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Virgin Food Complaint Letter


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I had a laugh. I've only flown on Virgin once and the food was much better than described. The letter sound like an Air Canada or Air Transat meal :wink:

"who needs a wine list when you can get pissed on dessert" Gordon Ramsey Kitchen Nightmares 2005

MY BLOG

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He's since been invited to help select food for Virgin.

The London-based passenger has since received a call from Sir Richard inviting him to come to the airline’s catering house next month, to help select the food on future Virgin flights. The passenger has not yet confirmed whether he would take up the opportunity.

“While we investigated his complaint seriously, and following Richard Branson’s phone call we’ve invited him to our catering house to select the next range of meals and wines we serve on board,” said a spokesman for Virgin Atlantic. “Then we can ensure his personal taste is well and truly catered for.”

I'm gonna go bake something…

wanna come with?

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It did look like a horrible meal, though.  Much like the stuff I ate on Emirates.

Yes, but all the above is predicated on the notion that this meal was actually served, that this customer actually exists, and that Branson actually invited him to help improve the food.

And that the whole exercise was in no way dreamt up by Virgin as way of drumming up some publicity.

But I'm sure the latter couldn't possibly be true.

irony doesn't mean "kinda like iron".

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You'd think a "high-flying advertising executive" would be able to spell "desert" (sic) correctly. 

Not to mention knowing the difference between "it's" and "its."

Ah well.

I guess the quality of the schools in the UK is as poor as in the US.

Small comfort.

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

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The letter was written by a particularly talented creative called Oli Beale at ad agency WCRS.

The company doesn't represent Virgin - their client list is a matter of public record... which pretty much stands to reason when you consider that nobody would be stupid enough to try to publicise an airline by saying that their food was rubbish.

...and no... before you say it, all publicity isn't good publicity - as any marketing pro will tell you.

The agency doesn't represent any of Virgin's competitors either.

What's really fascinating about this story is how fast a really funny bit of writing has created an online urban legend. The story started spreading early last week. The Telegraph picked it up long after Coldmud. Virgin PR may or may not have responded by inviting the writer to their kitchens but the Torygraph certainly reported it as fact in a follow up story.

The idea of an ad agency copywriter being a suitable person to select food for Virgin customers on the basis of a well chosen phrase or two is patently absurd. Virgin know that, the Telegraph would know if they stopped to think for half a second and so should anyone reading the story.

Personally I think it's one of the freshest bits of food writing I've seen come out of the UK in years. Virgin must, justifiably be seething, those of us interested in the way online amplifies consumer power should be delighted and WCRS should be thinking about how much extra they should be paying this guy to stop him leaving and taking Giles Coren's job.

...and for those of us who appreciate good writing... lets all go back and read it again.

Edited by Tim Hayward (log)

Tim Hayward

"Anyone who wants to write about food would do well to stay away from

similes and metaphors, because if you're not careful, expressions like

'light as a feather' make their way into your sentences and then where are you?"

Nora Ephron

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Reminds me of the time I was given a roll in a blue box on air merpati in indonesia. Yes just one roll in a blue box reflecting the companies livery, slightly sweet and a touch stale, but the killer angle - the roll was dyed blue too mmmmm

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