Emirates ... so much for Customer Service.

[ChrisCunard]

Preface: I absolutely believe that safety is the most important thing when flying and airlines should take all precautions as to the safety of passengers. My comments below are relating to the information given to passengers.

We recently flew on Emirates - the below letter was written after the flight to Emirates via the Skywards website. It sets the scene:

Dear sir or madam,

I'm writing to express our disappointment about the experience my partner and I had aboard EK 98 Rome - Dubai ref: xx_xx_.

At Rome airport we were boarded onto the aircraft where we sat for 20 minutes aboard before being told by the Captain that there was a 'minor security issue' causing our delay.

Approx. 20 minutes elapsed after this announcement before a further announcement said 'all passengers collect your luggage and exit the aircraft immediately'.

At this time some passengers were nervous and rushed from the aircraft pushing others as they went. We exited and asked the flight attendant at the door what was going on where she said "I have no idea, no one has told us".

We went back into the departures terminal where all passengers were kept waiting for nearly an hour - with no information. An announcement was made in Italian and also English some time later, advising we would be re-boarded soon.

We were then boarded back onto the aircraft (now close to two hours late) however still no one had any information as to the "security issue" that had been mentioned before by the Captain.

Finally we took off, with no further explanation as to the issue and why we had been removed from the aircraft. This was particularly disappointing as nervous flyers were concerned that there was something wrong with the plane.

We expected better service from an airline such as Emirates.

As frequent flyers, we have never once been asked to exit an aircraft without any information as to why / how long we'd need to wait or what the cause of the disembarkation was.

I wanted to bring this to your attention as both my partner and I did not enjoy our experience aboard Emirates EK 98.

Best regards.

ChrisCunard

​

Having done a bit of reading about Emirates Customer Service, I didn't expect a timely reply.

Today, some 20 days later, to my surprise the below email arrived:

Dear ChrisCunard,

I refer to an e-mail message of 1[SUP]st[/SUP] June, which was sent on your behalf by our office in Rome.

Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience you and MrsChrisCunard encountered due to the delayed departure of flight EK098 from Rome to Dubai on 25[SUP]th[/SUP] May 2011.
In this instance, the delay of 2 hours and 8 minutes was due to extra security checks requested by the local Airport Authorities.Although every effort is made to achieve on-time departures, which is an integral part of our product, there are occasions when flights are delayed due to circumstances beyond our control. I do agree that our passengers are inconvenienced when flights are delayed.

Whilst we make every effort to transport passengers according to planned schedules, sometimes operational necessities/technical difficulties cause changes to these schedules. When this happens, we do our utmost to minimise passenger inconvenience.A report from our Flight Purser confirms that an announcement was made to inform all passengers of the extra security check required to be conducted.

Hence, I am at a loss to understand that you state that no announcement was made.

Mr ChrisCunard, the disruption to your travel plan is regrettable, but however, was completely beyond the control of Emirates.

Nevertheless, I sincerely regret that we have been unable to meet your expectations on this occasion and would like to assure you that Emirates places a great deal of emphasis on the services and facilities that are offered to our customers

Thank you for allowing me to address your concerns and for your understanding. We hope this incident has not marred your impression of Emirates and look forward to another opportunity to demonstrate our service commitment.

Yours sincerely,
Customer Affairs
​

​

So my questions / comments are...

• Do they actually read the letters - my concern was not about on time performance but rather the lack of information and the way in which we were 'evacuated',
• Why bother replying when the original letter was clearly not read or understood, it just makes the customer more annoyed,
• Do other airlines handle this the same (eg: am I dreaming to expect anything more professional), and
• Is the customer affairs person calling me a liar ("Hence, I am at a loss to understand that you state that no announcement was made.")

Any thoughts?

Also interesting was the original email from Emirates had two different fonts - Arial and Times New Roman, so it was obvious where corporate rubbish had been pasted into the response rather than actually addressing my concern.

 

[samiam]

We recently flew on Emirates - the below letter was written after the flight to Emirates.

My first impression is... Ummm - it's air travel and $hit happens- at least you weren't blown up or didn't fall out of the sky - that's always a bonus.

My second impression is that in the main, your points were addressed:

At Rome airport we were boarded onto the aircraft where we sat for 20 minutes aboard before being told by the Captain that there was a 'minor security issue' causing our delay.

In this instance, the delay of 2 hours and 8 minutes was due to extra security checks requested by the local Airport Authorities.

An announcement was made in Italian and also English some time later, advising we would be re-boarded soon.

