Sorry, I wasn't trying to be condescending or tow the party line (LNER aren't my party for one, though I am very familiar and experienced with their CX structure). From my perspective, there are a lot of heuristics at play which give paying passengers the impression they've been denied something they're entitled to simply because they've previously received a high level of service - even though nothing in their ticket conditions stipulates this is what they're paying for.
When you compare LNER with UK and European operators that don't offer this type of catering as part of their First Class product (TGV, ICE, etc.), LNER and its predecessors have created an impression of a premium service that isn't guaranteed on paper, but which resonates strongly enough with passengers to influence their ticketing decisions and expectations. Obviously, if that service is downgraded or isn't guaranteed, it can leave folk feeling cheated even if that was always the case, and the only thing that exposed it is receiving a downgraded level of service that still outranks other operators by comparison. Where it isn't actually a guaranteed entitlement, that creates a grey area where a reduction in service is psychologically perceived as a loss of value. LNER is its own worst enemy in that regard, but passengers can also inflate their expectations simply because a train offers metal cutlery and porcelain tea cups.
Consistently offering less can lead to greater satisfaction than occasionally offering more and then scaling it back. If passengers know exactly what they're buying - i.e. a First Class seat for the journey, but not a guaranteed catering service — expectations are more consistent. So it's no surprise that people moan when the catering offer changes or when a 50 minute journey doesn't yield the full product because of logistical constraints. But pointing that out isn't a cliché or defending LNER... it's just recognising the consumer dynamics at play and the reality of the situation from both sides.
Complaining about a complimentary service on the basis of what has become the expected, borderline entitled (or exasperatingly snobbish) standard isn't necessarily going to incentivise LNER to improve it - it could just demonstrate that the current offer isn't worth the cost, and therefore it would only encourage further scaling back. Then people will reminisce about today's offer in the same way they reminisce about steak dinners on HST restaurant coaches.
Knowing what the fare T&Cs actually guarantee at least makes feedback more meaningful and constructive, and gives LNER a clearer incentive to improve the offer rather than simply maintain an expectation it can no longer justify or sustain because it keeps leading to false expectations and false perceptions of lost value (even if its at its own fault in comms, but nevertheless would be to the detriment of fare paying passengers).
Metal cutlery and porcelain tea cups are powerful things. Heuristics for you, I guess.
