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A horrible experience with Aer Lingus Barcelona-Cork flight
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17-08-2010 6:00pm#1
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Guys, this is not a letter I sent them. They don't accept letters anyway (fax only). This was something I wrote to be able to refer to when I visited the desk at Cork airport last Sunday, and during a phonecall on Monday. As such, it necessarily needs to be long as to contain all details (relevant, semi-relevant, irrelevant, positive, negative etc). It is a fair an accurate account though.
As advised, I sent a fax outlining the general issues for complaint (lack of attention to passengers, lack of information, lack of visibility of staff, refusal of passenger rights, unwarranted and vile personal abuse, etc) in concise fashion.
Appreciate some of the comments and advice above guys, thanks.
I hope that Aer Lingus can sort out the ongoing problems with Newco's service, and to give Newco their due here, their COO has been very quick to get back to me by email and appears to be genuinely interested in dealing with the matter. We'll see.
This is not the first time I've encountered problems with Newco, but delays and cancellation are a fairly routine thing in modern air travel. We've all experienced it at one time or another. The manner in which the company deals with such a crisis is key, and in all my many years of travelling and flying I have never encountered a company so apparently ill-equipped to deal with what is hardly an act of god. Basic manners and courtesy cost nothing either, being arrogant and insulting (even in the face of provocation, and I was not personally rude nor did I raise my voice) is never the answer. From a personal level, I feel that I did everything I was asked to do by the company and ultimately left shafted.
Just as I would recommend a company or service to a friend, I think it's equally fair that one would let it be known when something goes seriously askew. Bear in mind that there were a lot of disgruntled and upset passengers stranded outside that carpark besides myself asking the same questions. I'm not arrogant enough to think that posting this on a forum will change or improve anything, but we can only live in hope.
And feck it, won't I be flying the same route with the same shower in just under a fortnight's time.
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Okay Izzy, re point 1:
I was accompanied to the airport and my friend left for town shortly before 10pm. Not having a mobile has been a drag, for sure. But ironically I'd been thinking earlier that day, wow, it's not all that hard to live without these things, is it? Bigger fool me. And for the pick up at the other end, my oul' fella RELIGIOUSLY checks flight information before heading to the airport, so that wasn't a worry even to the extent that I didn't even need to use my friend's mobile to advise him. He's on the ball when it comes to this sort of thing, I ordinarily check too but didn't on this occasion. But all in all, that's no biggie.
2.
I will say several things about her. I witnessed her being rude and curt with her own staff (she didn't seem to have anythinng indicating seniority) which I picked up upon very quickly. I did say early on that I did not need a hotel. I did say early on that I just needed to make those two phone-calls. At that point I would have been out the gap, because airports are a depressing place at the best of the times. I was simply told to go and stand outside the carpark where we would all be atttended to, and did as I was told.
With hindsight I should have left there and then, but I thought, okay, grand.
I can't make this part clear enough- I had already said that I didn't need a hotel. I didn't want a hotel. I was fine on that score. Barca's like a home to me, as I've said. If my flight was cancelled in Cork I sure as hell wouldn't stay in a hotel, I'd go home. What I did need as a matter of urgency here was use of the phone. All these things like booking hotels, buses, herding people, take time an effort (although I am sure these eventualities are all planned for, I don't think they did these things badly). But as for letting a guy make a couple of phone calls? A thing of nothing, really.
What irked me, was that after doing as told, and waiting much time to be attended to, all that happened was that buses for hotels arrived. A service I had already made clear I didn't need. And no reps. I really didn't know what to do at this point, and continued to wait. This was my biggest mistake- at this point I just about had enough time to make the metro. Here, I'll hold my hand up here- I screwed this one up, and learned a valuable lesson in the process.
Now when I finally realise no reps are coming, I hotfoot it back to the terminal, and I encounter the woman who I had already told i did not need a hotel. She gave me short shrift, so I went inside, did my utmost to locate other staff, went to information, the company's offices, the check in desk we'd been sent to early- no-one. And it dawns on me that maybe I now can't make it in to the city. I go outside to find the staff as advised. I am then instantly treated to a barrage of abuse, taunted and insulted at this point. Why would the woman be stressed now? They had done their job of sending 100+ by coach to a hotel whilst maintaining minimal to zero presence throughout. The presence thing to me is important- even if it's just one or two people offering token attention. More than that, is is a legal obligation.
*end note* the new flight details were known by the time i encountered her when she abused me from the off, as her calmer colleague was able to inform with some precision. this wasn't an issue at the time.
3.
I would definitely agree on all points. But only with the benefit of hindsight. i will just say again, I stated that I would not be requiring a hotel early on. in order to avail of the other things i was entitled and needed, i did as was told and was pretty much shafted. I am an extremely polite person but I was left exasperated by the end of it.
So yes, I know now that in future if i find myself in this situation and nothing is forthcoming, it's just less hassle to leave.
Really though, even as I worried looking at the clock I never thought I would be left absiolutely stranded at the airport. Even if the hotel had been the 5 Star Melia i would have preferred to stay with my friends, in my old apartment.
So in hindsight, I can easily say yes- I was a bit of an idiot. I was naive in the extreme. But at the same token, I did what I was told to do at every step and found myself left hight and dry and that's what galls me more than anything.
Yes- next time I will just exit the building the second the flight is cancelled when I'm on something resembling home turf. But I will say this- i have travelled much in my life, experienced countless delays, several cancellations, but never such ineptitude and rudeness.
