A tangential rant from a sourpuss here. I usually don't post in the CX forum, and usually have limited experience with CX (mostly a dozen legs around BKK/HKG/SIN a year in biz).
Today was my first attempt at T4 out of Singapore. It's not really a 100% CX topic, but I found this thread.
First of all, someone working with flow of people and ergonometry cannot possibly have had a hand in the check-in/emigration/security experience in T4. What an unholy clusterfsck.
When showing up to the check-in machine I took 5 seconds extra to look at what was different here from other machines. That resulted in being assailed by two CX staff, one on each side, trying to talk me through this like I was an idiot (I may be, but I'll take that verdict from qualified health professionals, not CX staff) at roughly 100 words per minute. One of them proceeded to starting tapping all across the screen and making my choices for me. At this point I had my first implosion and in very uncertain terms told both of them them to take two steps back, clam up and speak when spoken to.
Then on to the bag drop. I found one saying "Please place bag on belt". So I did. The CX staff in the other counter in the same cubible arrangement interrupted me and told me it wasn't working. So I asked why it then said "Please place bag on belt"? The person behind the desk yanked a cable out of the machine, and now I agreed, it was dead. So I followed the directions to find another machine.
Luckily the next machine in the next cubicle over was open for service, so off I went. Bag placed on belt. The screen happily beamed "Please place bag on belt. One bag at a time" at me. Bag taken off, bag place back on belt. Nothing changed. The staff in the cubible that just sent me away sees this, and decides to dump her customer mid check-in, to go hunt for staff to help me. I'm left standing with a visibly annoyed local that had very little clue about what just happened.
Suddenly a person rushes to help me, with my newfound neighbour now looking slightly more steamy, and goes behind the counter to push some buttons and off the bag goes. If this only was the end of it.
Off to automated emigration, as I now qualify for this. The machine doesn't want to read my passport on the first four tries, another body rushes to help, and in the process decided to pull the passport out of my hands, dropping my boardingpass, lounge invitation, leftover paper from the bag tag, and assorted paperwork from the passport holder all over the carpet... '
And here is the next piece of genious: after you clear emigration and before security, there is no benches, no desks, no chairs, no nothing to get rearranged. So you arrive at security with two hands full of papers, backpack over one shoulder and trying to steal 5 seconds to use the tray to rearrange all the items to get it into the bag and not floating all over. The body manning the machine had hands on the bin before I had managed to set my backpack down, trying to instruct me to walk on. Trying to tell this person I needed 10 seconds to ararnge things and zip up some compartments was to no avail, with that person just mindlessly nagging on.
Then I spent another few minutes doing the guessing game, as my back surely got picked aside, and the person would not show me on the screen what was being looked for, but wanted to their their own random picks at what compartments to look in, insisting I had a book in my back (I didn't).
I get that autoamtion is the future and that some variety of SkyNet is our beloved future. But for the love of travel, teach the CX staff to let people actually try to observe, understand and process what is going on. A two-sided verbal assault will piss people off.
Same goes for "efficiency". Have space for people to prepare and clean up after each stage. It increases the flow of people. I know, my work is related to this stuff. Same for security, let people get 5-10 seconds to rearrange things, fi you see them approaching the security bins with hands full of items, then it doesn't take a genius to understand that getting these items in place will reduce the risk of lost items. Starting to tug their security bin as soon as they have planted their feet at their station is only increasing stress.
Also, have trolleys placed after security. Having somewhere to offload backpacks and luggage might lead to people looking more at the tax free rodeo they get gated through. Being pissed off and looking for a trolley is very seldom how I start my shopping sprees.
The lounge was nice, just past lunch is a quiet time. The accoustics here when it's full must be crap. Now off to get two glasses of Moet and calm down. Singapore T4 is now firmly on my no-fly list. Not even free flow bubbles can save this experience.
Looks like my future BKK/HKG/SIN will be dictated by who isn't flying through T4.
-A