A report from our Flight Purser confirms that an announcement was made to inform all passengers of the extra security check required to be conducted.

Do they actually read the letters - my concern was not about on time performance but rather the lack of information and the way in which we were 'evacuated'

Well they knew the delay was 2 hours and 8 minutes- so I'm guessing yes, they did read your letter. I couldn't pick up in there that your concern was regarding evacuation- a term not used in the original letter.

Why bother replying when the original letter was clearly not read or understood, it just makes the customer more annoyed.

Maybe it wasn't clear what you were asking? Your last 3 paragraphs were statements.

Do other airlines handle this the same (eg: am I dreaming to expect anything more professional).

Yep- refer QF. Nope- refer DJ.

Is the customer affairs person calling me a liar?

No- from both points of view an announcement was made maybe I'm misreading the intent.

As frequent flyers, we have never once been asked to exit an aircraft without any information as to why / how long we'd need to wait or what the cause of the disembarkation was.

DYKWIA - much.

... And those are my thoughts

 

[ChrisCunard]

Thanks for the comment!

I should have prefaced by saying yes of course the safe arrival and trip was the most important thing and I totally agree that if there was a safety issue they did the right thing by investigating it... in fact I'll add that now as it's totally the most important thing.

I just felt as if communication would have been helpful rather than herding everyone into a departures area and not telling people what was going on.

I guess you're right, $h1th@ppens!

 

[eightblack]

It's also the reason you should never write a complaint letter to an airline/hotel/restaurant without asking for something in return. Ask yourself - what did you want from EK? A phone call from the EVP of Flight Operations? Or perhaps Tim Clarke? They would have hardly communicated the truth behind the delay - especially if it was security driven.

When you write a complaint letter, and you specifically ask for something, airlines know how to deal with that. Its yes or no. Or a counter offer. I know your concern was genuine (as it should be) but airlines are huge machines. They would have been looking at this in hindsight. And it would have been one of 40 letters for the day...or more.

 

[browski]

Looks like it was handled expertly and professionally by Emirates. Well done EK!

Whilst the OP has failed in his primary role as a passenger this time, fortunately (unless blacklisted by the airlines) there should be future opportunities for him to pass this test.
.....then the real serious stuff begins, like "Eating in a restaurant". I've failed that 3 times myself this month, but I'm not giving up yet.

 

[QF029]

My first impression is... Ummm - it's air travel and $hit happens- at least you weren't blown up or didn't fall out of the sky - that's always a bonus.

Me too. They're hardly going to tell you if someone phoned in a bomb threat the plane was checked and they decided it was OK to continue with the flight.

 

[ChrisCunard]

Looks like it was handled expertly and professionally by Emirates. Well done EK!

Having experienced it, I'd hardly call the way it was handled 'expert' or 'professional' - but I guess you had to be there. It's not so much the fact that they said it was a security issue that bothered us all, more that once we were disembarked there was no communication as to what was going on until we were all herded back aboard.

Whilst the OP has failed in his primary role as a passenger this time, fortunately (unless blacklisted by the airlines) there should be future opportunities for him to pass this test.

I make a very good passenger if I do say so myself I listened to all instructions, exited quickly and quietly without stomping on anyone, didn't bombard the staff in the terminal, who at the time were busy receiving complaints from 1/2 the aircraft, sat where I was told to sit and waited quietly... sadly this was not the case with everyone which caused a bit of chaos aboard the aircraft.

.....then the real serious stuff begins, like "Eating in a restaurant". I've failed that 3 times myself this month, but I'm not giving up yet.

lol

 

[rechoboam]

They don't care and ultimately there's nothing they can do about it now.

Perhaps there was something/someone on board that hadn't been properly cleared and needed to be rescanned/tagged or whatever. You could be dealing with multiple layers of translation between Arabic, Italian and English so communication is not going to be perfect. Whether you are dealing with security theatre or are unlucky to find yourself in the middle of a major incident, getting a full explanation right in the middle of it is unlikely.

I'm actually most surprised by the pushing. In my experience people react in a remarkably restrained way during emergencies.

 

[ChrisCunard]

The pushing and shoving is probably what surprised me the most while aboard. I think language barriers probably didn't help - however as people up the back started to push others a bit of panic occurred. Given that this wasn't an emergency I was rather surprised. I was also surprised that the cabin crew made no effort to quell the behavior or help the elderly - something I neglected to mention in the letter. Maybe it was just an off day as the connecting flight from Dubai was wonderful.

 

[clifford]

Looks like it was handled expertly and professionally by Emirates. Well done EK!

