This summer I flew on Air France and had a distasteful experience with its airport personnel in Los Angeles. Specifically? The manager ripped up my ticket and told me to fly elsewhere. I wanted to tell the cunt where she could fly! Instead I submitted a letter of complaint - twice - and still haven't heard back from the company. You can bet if it concerned a passenger no-show (money!), they'd try to get in contact with me.
(similar slow customer service at AeroMexico)Well. Since the airline thought nothing of my communique, I publish said letter here for your reading amusement. Enjoy:
July 15, 2013
Dear Air France Customer Service:
On July 6th my travels with Air France and its Sky Team got off to a rough start which has left a bad taste in my mouth. I flew out of LAX. Firstly, Delta “cancelled” my paid reservation – a thing of which I was unaware until I went to check-in ! – and it took the counter person close to half an hour (waiting on hold) to sort out the wrong and re-validate my reservation. Then TSA operated at its usual slow, cumbersome pace. All of this resulted in me missing the 9am departure through no fault of my own – unless you regard getting to the airport three hours ahead of schedule, instead of five or seven, reckless.
From here I was rebooked on a later flight with Air France (AF). It is worth noting that I made the original booking with AF and was assigned to Delta. After two and a half hours when AF came on duty I was relieved to know the rebooking was, indeed, intact and that, within a further four hours (!) I would finally be in the sky. When I asked AF for a meal voucher – just as I asked Delta – I was flatly dismissed on policy; namely that you have rules to follow and it is not in the rules to exhibit a little token of customer gratitude – because that’s not in the “interest” of your bottom line. Rules? I followed the rules – early arrival to LAX, luggage under allotted weight, no “terrorist” liquids, proper documentation, stripping down for the cattle call “security” check – and what did I get for it? It’s not our fault and We don’t give meal vouchers.
But the most ridiculous aspect of this mess was when AF’s gaggle of women managers threatened to revoke my ticket if I insisted on complaining AND one of those managers actually ripped up my ticket in my face. Pardon moi?! If your managers cannot take the heat, then they need to get out of the kitchen and stop pretending to be managers. I know my rights as a traveler and one of them includes having the right to complain without fear of reprisal. Your French personnel need to remember this, USA, is not socialist France or a fascist country, and that I do not have to hold my tongue about a company irrespective of whether I am purchasing the goods or service. Outside of saying this Sky Team lacked customer service I never once got personal; but I did – and do – take issue with your stingy policy. That your managers felt personally offended demonstrates their impressive training in conflict resolution. This woman’s stunt of ripping apart my ticket was as weak and stupid as it was pathetic. I prompted demanded a new one – without her condition that I like your rules – and got it.
None of you airlines ever take responsibility for customer dissatisfaction. You give plenty of lip service to the notion but that counts for squat when one is hungry and waiting for another flight or having his boarding pass torn in his face! And then you wonder why customer resentment grows for the airline industry. There was a time when the industry had class and also stood up to the US government’s security meddling. Now, like your all-female managerial staff, you lack balls.
post scriptum: I would like to note that I've received amazingly attentive responses from the Twitter arm of Air France (@airfrance) concerning questions about my ticket and only deal with them now; but the company's Customer Care department still has ignored me on the matter above.
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