SheBangsTheDrums

What actually happened?

ok986

I was on a late-evening KL short-haul (ex-AMS) and after the gate agent asked for volunteers to stay behind, I volunteered, having been promised a compensation of 250 Euro and connection via GVA (KL+AZ) the next day noon (putting me to my destination early afternoon).

After the flight departed, I was supposed to have been picked up by someone to get the compensation and new travel arrangement. This didn't happen, and after about 40 minutes waiting, I was brought to the Transfer desk by the gate agent. On our way to the Transfer desk, the gate agent told me that after a discussion with her supervisor, I would be offered either 250 Euro in cash or 350 Euro in vouchers towards future travel.

Already when the gate agent handed me to the supervisor at the Transfer desk, things were odd, because the supervisor very loudly complained about the "klotzaks van Air France" who are on strike and KL staff must work extra.

After about another 20 minutes (it was about 10pm at this point), the agent came over to me with an already-opened prepaid credit card for 250 Euro and a booking for a new flight - via LCY (without consulting with me beforehand). I explained the supervisor that the agent mentioned the possibility of getting 350 Euro in vouchers, which clearly upset the supervisor, because she told me that I should be thankful for getting any compensation at all, given that KLM's company policy is not to give volunteers more than 70 Euro in compensation.

Then I told the supervisor that if I fly on BA via LCY, I would not have any SkyPriority benefits (extra bag, lounge access etc), and asked whether she'd give me any vouchers for lounge use or anything else (I had two checked bags). She got really upset, told me that my behavior is "helemaal apart" and "echt vervelend" (in the most aggressive way) and underlined that due to the AF strike, I should be “dankbaar” for any seat at all.

She then proceeded to explain how "apart" would it be if KL opened its lounges to passengers of other airlines, as from then on, I was a BA passenger and KLM had no more business with me. She literally said "iedereen wil komen, spullen op de tafel zetten , lekker koffie drinken, misschien e-mailtje rustig schrijven" but that was only for "onze business class passagiere en veelvliegers".

So I was handed envelope (containing the already-opened credit card and a 10 Euro coffee voucher), the itinerary for the BA trip and the lady walked away.

Next morning, I went to the KLM Ticket Counter to ask whether the originally-promised connection via GVA is still possible. I was told that it was sold out, but the agent advised me not to travel via LCY given the short connection time (35 min). Instead, she advised to fly to directly to a nearby destination (on KL) and take a train/bus from there. My bags arrived 2 days later.

The day after, I succeeded to submit my complaint through KL Facebook team and am now waiting (7 days, at this point) for a reply.

johan rebel

I submit that she and KLM should have been "dankbaar" that you voluntarily gave up your seat on the flight you were originally booked on.

Johan

mfkne

Given how that went I think KLM's response will be that they find this "heel vervelend" but that there's nothing else they can do.

Hobbes01

Since this document is already five years old, it is clearly not relevant any more. But it would be interesting to keep a print out to refer to and ask which of the seven service standards they are aspiring to meet.

Many years ago, KLM had a wonderful print ad with the words (more or less): "Some airlines think service is measured by the smile on a stewardess' face. At KLM it is measured by the smile on the passenger's face." How sad it is to see where they are now.

ok986

The end of the story - KLM e-mailed, apologized, expressed shock at the behavior of their employees and offered to pay for the extra costs I incurred during the trip (~50 Euro). I was also assured that this will be taken up with the management and that the employee will have to explain herself over the incident.

A bit slow (took them 10 days), but satisfactory.

irishguy28

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/klm-f...-nametags.html

mfkne

Humbug! They're just all part of a big family whose last name is "Attendant" and whose parents for some reason chose to name all their children "Cabin".

lochniss

Is there an email address? I had an issue with Alitalia and Aeroflot this past weekend. I would like to include all parties.

irishguy28

No. You must use the contact form on their website.

Or ring the Customer Care line.

My advice: KLM doesn't need to hear about Alitalia- or Aeroflot-specific problems. Ditto for the other two.

When writing a complaint, you must reduce your letter to a note, and take out all extraneous detail and emotion ("I have been a frequent flyer on KLM, Alitalia, Aeroflot, and many other airlines, both in Europe and all around the world, both for business and for leisure, for 45 years, and I have NEVER encountered as much incompetence in a single trip as I had the misfortune to experience on my recent trip...")

Address the KLM issues to KLM only, and don't bother them with Alitalia or Aeroflot issues - otherwise, you're just asking each airline to pass the buck to the others.

Bullet points, not prose.

Write three separate, targeted notes (not letters).

lochniss

Thanks irishguy, i should have been more clear. I was looking for a skyteam contact. I will contact all three separately via their websites.

Agree on the bullet points, i can't stand going to meetings receiving a lot of filler and no meat.

irishguy28

Skyteam really is only an "umbrella" that exist at a marketing level.

For complaints about a particular airline or particular flight, you will have to turn to each airline. Skyteam doesn't handle these kind of issues.

Good luck and hope you reach a speedy resolution! Unfortunately, airlines are not known for optimum customer service standards

peter21adrian

I've tried 4 devices, 2 countries, 3 browsers, different hours of a day, the same result: We could not process your request. Please try again later.

After one month of chatting on Facebook with KLM (the only way I could contact them) I finally received a claim number.

Funny enough, they understood that my complaint was about the lost connection in Amsterdam, not about the delay of my baggage for 3 days. The link they gived me to reply has the same issue. And there is no possibility to mistake something, because there is only 1 text field.

irishguy28

What is the specific nature of your baggage complaint? If it's just that it took 3 days, then 3 days is more or less considered an "acceptable" (or certainly not unusual) timeframe for getting your luggage to you; and it certainly is better than having your baggage go missing completely.

Given that it is clear you had a misconnection issue at Amsterdam, it is not entirely surprising that your bag went missing. It's part of travel - bags do sometimes take a little longer to show up. Always carry your essentials on your person or in your carryon. If you need to buy essential items at your destination, then keep receipts and submit them.

Was there some other issue?