Air Asia Rude And Aggressive Check In Staff

[Captain Chaos]

I've sometimes considered Air Asia for my twice a month SIN-BKK-SIN trip, but stories like this just put me off. To (potentially have to) deal with something like that last thing on a Friday after a week at work when all I want to do is get home as smoothly and promptly as possible? Not a chance!

Luckily I am able to plan my trips well in advance so the fare differential between a regular carrier and a budget one isn't even that great.

Thanks, but no thanks...

CC

[mrtoad]

Never had a problem with A A staff.

Once at Swampy, the check in girl asked me to take something out of my bag, she waited, very nice attitude from her.

Only other prob is time keeping.

Last August I arrived about an hour and a half early at Swampy, the girl said my flite would be delayed, she asked me to sit at seats opposite as I may be able to get on earlier flite.

I sat, she called me over, gave me boarding pass. Great service.

I had to take my check in bags on with me, no probs, no weighing, again, great.

On my return trip, I slept in, left Chalong at the time the flight was due to leave.

Thought I would sleep over buy new ticket in the morning.

Lo and behold, the flite was later than me, great again.

Guess I am a lucky old sod.......PMPL.

I use A A extensively during my odysseys in the region, neva had a prob.

As I've said, this is my experience and I'm sure that many people have had lots of good experiences. I have used them a fair few times in the past, and I want to make this very clear, the in flight staff are very good!!! I have a problem with the poor service at check in at Phuket and Swampy.

I'm glad you had a good flight, but I think there are problems with the service and one that should be looked at.

It's no problem for me, as I'll never use them again along with the rest of the group, and probably a fair few others that have had a similar experience.

[traveller5000]

I travelled twice on AA before and never had a problem except both were delayed.

Personally I think the OP overreacted. He also does not seem to understand the Thai concept of "losing face". It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the airline staff, having lost face, delayed the delivery of his luggage as revenge.

I do sympathise with the OP though, it sounds extremely frustrating.

But never make a Thai lose face. The consequences can be dire.

[mrtoad]

I travelled twice on AA before and never had a problem except both were delayed.

Personally I think the OP overreacted. He also does not seem to understand the Thai concept of "losing face". It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the airline staff, having lost face, delayed the delivery of his luggage as revenge.

I do sympathise with the OP though, it sounds extremely frustrating.

But never make a Thai lose face. The consequences can be dire.

I think you have little concept of what I understand; married to a Thai, daughter Thai, speak Thai, lived here for 3 years (Unlike you), worked in Asia for seven years (unlike you) and travelled in Asia for seventeen years (unlike you). Thankfully, I don't get an erection when I meet a Thai girl when I meet them.

Sorry mate, you can't excuse bad service, and this is exactly the sort of attiude that perpetuates bad service.

I don't moan or complain normally, and I am more than aware of the "Thai culture", and how to deal with it. I don't think there are any excuses, and neither do any of my fellow travellers, 2 of of whom were actually Thai and not relatives. I'm sorry, should have mentioned this before the apologists came out of the closet.

Edited April 22, 2008 by mrtoad

[endure]

It might be worth your while putting a comment here.

[mrtoad]

It might be worth your while putting a comment here.

Thank you endure, I will do that tomorrow.

I'm still confused as to why some people defend the behaviour of the staff though.

[mrtoad]

I travelled twice on AA before and never had a problem except both were delayed.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the airline staff, having lost face, delayed the delivery of his luggage as revenge.

You are so sharp on the uptake . Read the original post, this is exactly what I said.

Edited April 22, 2008 by mrtoad

[traveller5000]

I travelled twice on AA before and never had a problem except both were delayed.

Personally I think the OP overreacted. He also does not seem to understand the Thai concept of "losing face". It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the airline staff, having lost face, delayed the delivery of his luggage as revenge.

I do sympathise with the OP though, it sounds extremely frustrating.

But never make a Thai lose face. The consequences can be dire.

I think you have little concept of what I understand; married to a Thai, daughter Thai, speak Thai, lived here for 3 years (Unlike you), worked in Asia for seven years (unlike you) and travelled in Asia for seventeen years (unlike you). Thankfully, I don't get an erection when I meet a Thai girl when I meet them.

Sorry mate, you can't excuse bad service, and this is exactly the sort of attiude that perpetuates bad service.

I don't moan or complain normally, and I am more than aware of the "Thai culture", and how to deal with it. I don't think there are any excuses, and neither do any of my fellow travellers, 2 of of whom were actually Thai and not relatives. I'm sorry, should have mentioned this before the apologists came out of the closet.