Really. Two phone calls would have done it for me.
In short, I could have handled things better for sure, but my god they should have handled things a hell of a lot better.
And, after all this, I would just hope that Newco could improve their customer service skills (as I've said, this is not an isolated incident, just the most spectacularly bad- if i started on others I'd be here all day. Don't have the desire to drag up old muck). At present, on a scale of 1-10, i would have them hovering above zero. A LOT of other passengers waiting were complaining about the lack of information, presence, and attention too. But we are nothing if not a patient or jolly lot us, us Irish, and I think that that natural side of our character was taken advantage of as the company abrogated all but the bare minimum in terms of care.
Look I'll stop here as I'm rambling now. I hope I have answered your questions.
Slán.0 -
Okay Izzy, re point 1:
I was accompanied to the airport and my friend left for town shortly before 10pm. Not having a mobile has been a drag, for sure. But ironically I'd been thinking earlier that day, wow, it's not all that hard to live without these things, is it? Bigger fool me.
Still don't see why you had no change, or couldn't get any, for a public phone? Or couldn't somehow borrow someone else's? I'm sure there had to be a solution other than the airline providing you with a phone.I can't make this part clear enough- I had already said that I didn't need a hotel. I didn't want a hotel. I was fine on that score. Barca's like a home to me, as I've said. If my flight was cancelled in Cork I sure as hell wouldn't stay in a hotel, I'd go home. What I did need as a matter of urgency here was use of the phone. All these things like booking hotels, buses, herding people, take time an effort (although I am sure these eventualities are all planned for, I don't think they did these things badly). But as for letting a guy make a couple of phone calls? A thing of nothing, really.
I agree, but I also would have just found a way to make my own calls if it was so important.What irked me, was that after doing as told, and waiting much time to be attended to, all that happened was that buses for hotels arrived. A service I had already made clear I didn't need. And no reps. I really didn't know what to do at this point, and continued to wait. This was my biggest mistake- at this point I just about had enough time to make the metro. Here, I'll hold my hand up here- I screwed this one up, and learned a valuable lesson in the process.
I still didn't understand why you didn't just go to the hotel. You had no money, it was late, you had no info about the next flight. Why pick the option which makes everything ten times more difficult than it needs to be? You also would have had access to a phone at the hotel.Now when I finally realise no reps are coming, I hotfoot it back to the terminal, and I encounter the woman who I had already told i did not need a hotel. She gave me short shrift, so I went inside, did my utmost to locate other staff, went to information, the company's offices, the check in desk we'd been sent to early- no-one. And it dawns on me that maybe I now can't make it in to the city. I go outside to find the staff as advised. I am then instantly treated to a barrage of abuse, taunted and insulted at this point. Why would the woman be stressed now? They had done their job of sending 100+ by coach to a hotel whilst maintaining minimal to zero presence throughout. The presence thing to me is important- even if it's just one or two people offering token attention. More than that, is is a legal obligation.
Working in an airport or any tourism related job is stressful. Believe me. I am not excusing her for one minute but when you have people in your face all day, every day, insisting that their mistakes are your fault, it starts to wear a bit thin. But she shouldn't have told you to f*ck off, no. Although it sounds like she only did so because you provoked her. You probably know that asking someone to say something to your face is quite aggressive in Spain and doesn't really ever encourage a civil response. 'Hostia, que se vaya' is a rude thing to say when the person is standing in front of you, but it isn't abuse.*end note* the new flight details were known by the time i encountered her when she abused me from the off, as her calmer colleague was able to inform with some precision. this wasn't an issue at the time.
Fair enough.3.
I would definitely agree on all points. But only with the benefit of hindsight. i will just say again, I stated that I would not be requiring a hotel early on. in order to avail of the other things i was entitled and needed, i did as was told and was pretty much shafted. I am an extremely polite person but I was left exasperated by the end of it.
If you'd just made your own phone calls, it all would have been avoided. No, technically, you shouldn't have had to, but it would have cost you about a euro and saved you all this hassle.So yes, I know now that in future if i find myself in this situation and nothing is forthcoming, it's just less hassle to leave.
Really though, even as I worried looking at the clock I never thought I would be left absiolutely stranded at the airport. Even if the hotel had been the 5 Star Melia i would have preferred to stay with my friends, in my old apartment.
But that's not Newco's problem. They don't give a flying f*ck where you would prefer to stay. And why should they? They don't care that you used to live in Barcelona. I'm sure you weren't the only one. If you wanted to take advantage of the extra night to meet your friends again, that's YOUR lookout. All that stuff about where the hotel was in relation to your friend's place is completely irrelevant. I've done the same thing once or twice, but I also didn't expect any further help from the airline other than being rebooked. And I was aware that going off and doing my own thing was complicating things for them and me.So in hindsight, I can easily say yes- I was a bit of an idiot. I was naive in the extreme. But at the same token, I did what I was told to do at every step and found myself left hight and dry and that's what galls me more than anything.
Yes, the service was bad. But (and I'm really not trying to be rude!) you also need to use your common sense. If the bus has driven off and you're about to miss the last metro, don't hang around waiting for reps to approach you. If you're travelling abroad, don't go without a mobile or at least a list of numbers and enough change for a few calls and if you want to go off and do your own thing, don't expect the reps to cater to you when they're busy with the other 100 passengers. It doesn't sound like the rest of the passengers had such a bad experience?
I'm sure you're right about Newco. I've had bad experiences with Spanish ground staff as well. But I think it would be unfair to blame it all on them.0 -
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