Jobu
Member
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2005
- Posts
- 496
What follows below is a copy of the letter of complaint I sent to Singapore Airlines.
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Singapore Airlines
27 September 2007
To Whom It May Concern:
Letter of Complaint
On Sunday, 8 April 2007, my wife and I were scheduled to leave Ho Chi Minh on a 19:55 flight with Singapore Airlines. We arrived at the international airport in Ho Chi Minh City and lined up at the Singapore Airlines check in counter just behind a family that was checking in at 19:05, 50 minutes before the flight. A number of people were still checking in at the counters.
My wife proceeded to a counter adjacent to the one where a group were still checking in, and asked to be checked in. The female staff member completely ignored my wife, who, after about a minute of being ignored, then proceeded to ask the next counter whether we could check in. That particular female staff member pointed at a male Singapore Airlines employee and said “Check-in is closed. Speak to him”. My wife attempted to speak to the supervisor the lady had pointed to. The supervisor ignored my wife for several minutes, after which he informed her that it was too late to check in. My wife pointed out that there were other passengers still checking in, to which he did not respond. I observed the supervisor (Hoang) ignore my wife and walk away from the counters to prepare for take-off. I then questioned one of the Singapore Airlines check-in staff who again told me that it was too late to check in. That particular female counter-staff was contemptuous, and offered no explanation, despite us having pointed out that we had arrived whilst others were still checking in. Despite our obvious distress, she smiled, shrugged her shoulders, picked up her belongings, told us to wait until the supervisor returned from the boarding gates, then left. I was incredibly incensed by this behaviour, considering the fact that it appears to be Singapore Airlines policy to ignore customers at check in completely and shrug off questions in hopes that they won’t have to talk to us.
Another passenger also bound for Perth had arrived 10 minutes after us and was also denied check-in. He queried one remaining female counter staff what time check-in had closed. She responded, “40 minutes before the flight leaves. That couple [my wife and myself], got here 10 minutes before you”. My wife then pointed out that we had arrived 50 minutes prior to scheduled departure, yet were not checked in. The staff member said it was best we waited for the supervisor to return, which would be after the flight had departed, or go direct to the Singapore Airlines Office.
We waited for an hour for the supervisor to return (after noting that the flight ended up departing 20 minutes late in any case). We decided to try the Singapore Airlines HCMC Airport office. After talking to another staff member, Phuong, at your Ho Chi Minh Airport office, who was at least quite helpful, the best that she could offer was to place us on priority stand-by the following day but said that we may have to wait two more days for the connecting flight (again, waitlisted). We chose to leave the next morning, with the possibility of being confirmed on the Singapore-Perth leg by departure.
During our time at the office, the supervisor returned from the departure gates. We put our case forward, to which he replied that we were at fault, having arrived at 7:20pm, after check-in had closed. I informed him that I had arrived at 7:05pm and showed him my mobile phone which indicated that I had made a telephone call to family waiting outside at 7:10pm whilst we were in the queue and my wife was trying to check in. He replied “the clock on your phone is wrong then”. I pointed out that my phone clock matched the Singapore Airlines clock. The other passenger that had come to the office with us verified to the supervisor that the check-in staff had informed him that we had arrived 10 minutes before him, before check-in had closed, and were still not allowed on the flight.
This passenger verified our story, and threatened to report the supervisor to Singapore Airlines for contemptuous behaviour, which prompted the supervisor to change his tune. We observed him become very helpful at that stage, offering to fax the Priority Stand-By request direct to Singapore, and insisting that Phuong do all in her power to confirm us on the flights the following day.
The following morning, we confirmed our own flights by calling Singapore Airlines in Singapore directly, at our own expense, after the supervisor on duty that morning refused to confirm our flight and stated we would have to wait until we arrived in Singapore to attempt to do so.
My wife and I are frequent travellers, both internationally and domestically. I have Platinum Qantas Frequent Flyer membership and Emerald OneWorld membership – the highest level obtainable, due to my frequent travelling. We have never missed a flight, and have never encountered such rude and insolent behaviour. Notwithstanding cultural differences, it is a shame that this experience with Singapore Airlines staff has reflected so badly on your airline.
On this occasion I travelled to Vietnam on a $1,400 fare when I could have travelled on Royal Brunei on a $600 fare or Cathay Pacific on an $850 fare. I specifically chose Singapore Airlines regardless of the significant price difference because I expected to receive better treatment. Last year, I bought 10 tickets to Europe with Singapore Airlines to fly my entire family to Greece. Again, your airfares were not the cheapest, nor was the schedule the most convenient. In hindsight, we regret our decision to support your airline.
My wife and I are disgusted by the treatment of your staff in Vietnam. The blatant lies and accusations we received from your supervisor (Hoang) about arriving late and being at fault were completely inappropriate, and were proven as lies by several witnesses, including other travellers and airport security. We will never travel with your airline again, nor will I ever recommend it. In fact I have recommended and will continue to recommend against using Singapore Airlines since this experience. I hope that if you wish to retain valued customers, that you address the problem of poor customer service.
