Without a doubt Turkish provides a great product in the air and with its Istanbul flagship lounge. Beside the problem that most Turkish ground staff is unfriendly and unhelpful, the customer service never gets back to you, or if replying than with anything but the answer to your original request. Here is my experience of the day:

Two weeks ago I cancelled an award booking. I tried to do it online, since I booked it online but Turkish Airlines not very helpful website showed as so often just an error message.

I called and agent from the Elite Plus line and he advised me I had to go to the airport for a refund of taxes and miles. I would get that against a fee of €20. He said that since I paid online with Debit Card (issued by Turkish Airlines partner bank) there is no other way but to do it through a TK office which is at the airport.

After calling back twice to speak to different agents I was told both times the same.

As I need the miles for another award I went to the airport in Istanbul today which is an hour drive from where I live. At the airport I was told by very rude staff that I have to call for getting a refund.
I told them that I called all together three times and was sent there. The agents (at the Elite ticketing counter) refused to talk to the phone agent of customer services. Regrettably I raised my voice which I hate to do and all the sudden the phone agent tells me that they were wrong and they have to do the refund via the hotline?!?

He asked me to pay €20 so he would process the refund. I politely told him that I will not pay the €20 and expect a full refund without fees and a compensation since they made me go to the airport.

The agent said he would forward the matter to the customer service who would probably refund me the €20. Seriously? I was refused to talk to a supervisor both from the phone agent, as well as at the airport.

So I wrote Turkish Airlines via Facebook. They responded quickly, with no explanation and wanting to charge me the €20.

I am also top tier with other airlines. With the elite call centers of LH, AA or even the new UA ,one can escalate such a matter in a friendly tone very quickly to a supervisor to get a solution.

Whoever is responsible for the customer service and the training of those people should be replaced.
No one in this company gives you the same answer to the very same question. We know that already when it comes to upgrades against miles or vouchers.

The most annoying thing is that when TK ground staff runs out of arguments they start to raise their voice and eventually yell at you, resulting that I regrettably did the same in response. That of course should not have happened but the entire situation freaked me out.

Turkish Airlines customer service is just like from a third world country airline. You would expect that in Burkina Faso but certainly not from an airline that reaches out to be a top global player.

I am waiting for my refund minus the €20 and a compensation plus apology for staff shouting at me. Until then I take my business elsewhere. It is not about the €20, just imagine you have a real problem with them.