Upgrade fail - refund fail- losing patience!
Jun 4, 2019, 7:24 am
#17
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I experienced a similar issue last week with a flight from AMS>LHR. I selected and paid for the business upgrade at checkin and was issued with an updated boarding pass reflecting the upgraded seat in business class. When I boarded the plane the seat was indeed situated in business class with the separator behind. Just before Taxi the flight crew came out and re-configured the seating by moving the separator one row forward. When I complained to them they were disinterested and said that I would not be charged.
Two days later, you guessed it, a charge appears on my credit card statement. I complained using the online form and received this response:
Thank you for your email dated 3 June 2019 regarding your flight KL 1021 from Amsterdam to London on 30 May 2019. At the outset, I regret to learn that you were unable to travel as planned.
Per your email, I note that you not get the paid seat upgraded in Business class.
We realise the importance of this item functioning correctly, especially since we are aware of the fact of the passengers like to work read/rest during the flight. Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience this caused.
We do acknowledge and realise the impact of such disruption on our passengers’ journey. However, despite our best efforts, we regret that these measures alone could not prevent the inconvenience you mention.
Whilst, we do realise the inconvenience which all the passengers may have encountered, I would like to assure you that our aim is always to attempt to make the journey of our passengers as comfortable as possible. I regret any disappointment you may have experienced.
Please allow me to inform you that the EMD voucher for the chargeable seat has been utilized and since the voucher is fully utilized as per your ticket, we will not be able to refund the voucher. We sincerely apologies for the inconvenience caused.
Furthermore, I am most concerned to learn of your disappointment with our service and our staff not able to help you. Being a responsible airline, our staffs are expected to provide the best possible service at any given situation and it is inexcusable that you should have been confronted with anything else.
I would like to assure you that KLM/Air France places special emphasis on courtesy and customer care. Service, courtesy, a friendly disposition and professional behaviour is the minimum requirement that we demands of its staff, especially for those who work directly with the public. Please be assure that your feedback is most valuable to us and have been logged with department concerned for their review and future improvements, so you would not have to suffer with the same issue in the future.
I hope that the above information serves well on this occasion and trust that when next we have the pleasure of welcoming you on-board our flights, you will find everything to your entire satisfaction.
The fact that they confirm the upgrade did not happen and still have the bare faced cheek to refuse the refund beggars belief. I will be going down the route of requesting refund from my credit card company here as all I can see from KLM is a sheer lack in understanding and customer service.
Two days later, you guessed it, a charge appears on my credit card statement. I complained using the online form and received this response:
Thank you for your email dated 3 June 2019 regarding your flight KL 1021 from Amsterdam to London on 30 May 2019. At the outset, I regret to learn that you were unable to travel as planned.
Per your email, I note that you not get the paid seat upgraded in Business class.
We realise the importance of this item functioning correctly, especially since we are aware of the fact of the passengers like to work read/rest during the flight. Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience this caused.
We do acknowledge and realise the impact of such disruption on our passengers’ journey. However, despite our best efforts, we regret that these measures alone could not prevent the inconvenience you mention.
Whilst, we do realise the inconvenience which all the passengers may have encountered, I would like to assure you that our aim is always to attempt to make the journey of our passengers as comfortable as possible. I regret any disappointment you may have experienced.
Please allow me to inform you that the EMD voucher for the chargeable seat has been utilized and since the voucher is fully utilized as per your ticket, we will not be able to refund the voucher. We sincerely apologies for the inconvenience caused.
Furthermore, I am most concerned to learn of your disappointment with our service and our staff not able to help you. Being a responsible airline, our staffs are expected to provide the best possible service at any given situation and it is inexcusable that you should have been confronted with anything else.
I would like to assure you that KLM/Air France places special emphasis on courtesy and customer care. Service, courtesy, a friendly disposition and professional behaviour is the minimum requirement that we demands of its staff, especially for those who work directly with the public. Please be assure that your feedback is most valuable to us and have been logged with department concerned for their review and future improvements, so you would not have to suffer with the same issue in the future.
I hope that the above information serves well on this occasion and trust that when next we have the pleasure of welcoming you on-board our flights, you will find everything to your entire satisfaction.
