Rude CRD Agent
 

Last March my pants got ripped when it snagged on an exposed metal on the seat of the A350. The ISM took photos and said she will file a report but I should also send in a feedback so that CRD could reach out to me. After a few days the agent informed me that CX will reimburse me for my damaged pants, all i need to do is send in the receipt for a new pair and they will process it for me. I sent them a receipt last April 11, they gave me a form which I also accomplished and sent back to them on the same day, and informed me to wait 2-3 weeks. After 3 weeks the reimbursement has not been credited, so I decided to write them an email just to check on the status and if they could give me an update. After not hearing from them in a week, I decided to write another email, I expressed my disappointment and frustration not with the processing of the reimbursement but with their inability to provide an update when asked. This was the response I received

First, I can't believe there was no apology for the delays, thats the least one could offer at this point. Second, I can't believe that all cases will be at a standstill if one agent goes on leave, shouldn't someone pick up his/her workload while he/she is away? Third complete the tone of the email is really dismissive...and almost offensive.

Any idea where you can file a feedback against CRD?

While the response is not apologetic, I don’t find the email offensive or rude.

This is neither rude motel offensive. Honestly, what kind of fake sympathy did you really expect?

Not fake sympathy but at least an apology, the agent did not reply to an email for a week and all he said was "I was on vacation" and I'm supposed to be okay with that?

I do find it dismissive hence rude.

I honestly see nothing wrong with the reply. It is factual and concise. In fact, I hate the syrupy CS emails that remind me how important I am and how sorry they are about the hardships I’ve had to endure. BA is a master at those.

Cultural differences i guess, which is why I don't think CX should outsource CRD to India, clearly agents there lack the capacity to handle cultural sensitivities of majority of their customers in East Asia.

I don't find it dismissive either. They said what they are going to do and that they would get back to you.

2 weeks late...

The email was neither rude nor dismissive. And what makes you so sure he was on vacation? He said he had “returned to work....after being away on leave”. Did it occur to you it may have been a emergency medical leave? Or a bereavement leave? Or leave to care for a sick child or spouse or parent? If that was the case, would you then “be okay with that”? Not that it is really any of your business why he was on leave.

Are you more interested in the apology or the reimbursement? Decide what your priorities are. If the apology is more important to you, then devote your efforts to remedying that war crime. If the reimbursement is more important, then maybe an approach of, "Oh, that's OK. Now that you're back, what do we need to do to move this forward?" will help you reach your goal.

An apology of course. At this point I really don't care if I get the US$258 or not.

The response is extremely rude....

The company is at fault they should be apologizing all the time....

CX customer service gets worse day by day.

Wow. My priorities are different.

This would be rude:

"Dear FlyPointyEnd, please stop chasing us for your trouser reimbursement. We received your many emails, but please understand that you are not our only customer service case. In fact, your precious trousers are way down our list of priorities. We'll get to it when we get to it. I've just come back from a vacation in Bali and frankly can't bring myself to deal with the crap I have to take in my pointless job. Next time, walk more carefully. Yours sincerely, CX customer services."

That's rude, dismissive, and offensive. What you got was a professional reply.

Have any DMs still been able to get HKG-based CS replies recently?

i find it bad CS. they are 1) 4-5 weeks late 2) unapologetic based on a reason that doesnt really apply as a reason for being late. (seriously, having a holiday? is that one person the only person in the office?) and 3) not proactive.

you have a reply that doesnt care about you being a customer which is the new CX norm - "oh giving water to OWE is not black and white so why should i do it"

258 USD is neither a lot of money or petty amount. a few of us can easily afford it, but dragging on forever is not the way to go.

I've found a few emails higher up on the corporate ladder. i dont know if you'd want that.

indeed, it was neither. it's just the "i-dont-care-about-work" attitude like the cabin crew in economy, who will in time be the business class and first class crew.

Well, I was expecting a reply after killing 2 cockroaches in F in April 2018.

The second one crawled across my table in front of the FP and ISM, who were apologizing for the first one (which I killed while I was cleaning the table before take off).

I didn't write an email / comment card but the ISM filed a report. She also gave me some service coupons.

Should I be expecting an email? CX obviously doesn't care and I have zero expectations...

if you are not expecting an email then you'll be fine. you'll get one if you write them one. not sure about the result, perhaps.
when i had bed bugs last time they told me to sod off, and when i complained more i got an A-card.