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Singapore Airlines
27 September 2007
To Whom It May Concern:
Letter of Complaint
On Sunday, 8 April 2007, my wife and I were scheduled to leave Ho Chi Minh on a 19:55 flight with Singapore Airlines. We arrived at the international airport in Ho Chi Minh City and lined up at the Singapore Airlines check in counter just behind a family that was checking in at 19:05, 50 minutes before the flight. A number of people were still checking in at the counters.
My wife proceeded to a counter adjacent to the one where a group were still checking in, and asked to be checked in. The female staff member completely ignored my wife, who, after about a minute of being ignored, then proceeded to ask the next counter whether we could check in. That particular female staff member pointed at a male Singapore Airlines employee and said “Check-in is closed. Speak to him”. My wife attempted to speak to the supervisor the lady had pointed to. The supervisor ignored my wife for several minutes, after which he informed her that it was too late to check in. My wife pointed out that there were other passengers still checking in, to which he did not respond. I observed the supervisor (Hoang) ignore my wife and walk away from the counters to prepare for take-off. I then questioned one of the Singapore Airlines check-in staff who again told me that it was too late to check in. That particular female counter-staff was contemptuous, and offered no explanation, despite us having pointed out that we had arrived whilst others were still checking in. Despite our obvious distress, she smiled, shrugged her shoulders, picked up her belongings, told us to wait until the supervisor returned from the boarding gates, then left. I was incredibly incensed by this behaviour, considering the fact that it appears to be Singapore Airlines policy to ignore customers at check in completely and shrug off questions in hopes that they won’t have to talk to us.
Another passenger also bound for Perth had arrived 10 minutes after us and was also denied check-in. He queried one remaining female counter staff what time check-in had closed. She responded, “40 minutes before the flight leaves. That couple [my wife and myself], got here 10 minutes before you”. My wife then pointed out that we had arrived 50 minutes prior to scheduled departure, yet were not checked in. The staff member said it was best we waited for the supervisor to return, which would be after the flight had departed, or go direct to the Singapore Airlines Office.
We waited for an hour for the supervisor to return (after noting that the flight ended up departing 20 minutes late in any case). We decided to try the Singapore Airlines HCMC Airport office. After talking to another staff member, Phuong, at your Ho Chi Minh Airport office, who was at least quite helpful, the best that she could offer was to place us on priority stand-by the following day but said that we may have to wait two more days for the connecting flight (again, waitlisted). We chose to leave the next morning, with the possibility of being confirmed on the Singapore-Perth leg by departure.
During our time at the office, the supervisor returned from the departure gates. We put our case forward, to which he replied that we were at fault, having arrived at 7:20pm, after check-in had closed. I informed him that I had arrived at 7:05pm and showed him my mobile phone which indicated that I had made a telephone call to family waiting outside at 7:10pm whilst we were in the queue and my wife was trying to check in. He replied “the clock on your phone is wrong then”. I pointed out that my phone clock matched the Singapore Airlines clock. The other passenger that had come to the office with us verified to the supervisor that the check-in staff had informed him that we had arrived 10 minutes before him, before check-in had closed, and were still not allowed on the flight.
This passenger verified our story, and threatened to report the supervisor to Singapore Airlines for contemptuous behaviour, which prompted the supervisor to change his tune. We observed him become very helpful at that stage, offering to fax the Priority Stand-By request direct to Singapore, and insisting that Phuong do all in her power to confirm us on the flights the following day.
The following morning, we confirmed our own flights by calling Singapore Airlines in Singapore directly, at our own expense, after the supervisor on duty that morning refused to confirm our flight and stated we would have to wait until we arrived in Singapore to attempt to do so.
My wife and I are frequent travellers, both internationally and domestically. I have Platinum Qantas Frequent Flyer membership and Emerald OneWorld membership – the highest level obtainable, due to my frequent travelling. We have never missed a flight, and have never encountered such rude and insolent behaviour. Notwithstanding cultural differences, it is a shame that this experience with Singapore Airlines staff has reflected so badly on your airline.
On this occasion I travelled to Vietnam on a $1,400 fare when I could have travelled on Royal Brunei on a $600 fare or Cathay Pacific on an $850 fare. I specifically chose Singapore Airlines regardless of the significant price difference because I expected to receive better treatment. Last year, I bought 10 tickets to Europe with Singapore Airlines to fly my entire family to Greece. Again, your airfares were not the cheapest, nor was the schedule the most convenient. In hindsight, we regret our decision to support your airline.
My wife and I are disgusted by the treatment of your staff in Vietnam. The blatant lies and accusations we received from your supervisor (Hoang) about arriving late and being at fault were completely inappropriate, and were proven as lies by several witnesses, including other travellers and airport security. We will never travel with your airline again, nor will I ever recommend it. In fact I have recommended and will continue to recommend against using Singapore Airlines since this experience. I hope that if you wish to retain valued customers, that you address the problem of poor customer service.