It's just after 1pm on a wintry Friday afternoon and the Virgin Atlantic lounge (officially the 'Virgin Clubhouse') at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 3 is in the grip of the lunch rush. Platters of gourmet burgers are delivered to tables, cocktails are prepared behind the long bar and the flow of passengers at the entrance never seems to stop.
In the midst of the fray - directing the flow of people like air traffic controllers directing planes from the tower outside - Holly Sherwood is in charge of everything (officially as "Clubhouse Experience Manager"). Behind her on the floor, Joycelyne Sabbagh is one of the "Clubhouse Crew," taking food orders and returning with loaded trays. Both women joined the Virgin Atlantic team in 2003 and between them have more than 30 years of experience in the day-to-day operations of an airport lounge. That means they have a wealth of stories to tell, about misbehaving passengers, missed flights and the "Mile Low Club".
What does your average day look like? Do you have an average day?
Holly Sherwood: Well, every day is different. One day I might taste new dishes for our spring/summer menu; on the other hand, I could choose new wines in London. Or I could be here and solve a maintenance problem, like a toilet clog. It can really vary.
Joycelyne Sabbagh: Every day is a challenge. When it's busy, I leave like a zombie. If I have a morning shift, I get up at 3am and take the bus at 4:30am. Then I have to go through security, go to the clubhouse and start setting up. By the time the doors open, I'll be ready.
HS: It's a very different atmosphere in the morning. You have customers who are in a hurry. They may be stuck in traffic, but they don't have long. Often they just want a coffee and go.
What are the biggest challenges you face?
HS: Proper maintenance of the lounge. It's a battle. We work hard, but some things are beyond our control. I walked in earlier and discovered the electricity was out. There have been days when I had to run to buy sandwiches for customers because the kitchen power went out. These things don't happen often, but when they do, your heart sinks.
The story continues
How often do you hear that people are trying to sneak in?
HS: Oh, all the time. Just last week we had a man who ran in and locked himself in the toilet. We had to wait and wait. Finally he came out. We asked for his boarding pass. Surprise surprise: he was not entitled to lounge access. Then he said he was looking for his mother. We checked his booking; he was traveling alone. Then he said his mother had a separate booking. We asked her name... Finally he said he was leaving.
People do everything they can to get in. They have elaborate stories about why they should be in the lounge. And sometimes it's hard to say no. But we must protect the agency.
What's the worst attempt to prevent access you've heard?
HS: We often get: "My flight was delayed the last time I flew with you, so you have to give me lounge access." Or, "I didn't get my first meal choice on my last flight, so I should get lounge access for that." Sometimes people have emails; they wrote to someone. But if you read the email, they were not given access to the lounge. Or they look up someone who works for Virgin and mention their name. They say, "so and so told me I could use the lounge." And I am constantly contacted via social media. If you become a Clubhouse Manager, you automatically become very popular.
Do you ever have to lock people out for bad behavior?
HS: I try not to get into a situation where I have to throw people out, but I have had to have conversations when people have had too much alcohol. We want people to come in and enjoy themselves, but there's a fine line and we can't send people on a plane if they've had too much to drink. We often need to have discreet conversations and we try to do this in the nicest way possible so that customers don't feel embarrassed. We offer water, we offer coffee. But sometimes they don't pick up on the hints. And then we need to have a more open debate. And some customers are fine; they get it and they understand it. Some may get a little upset. That can be difficult. We want people to have a good time, but we have to think about our colleagues in the air, and other customers. We must take that into account.
Do you have a special protocol for celebrities?
HS: We do this in the sense that we try to be discreet and respect their privacy. The last thing a celebrity wants is to come to the lounge and be bombarded by people asking for selfies. Our team is told: photos can only be taken if the celebrity requests them you>, and wants a photo - maybe for social media. That does> to happen. It's more difficult with clients because we can't tell them not to approach a celebrity. If the celebrity wants, we can place them in a more private area. Some do; some prefer to sit with all the other customers.
Who is the most famous person you've served a drink to?
HS: We cannot mention names.
JS: [Shakes head]
Not even an idea?
Both: [Heads shaken firmly]
Have you ever been quite impressed?
HS: Yes, a few times. You think, Wow, I can't believe X is in the clubhouse.
JS: [Smiles; nods] You see them and you can't believe you're talking to them.
HS: Especially if they are really down-to-earth. When they come in, and it's a really big name, you get a little nervous - but they turn out to be beautiful.
Have you ever used the phrase "Do you know who I am?"
JS: I've had that.
Did Do you know who they were?
JS: Yes I did that. I knew who he was. He complained about the bread from the deli. He thought it was dry.
HS: I've heard that phrase a lot. Especially from celebrities who come to the lounge, but do not have access. They try to use the lounge based on who they are. And that line is thrown at us. Some of them - when I said, "Yes, I know who you are, but you're not flying Upper Class, so you don't have lounge access" - got a little angry with me.
Will you ever get it? Real Bad customer behavior? Is there anything that shocks you?
JS: Swearing. I really don't like swearing.
HS: Once a bachelor group came in, all wearing T-shirts with something very explicit on the front. I had to ask them to take off the T-shirts. They got upset. They said, "We paid as much as everyone else in this lounge; we can wear whatever we want." I had to explain that what they were wearing was not appropriate. There were children in the lounge. I asked them, "Would you like to your> kids to see what's on your T-shirts?" Then they took off the T-shirts. The deer was dressed as Donald Trump, as I remember it.
JS: You see it all. Some people come in here and their clothes are not appropriate. So revealing. It is too much. But I'm here to do my job, serve them and look the other way.
Some people try to join the "Mile High Club" in the sky. Do you ever have customers who try to join the - let's call it the "Mile Low Club" - before they leave the lounge?
HS: We've never had to throw anyone out for it except us to have things found in the toilets where [pulls a face] you realize that certain things have happened. You can never accuse anyone except you know. But yes, sometimes people have had a lot of fun here [laughs].
JS: Two weeks ago someone was having fun in the shower room...
HS: [Laughs again] Oh yes, that's right. Yes, it happens.
Are things stolen? What are the most pinched items?
HS: Lamps. The shower gel and shampoo, even though they are screwed onto brackets. People pull them off the wall. Pillows. The Virgin design book is very popular. The table numbers - we had to stop putting them on the tables. Salt and pepper pots. Sometimes people have tried to take bottles of champagne. The things that are stolen most are the QR codes of the plexiglass box with which you can order champagne. People posted the QR codes on social media and we subsequently had orders for 50 glasses of sparkling water. People can scan the codes with their phone, even if they are not in the lounge. But the codes are very Instagrammable, because they say 'scan for champagne'. People often take pictures of them and post them online. It's great advertising for Virgin, but it could cause problems.
JS: You go to a table with a tray of drinks and discover that no one is there...
Do customers ever feel so comfortable that they miss their flight?
HS: When we reopened post-Covid, we stopped making boarding announcements to try to create a calmer environment. But customers complained because they became too relaxed, forgot to board and arrived late for their flights. We have experienced a few times where customers missed their plane completely. Last week we had an incident where a young lady came to the counter thinking her flight had departed. It turned out she had missed it by an hour. She went to Miami. The next direct flight was the next day, so we had to divert it via New York. We have started making announcements again.
