Thai Airways Losing Ground

[sprinter2008]

This is a hair rising experience that I had personally during my recent visit to Thailand. I am a fellow traveler who frequents between S.E Asia Countries on meeting and frequent business trips. I have an open ticket status with Thai Airlines in order to assist my visa on entry requirements.

Most of my schedules don’t take me back to my home country but in fact to another country or destination of consultancy business, hence the open ticket is always kept by us to return back home.

This time when I landed in Bangkok airport from KL I rushed to the Thai Airways Reservation counter to prepond my home ticket which was in an open ticket status. The open ticket was dated until March 2010.

When I arrived the Reservation desk on greeting the lady sitting there ended in no response, so I went ahead with the request. Remember I just landed on a late night flight and had a really touch day in KL with meetings piled up on each other.

I provided her my name and full details, including my Star Alliance Membership number etc so that she can track my open ticket status. She tried once and then coldly turned around and said I didn’t have a ticket and the last time and the only ticket I had I used it 2 months back. I was shocked at her response and asked her to try again as I had bought this ticket from Thai Airways directly and I know for sure that I have a open ticket with them.

She then pulled names of all other passenger with either my first name or my last name and I was been asked if any of them were me, which was even more frustrating as I have provided her with my full name and membership number and she is pulling records from around the World which does not match the information I provided.

I was frustrated and irritated as a simple process as this is just been pulled to an extent of unbearable irritation. As all I need is a copy of my ticket which needs to be prepond, no transactions, no need to talk, no need to do any GOD dam_n thing!!1

But the lady seemed to be on a mission, when I asked her why she is not pulling up my record and if she did what is displayed on the screen, she turned and told me that I was wasting her time and I could leave.

I was shocked at her cold response, and as a customer I have bought the ticket and I think there is some kind of responsibility that the Airlines should maintain towards me. You can’t ask the customer to just go away, where was I supposed to go, where did she think she was asking me to go? I enquired about the Call Center number or any other number where in I can prove to her that my ticket exists. She refused to provide me with any details and said that she didn’t know who I should call.

Things didn’t stop there, I argued with her on the response she provided and stayed there and asked her to try various other options, she turned around and asked me to leave immediately or else she said she would call the security. When I refused to move as it was not my mistake, she picked the phone and called the security. She later tells me leave now or else you will be in jail and not to teach her how to do her Job.

I think being a customer when I ask for something that I have paid money for and when there is wrong information and disrespect shown towards me when I have politely requested for a service, then every one including me will get frustrated and irritated. I am sure everyone will agree with me on this part.

I walk away from the Reservation Desk and to the supervisor who was watching the whole scenario but never came forward to either ask or solve the issue. I walked towards her and stated my issue she tried searching for my records and came up with the same results. She gives me a blank look and tells me again that I don’t have a ticket. Later after repeated tries they located my ticket as it was an open ticket booked for the year 2010. Later I was told that since this is a ticket booked for 2010 on a open ticket basis it doesn’t show up on their IT Software systems. So Thai Airways staff put me through all this frustration and insults because I was not aware of their system capabilities.

Not a word of sorry came from any of the staff, but it was like they are doing me a favor. I picked my ticket and requested the supervisor to change it for me, and she asked me to go back to the same lady and to get it changed. I just had a bad experience with the Reservations Desk and now I was sent back to them to get things done, all the supervisor could have done was at least assist me till the desk and gets things done.

But I guess this was too much to ask, when I asked the supervisor where I could file a complaint she said she didn’t know, and when I asked her what the name of the lady was who was managing the Reservation desk she said she didn’t know the same. It is amazing that the supervisor was sitting 5 feet away from the Reservation desk table and she didn’t know what her name was. Does Thai Airways the country’s airline group think we as customers are their mercy or is it that the staff recruited by them have no prior training in customer service or on the systems that they use.

End of the day I word of Sorry would have done the trick, but no one had the presence of mind to even tell me one word of sorry. I ended up being frustrated at 30 minutes past midnight and felt the worst at that point of time. Why was I treated like a criminal or thief, why was I been shouted at and treated so badly, these are the questions that will be with me forever? Every time I hear and think about Thai Airways I will remember those faces who treated me like a dog.

But I have made a promise to myself, that I will never fly Thai Airways brand again and I am sure one customer like me will not make any difference. But I am sure there arte a lot of customers who have been treated similarly like me but never had an option to voice there opinions.

If you ever had a similar experience then please send me as many replies or send me a PM

I will be contacting the top management team from Thai Airways and definitely will be putting the names of all the employees who treated me badly.

I wonder why Thai Airways is going under a loss?????????????

Edited March 16, 2009 by Jai Dee
Email address deleted as per forum rules

[redscouse]

even if you send the names to Thai they won't care, its the normal customer service in Thailand and the normal response when you tell them you wont use there service again is one of indifference

[Tyke]

No appreciation, no apologies, no response to complaints - TIT!

[syd barrett]

Don't expect any kind of satisfactory customer service in Thailand.

It's not their fault, they are poorly educated, poorly trained and receive a poor salary.

On top of that, due to the cultural differences they are unable to deal with simple, common-sense issues. Thai citizens are totally unable to deal with angry or frustrated customers. They also feel that they are unable to seek the help/advice of their senior colleagues, without 'losing face'.

The only way to survive in the LOS is wear an idiotic grin and agree with everyone, while doing serious business by telephone in the western world.

[Jai Dee]

Another Thai-bashing thread?

If anyone has anything to contribute or suggest to the OP, please PM him.

/Closed.