Thai Airways Counter

[groo]

Was out this morning to send off a relative of mine who happened to come here for a medical conference. Went to the International Thai Air counter and was treated with such rude staff. He put his luggage on the rubber weight roller or whatever you call it and got a rude remark as to "put the bag when i want you to put the bag on it" kinda thing. my wife was with him then and told her that thats not the way to talk. she replied with "don't tell me how to do my job". i was told of this after i had parked my car and with the little temper i had, made a little issue over there scolding them at the counters and at one of the men who was an officer or so. there was no apology from them.

it was an outburst from me since this is not the first time that i have encountered such rude Thai Airways staff at the airport. They seem to think of themselves as an authority (superior?). and hence be able to be rude. It is the same at the Thai Airasia counters as well. They have their drinks and knanoms and even rice at the counters while working.

Is it only me or have any of you guys experience such rudeness? Tell me guys, am i being paranoid about the whole situation? I could only imagine why an airline like Malaysian Airlines which is terribly making loses due to "management malpractises" can still make it as one out of four only 5 Star rating airlines in the world. They have extermely nice staff providing the services and now with the management change, hopefully they can turn back into the black on paper.

Thai Airways? going down!. Corruption? you bet! the least they could do is be nice to their customers.

Edited April 4, 2006 by groo

[Ajarn]

Just venting, I guess

[Losangels]

The inefficiencies, lack of a service mind and arrogance are just a few problems that you will frequently faced with when using Thai-inter. Not afraid of going out of business or competition due to support from the government.

[SamSipEt]

Never had this experience with Thai staff but then again I’ve only been using the low cost carriers since they started on the Chiang Mai / Bangkok route. Only used One Two Go once and never again – appalling rudeness.

Vote with your feet in my opinion although you have to be careful or your feet will be the only remaining form of transport left.

[meadish_sweetball]

Was out this morning to send off a relative of mine who happened to come here for a medical conference. Went to the International Thai Air counter and was treated with such rude staff. He put his luggage on the rubber weight roller or whatever you call it and got a rude remark as to "put the bag when i want you to put the bag on it" kinda thing. my wife was with him then and told her that thats not the way to talk. she replied with "don't tell me how to do my job". i was told of this after i had parked my car and with the little temper i had, made a little issue over there scolding them at the counters and at one of the men who was an officer or so. there was no apology from them.

it was an outburst from me since this is not the first time that i have encountered such rude Thai Airways staff at the airport. They seem to think of themselves as an authority (superior?). and hence be able to be rude. It is the same at the Thai Airasia counters as well. They have their drinks and knanoms and even rice at the counters while working.

Is it only me or have any of you guys experience such rudeness? Tell me guys, am i being paranoid about the whole situation? I could only imagine why an airline like Malaysian Airlines which is terribly making loses due to "management malpractises" can still make it as one out of four only 5 Star rating airlines in the world. They have extermely nice staff providing the services and now with the management change, hopefully they can turn back into the black on paper.

Thai Airways? going down!. Corruption? you bet! the least they could do is be nice to their customers.

The rep probably had a bad day. Not very professional of her to behave like that, but there you go.

Either way, in Thailand causing a scene, in 99 cases out of a 100 does not help you get anywhere, unless you have some serious poo yai status to back it up with. Apologies after somebody has gotten hot under the collar are rare in my experience. Even if you are right to complain.

Here, the issue discussed often becomes secondary to that of losing control over one's temper. And once it has come to raised voices, Thais VERY rarely back down.

[groo]

Was out this morning to send off a relative of mine who happened to come here for a medical conference. Went to the International Thai Air counter and was treated with such rude staff. He put his luggage on the rubber weight roller or whatever you call it and got a rude remark as to "put the bag when i want you to put the bag on it" kinda thing. my wife was with him then and told her that thats not the way to talk. she replied with "don't tell me how to do my job". i was told of this after i had parked my car and with the little temper i had, made a little issue over there scolding them at the counters and at one of the men who was an officer or so. there was no apology from them.

it was an outburst from me since this is not the first time that i have encountered such rude Thai Airways staff at the airport. They seem to think of themselves as an authority (superior?). and hence be able to be rude. It is the same at the Thai Airasia counters as well. They have their drinks and knanoms and even rice at the counters while working.

Is it only me or have any of you guys experience such rudeness? Tell me guys, am i being paranoid about the whole situation? I could only imagine why an airline like Malaysian Airlines which is terribly making loses due to "management malpractises" can still make it as one out of four only 5 Star rating airlines in the world. They have extermely nice staff providing the services and now with the management change, hopefully they can turn back into the black on paper.