Off topic - but $258 for a pair of trousers !! Also, why not reply back to that email saying you found it offensive and were expecting an apology for delayed response. Alternatively, you can see if this works for you LMGTFY

Not every culture places so much emphasis on apologising like Brits and Americans do. I'd just suck it up and get over it.

the best thing to do is take a picture and post it on social media.
Then CX will treat you like a God and they will actually put in procedures to minimize cockroaches

And if they take it down, pass to OD and Apple Daily to do their thing.

That is horrible!!! Not to mention it happened in F. Another post suggests that there was bed bugs in the crew bunk in one of the A350s. This is utterly unacceptable. Cleanliness is VERY VERY important. Please, after upsetting passengers with appalling food quality, do not disappoint us with a dirty cabin!

Wonder if there is a direct correlation between insect infestation and deep cleaning efforts by CX, I think from twice a month, they are now only doing it monthly.

What I found lacking in the process was that when the agent went on leave (for whatever reason) for a week, no one else picked up the work load.

I could put aside apologies until the end since that doesn't really remedy my compalint for reimbursement. Just say sorry once, when my complaint has been resolved would be my preference vs. sorry at every step until it just sounds like lip service.

Appalling food quality. Dirty cabins. And you continue to fly CX because ....?

I just wish he apologized for not getting back quickly as he was on leave...saying it as a matter of fact to me feels awfully rude. Regardless how people feel about false interest or sympathy, as Cathay's Customer Relations Department they should at least make it appear that they do care for their passengers/customers.

I note you put your location as Manila. CX is a Hong Kong airline and I would say that kind of response is pretty common in HK so I would be very surprised if you were getting an email from an Indian centre - that seems far more HK to me! Chinese people are very abrupt and factual (and that's the good ones, the bad ones just say "cannot" to whatever your request is and walk away). Live with it. I think the lack of an apology for the cockroaches is far more serious than your professional email exchange, which says far more about you than it does about Cathay.

You know I hate people making an excuse for poor customer service in HK just because it's its not in HK's "DNA". Honestly while I do get "that" at times at eateries and food stalls, I don't recall having a bad customer service experience at high end restaurants or hotels in HK. Abrupt and factual is one thing, but I think it its unprofessional for the agent to just say I was on leave without at least offering an apology. I don't really know whats so wrong with expecting an apology because clearly some lapses happened on the airline side. I mean will it be really that inefficient if the agent said, "I apologize for the delay in response, as I have just returned to work today." vs "I have returned to work today, after being away on leave, therefore the delayed response."?

I maybe alone in thinking that an apology will make things right, I was raised to apologize immediately when at fault, own up to my mistakes and try to make amends. Personally, I don't care if I get my money today, tomorrow or next month, the proper thing to do is at least say you are sorry for not getting back to the person sooner as you were away (I really don't care if it was for business or pleasure.) at least the person would not think his follow ups were ignored.

What people fail to realize or refuse to accept is we are talking about Cathay Pacific's Customer Relations Department...and we're not talking about some accommodation of a request by Marco Polo Club. I would assume the main reason the CRD is there is to maintain good relations with their customers...clearly you cannot foster any goodwill between customer and the company if the company representative comes across as curt and unapologetic.

**I tried to search for the agent's name and found that he's based in HK but doesn't seem to be a local.

You're wrong. That's not rude.

You should pick your battles. This is not one of them.

I got my funds and got an apology from CRD today so I'm good.

Crazy disgusting!!! Would you please let us know which route this is? For my more than two decades of frequent flying, I have only seen roach once onboard Singapore Air TPE-SIN Y. SIN is the only SE Asia destination for me, rest of my travel all to NE Asia or US/EU.

BTW, the one on SQ jumped on my table when I was about to have my meal, scared the crap out of my wife and kids, and I, like Psychiatrist, had to kill it myself. I did show the body to the FAs, but forgot to take a pic. They were very apologetic, and promised to sterilize the whole plane after landing. Afterward, I exchanged tons of phones and emails with SQ for like 6 weeks, then finally got 50000 AC miles in the end. It was an AC redemption trip right before it got devalued:)

I'd also think that the email is impolite even in common workplace internal email standard. Glad you got the case resolved in the end.

As for cockroach, well unfortunately cases seem to happen every while and then. Better if you at least send a simple email to further raise the flag; one more case is one more alert (hopefully).

While subpar food seems to be a general case now, dirty cabin isn't, at least not from my recent experiences, and i hope it wont be in the future. I would say those cockroaches, bed bugs are alerts that definitely need attention.

As for the email, having one simple sentence saying 'i sincerely apologize for the long wait' makes the perception much much better.