Of course it is bad service, there is no excuse for that. But it is more or less outside your circle of control.

What you can control is how you react to the situation. Making a Thai lose face (which is what I believe you have done) shows a complete cultural insensitivity and you paid the price. (time in LOS is no indication that someone has understood the culture BTW. some people just never learn.)

Sorry mate, im trying to help you here but I can see the "attitute" coming out clearly in your posts.

Believe me here, dont make a Thai lose face. It is almost always not worth it. I can't emphasise this enough.

Anyway continue on with your negative publicity campain, might free up a few spare seats when I go looking next

[stats]

As always they are !!! Caught a male flight attendant smoking cigarrete along with the pilot at the pilot cockpit several years ago . That time was with Malaysian Air Asia

Edited April 23, 2008 by tytus

[jonniebkk]

It definitely sounds like the AA staff you dealt with could use some additional training in customer service skills. However, the experience you relate is completely contrary to my extensive experience of flying AA over the past 3-4 years. I have taken maybe 10-12 flights with them during this time and have always been treated in a professional manner by their staffs in Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. However, I have never flown an THAI AA domestic flight. All my flights have been international (originating from Bangkok). Maybe the check-in staff manning these counters are different?

Another thing, AA just introduced additional fees for checking in more than 1 checked piece of luggage. I am sure many people have been caught unawares by this and have been complaining about them and wanting to see the supervisors etc. etc. It's likely that most of these folks have been foreigners as they are more apt to speak up in such a situation than Thais. Therefore, even though your situation was not specifically about this fee, your general complaints were taken in the same vein and so you got the reaction you did. Doesn't excuse it but just offering a possible explanation.

[mrtoad]

Traveller, just to make this quite clear. This thread is not about "cultural differences", this is about poor customer service. As I have repeatedly said, the inital attitude was towards me by the check in staff. I am sure that they have been copping some flack regarding various new fee's etc, and probably they are feeling a little defensive. It does not excuse the racist attitude and neither does it excuse the unprofessionalism. I am more than aware of how to conduct my self in an appropriate manner in Thailand, and it is a shame that several staff seem th think it is okay to shout, point and argue. Yeah, maybe they lost face, but this concept should not be something that is used to hide behind poor service. Sorry, that you just don't get it, but hopefully we'll get back to the topic rather than you trying to patronise me with your knowledge of Thai culture.

I have flown with them probably 6 or 7 times in the past and never had a problem. However, and I think this is a good point the jonniebkk has made, there appears that there is a lack of customer service training on behalf of the airline company at check in. I would also again highlight, the in flight staff were very good.

[traveller5000]

Mate, get real.

I don't think this thread has been about "poor customer service" at all. It is about the check in staff intentionally delaying your luggage for 6 hours because you made them lose face. and some sort of negative publicity campaign to vent your frustration. Personally, poor customer service I can more or less brush off and put it down to incompetence, but six hour delay of luggage would make my blood boil. In other words, it is a completely different level of frustration that highlights the real reason for your thread.

Now, if you got your point across to the check in staff without making them lose face, then this bag delay situation probably would have never occurred, and I doubt this thread would even exist. Of course what they did was unacceptable no one is doubting that, but if you refuse to take responsibility for your culturally insensitive contribution to the situation, then you'll probably be finding yourself in similar situations in the future. Boycotting the companies services or product won't save you, there will always be another somchai around the corner more than happy to give you a teaching opportunity in the golden rule of Thai culture.

[tartempion]

I am strictly of the opinon that you get what you pay for. If you book a CHEAP flight with a BUDGET airway that is exactly what to expect.

Blablabla snipped

I believe your analysis is wrong here.

From being a frequent Thai Air Asia flyer I now fly Nok Air more often, exactly because of the rudeness of some (but not all) Thai Air Asia personnel.

4 Air Asia flights in March and Nok Air it will be tomorrow and next month on my return.

If they show rude behavior, I will report as well...but never had the slightest incident on Nok Air

[mrtoad]

Mate, get real.

I don't think this thread has been about "poor customer service" at all. It is about the check in staff intentionally delaying your luggage for 6 hours because you made them lose face. and some sort of negative publicity campaign to vent your frustration. Personally, poor customer service I can more or less brush off and put it down to incompetence, but six hour delay of luggage would make my blood boil. In other words, it is a completely different level of frustration that highlights the real reason for your thread.

