Poor Customer Service P&O!

Following on from my previous post about P&O's customer service I actually had a 4th person call me and I will refer to her as Clare (not her real name) who introduced herself as a disability adviser.  From the off she spoke to me with contempt, launching into the fact that The Cookery Club does have a lowered workstation and not giving me the chance to explain that all I had to go on was a couple of CGI's and incorrect information given to me by P&O which I believed to be correct at the time.  This information was given over the phone and in person.

When Clare had stopped to draw breath I asked her why it had took two months and 4 people, who were two customer services executives, one director and one disability adviser before I was informed that there was a lower counter in The Cookery Club.  I also told her that my letters were about accommodation floors, lack of or incorrect information, gangways and disembarkation.

I had said that customer service was poor at the best of times and very frustrating if you have a disability question as you are often put on hold for a period of time and when the person does eventually come back they often don't have an answer.  When I first cruised with P&O in 2008 there was a dedicated team that you could speak to.  This was when Clare told me that when P&O restructured they decided that they did not want a disability team that the passengers could speak to, but she could not expand on their reasoning behind this ridiculous decision. Although she is supposed to be a disability adviser she does not deal with a lot of queries but the admin side of things.
 
Our conversation eventually got back to Britannia and The Cookery Club and she offered to send me some photographs she had taken to show this workstation and I immediately said that I would like to see them and she also said she would email them to me along with her contact details so that I could contact if I had anymore questions and we left it there. 

You could guess what happened next, nothing! So once again I found myself chasing her up by having to email one of my other contacts.  Clare eventually emailed me back in what I consider a rude manner saying that because I am not sailing on Britannia again she assumed I didn't need to see these photographs.  She just doesn't understand what disability awareness is.  I did reply but by this time I was starting to loose the will to live and with the reply I sent I didn't expect to hear from her again.

It was on 31st July and Clare called me I didn't really want to talk to Clare as we would only go over old ground and speaking to her wasn't going to achieve anything but the polite person I am I agreed to speak with her.  The conversation was just a carbon copy of our previous conversation.  I know I probably won't get anything improved but I think I am entitled to a letter of apology.

Two Months, 4 people and I am still getting fobbed off by P&O

CGI of The Cookery Club

Over two months ago I wrote to P&O's Customer Service with several comments and issues that I experienced whilst on board Britannia.  One of items I mentioned was The Cookery Club which I believed was not accessible according to this image which was released by P&O.  My agent had been invited to spend two nights on board prior to the maiden voyage and whilst on board made a point to find out if the club was accessible and on her return she reported that all the workstations were the same height.  Based on the images available and information at hand I decided not to book a class.  Other items that I mentioned included accommodation floors, gangways, lack of and incorrect information.

Once P&O's Customer Service has received a letter or email a case is raised and is given to a Customer Service Executive.  They have 28 days to reply to your communication and in my case the first person contacted me on day 27.  The person who I spoke to was very polite and during our call offered a lot which I had asked to be confirmed in writing.  An email did arrive all be it after several days but did not confirm everything we discussed but did include things that we didn't discuss.  So I sent an email back asking for certain things to be confirm; and I waited and waited!  A week passed and I heard nothing from this chap and found it hard to know where to go to next and decided to follow my own advice, which is to go to the top of the tree.

After a bit of a search I was given the email of Christopher Edgington, Director P&O Cruises.  I sent a rather lengthy letter to him explaining my issues and concerns and that I felt as if I was being fobbed off.  He took the time and read my letter and emailed me to say that he had asked his team to look at my letter urgently.  Great, Fantastic News!

Enter person no.3 who called me and we discussed the issues that I had raised and once again I was promised a email confirmation of our conversation and again I was let down.  I was slowly losing patience and I had to contact Christopher Edgington again, I say I was frustrated would be an understatement.  I was once again told that he would get his team to look at my letter urgently.  I was contacted again by person no.3 that day to see how I would like to proceed and replied to his email and ending it by saying I deserve a letter of apology at the very least.

Britannia's Cookery Club

I have often found myself to be the person that seems to ask the awkward questions that no one else wants to ask.  One of the reasons for booking this cruise was The Cookery Club.  Cooking is my blood my Dad was a chef in the navy and I had been cooking with him since the age around 4.  
The Cookery Club is

P&O's Cookery Club

led by TV chef James Martin with classes taught by the Cookery Club team who have been hand selected and trained by James himself.   Classes start from £45pp to £100pp
There are 19 classes being held while we are on the cruise and taught by the team.  The classes include perfect pasta, James Martins desserts, Portuguese street food, Atul Kochhar's sindhu favourites, Spanish tapas and modern gastropub.  There will also be family classes on offer.
On special cruises there will be classes led by James Martin, Atul Kochhar, master patissier Eric Lanlard and Marco Pierre White and many other well known chefs.  
I know I shouldn't but the first thing that often comes to mind is "is it available to disabled  people?"  So often activities are not available to us with a disabilities and often their excuse is health and safety.  It is starting to get boring and it can make you feel like a second rate citizen.
I have gone back to P&O's website to look at the information for the Cookery Club although it says everyone is welcome I have not found anything to say that there is adapted stations or that people with disabilities are welcome.  I have also looked at the few photographs that are around and there dosen't appear to be any adapted stations in the Cookery Club.
This totally saddens and angers me as I am a bit of a foodie and am a pretty damn good cook/baker if I say so myself and would have loved the chance to have a class with a

My kitchen

professional chef, but I fear that won't happen.  
I have an adapted kitchen with a rise and fall unit which is L-shape and houses a sink and hob.  It allows me to cook and be independent but also means that other members of my family can use it.  They are either electric or manual and cost £3,000-£6,ooo this is pocket money to a cruise line like P&O who have just spent £473 million on building Britannia.  My cruise agent has the opportunity to stay on Britannia for a couple of nights and I have asked her to find out if the Cookery Club has facilities for disabled cruisers or not.  If they do then I will amend my post.  I will update when I hear back from my agent.