The fact that they confirm the upgrade did not happen and still have the bare faced cheek to refuse the refund beggars belief. I will be going down the route of requesting refund from my credit card company here as all I can see from KLM is a sheer lack in understanding and customer service.
WOW, that's quite a cut and paste response. First is sounds like the problem is a seat that doesn't recline or has a reading light that doesn't work, then the problem implicitly seems to be a missed connection or delayed flight, and finally it's rudeness.
It seems bizarre that the curtain was moved after the flight was boarded. Did you show the FA your boarding pass in business class when the curtain was moved? Was there an empty/blocked seat next to you? Was there a meal served in front of the curtain? Were there other passengers in your row and did they think they were flying in coach or business class?
I hope you took a picture of the curtain after it was moved, showing your seat now in coach. I remember KLM telling me many years ago that airport staff cannot move the curtain. This was a case of an earlier flight on my route being cancelled, with KLM packing every seat in front of the curtain (no empty/blocked middle seat) and in fact moving me from my pre-picked aisle to a middle seat at the airport to be nice to passengers on the cancelled flight. On board I pointed out that the first half dozen rows behind the curtain had lots of empty seats, but they told me that they had no capability to move the curtain at the outstation. This would have been such an easy way to fix the problem.
Another time on a wide body my assigned seat on a business class ticket was in the second business cabin, so I boarded with business class and settled into my seat. However, as boarding continued, I realized that many of the people around me were traveling in coach (KLM did that often, so people who knew would request seats in the first few rows of coach early at the airport). When I showed my boarding pass to the purser, she told me to move to a bad seat (IIRC middle in a 2-3-2 configuration) in the forward business class cabin since the FAs didn't want to bother service me my business class meal and wine entitlement in a seat one row behind the other business class passengers.
It seems bizarre that the curtain was moved after the flight was boarded. Did you show the FA your boarding pass in business class when the curtain was moved? Was there an empty/blocked seat next to you? Was there a meal served in front of the curtain? Were there other passengers in your row and did they think they were flying in coach or business class?
I hope you took a picture of the curtain after it was moved, showing your seat now in coach. I remember KLM telling me many years ago that airport staff cannot move the curtain. This was a case of an earlier flight on my route being cancelled, with KLM packing every seat in front of the curtain (no empty/blocked middle seat) and in fact moving me from my pre-picked aisle to a middle seat at the airport to be nice to passengers on the cancelled flight. On board I pointed out that the first half dozen rows behind the curtain had lots of empty seats, but they told me that they had no capability to move the curtain at the outstation. This would have been such an easy way to fix the problem.
Another time on a wide body my assigned seat on a business class ticket was in the second business cabin, so I boarded with business class and settled into my seat. However, as boarding continued, I realized that many of the people around me were traveling in coach (KLM did that often, so people who knew would request seats in the first few rows of coach early at the airport). When I showed my boarding pass to the purser, she told me to move to a bad seat (IIRC middle in a 2-3-2 configuration) in the forward business class cabin since the FAs didn't want to bother service me my business class meal and wine entitlement in a seat one row behind the other business class passengers.
Jun 4, 2019, 9:35 am
#18
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The response you got is the most garbled and ridiculous customer service response I have ever read...shocking!!!
Jun 4, 2019, 12:43 pm
#19
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But the flight attendants sure can.
I've been on several flights where the curtain was in the wrong position. In two instances an entire row of J pax had ended up behind the curtain, which was then promptly moved back. Matter of seconds.
On another flight a single J pax had somehow ended up in the first row behind the curtain, the others were all coach pax. The purser told him there was nothing she could do, and that she could not provide J service in coach. Once in flight he was served a J meal anyway, though.
Johan
Jun 4, 2019, 10:51 pm
#20
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Sorry, I can’t resist to post the link for a famous TV commercial for Air Liberté, a defunct domestic airline who was fighting against Air Inter, the former national domestic airline in France (now part of AF). This is completely on topic. This was in 1999 ! Enjoy 
Air liberté : Le rideau - Culture Pub
Air liberté : Le rideau - Culture Pub
Jun 8, 2019, 1:25 am
#22
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