Now, if you got your point across to the check in staff without making them lose face, then this bag delay situation probably would have never occurred, and I doubt this thread would even exist. Of course what they did was unacceptable no one is doubting that, but if you refuse to take responsibility for your culturally insensitive contribution to the situation, then you'll probably be finding yourself in similar situations in the future. Boycotting the companies services or product won't save you, there will always be another somchai around the corner more than happy to give you a teaching opportunity in the golden rule of Thai culture.

I'm sorry that you have felt the need to hijack the thread. Please don't patronise me on what I am trying to discuss. This is not about cultural difference , it is about poor customer service from the point of check in. It appears that you feel some need to try and express your deep knowledge of Thai culture, which is very noble of you, but becoming somewhat tedious. If you don't have anything to contribute in respect of the actual issues, then go and read somewhere else rather than try to provoke and troll, which is something that you are known for.

Yes, the delayed baggage was frustration, but I feel more aggrieved by the racist undertones of the inital contact upon check in. Get it? Did I act in a manner that would make them lose face? No, I didn't. Did the girl initially shout at me? Yes, she did. Did I ask to speak with her supervisor? Yes, I did. Did I shout or swear at her? No, I didn't. The "loss of Face" is all too often used to hide behind not doing something properly and is no excuse for her initial behaviour, and yes probably the fact that the baggage was delayed. I have also told you that there were two Thais in the group, and both agreed that the behaviour was unacceptable and that I had handled it in a polit and correct manner.

Air Asia is an international company, it should employ international values of respect, courtesy and politenessness. It didn't. I will, just for you again say, the inflight staff were good.

I have had hardly any problems adpting to living in Thailand, in fact this is the first time that I can say that I have felt truly aggrieved. Yes, it may seem a negative thread, but not everything in Thailand smells of roses and not everyone is going to bend over and take it up the ass from some jumped up little <deleted>, be it in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, UK or the USA.

I'm not Boycotting them, I'll just take my custom elsewhere as there are plenty of other choices available. Thanks for the advice though.

Edited April 23, 2008 by mrtoad

[traveller5000]

It appears that you feel some need to try and express your deep knowledge of Thai culture, which is very noble of you,

not at all. its more about takign responsibility for your actions. People dont just lose face for nothing.

Thanks for the advice though.

no problems, seriously mate, I feel for you and im sorry to hear your story. Like I said, six hours is absolutely disgusting.

[Zpete]

........................................................................mrload.............................................................

................................................................

Get a life, mate.

You are so cocky and pompous.

Everything YOU did, was correct and polite.

The check in staff, were to blame for everything, and soooooo rude......

Poor mrload was badly done by, possibly, the resulting saga, you must blame others.

Myself, I feel there are a lot of porkies scattered throughout your posts, you are simply sorry for yourself.

mrload is milking sympathy, repeating all his trials and tribulations, and saying all others are wrong in his assesment.

You are in, what is called, POOR ME mode.

Wake up, get a life and GOOOOOOO AWAY, do something constructive, this is all negative.

Good luck to Air Asia, they are making it possible for many less wealthy people to have trips they could otherwise, never afford, with Thai or Bangkok etc.

Edited April 23, 2008 by Zpete

[mrtoad]

Thank you zpete. Couldn't care less what you think about me, but I can pretty much say I have no reason to tell lies.

It's good that you have had good experiences with the airline, just as I have done in the past.

I can't really be bothered with this thread anymore as it appears to be becoming a flamefest about my character, which it shouldn't be. I am just reporting what happened and you can recount your expereinces which have obviously been good.

Have a nice day.

Edited April 23, 2008 by mrtoad

[Captain Chaos]

Good luck to Air Asia, they are making it possible for many less wealthy people to have trips they could otherwise, never afford, with Thai or Bangkok etc.

Zpete - if you kept a straight face whilst posting that load of nonsense, you truly deserve a prize

That's cheered me up no end that has

CC

[seagull]

........................................................................mrload.............................................................

................................................................

Get a life, mate.

You are so cocky and pompous.

Everything YOU did, was correct and polite.

The check in staff, were to blame for everything, and soooooo rude......

Poor mrload was badly done by, possibly, the resulting saga, you must blame others.

Myself, I feel there are a lot of porkies scattered throughout your posts, you are simply sorry for yourself.

mrload is milking sympathy, repeating all his trials and tribulations, and saying all others are wrong in his assesment.

You are in, what is called, POOR ME mode.

Wake up, get a life and GOOOOOOO AWAY, do something constructive, this is all negative.

Good luck to Air Asia, they are making it possible for many less wealthy people to have trips they could otherwise, never afford, with Thai or Bangkok etc.

