Snooze Packs I eat my words

Originally posted by fozzyo

Originally posted by crewrest
The deluge of feedback from both you and crew seems to have worked.

The snooze pack is to be improved. [:#]

Hurrah! Hopefully they will realise after this disaster and the mess that was GNF they need to expand how they evaluate product "improvements" before launching them.

Mat

Let's hope that the next 'improvement' is actually that - an improvement. VS's marketing team really need to start looking in a dictionary when putting together press releases. It's going to get to the stage that every 'improvement' is going to be accompanied by groans because we'll all get so used to cutbacks being spun to make them look like they're for customers benefit.

Actual improvements to the Upper Class service would be things like:

Light Bites back on the menuAn additional smaller pillow that could be used in the seat Internet / Web browsing 2 way ground-air text messaging

David.

Couldnt agree more David

Originally posted by David_Doyle

Actual improvements to the Upper Class service would be things like:

Light Bites back on the menuAn additional smaller pillow that could be used in the seat Internet / Web browsing 2 way ground-air text messaging

David.

I really don't think VS is likely to install in-flight internet at the moment although I would like to be pleasantly surprised; I just want the Upper Class service back to how it was before some idiots at Virgin started messing with it for the sake of saving a few pennies.

As I've said before, the thing that really bugs me is the implied assumption that giving us the suite is somehow a trade off against other elements. It shouldn't be.

As a result of this nonsense we'll be travelling in BA for at least one of our holidays next year and I'm contemplating switching all my business flights to BA until VS sort themselves out. And don't get me started on award availability...

BC

Originally posted by David_Doyle

Originally posted by jerseyboy

Why not have a travel salon in the club house where you can collect all your amenity kit items before you board the flight. A sort of posh version of Pick and Mix

I hope that is a joke! Makes me think of my own nightmare future scenario based on the Scrooge Pack....


Apologies for the sarcasm in this post....

David.

I was being sarcastic thankfully though i now only hope that some bright spark at V-S dosent see the post and recomend it as "the ultimate cut bac". Sorry i mean improvment to the U/C experiance.

Wayne

Keep your complaints coming.....looks like they are working:

"After receiving feedback from both passengers and crew we are currently examining various solutions to improve the introduction of the new Upper Class Snooze Pack. We will be communicating any potential changes over the coming weeks"

[preiffer]

Originally posted by vscss
Keep your complaints coming.....looks like they are working:

[y] thanks vscss!

March on Crawley!

Many airlines manage to provide a great product in biz without all the fancy stuff like ottomans etc. For example, Qatar has been consistently one of the best airlines for biz and retains its customers. However, it has only just woken up to the idea of J2000 seats AFAIK. The main part of the product is service. They may not have the best seats in the world, but are one of the best overall with their menus, cabin crew service, extras eg. kits etc.
VS need to stop trying to improve things which they are already at the forefront of and concentrate on core parts of the product.
At the moment, UC pax seem to be paying for what they recieve in the ground, not the air;)

[/rant]

VS.

Originally posted by sailor99
It is interesting you say that. I take one of my old OB VS kits with me everytime. Took it with me yesterday on AA, but never had to take it out; AA's kit was perfectly acceptable. It even came in a 'shoe bag' which you can keep on using. Quite why I would want to put my shoes in a bag I don't know. But it makes a great laundry bag!

All my shoes live in bags ... it keeps them clean, makes them last longer. I think this is a most excellent idea and a real coup for AA (who are usually crap).

Great comments from the crew, be good to see the improvement promised.

BTW I wrote last Monday with my complaint, no reply yet so I hope they are deluged

[^]

Originally posted by sailor99
It is interesting you say that. I take one of my old OB VS kits with me everytime. Took it with me yesterday on AA, but never had to take it out; AA's kit was perfectly acceptable. It even came in a 'shoe bag' which you can keep on using. Quite why I would want to put my shoes in a bag I don't know. But it makes a great laundry bag!

All my shoes live in bags ... it keeps them clean, makes them last longer. I think this is a most excellent idea and a real coup for AA (who are usually crap).

Great comments from the crew, be good to see the improvement promised.

BTW I wrote last Monday with my complaint, no reply yet so I hope they are deluged

[^]

Originally posted by vscss
"After receiving feedback from both passengers and crew we are currently examining various solutions to improve the introduction of the new Upper Class Snooze Pack. We will be communicating any potential changes over the coming weeks"

I know one way of improving the Scrooge Pack ... SCRAP IT [}:)]
Thanks for this encouraging message vscss [y]

[fozzyo]

Originally posted by vscss
"After receiving feedback from both passengers and crew we are currently examining various solutions to improve the introduction of the new Upper Class Snooze Pack. We will be communicating any potential changes over the coming weeks"

So quickly? Wow, they weren't this quick over GNF. Sounds like they have very quickly realised that what looked fantastic in the BeanCounters Marketing Suite was in fact rather stupid and most definately unwanted by their pax.

Now if only they could get a decent basic kit with extras available, that I think is a good idea - something that can really enhance the product. Get back to leading the market - offering a wide range of products and items that are useful that other airlines haven't thought of before.

Mat xxx

Wow, sure hope this kit is replaced quickly. Guess it'll take awhile, though, as they'll have to settle on a new design and have it made or whatever. Or, maybe they can go back to the old ones! That'd be OK, wouldn't it? Or, was THAT one bad too?[:$]

betsy06

Originally posted by VS045
Many airlines manage to provide a great product in biz without all the fancy stuff like ottomans etc. For example, Qatar has been consistently one of the best airlines for biz and retains its customers. However, it has only just woken up to the idea of J2000 seats AFAIK. The main part of the product is service. They may not have the best seats in the world, but are one of the best overall with their menus, cabin crew service, extras eg. kits etc.
....]

