A320
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Communication Breakdown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Ground Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Flight Crew Returned To Gate; General Flight Cancelled / Delayed; General Maintenance Action
Equipment / Tooling; Human Factors
Attempted to de ice as per station procedure for light frost appproximately 10 ft. from the gate. De ice personnel used absolutely no standard phraseology. Sprayed left wing and left for approximately 30 minutes to return for right wing. We were informed by the crew chief that it was for the truck to heat to the required temperature. I asked the crew chief to inspect the left wing. He reported that it was now all ice. The First Officer and I both inspected the wing and it was indeed a significant layer of clear ice. We informed the station manager that the wing and also the right wing would need to be de iced at proper temperature of the fluid. The Crew chief and ramp personnel were extremely diligent. They personally inspected the temperature of the truck ( it was 40 degrees) below the minimum temperature). The crew chief also brought the de ice manual for the truck to the flight deck. We informed the station manger that we could not depart until the truck was verified at the proper temperature ( by the ground crew) and that we would then de ice again and that the FO (First Officer) and I would both visually inspect before leaving the gate area. This entire evolution took 120 minutes. The station managers; gate personnel and especially the ground crew were beyond outstanding. The gist of the episode is that the de icer made the situation much worse by spraying improper temperature fluid and created ice and then informed us that the wing was clear. Had the flight crew and ramp crew not been diligent and inspected it could have been a problem. The de ice crew was improperly trained; completely unaware of procedure and dangerous. The contract de ice company at ZZZ needs to be trained properly in procedure; phraseology and  common sense or the contract needs to be awarded to a competent company.
A-320 Captain reported the de-icing crew improperly de-iced the aircraft resulting in a dangerous situation and a significant delay.