Reading your comments here, kinda like reflecting yourself, ain't you ?

[tartempion]

Talking about culture, Thailand in general has no customer care culture.

Therefore the comments here about loosing face are plain rubbish.

Ever had food a restaurant where they inquired on your happiness?

Last week I went shopping for a shirt in a shopping mall. Hesitated between 2 shirts. Had a sales lady annoying me by taking all the other out and pushing them under my nose. Clearly wrong education by the shop's management. Normally I would walk out without buying anything but still made my choice, but pissed off.

Flew Nok Air coming from Europe with 22kgs bag. Check-in lady told me in a friendly way I was 7kgs over the 15kg limit and if next time I would pay attention, no surcharge was demanded. Try this at Thai Air Asia: they follow the manual to the letter.

In fact it's here that Thais are good in, probably they got hit on the head a million time by Thai management: STICK TO THE PROCEDURE (or.....)

Oh yeah, WE msut understand an respect their culture, <deleted>!

[Thaising]

Send your complaints to this website http://www.airsafe.com/complain/complain.htm

[threelegcowboy]

As other poster has stated: I dont doubt your word, I just didnt have the same experience with them.

I have flown about 50 times with these folks and never seen an episode like you are describing. You can get this problem at any business. I have flown over weight but did take the time to read the baggage rules etc. I understand these have changed recently. Maybe the staff was flustered with these new rules.

Just from my observations Air Asia is moving alot of people and maybe not able to deal with alot of excess baggage. They are trying to leave ON TIME.

If you look at the check in counters at the main airport they are busy. They must move these people. That is there business model. If a falang is there causing a delay maybe frustation will show in their service. Maybe their English skills are limited and they have a difficult time sorting it out.

Would you PLEASE stop using Air Asia in your travels so that us other falangs who enjoy a good flight with the CHEAPEST ticket around will not be painted with the same brush. I suggest if you still want a cheap ticket you fly ONE TWO GO. Dont take this the wrong way. Just go and fly with Thai Air or whomever.

[Crash999]

Good luck to Air Asia, they are making it possible for many less wealthy people to have trips they could otherwise, never afford, with Thai or Bangkok etc.

Just so long as people don't want to do something as blue-blooded and elitist as, say, taking a full size bag onto the airplane.

I made the recent mistake of flying Air Asia to Chiang Mai as part of a regional trip. Thought I'd give it a try as the cost was around 800 baht cheaper than Thai Airways. Unfortunately my bag was larger than a peanut, so I was hit with a luggage charge that more than ate up my cost savings for the round-trip.

Judging from the size of the queue at the 'fork over your dosh' counter this seems to be a cash cow for the airline.

Gotta love the psychopathic expressions of the folks on the Air Asia website baggage page:

Could be a side effect of standing in line for over an hour to get to the counter.

[jonniebkk]

Just from my observations Air Asia is moving alot of people and maybe not able to deal with alot of excess baggage. They are trying to leave ON TIME.

I agree with your comments. The big knock on AA in the past was that their flights were always delayed. Of course, a delay in the morning just compounds itself during the day on these low cost carriers, because the whole model depends on getting the plane back in the air quickly). So you quickly have hour or more delays by the time of the afternoon flights.

I have noticed that in the past year, all my flights have taken off ON TIME. So they are definitely improving this aspect of their service.

A little aside: If you don't have any checked bags, at AA's Swampy check-in counters, there is a check-in station on the far left (if facing the counters) for such travelers and there is rarely any line. You can check-in for any AA flight at this counter (as long as the general check-in has started for your flight, i.e., not earlier than 2 hours before departure).

[huggybear]

I had the misfortune to fly with Air Asia last week. A short trip to Phuket with a group of seven toplay cricket. We decided to fly with them, as the flight times were conveneint and the price was pretty OK on appearance.............

Over Songkran I flew AirAsia HKT-KL-PI and came back PI-KL-BKK-HKT due to schedules not matching up. When I bought the tickets, coming back, I had a BKK-HKT connect of only 1 hour and the girl warned me that they were a "point-point" carrier and if I missed that last BKK-HKT flight I was sh*t out of luck.

All went perfectly smoothly both ways. A couple times they were even early. I also had 1KG over weight in baggage due to this cr*ppy new piece of luggage I have recently bought but they did not always charge me.........which was strange..........some legs they did, some they didn't.

It's hit and miss with the budgets, I once had a way advance resevation with Nok and when i got to the counter they said they were full. Yeah...., full of BS.

