Wednesday 30 July 2008

Customer Care


.............. And you know what?

When I was at Doha Airport I told the staff about my disappointment ( I want to be polite ) with their service and that I did want to complain and was given an email that did not work.

I look at the Airline website and as you can see there is no place to where you can complain ( they really do not like to hear what passengers think about them ). Nevertheless there is a place for contacts and I send one email asking for the Customer Care service email address. Till now no answer. Why bother it is only a passenger, the one that pays with the airfares their salaries but they believe that who pays their salaries is the CEO no us the people who uses their service.

After some research I was able to got the correct email address to tell ( tell-us@qatarairways. com.qa ) them how "lovely" their service is.

Did send my review of what happen and..... to the moment ZERO answer like their service rating.

Not even one answer saying. " We did receive your contact. It will be analysed by our staff and we will be back to you shortly" like most Customer Care Centres automatically answer your emails.

I later found in my internet research that it is the normal procedure of Qatar not to reply. So many comments posted on this subject.

They should be to busy, for sure dealing with things that are not focused on Customers.

By the way to they have this word in their Personnel Manual?

I guess not

Monday 28 July 2008

Qatar Airways - Your Zero Stars Service



Qatar Airways – Your 5 Stars Airline a Misleading Slogan


ETKT: 157 2304613934-35
FQTV: QR 402426255

You only know how many stars a services has when things go wrong and you experience its answer to the incident. That is the real test!

The facts:

I bought the Business Class ticket above and in its last legs Heathrow – Doha – Bangkok things did not went well.

I arrive in LHR Terminal 3 around 6.30 pm to check both for my seat and luggage.

I was given both boarding passes for flight QR 008 and QR 610, the first from LHR to Doha and the second from Doha to Bangkok. The first plane was expected to arrive in Doha at 7.25 am and the second to leave the same airport at 8.00 am which is 35 minutes difference.

No one told me about the possible difficulties on the transfer and I had made it one time before so I was confident of making it. Nevertheless there is another plane leaving LHR one hour earlier (this was 3 hours after I presented myself at check in counter) QR 002, and if the company had any suspicious about the transfer time difficulties they could have put me on that plane.

No, they sold me that ticket, checked me through and did not inform about any problem.

We left LHR around 30 minutes later but the pilot made time on the flight and touched down in Doha exactly at 7.29 am on July 26, which is 4 minutes delay.

When I was coming down the stairs of the plane, and I was the first one to do that, there were staff asking about where we were and I noticed that my next flight was departing at 8.00.

The answer was “no problem” while some other persons were taken away in limousines.

Stay around 10 minutes on the bus in the runway till I arrive at the Premier Terminal where I was told that I was rerouted to another plane that would take off at 20.45 meaning that I would only arrive at my destination the next day with all the distress and cost that this mismanagement caused me.

I was told that they got a text message from LHR saying that I would miss the connection and that they had told me that.

Totally false, totally untrue.

So I was put into a hotel in Doha where I arrive only at 9.50, this is almost 2.30 hours after I land in the airport because of all the paper work they had to do for it.

I did ask the staff what I have done wrong. Why did they not take me from the plane to the other one? Why in LHR they did not put me in QR 002. Why they did not try to find an alternative (they did it in front of me at my request only).

The answer was “We are sorry Sir”.

Those are the facts of a total mess made by Qatar Staff. Anyone can understand this to happen if the plane is 20, 30 or more minutes later but this one was 4 minutes!!!! For sure Qatar Airways can check that on the flight registration.

Who is responsible for all the damages that I and my relatives suffered, from phone calls that I hade to make and receive in Doha on my mobile to alert people that I was not arriving in Bangkok on time, to the time that I lost and that prevent me to be in time at my destination, to the less rest I will have when I will start working on Monday, to the stress that I suffered with the unexpected. Who?

To say sorry is not enough. Who should say sorry is me to the uncountable people that I told about the good service of Qatar Airways.

There is one thing I am 100% sure. I did nothing wrong. Only follow what was said and request by Qatar Airways. But the only one to suffer from all the stress and discomfort was me, not Qatar and its staff.

I will publish this comment on the internet so everyone has the possibility to make their judgment about the 5 Star Company that become the Zero Stars Service Provider.

And my trip to Bangkok tonight will be the last one with Qatar.

And what a trip it was!!!!!!!

We were supposed to leave Doha at 20.45 but at 20.44 32 passengers were boarding the plane and at 20.52 another bus full of passengers arrive. Does it means that Qatar Airways can wait for passengers, or am I wrong?

Around 21.00 we taxi out and take off to Bangkok but to the surprise of everyone we were complimented with a dramatic and panicked landing in Karachi in the middle of the night. And that happens because a drunken passenger was threatening people in the plane.

Very well! Passengers safety first. We all applaud. But how can a drunken passenger be in the plane?

Was he drunk already at time of boarding and they let him in? Was he served too much alcohol during the flight?

I have never seen anyone to get drunk to a point of becoming wild in a whisker so crew or ground staff should know how to deal with these incidents on a preventive manner not after they occur specially on board. The landing was panicked because the crew was unsuccessful in seating the passengers that were running and screaming all over the plane.

Believe me it is not a nice environment to land in a uncertain situation while people is running and screaming inside the plane.

After 3 hours at the Karachi Airport we took off to Bangkok where I arrive much later than expected.

If any one fancy a 31 hours journey from London Heathrow to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi please consider take Qatar Airways. They will deliver the service in the Zero Stars Airline.
If not better stay well far away from their counters.