RS Comics

I spent two weeks or so updating my Facebook status in the vein of an American Civil War soldier writing home, an Edwardian aristocrat writing to family, or some odd mixture of modern English and old-timey-English. But, this, by far, was my most favorite between myself and my BFF, Christine:

—–

My dearest Christine,
I hope this letter finds you well, and I do hope that Ferguson arrived well. Please do take care of the boy as you would your own staff, until his return with your letter. Our Duchess Virginia has matured into a lovely 70, and has returned quite pleased from her ocean liner trip abroad. However, I write to you this evening to ask that you accompany Ferguson back for a Christmas tea party and luncheon, where we will also partake of wonderful adventures with Sir Whitey. Do bring along Lord Brandon.

Warmest Regards,
Lord Magistrate Almodovar

—–

My dear Lordship,

Your most obedient servant,
Christine A, the Marquess of Clotted Creamfordshire

No, this isn’t that time when he was a puppy and walked into the glass sliding door. This was a new experience with reflections on a door during his walkies. Ah, Whitey. Everything is as simple as a smell.

Follow Whitey:
Twitter: @YellowWhitey
Facebook: Whitey Rodriguez
LiveJournal: Yellow Whitey

Follow Lee on Twitter at @EccentricLee, if you dare.

This happened on one of the days of my cruise…while mom was in the bathroom getting ready to head to dinner.

Part I

As of this morning (it’s only been a few days, really) I haven’t heard from Virgin America aside from their lovely Twitter staff. I chose to handle my complaint through their e-mail system rather than on the limited platform of Twitter. I don’t expect them to do anything about my experience with their airline. Unlike JetBlue (which I love so damned much, but they have horrible timetables) who seems to care about their customers and return business, I don’t think Virgin gives a damn about their customers unless you’re made of money and have decided that Virgin doesn’t need it.

But I sent off my e-mail and waited for VA to respond. They are, undoubtedly, much faster in response than the SFPD–but this is a story for another blog entry also related to this trip. I really don’t expect to get a refund on my upgrade to Main Cabin Express. But I do hope something comes of the buggy open-source-based RED system. I don’t think I’ve ever had a positive experience with the system in the four times I’ve flown Virgin America. However, I paid for the extra perk of Main Cabin Express, so having a pushy passenger from row 16 demand seating in row 5 isn’t fair.

Update! I got an e-mail response from Virgin America this morning:

Dear Lee,

Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback. Whether bad or good, we always appreciate your comments, as we are constantly looking to improve the areas of our service that may be falling short.

I certainly understand your concern regarding the new Main Cabin Express pricing. Please be assured that your feedback will be shared with our Pricing Team. Because we are a new airline, we are continuously reviewing our guest’s feedback and will make changes when necessary. The Main Cabin Select service includes a pre-reserved seat within the first few rows of the main cabin and priority boarding. You did in fact receive these services, therefore we are unable to offer a refund of these non-refundable fees.

Please accept my sincere apology for any inconvenience caused by the inoperative in-flight entertainment consoles.

We regret that you had an unpleasant experience, as we realize the RED system is an important factor when guests choose to fly with Virgin America. Be assured we are actively working to remedy the faults in our current operating system and we’ve forwarded your e-mail to our RED team for internal follow-up.

While it’s true we were unable to provide RED on this trip, we do hope you found a great deal of value from us in other areas. We hope that our brand new airplanes and Virgin America teammates resulted in a travel experience superior to the other airlines we compete against, none of which offer any of the above.

I have issued $25 for both you and your travel companion for each flight ($100 total) due to the inoperative In-flight entertainment systems. This credit is valid for one year from the date it was issued.

Thanks again for sharing your feedback with us. We sincerely appreciate you as our guest and hope you will allow us the opportunity to welcome you on board soon.

Best Regards,
Paul
Virgin America Guest Relations

Touché, Virgin America. I thank you for the credit due to our RED Entertainment System being non-functional. But, I’m upset that I have to fly you again in order to use it. Well, if you need me, I’ll still be on Jetblue.

You can follow Lee on Twitter at @eccentriclee.