Hi all,
Just keen to get some others thoughts on this situation.
I have a semi-frequent need to travel domestically and always do so with Qantas, and fly Business Class where possible - a major factor for me being the meal service, as my schedule is often too hectic and unpredictable to have a decent meal elsewhere.
At last count, I had flown approx. 20 business class domestic flights in the last 12 months on Qantas, and the vast majority of them go off without a hitch, hence the reason I continue to fly Qantas, and not defect to Virgin as many of my colleagues recently have.
However, the issue I have is that on a recent day trip MEL-ADL in Qantas Business (row 3), the cabin crew were moving at a glacial pace during meal service, to the extent that my meal was handed to me quite literally less than 1 minute before the announcement was made "Cabin crew, prepare for landing". A cabin crew member immediately returned to my seat upon hearing the announcement and insisted that they clear my meal tray to prepare for landing.
No apology, no acknowledgement of the unfortunate situation - just an unceremonious yanking of the meal tray as I hurriedly grabbed for whatever finger-food-compatible items I could, which sadly amounted to just a slice of bread.
Being desperately hungry for that meal, seeing it condemned, untouched, to the rubbish cart was especially galling. Further, my return flight a few hours later while better, was still disappointing in that I was granted less than 9 minutes (I counted this time) with my beloved meal tray. Needless to say, I ate like a man possessed in those few measly minutes - but hardly a civilised way to enjoy a meal.
Interestingly, I flew this exact same itinerary (same flight, same meal) a few days later, and all was well. Plenty of time to eat, friendly and helpful cabin crew - it was like a different airline.
I don't dispute the need to prepare the cabin for landing, but the disorganisation that led to this situation was disappointing to the extent where I wished I had just bought economy red-edeals and a box of muesli bars and saved myself $1000 for the trip.
When I aired this disappointment in an email to qantas customer care, I received a clearly canned response which I've paraphrased below:
Dear Customer,
We understand that you are sadface. There is nothing we can do about it.
Sincerely,
Customer Care
Most curiously, perhaps, was the total absence in their response of the word apology or any derivations thereof. A simple apology would have gone a long way here, but the blunt, almost contemptuous nature of the response has surprised me to say the least.
So, my question to AFF is am I being unreasonable here? What would you expect in this situation?
Just keen to get some others thoughts on this situation.
I have a semi-frequent need to travel domestically and always do so with Qantas, and fly Business Class where possible - a major factor for me being the meal service, as my schedule is often too hectic and unpredictable to have a decent meal elsewhere.
At last count, I had flown approx. 20 business class domestic flights in the last 12 months on Qantas, and the vast majority of them go off without a hitch, hence the reason I continue to fly Qantas, and not defect to Virgin as many of my colleagues recently have.
However, the issue I have is that on a recent day trip MEL-ADL in Qantas Business (row 3), the cabin crew were moving at a glacial pace during meal service, to the extent that my meal was handed to me quite literally less than 1 minute before the announcement was made "Cabin crew, prepare for landing". A cabin crew member immediately returned to my seat upon hearing the announcement and insisted that they clear my meal tray to prepare for landing.
No apology, no acknowledgement of the unfortunate situation - just an unceremonious yanking of the meal tray as I hurriedly grabbed for whatever finger-food-compatible items I could, which sadly amounted to just a slice of bread.
Being desperately hungry for that meal, seeing it condemned, untouched, to the rubbish cart was especially galling. Further, my return flight a few hours later while better, was still disappointing in that I was granted less than 9 minutes (I counted this time) with my beloved meal tray. Needless to say, I ate like a man possessed in those few measly minutes - but hardly a civilised way to enjoy a meal.
Interestingly, I flew this exact same itinerary (same flight, same meal) a few days later, and all was well. Plenty of time to eat, friendly and helpful cabin crew - it was like a different airline.
I don't dispute the need to prepare the cabin for landing, but the disorganisation that led to this situation was disappointing to the extent where I wished I had just bought economy red-edeals and a box of muesli bars and saved myself $1000 for the trip.
When I aired this disappointment in an email to qantas customer care, I received a clearly canned response which I've paraphrased below:
Dear Customer,
We understand that you are sadface. There is nothing we can do about it.
Sincerely,
Customer Care
Most curiously, perhaps, was the total absence in their response of the word apology or any derivations thereof. A simple apology would have gone a long way here, but the blunt, almost contemptuous nature of the response has surprised me to say the least.
So, my question to AFF is am I being unreasonable here? What would you expect in this situation?