Whilst the OP has failed in his primary role as a passenger this time, fortunately (unless blacklisted by the airlines) there should be future opportunities for him to pass this test.
.....then the real serious stuff begins, like "Eating in a restaurant". I've failed that 3 times myself this month, but I'm not giving up yet.

I can only imagine from your comments that you have never flown EK (or had anything to do with them).

EK customer service can be quite ordinary, unless you are Gold or better.

If I'm wrong in my assessment, I apologise.

 

[browski]

I can only imagine from your comments that you have never flown EK (or had anything to do with them).

EK customer service can be quite ordinary, unless you are Gold or better.

If I'm wrong in my assessment, I apologise.

Everyone (or near everyone) on this forum has flown Emirates - this is a Frequent Flyer forum and Emirates are the largest transporter of passengers in the world.

EK are a great airline, and their customer service is gloriously horrendous, but still better than anything we have in Oz.
Ultimately it is all about expectation. Best to keep it low when flying any airline (tip for the young player)

 

[Sprucegoose]

Silly Clifford, everyone (or near everyone) on this forum has flown Emirates - this is a Frequent Flyer forum and Emirates are the largest transporter of passengers in the world.EK are a great airline, and their customer service is gloriously horrendous, but still better than anything we have in Oz. Ultimately it is all about expectation. Best to keep it low when flying any airline (tip for the young player)

I find EK service patchy at best. QF beats them hands down for consistency.As for the OP, nervous frequent fliers? Roll with the punches!

 

[Reggie]

Wow, AFF has changed so much since I started lurking and then joined years ago. I am not sure I like where this forum is heading. I don'r visit FT very often, because I don't have time, and when I do, I don't like reading the "burning" of members by other members. There have been a few threads lately that have been very much FTesk and I am considering my time spent here at AFF.

May I suggest to the admin and the mods, that this practice is detered, and those who persist be invited to leave and spend their tim at FT where they will be welcomes.

Back to the topic, I have never flown Emirates, not that I refuse to, but the option has not presented itself. That said I have a customer who is not exactly a FFer, but loves them over QF and NZ.

To the OP, I understand your concerns, and I too (moreso Mrs Reggie who is a very bad flyer) would probably (likely) have felt the same way. What have I learnt from your experience, write to EK with a specific question, not expect a specifica answer, and certainly don't post on AFF about it.

 

[JohnK]

We all know delays happen but just because we know there are delays does not make delays any easier. Some basic communication can go a long way and make people feel relaxed.

Chris the email they sent you mentions that the local airport authorities asked for extra security and the Flight Purser made an announcement. Why would local airport authorities want to conduct extra security checks if passengers are already onboard the aircraft? Some rob a bank oir church in Rome around that time? And other than the original annoucement to deboard the aircraft were there any other announcements? Sounds like a very poorly handled delay at the airport and then a very poor response.

They don't care and ultimately there's nothing they can do about it now.

And that is what happens when dealing with faceless corporations that gouge us. Why would they care? The person is only there to do a job and they will just do whatever it takes to get their job done. And as people are content with their lives and do not care enough about the customer service they receive this practice will continue to happen.

Not quite air travel but I received what I believe is extremely poor customer service recently.

I had a confirmed booking to be picked up by Coachtrans on Friday night in May at 5:05pm. I go outside and wait from ~4:55pm as the driver is usually there early. Wait, wait, wait. It is now 5:15pm and no Coachtrans. Call up reservations who is surprised I have not been picked up and asks to put me on hold while they do some investigation. A few minutes later she says the driver is at the Grand Chancellor and will be around soon. Ok no problems and delays can happen.

Driver arrives ~5:30pm and to my surprise this is not the 5:05pm service but instead the 5:45pm service. I was not happy and talking to the driver I found out there was a pickup earlier that afternoon from my hotel and apparently the driver called in to say that he had picked up and to cancel my booking. Why? That is just a great way to treat your customers.

Anyway I got to the airport and complained to both the airport customer service agent and the supervisor who asked if I missed my flight and then said to me these things happen. You serious? I know they happen but that is not what you say to the customer and it the totally the wrong atrtitude to portray to the customer. I made my flight because I was lucky the other driver was early but if I had waited another 5-10 minutes to call I would have missed that coach and then either wait for the 6:25pm service or grab a taxi on a busy Friday afternoon at a personal cost of $60+. Why should I have to do this when I have a confirmed booking and they have had my money for over a week?