Thai Airways? going down!. Corruption? you bet! the least they could do is be nice to their customers.

The rep probably had a bad day. Not very professional of her to behave like that, but there you go.

Either way, in Thailand causing a scene, in 99 cases out of a 100 does not help you get anywhere, unless you have some serious poo yai status to back it up with. Apologies after somebody has gotten hot under the collar are rare in my experience. Even if you are right to complain.

Here, the issue discussed often becomes secondary to that of losing control over one's temper. And once it has come to raised voices, Thais VERY rarely back down.

you are absolutely right. nothings gonna change. i'll work towards making some good new friends who sit in high places so that i can make more out of a scene next time. but then again, i have been succesful in a couple instances of bringing them down from the clouds.

[chuchok]

you are absolutely right. nothings gonna change. i'll work towards making some good new friends who sit in high places so that i can make more out of a scene next time. but then again, i have been succesful in a couple instances of bringing them down from the clouds.

I am starting to agree with this point more and more.I saw a guy at BKK 2 weeks ago let fly at a bird from TG. I don't know the outcome, but the manager was over in a flash trying to placate the customer.Sometimes even giving a Thai a short-sharp-shift can speed things on a little...

[meadish_sweetball]

It depends on who you meet I guess... I still use the persistent polite style, and find it works really well in most cases.

(You do not have to bow your head or apologize or anything, just politely stand your ground and keep stating your case without raising your voice. If that does not have any appreciable effect, it is possible to demand to see the manager without screaming... )

[chanchao]

Nok Air is nice.

Cute little Nokkies, always a smile..

TG.. well, they do have a reputation about their staff.. Their HR is pretty much feudal.

Cheers,

Chanchao

[chanchao]

(Yes I know Nok is owned by TG.. But there's a world of difference in attitude.. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if TG staff severely looked down on the Nong Nokkies..)

[groo]

(Yes I know Nok is owned by TG.. But there's a world of difference in attitude.. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if TG staff severely looked down on the Nong Nokkies..)

i am pretty sure they do!

[JXXXL]

Generally speaking, the attitude of Thai airways staff is appaling. I used to fly Singapore airlines in and out of Bangkok a lot. SIA did some cost cutting and outsourced their ground crew to TG and the TG people were always so incredibly rude.

I don't hesitate to scold one of the TG staff when they have an attitude and I can get pretty nasty. If you don't get an apology, at least you've had a chance to let them know what an a$$hole they are being.

Getting into TG is a big deal among Thais and I guess their management are too stupid to make them understand their place in the food chain. Doesn't surprise me in the least here in Thailand.

Edited April 5, 2006 by JXXXL

[Markymark]

I have just written a letter of complaint to Thai Airways (in London) over the attitude of their ground staff at BKK and CNX. What a contrast they are to the flight crew, who are usually pretty good.

I will let you know if I get a response!

M

[MichaelShort]

I never had any real problems actually, but I agree with what "meadish_sweetball" says "Thais VERY rarely back down" and "in 99 cases out of a 100 does not help you get anywhere" . God forbidde the day I can speak Thai, I will probably be on the top 10 "hit-list" contracts.

[Larry]

I've flown in and out of CMX at least 25 times on Thai, and I only encountered staff rudeness twice....from the same lady. Very heavyset and scowling and fortyish. After this, I make sure to choose a different counter when I see her.

[PeaceBlondie]

In the last 30 months, I've probably flown 60,000 miles with Thai. Only one time did the staff act uncooperative, and that was at the Chiang Mai ticket office. I was asking for the impossible. But I kept smiling and being courteous. When the light finally dawned on me about my error, SHE suggested I pay for business class instead, and voila! my friend was booked, BKK-CNX. We were on the wrong waiting list.

Their website, however, often doesn't load, doesn't show prices or flights or availabilities or make a a reservation - nothing usually works right. I always go to the ticket office and when they ask why I didn't book on the website, I say "Not work, mae dai, bad website, not work, mae dai." And they charge me an extra fee, but what else can I do?

All the ladies have treated me well, and Thai has some of the cutest male flight attendants in Asia. Even the ladies are good looking, far more than the middle aged fatsos on Capital or UA's Tokyo-SFA flight.

[earlofwindermere]

We had the same problem at the International counter as well. The domestic staff seem very nice though.

[p1p]

TG sometimes have a problem, but nowhere near as bad as Thai Air Asia - In my book the worst airline I have ever flown.

As with Meadish, quiet persistence normally works.