1. I was not late for check-in;
2. I did not feel like I deserved special treatment (nor did I ever say so); and
3. I will definitely not fly SQ again and am quite pleased that I have convinced others that I know not to either.
Cheers!
JOBU
Hi, all, I accidentally bumped into this forum and started reading.
I have worked in a major international airline for over 30 years, although not in front line service like check in, but in aircraft maintenance.
Please allow me to shed a bit of light on what I see in the background which perhaps pax do not see.
Firstly Jobu, there is absolutely no excuse for rudeness, and as this is what you are complaining about then you are right to complain.
1. You were not late for check in, per se. But unfortunately, you were
late in another sense, that is, (I'm guessing the flight was overbooked), all available seats on the flight had already been checked in to other pax ahead of you. So, where to put you when there are no more empty seats?
I'm not sure whether SQ practices voluntary "bump off" from overbooked flights. Perhaps this exercise had already been carried out earlier before you arrived. That is why it is essential to arrive
way, way ahead of time, and, although in this case you tried but still arrived later than other pax, you could still be denied check in even if the time is 50 min before the official 40 min for counter closure.
I stay 10 min away from my local airport and I leave home 3 hours before scheduled departure time, with absolutely no chance at all of traffic hold up on this route. I'm not saying everyone should do this, of course, but just to show I do what I preach.
Of course, the counter staff could have being more nice in their handling of a delicate situation, but, perhaps they were rushing to get the flight ready for departure, and really didn't think there was any point in doing any further check in as the plane has no more seats to put anyone on (no excuse, though, but, still, human nature I guess)
As a background to why the 40 min rule came about, what used to happen was, pax were being checked in till very near to departure time, then they "disappear" into the airport shops for last minute shopping, or are held up at ICQ due to this or that. Now, imagine a B747 with about 400 pax all sitting and waiting for the last few stragglers to get to the plane. You wouldn't be happy if you were one of those waiting pax, would you? More so if you made an effort, like me, to come very very early for the flight or if you might end up missing a connecting flight at the destination. Then you will think, "throw that guy off the flight! Serves him right!"
Ok, then you have a pax who have to be offloaded due to whatever reasons, (passport irregularites, no visa for destination port, etc) and now you have to search through the containers buried deep in the cargo hold to remove his baggage, and this takes time.
The "airways" (imaginary roads in the sky used by airliners) are very crowded. If you miss your "slot" due to delay, you can end up with the flight now ready to depart, but, no "road" for the plane to fly on, so more waiting
All these delays can be very very costly, and all companies nowadays operate to very very cost saving conscious mentalities, not just airlines.
So, airlines decide, ok, we will have all pax checked in by -40 min STD, and, HOPEFULLY, this give ample time for last min shopping, time to clear up any passport problems, do any baggage off load, etc and still be ON TIME for departure.
2. You're right, you did not mention you wanted or deserved special treatment. You know, I have had occassions to write in or phone some companies to complain of certain issues. And what I noticed is, the less confrontational the tone of the letter or call is, the better the response from the other end (God forbid! I'm not saying you were confrontational in you letter of complaint. Could be a wrong choice of word on my part)
Now, put yourself in the shoes of the guy who read your complain letter. "Hm, he's a member of this and that frequent flyer club. What is he trying to say, that he deserved special treatment?" See what I mean? People do read between the lines, unfortunately. And your complain letter may be one of a number he read that day, and the rest "could" have mentioned too, that they were members of this or that freq flyer clubs and, may have actually stated they deserved better treatment. (Pure guesswork on my part here, of course)
3. I just reread your original letter, and, you said there, here and everwhere, that you are not flying SQ again. Honestly, how much attention do you think SQ would pay to your letter? Although SQ is considered "good" (read that any way you like), it still gets letters of complaints. Now compare your letter to that of someone who merely states the facts, without saying, "I'm not going to patronise your company anymore".
Who do you think SQ will respond to first?
And, frankly, 6 months after the occurance is a long, long time for anyone to remember an incident. For you to remember, easy, since you were probably dwelling on this matter mentally for the last six months, but, for the Customer service staff, very very difficult, since he had handled literally thousands of pax since then, and this is but one more pax as far as he/she is concerned.
I do agree with you that the Customer service staff could have been more polite and understanding. Perhaps then, your letter of complain and this entire thread would not have materialised. And, perhaps, SQ would not have lost so many previously loyal customers, you and all those you convinced to stop flying SQ!
