News

Woman’s Luggage Crushed During Flight & Took it to FB: Airline Replied Like No Reply

2016-10-10 , 10:49 am

Last Updated on 2017-05-27 , 4:45 pm

Flying to exotic and not-so-exotic countries on a plane is pretty much common place now. And together with the joys (and not-so-joyful experience of people who hates flying), comes along another problem: luggage issues. No, we’re not referring to excess baggage charges nor are we referring to the troublesome process of packing for your trip. We’re talking about something simpler, something you can’t control. The handling of your luggage.

Baggage Handlers and Sturdy Luggage

With the advent of more powerful planes which are able to carry more weight comes a baggage compartment that allows you to bring more than you can carry. Traditionally, airlines and insurance companies have a love-hate relationship. The airline destroys the luggage, direct affected passengers to insurance companies, the insurance companies pay the insured. Of course, without the airline baggage handling teams, no one will find the need to buy insurance. So love-hate relationship. Geddit? We’ve heard horror stories about how airlines (mis)treat your luggage. And plenty of times, the airline customer service had to pacify the irate passengers. But what if the airline customer service managed to screw up? This is what happens.

KLM Airlines, it sounds fake but that’s because you’ve obviously not flown to Europe much

If you’ve not heard of this airline before, it’s okay. I didn’t until this happened so hey! Free publicity, right? On 5th Oct, an irate passenger Xiang Ying took to Facebook to air her frustrations at the damage done to her luggage and the poor service recovery attempt made by the Customer Care department. And the story will make you go whaaat?!

Here’s a short summary in case you’re too lazy to read the full post.

She took KLM airlines and her luggage was crushed and damaged badly. The airline promised to replace or compensate within 24 hours but didn’t respond to her until 1 week later. They wanted her to bring the damaged luggage back home for them to conduct an investigation into the case. She claimed that throughout the process, she didn’t get in touch with any humans but liaised through website forms and no-reply emails. The airline finally decided to compensate her S$15 as a gesture of good will. To add salt to the wound, the airline finally got back to her with the message: “We hope this gesture of goodwill helps towards restoring your confidence in our airline.” Yup, I won’t blame her for hopping mad. But that’s not all.

Now we get to the really interesting part of the Facebook Post

So, every company worth its salt will have a service recovery team not just online, but offline as well. And KLM is not an exception. Unfortunately, this time, the online service recovery team seems to be unable match the return volley. Here’s their reply in case you can’t read it.

We understand where you’re coming from at the moment, Xiang. Please be advised that this case has undergone thorough review. Every details was taken into consideration. Unfortunately, our Customer Care’s decision is final and we cannot revert it.

Not satisfied, Xiang asked how the $15 compensation was derived and complained about the amount not even able to get a replacement luggage in Singapore.

We can only imagine the disappointment this process has caused, Xiang. Believe us when we say that we feel for you and our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience caused. Moreover, our Customer Care Team has the authority to make such decisions and we have very little to say or cannot do anything to step-in in their decisions. Appreciate your kind understanding on this matter.

See what we mean now?

Netizens’ reactions to KLM Singapore

Netizens, of course, were pretty unimpressed with the airline. Doubly so when the airline was a pretty good airline. One even suggested changing their name to “Customer Don’t Care” team. While others believed in an-eye-for-an-eye attitude. So they love giving out $15? See how they like it when they kena the same thing.

And of course, our favourite comment

For sarcasm, you get 10/10. For logic, sorry. Zero.

Because Starbucks.

Always bored during your commute to and fro work or school? Here’s the best solution: download our app for new articles, Facebook videos and YouTube videos that are updated daily…and most importantly, exclusive contents that are only available in our app! It’s your perfect companion for your daily commute!

Click Here to Download the App!

**All images from Facebook (Xiang Ying) unless otherwise stated.

This article was first published on goodyfeed.com