[Ricardo]

I am strictly of the opinon that you get what you pay for. If you book a CHEAP flight with a BUDGET airway that is exactly what to expect.

I disagree, Cheap doesn't have to mean Cheap & Nasty, or Racist. You pay their wages - that doesn't give them the right to shout at you, which is offensive, here in Thailand.

the way I read it you got exactly what you paid for. The girl at check in stung you for 300 baht extra baggage as all CHEAP, BUDGET airlines do RYAN air even charge per item just to put your baggage in the hold and you probably made a big deal over it hence the attitude.

The way I read it, the dispute was about Sports-Equipment vs Regular-Luggage, and the supervisor was firstly not-available, and then failed to resolve things.

Why kick up a fuss over 300 baht???? I often read about people slagging off certain airlines but when you read the full story it turns out they checked in late, after the flight had closed and DEMANDED to be put on the flight only to be politely told to go take a running jump yet its always the airlines fault. If you had paid the extra and flown with Thai you would probably had nothing to moan about. CHEAP BUDGET airlines fill a gap.

So it is OK for them to shout at you - because they are Cheap ? ! That's not part of their advertised service. "Is this the regular arguement, or the full half-hour ?" (Monty Python)

They are for people who want to get from A_B cheaply with no fuss and no frills and tend not to be carrying loads of luggage or sports equipment. Like the guy in the DONT BUY A BIKE FROM TESCO's thread YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!!!!!!!!!

[OxfordWill]

It appears that you feel some need to try and express your deep knowledge of Thai culture, which is very noble of you,

not at all. its more about takign responsibility for your actions. People dont just lose face for nothing.

Right and Thai people never make other Thai people lose face? I dont think you understand what losing face actually is. You cannot make a Thai lose face if they already made you lose face in the same conversation - they lost their own face. There is even a thai saying for this. Learn to speak Thai and you will hear Thai customers making these people "lose face" all the time! Some westerners think they can be walked all over and its ok because "I didnt cause anyone to lose face". This is a warped understanding of Thai culture!

I just flew with AA from BKK to Jakarta and didnt have a problem, was happily surprised since I was dreading it. I think its luck of the draw with the check in girls.

Edited April 29, 2008 by OxfordWill

[onomataho]

After too many bad experiences I only fly Air Asia if there is no other reasonably priced airline flying that particular route. My bad experiences with Air Asia far outweigh the good. Until they decide to improve their customer service, IMO, they will be considered a substandard airline. Purely, this is just bad business!

[banff]

Why are you telling everone this story. I have travelled numerous times with Air Asia to Phuket and never had any problems. The last time I flew I arrived at check in 20 minutes before departure time. And they allowed me to check despite the normal cutoff of 45 minutes. The are a discount airline offering return flights to Phuket and other destinations for half the price (or Less) than other

full fare airlines, with soaring jet fuel prices to survive they have to charge surcharges on excess baggage. All airlines a starting to do this. Airline travel can be a frustrating experience and in the past I have been tempted to act like an idiot and blow my top but

resisted the urge when I realised it would only ruin my day and nobody elses

[mrtoad]

It appears that you feel some need to try and express your deep knowledge of Thai culture, which is very noble of you,

not at all. its more about takign responsibility for your actions. People dont just lose face for nothing.

Right and Thai people never make other Thai people lose face? I dont think you understand what losing face actually is. You cannot make a Thai lose face if they already made you lose face in the same conversation - they lost their own face. There is even a thai saying for this. Learn to speak Thai and you will hear Thai customers making these people "lose face" all the time! Some westerners think they can be walked all over and its ok because "I didnt cause anyone to lose face". This is a warped understanding of Thai culture!

I just flew with AA from BKK to Jakarta and didnt have a problem, was happily surprised since I was dreading it. I think its luck of the draw with the check in girls.

Thaks Oxfordwill, for reiterating what I was trying to get over initally before it was hijacked by the defenders of the realm who suggested that I was the reason for the loss of face. Anyway, I have filed a complaint along with the rest of our group with head office in Malaysia. I have no interest in vouchers etc, just an apology and acknowledgement that they do need to improve their customer service to a more consistent standard. I'll wait and see if I get a response, but it's not going to keep me up at night.

As for those that have just dragged this off on a tangent to attack my character and lack of understanding of Thailand, I couldn't care less what you think or summise. I hope that you continue to enjoy flying with AA or whatever airline that you so choose, and accepting sub standard service when and wherever you come across it as cultural difference.