Eat

I stopped here to pick up food at the London Heathrow Int'l airport. The manager was hilarious - not to me as a customer, but to me as an observer of life. He was a very self important young man, and he was so into taking inventory and giving stern correction to his staff (in front of customers), that he didn't seem to mind or notice that he was literally pushing his way through all of us while we stood in line, yelling to his staff right next to our ears, and just being completely rude. It was honestly quite amusing, but as a service rating, Eat gets a 1.

British Airways

Fly the snotty skies...

The British Airways land staff in the US was actually extremely nice, helpful and friendly. They were all from the Boston area, I surmised from their accents. The US staff gets a 4. I upgraded my ticket for a tiny bit of extra room, and it cost $250. It was worth it for the 6 hr trek to London.

When in London, I tried to upgrade the next leg of my trip, and the obtuse, condescending BA ticket agent (from the UK) told me that they don't give out "discounted specials" like they do in the US, as if the US was letting some very low class citizens into their high class slightly larger seating area. They wanted me to pay $2500 for the upgrade. Uh huh. No. The employee was so snotty - I can't think of any other way to describe him. The BA land crew gets a 1.

The flight attendants on all 4 legs of the flight were fine - they kept calling me sir, which was ridiculous because I didn't have a hat on. In the US, I get called sir a couple of times a year, and it's always when I have a hat on, and it's at a glance - as soon as I speak or the person looks me in the face, they realize I'm not a sir.

Apparently, these flight attendants have NEVER seen a woman dressed in a man's clothing in their entire careers, which I find hard to believe, since many of them seem to be flirting with the bounds of their own gender's realm.

I wrote to BA headquarters letting them know about the poor service I received in London, and I suggested they conduct sensitivity training with their staff. When in doubt, don't say sir or ma'am. I certainly don't care, but it honestly just got annoying after the 10th time. The people next to me, who were aware that I was not a man, all seemed horrified every time it happened, and that was just plain uncomfortable.

The response from BA was canned, and not at all satisfactory. No wonder they are having to ask their employees to work for free. (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/transport/article6510479.ece)

Overall service rating by BA, driven down by their poor response to my detailed feedback: 1.5

TSA Boston

The TSA staff in Boston was completely nice to me. I was tired and trying to rush through and I forgot I had my blackberry in my pocket, so the first time I went through I set off the alarm. I quickly checked my pockets and realized my phone was in it.

I went through again and the alarm went off again. I was searching my pockets, and I couldn't figure out what it was for the longest time. Then the TSA agent pointed out that I had metal buttons on my shirt.

Duh! I can't believe I wore a shirt with METAL buttons to the airport. I'm sure many of you can't believe I was wearing a shirt with metal buttons period!

The agent was very nice about the whole thing, and she was patient with me every step of the way. Normally, I'd be inclined to give them a 4, but that's only because my expectations are so very low based upon all I've heard. I'm giving her a 3.5, because that's more objective.

Madame Tussaud's - NYC

Wonderful museam - great, friendly, helpful staff.

Overall service rating - 3.5

Trattoria Dopo Teatro

FANTASTIC Italian food, right across the street from our hotel. The waiter doubled as a knowledgeable sommelier, and we were very pleased with our dining experience.

Overall service rating: 4

Cabbies - NYC

We took 2 cab rides. The first cabbie was okay, not great, and the second one wasn't very friendly at all.

Overall NYC cabbie service rating: 2

Hotel Mela - NYC

We stayed at Hotel Mela, just half a block from Times Square. It was reasonably priced, for a hotel in New York, and I saved $100 by booking through Hotels.com. Originally, when I had to switch the date of my stay, the person at Hotel Mela said it was fine, but Hotels.com would just need to call them to complete the transaction.

When we tried to call through Hotels.com, the person they spoke to said we'd have to forfeit our full deposit (about $300), and we couldn't rebook. Then I called a third time and spoke with a third person, and he said he could switch it for me with no extra cost, and I didn't have to do it through Hotels.com.

I'm really grateful for his help. It would have been nice to resolve this the first time I called, but I was glad it was resolved.

We tried to check in early, but the room wasn't ready. They were very helpful storing our luggage for us before the room was ready, and checking me in quickly as I was in a rush to make it to a meeting.

When we got into the room, we realized there was food in the mini fridge from the last guest. Darcy said it looked rotten. I didn't look. I called the front desk, and they were apologetic, and sent someone up immediately to clean the fridge.

I like to try new places when I travel, so while I may not go out of my way to stay at Hotel Mela again, I would recommend it. The room size was big for downtown NYC, and the decor was nice.

Overall service rating: 3.5