EI customer service

adam88

So any time I fly a route served by both EI and FR I usually go with EI as long as the price is reasonable so I wasn’t too disappointed when I was put on a EI flight to connect with a virgin flight to the states, but by god was I disappointed when I came across the pitiful level of customer service I experienced with EI both going out and coming back.
I’m not being dramatic when I say this but every single member of EI that I came across from check in to the cabin crew were absolutely shocking. It was if they were doing me a favour and I was inconveniencing them. I know it was stupid o’clock in the morning but I was just so disappointed at their shocking level of customer service. Shocking.
At least with FR it roulette whether they’ll be on form or not.
I felt this even more so when I compared them with the unbelievably good service I got from the virgin crew, they tended to my every need (kept asking them for extra drinks etc) with a pleasant smile and even engaged in light conversation with me and my partner.
Hope this isn’t a sign of things to come or a reflection of staff morale in EI

kevinandrew

I personally have never had a particularly bad experience with Aer Lingus, I find that staff tend to be a varying degree of good to excellent but there are, like all airlines, the odd occasion where I witness areas that could be improved upon. My flights usually involve crews from the smaller bases, Cork and Shannon, so the pool of staff is much smaller and the level of service very consistent.

On a recent Heathrow-Cork service during boarding I saw a passenger speak to the cabin crew about a watch he'd left upstairs in the terminal bar, the crew were jolly and reassuring, a quick phone call and a short wait later and he was reunited with his watch, the classic "not a bother, take your seat and relax yourself now" response followed from the crew. It was a prime example of how Aer Lingus crew are a class apart, you rarely see that laid back but ever professional approach from other airlines. 

With that said, I've also seen some instances where crew let themselves and the airline down. I used to work in the industry and for one of Aer Lingus' rivals so I can't help but notice and take an interest every time I fly. The issue I find most common (but still rare) is usually arrogance, a bad attitude or a snotty demeanour towards passengers, it comes from staff of all ages and all departments so doesn't seem like an age or experience thing. I must admit, it almost always comes from the female members of staff and not their male counterparts. This is just my own observations. It angers me when I see it, passengers getting snapped at, eyes rolling and crew hiding in the galley.

There's also the old, "it's all managements fault" attitude which makes me laugh. A reality check is seriously needed for any staff who use that excuse for bad manners or an awful attitude. There's a select group of staff both current and former who take great pleasure in knocking the company at any opportunity, the rumour that the airline was due to lose its 4 Star rating was spread with venom throughout the company earlier this year only to be totally disproved as the airline actually increased its overall score. People like that do not belong in aviation, in fact there are very few industries that require attitudes like that. Some will even read your post and see it as a job well done, some twisted way to send a message to management that everyone's unhappy when all it really does is reflect badly on them as a person and employee.

Management aren't perfect, one in particular is a real problem thanks to his attitude and arrogance, I personally would think Aer Lingus would be a better place without him but alas, it's not my decision to make. If your flights were recent, the attitudes of the staff may have been affected by the comments made by this member of management where he accused staff of stealing (not actually unproven) which resulted in a major backlash and an apology from the CEO but not the member of management in question which is very telling. The relationship between management and staff needs work but it'll never be perfect, very few companies are.

Tenger

kevinandrew wrote: »

........A reality check is seriously needed for any staff who use that excuse for bad manners or an awful attitude. ........People like that do not belong in aviation, in fact there are very few industries that require attitudes like that. ...........

I would go further and say that people like that should be no-where near customers in any industry. I started in hotel work and the disrespect towards the paying customers was shocking to a teenager like myself (at the time)

NSAman

I am a long time customer of EI. I am concierge level and fly frequently with many other airlines also.

I have had one SERIOUS incident with EI. Where a colleague was injured by one of the staff. This, I have to say, was handled incredibly badly by the staff on board and also by the pilot. My colleague was threatened by one staff member. It wasn’t until he involved outside parties that management stepped in.

Apart from that I tend to find EI staff wonderful for the most part. There are some younger staff that have a serious attitude problem, especially on TA service. They may have a nice long flight ahead but I am still paying top notch for the service.

Most of the male hosts I have encountered have been very professional indeed. I agree it seems to be a female thing and very rare at that.

I have had some brilliant air hosts on other airlines...Virgin on the whole is great, Alaskan was superb as was Jet Blue. Lufthansa is very efficient by not that personable. British was hit and miss. Aegean is kinda snooty. Air France was ok. Alitalia was horrible. Cops airlines was terrible.

The funniest incident was Air Mexicana... no information about safety we boarded and the airplane took off with no such thing as a safety briefing.

My last flight was last Monday and a return on Thursday morning with AA. Horrible grumpy staff on one leg and absolutely brilliant personable and attentive staff on the other.

It all depends on what the person feels and the crew have to put up with in my opinion. None of us are saints... but with EI a flight out of DUB TA should not have attitudes attached.

vectorvictor

As other posters have said I think it's pot luck. I used to really like the "mammyish" service on EI but like many things about the airline that is rare now but can still be found on the odd occasion. In general the crews now are young and indifferent.

I still choose EI where possible if the price is no more than 20% higher than FR. Sadly that means I find myself on FR alot. Their crews are broadly fine and get the job done , the only reason I pay more for EI is that I "trust" them more from an irops perspective.

Locker10a

vectorvictor wrote: »

As other posters have said I think it's pot luck. I used to really like the "mammyish" service on EI but like many things about the airline that is rare now but can still be found on the odd occasion. In general the crews now are young and indifferent.

I still choose EI where possible if the price is no more than 20% higher than FR. Sadly that means I find myself on FR alot. Their crews are broadly fine and get the job done , the only reason I pay more for EI is that I "trust" them more from an irops perspective.

I too am a fan of the Aer Lingus mammy crew, there’s a few of them still around now and again I encounter them and I would normally fly twice weekly with EI. It’s been a while but I always noticed them more out of the ORK and SNN bases, true professionals who just know how to react and speak appropriately to any situation. Happy to take those extra few moments during to service for a short chat with pax and never ever begrudging of requests for extra milk for your tea or napkins etc just a general mammy feel to looking after you. Maybe it’s a generational thing, maybe it’s because they joined EI when things were very different who knows

kevinandrew

I'll echo the comments about the "Mammy" aspect of some crew, particularly in the Cork and Shannon bases. One member of the Cork based cabin crew is quite distinctive, so much so that she's used in Aer Lingus advertising material and she's wonderful with passengers, she appears to command respect from fellow crew and passengers while maintaining an approachable and relaxed attitude that puts people at ease immediately.

Some of the male cabin crew, of all ages, are also very approachable and have that "we'll look after you" attitude. Not everyone is like this of course, some younger people who see Aer Lingus as just another job or just another airline won't have the same level of loyalty, will be swept up in the internal gossip more easily and are likely to be more interested in looking good on Instagram than actually doing a good job for their company. This sadly is a sign of the times but there are exceptions.