Here here....
As I will point out in my long overdue first impressions comparison TR between KLM WBC and VS UC on the same route, the KLM seats and the IFE were distinctly aged, the lounges at AMS functional at best, but the service from the cabin crew, the food, drink and the spacious cabin were first rate..... and the amenity pack was good quality useful items... and at half the ticket price!

[Scrooge]

Originally posted by VS045
Many airlines manage to provide a great product in biz without all the fancy stuff like ottomans etc. For example, Qatar has been consistently one of the best airlines for biz and retains its customers. However, it has only just woken up to the idea of J2000 seats AFAIK. The main part of the product is service. They may not have the best seats in the world, but are one of the best overall with their menus, cabin crew service, extras eg. kits etc.
VS need to stop trying to improve things which they are already at the forefront of and concentrate on core parts of the product.
At the moment, UC pax seem to be paying for what they recieve in the ground, not the air;)

The above is very true,however the thing that VS is missing is simply this,once you give a customer something it is going to be noticed if you try and take it away which is pretty much what VS is doing with the envelope.

[Scrooge]

Im taking a couple of min's to just veg reading TR's over on A'Net,I ran across this one,a well written TR all told,however,it's interesting that Santa Barbara airlines gives a carrying case which had inside a tooth paste, ear plugs, eye shades, socks and a tooth brush....I mean for f%#$ sake,this is a two bit airline flying a leased 752 on a 3 hr flight and it's better than VS UC offering [B)][:#].

The improvments can not come quick enough,unless of course it's a better quality of envelope.

If you have something to say, jetwet, I do wish you would say it rather than beating round the bush

[Scrooge]

I know,I know [:I],it's just that it seems every year some idiot at VS comes up with a great idea that the pax will "love" and save the airline a little money.

Any time you take something off a plane, the passengers will notice, and if you're lucky they might complain, or might just take their business elsewhere and never speak to you again.

Some people in Crawley basically need to stop relying on VS' old-time reputation, "We're Virgin aren't we so cool"-attitude, get out of their time warp, and realise that they can, and do - seemingly with increasing regularity, do wrong by their customers.

I really wonder what happened to the fire that used to be in VS' belly? Has it been replaced by the fat of an overweight management team and endless meetings and committees which fail to make good decisions?

As for the comments about taking your own pack with you - with the increasingly draconian carry-on rules, I'm trying to take less and less on the plane with me, so I welcome the amenities they hand out. Right now, I do take some things with me, but that's because I've had advanced warning that they are missing (or crap) on the aircraft.

Thanks,
Mike

The beancounters may have degrees in economics and business management but when it comes to running an airline, there's only so much you can do with them.
Does anyone know why VS is making so many "improvements" - they don't seem to be in financial trouble?[:?]

VS.

I confess to not having read the whole of thi vast topic before contributing but there are only so many hours in the day!

I had my first experience of the Snooze Pack in Upper on the way out to Shanghai last Sunday. Even though, these days, I only ever use the shades and socks, snaffle the pen and then chuck the rest away (leave it on the plane), I am almost ashamed to say that I felt short-changed when presented with my little cardboard wallet containing shades and socks. If I'd been given the rest of the pack, I would only haveleft it on the plane, so why do I feel a little miffed? Not sure, really. The pen wouldn't have made much of a difference (though the little black stubbies in the OB packs are really nice and I'm carrying one with me today).

As I say, I'm ashamed that I felt this way. I feel that I ought to be happy that I didn't force the airline to waste time and money giving me stuff I don't need or want but I have to admit to finding it a little difficult.

Chris

Originally posted by cshore
As I say, I'm ashamed that I felt this way. I feel that I ought to be happy that I didn't force the airline to waste time and money giving me stuff I don't need or want but I have to admit to finding it a little difficult.

Hi Chris,

I guess it's because you weren't offered a choice of things - which might be something you'd come to expect, and the fact that it looked cheap and miserly.

Most people or companies pay a lot of money (or miles, which were earned) for Upper Class tickets, so it's easy to feel short changed by something like this. It's the "tightarse" impression that it gives, rather than the "we're avoiding waste" altruism.

Cheers,
Mike

[fozzyo]

I would guess, that it may have had the things you wanted in it didn't feel like an Upper Class product. Your in a premium cabin so would expect premium service, products and amenities.

Maybe this is where VS went wrong. The looked at what the majority of customers use in their kits and designed the Scrooge Pack to reflect that. Which is fair enough, it answers the needs of what people use, but it totally ignores what people expect from their UC experience. Two very different and equally important issues, the later maybe even more so.

Mat xxx

Is it selfish to say that of recent OB amienity kits I will generally keep the socks, ear plugs and lip balm (before it chaged from Vie) and leave the rest aside. Still I expect a product that represents a premium cabin.

If the kit was the old pencil case one I would, and have kept everything for later use.

Lets not forget that many pax will save very hard for an upper class flight as a special occasion and would quite probably be dissapointed with the current offering.

Dean

Originally posted by VS045
The beancounters may have degrees in economics and business management but when it comes to running an airline, there's only so much you can do with them.
Does anyone know why VS is making so many "improvements" - they don't seem to be in financial trouble?[:?]

VS.

How about this for a way of saving money - get rid of the beancounters [}:)]