i ignore the seatbelt signs

Here is what Emirates wrote me back. Basically it was probably a pre-written letter with no investigation since they talk about checked bags in the response. I had no checked bags. They don’t even address the accident! How can an airline have such good service in the air, and such terrible customer service on the ground? It’s baffling:

“Thank you for contacting Emirates. I welcome the opportunity to respond to your comments.

I regret to learn that you were unable to travel on flight EK 0404 from Dubai to Melbourne on 29 January 2018. I understand how unsettling this situation must have been for you. As our seasoned traveler, we do respect your portrayal of facts, and I can assure you that we take note of every concern raised by our customers



I note from your correspondence that on arrival of your flight from New York, you boarded an incorrect bus (Business Class) which was dropping off at Terminal 1



May I clarify that baggage will be removed from a plane if the passenger has not presented their boarding card at the boarding gate within the stipulated time before the scheduled time of departure, ready to board the plane. The plasma screens located throughout the airport concourse, show the latest information on flight departures. (What is he talking about? I had no checked baggage.)



Please allow me to explain that it is the passenger's responsibility to board their flight within the stipulated time. However, a report from our Airport Services Manager in Dubai shows that you eventually reported too late to be accepted on the flight.



I am also concerned to learn of your disappointment with the service attitude of our ground staff. All of our staff members, and those of our contractors, are trained and encouraged to always interact with customers in a courteous and professional manner. It is also our customer service ethos to be respectful of customers and to provide them with the highest standard of service that Emirates is known for. We do not condone service or behavior that is inconsistent with these values. I would like to assure you that the details of your experience and the impression created to you have been taken into account.



Mr X, whilst we can understand your concerns, I must point out that the predicament you found yourself in was not due to Emirates. (Yes it was)



Thank you for allowing me to explain and for your understanding. (Nothing was explained and there was no understanding except that they’re right, I’m wrong.)



Yours sincerely,


xxxxxxx

Customer Affairs”

....And that, as they say, is that! By sharing this experience with everyone I hoped I’ve shown do everything in your power to not have any hiccups in your travels where you have to deal with Emirates ground staff. If you do, good luck.

I don’t want to sue, and I really don’t want anything from them aside from my extra day in Australia back which is not posssible. I just want to be treated like a human being, and not like some cattle being shipped to another gate. I see now that EK has some serious customer service issues, and instead of addressing the problems they have, they just continue to blame the customer in this instance, and to me that’s very sad. How arrogant is it to say flat out in the email that it’s not Emirates fault. Even to some degree, a fair and unbiased third party has to agree it is somewhat their fault. To come right out and say “we didn’t do anything” in the email just demonstrates their attitude towards customers. I didn’t cause the accident, the Emirates vehicles that were involved, that held up my bus, that caused me to miss my connection we’re responsible.

Its sadly pathetic is this letter that the guy has to falsely summarize events, make up things that didn’t happen, and then solely blame me for the grounds mistake. To me it’s quite clear EK has a very serious customer service issues that run very deep, and that’s unfortunate and others should take note.

Now I know why when I was silently looking to find the supervisors name tag, he noticed me eyeballing for it, said some nasty things to me, and started shoving the the name tag in my face because he knew there would be no repercussions for whatever he did. Everyone has agreed in this thread that allowing an employee to just be plain nasty to a customer is wrong, so the issues run fairly deep for EK.

Quite puzzling to me that an airline can have a wonderful on board product, but such abysmal customer service on the ground. Now I know who I’m dealing with if a problem should arise, and others should too. Oh well... that’s life.

Yes a factual statement on its own merit without any background, context, investigation or reasoning.

The reason was Emirates vehicles had an accident on the tarmac that stopped my bus from moving and getting me to the terminal in a reasonable amount of time, thus being unable to get to my gate.

It is EK’s responsibility to drive me from a remote stand in the middle of the airport, to my connecting gate. Unless the rules allow me to hire my own car, and get me to my gate on my own terms, then EK is at fault. What else am I suppose to do? I did not pack a flying carpet.

I wrote them back. They don’t care, and have not responded. I’ve moved on. Their customer service doesn’t give a hoot, and are just interested in blaming the customer. If that’s the route they want to go down, that’s their business decision, and frankly it’s too bad. His response wasn’t even relevant to the situation at hand, and was infested with irrelevant and inaccurate facts so it shows no investigation was done and their customer Service team did not even look into the matter of what happened. Sad, but if that’s how they want to run their airline, all the best to them.