Anyway I am not happy and the matter has been taken further. That is poor customer service. What should I do? Just accept that these things happen? Why should it be my responsibility to leave enough time to get to the airport in case the operator of the service stuffs up bigtime. I was already getting to the airport ~1:00 hour early.

 

[Justchecking]

I'mrather surprised that someone wasted minutes of their life writing about a 2hr delay and lack of PA. Would it really make a nervous flyer any less nervous to give them details of a security breach hours before boarding a flight? What did you expect them to tell you anyway? That they were currently scanning the aircraft for a suspicious object and expected to have you all back onboard in 30mins? There are situations in which less information is better. Was your whole flight really ruined over a boarding hiccup? I'm assuming you did go onto your intended destination, had a meal and drinks and were generally looked after by cabin staff. I'm not wanting to burn the OP in any way but this does seem to be more a situation of skewed perspective than poor service. In all honesty I dont think the airline has anything to answer for. So the situation may not have been handled perfectly, big deal. I just hope someone isnt eager to write an email to he OPs boss next time he performs slightly under stellar at work.

 

[rechoboam]

"And that is what happens when dealing with faceless corporations that gouge us. Why would they care? The person is only there to do a job and they will just do whatever it takes to get their job done."

Well that's one way to look at it. The way I see it though, airlines do a reasonably good job of safely moving millions of people at historically rock-bottom costs. If you want to save up for forty years and time-share a Learjet for a trip to Singapore with your life savings the service will be great but that's not a very popular option.

 

[ChrisCunard]

Re: Emirates ... so much for Customer Service?

Thank you to all who shared their opinions. What I'm getting from this is that I probably didn't make it clear in my letter that the lack of communication was the issue. What would I expect?1) a less panicked announcement adising us to disembark,2) that the crew helped the elderly who were being stomped on by pax who were panicking,3) that the crew were advised of an approximate timeline (eg "there's nothing to worry about, it's just a precaution"),4) the ground staff were made aware ofthe situation, provided information on the delay, advised passengers where to go and what to do once in the terminal,5) that upon rebounding the captain told us the aircraft is safe - sure to me it was obvious as we were taking off, but 5 hours for a nervous pax wouldn't have been very nice a d,6) that EK's response acknowledged the information issue rather than the delay (admittedly this may have been due to the wording of my letter). I appreciate the feedback from all. ChrisCunard Ps: 'JustChecking' while I appreciate your feed back, I can't help but think that 'wasting minutes' to write on AFF telling me how you can't believe I 'wasted minutes writing a letter' is a bit hypocritical.

 

[Justchecking]

I'm always amused that people these days are so willing to standby and be hypercritical of other people doing their job. The fact that you are irritated by me doing exactly the same thing to you just proves my point. That its unnecessary most of the time, solves nothing, and a little perspective (eg, does my lack of choice of sandwich right now really ruin my day?) wouldn't go astray. Yes people dont always handle things in exactly the way we might personally prefer, but that doesnt always mean they did something wrong. Its how they handled the situation on the day, in the moment, and nobody died or came to serious grief over it.

 

[ChrisCunard]

Do you not think that Emirates might find feedback relating to how customers were serviced on their aircraft valuable?

Your comment suggests that you'd only complain about poor service when someone was laying injured (or dead) because of it?

So, say one of the elderly passengers fell and broke their hip while being pushed out of the way during the exit of the aircraft. Do I wait until then to advise Emirates about their substandard service, or is it not better for them to know before an injury occurs that the way their staff acted was well below par?

I'm not big on making complaints, in fact I also 'waste minutes' writing compliments to companies which excel.

I've worked in a service industry where if we don't do things right, people do get hurt, so I know the value of good service and also how negative feedback can be used to improve the performance of staff.

 

[Vinny]

Wow, AFF has changed so much since I started lurking and then joined years ago. I am not sure I like where this forum is heading. I don'r visit FT very often, because I don't have time, and when I do, I don't like reading the "burning" of members by other members. There have been a few threads lately that have been very much FTesk and I am considering my time spent here at AFF.

I made a similar quote recently and decided to join AFF after QF was no longer seen as a perfect and faultless holy cow with many jumping in to defend it. A ten minute visit every few weeks was enough.

As for delays, if there's a security delay I'm more than happy to leave the plane with my luggage. Yes there will be pushing and chaos just as there would be here in Oz. Would you prefer the plane took off with security issues? I don't need a long explanation in such circumstances.

I did spend four hours on an AA plane and on the ground at ORD after a broken winscreen or shield as they call it. There was no information coming from AA or offers of a coke and sandwich.

You should consider yourself lucky the airline had your safety at a priority and not just a timetable.