On February 28th and March 2nd we told you about a passenger who traveled on an international flight from Los Angeles to London who had the unfortunate luck to encounter an in-flight bed bug infestation.  Disgusted with her experience and dissatisfied with the level of service she claims she was given by the airline, the passenger developed a website to inform others of her unpleasant bed bug experience.

To follow up with the passengers story…

Once the passenger launched her website, she notified British Airways in writing about her unfortunate ordeal.  After some media hype, she eventually did receive a written response from British Airways.  According to the passenger’s website, the apology that was sent contains a disclaimer that disallows reprinting.  Upon viewing the passenger’s website, it does not appear that she is overly thrilled with the content of the letter that was sent.

In fairness to British Airways, and other airlines that have had a bed bug infestation problem…the little beasts are elusive, they can arrive at any moment in time, and are very difficult to eradicate once established.  Airlines cannot douse customers with boiling water, alcohol, or pesticides as a pre-boarding ritual to prevent bed bug infestations from occurring.  Although effective, it would be impractical to have teams of bed bug sniffing dogs on site sniffing passengers, carry-on luggage, and suitcases before passengers board a plane.

Due to the massive worldwide bed bug population explosion, and their propensity to hitchhike on any type of belonging, or even people directly, bed bug encounters can be found at any place that humans can be found.  Bed bug infestations can be found in the swankiest of hotels to the streets of skid row, and all points in between.  Many businesses have fallen victim to these creepy bloodsuckers, often through no fault of their own.  A company’s response to the situation is paramount to keeping customers happy.

To protect your reputation and provide good customer service, it’s important for all businesses to have a licensed pest control expert inspect for bed bugs on a regular basis and provide immediate bed bug eradication services at the first sign of an infestation.  Everyone should expect to fly on an airplane, visit the opera, sleep in a hotel, visit a retail store, go to the movie theater, or sit in a taxi, and do so without being bitten by bloodsucking insects!