op-uppers; but when there is only one steak for three PAX its obviously impossible for them all to get equal treatment unless a) no-one gets the steak b)they all share the steak.

Its clear to everyone who reads this forum that frequent UC PAXs get miffed at the slightest reduction in service (myself included)- that's just human nature - whereas anyone op-upped to UC for the first time would most probably be too busy wallowing in joyous disbelief to be concerned about a limited but otherwise superior menu.

I think those that have been op-upped shouldn't really expect anything. As it says in the op-ups section of the website - you get what you pay for. I know it sounds a bit mean, but if someone has paid £3000 for UC and someone else has paid a quarter of that for PE - to me it's obvious who should get the steak.
Having said that, I do think that if there is enough to go around, op-ups should be able to get the "extras," although obviously they shouldn't be able to abuse the system.

Cheers,
VS045

[preiffer]

Sorry guys, going back to the point about crew no longer knowing fare classes/upgrades, etc.

IF it's the case that the crew are now without this information, WHY was the FSM on my flight yesterday able to ask how my CDC pickup was...? [:w]


(Who, incidentally, was great - along with all of the other people I came into contact with throughout the whole trip. Yes, TR to follow....)

Hi All

Just throwing in my 2c worth regarding whether or not the crew still know who is who ....... on my recent inbound from LAX (VS24)..whilst stretching my legs and having a general mooch I noticed an A4 size sheet stuck on the wall next to the UC galley .... which showed Seat No, Name, FC Status, menu choice AND fare class

Regards

Mark

I chose B simply based on an assumption thus being

B on a z discounted is probably on first flight in upper class and would be the most beneficial passenger to repeat a flawless experience in upper therefore not having the food option that was ordered would make him/her think why bother paying extra when you donÕt even get the meal you ordered so may put them off the whole u/c experience.

Pax A however being on a full fair may have flown U/C before and dose not mind spending the extra bucks regardless of whether he/she gets his steak.

And pax C would be grateful of anything edible as the U/C experience is a bonus and would not be to disappoint because they did not get the steak.

Well thatÕs my thoughts anyway.
Cheers
Wayne

As a CSS and were in charge of the J cabin on that day I would tell my crew to give the steak to customer B. Although customer A had paid a lot more money than customer B we as crew would not know that. All we would see is if they are a flying club member and what level they are. We would not offer it to the Gold Card Customer because he was an upgrade.

I can and will confirm that we as crew do NOT know what fare class you are in.

We Do know who upgrades are to a certain degree. There are lots of things that CSS's know that other crew do not know about customer infomation codes. As for a customer reading infomation about customers the crew on that flight should be told beacause that information is all data protected and should not be on public display.

[preiffer]

Sorry VITB - that post's confused me by contradicting itself.

You're saying that the information that was seen (and therefore in breach of the DPA) is information that the crew don't have?

If they don't have that info - how could it possibly have been on display?


Also - you say that there's information that "CSS's know that other crew do not". Although I appreciate there are different functions/positions when it comes to cabin crew - you are all crew (non-passengers) at the end of the day.

So, does that mean the crew (whether that be a CSS/FSM or a "regular" member of cabin crew) DO have information on who's been upgraded and what services/fares people have?


... and how did they know I'd had a CDC pickup last week? [:?]

A lot of topics on this forum have discussed the devaluation of the Upper Class product and I'm afraid that this discussion seems to be heading that way too.

I am not comfortable with the possibility that the crew know I didn't pay as much as "the man in 8K" and therefore, should not be given as good a service as him if there is a choice between us both over something silly like a steak. I don't really like the thought of being prejudiced against because I haven't got a job that requires me to travel and I don't earn enough money to afford to "miles whore" and get myself even upto FC Silver.

Upper Class (like it or not) is a product that Virgin have and I see absolutely no reason why A, B or C should be treated any differently on that particular flight as they are all in the Upper Class cabin and should all receive Upper Class service, regardless of how they ended up there.

Personally, I voted for B, but that doesn't mean that I would have done that. If I could not offer the same service to A, B and C, then NONE of them would have had the steak as it would be important to me to offer the same service to every passenger on board.

Surely all passengers should expect the same level of service, regardless of how much dosh left their hands? I assume cabin crew are paid the same rate, and not according to who they serve? Supposing a passenger has been upgraded on something like compassionate grounds (once saw a documentary where that happened) - they could well be travelling in distressing circumstances, can't think that an inferior service would help their particular situation.

Fact is, cabin crew can't KNOW all of this stuff - much as I don't know the personal circumstances of people I talk to or deal with. It makes no difference to my professional attitude.