In brief, as I almost finish the last step of booking my selected flight after I input my credit card details, the screen then showed "Our reservation tool is currently unavailable. We are doing our best to restore the functionality in the shortest terms". Then on and off, it showed the same until 2 hours later, I got to be asked to re-enter my credit card details again. So immediately I input such details in order to make up for my time loss (2.5 hours). Wow, then I was told the e-ticket was in process and given an e-ticket. When I read the e-ticket, it showed the flight shown on the e-ticket wasn't the flight I selected. Then this morning I called up Air France about the error. I was asked to provide proof for the "error" message as said above. I then replied how I could take each step as my copy for the booking process. Wouldn't it be a stupid. So the girl on the phone told me "under our record, our server has been in good condition and we believe it's all your fault!". Wow, I was then so irritated and shouted every word like a AK-47 from my 10 year horrible experience to the last year luggage loss. However, their robotic reply is "we only take proof to handle your request.".
As I returned home, I suddenly came up in my mind "oh, my Safari has the viewing history to show the time and the blog links.". There went my lucky star - safari! I found it. Yes, I found the record! Immediately I sent another long long complaint to Air France for why they claimed on the phone their booking server wasn't out of order! During my phone complaint, I even told why I only bought the one way ticket from Nice to Paris. It's all due to my last year horrible experience from their luggage handling. I took my connecting flight thru' London to Nice, but if I'm not intending to visit my best friend in Paris, I wouldn't feel like taking Air France anymore.
12 years ago, I tried my first flight on Air France. On my return journey, there was a strike and only 4 counters were opened for 6 international flights check-in. I waited for 2.5 hours and when I was at the desk, I was blamed "You are late!". I "Late! Don't you see this long queue. I was here 2.5 hours ago and couldn't go anywhere with no food/drink and no time for rest room! I don't care what stupid word you said. Get me a seat now! Work!".
Then last year, some of you might still recall, I got a horrible luggage loss and I was without my clothes and also documents for 2.5 days. Details check on http://whispalms.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-horrible-experience-with-air-france.html
I can say it's really a pain in the xxx. When I was back home tonight, I got a letter from Cathay Pacific for greeting me in my continuous support with them on pre-renewing my Marco Polo Elite status with them. Then I recalled when I first used the CX online booking, I also made a mistake but I knew it's done wrongly by me. I called up CX and checked if there was anything they could do. They did it to change my booking as they knew that I didn't do that often. However, AF just denied everything and asked for proof. I even told that girl on the phone "do you know Airline business needs some human senses? Regardless of what I did on the website, your office needed to have some grace period for people to try and even for the website to function well. Every person or company may have done something wrong or getting something dissatisfactory but the point is on how to remedy. I see nothing your carrier has done or is willing to do...etc." Forgot most of what I told them but I think I have ever told them more than enough!!!! So all the 3 past experiences with Air France, none of them turned out to be something normal, not even to be satisfactory.
*remarks: ok, now I got a reply from AF after I sent in the above screen message from their website but the reply is only "sorry and please find the attached amended e-ticket.". That's it. No explanation about why their office claimed their server doesn't have any problem under their record. Then I told my best friend in Paris about my another AF experience and I got told that they also had some strange experiences - booking for cheap tickets with accessibility in selecting seats in advance but booking for expensive tickets with no such function. I also got told the locals have a saying as "Keep your moral ( French say that chocolate is good for that) to deal with AF!". OK, now we know why Chocolate is so popular in France, so is my favourite French cuisine. Thanks for those local French making up for this with such lovely chocolate and cuisine carrying on in their culture.
At last: my important sharing is that we need to take photos of every step we would make in the having any online transaction either with airline, bank or retail web companies...etc. so that we have a record of proof. It happened then and it will happen again.
9 comments:
another trouble? you told you lost lugage from air france and now another trouble. so bad luck for you. i think if you don't complain they don't care you. hope you feel better.
I think even if SEA has complained AF still took this very lightly. They owed SEA a sincere apology.
The way CX handled SEA's wrongful booking vs the way AF handled its own wrongful computer mistake tells the culture of two different groups. That is why HK can be HK.
One who does not admit his own mistake will not improve since he sees no mistake so no need to correct or improve.
He can just keep eating his chocolate or French bread....
I shall tell this to my chef friend Lily Mo in France.
When you go click the AF website, they have the luggage claim form on the first. Like I told on my luggage incident, their customer service took a bag of tooth brush/paste right under the desk, that means luggage loss is a very common thing. If they can improve their overall administration, they could save more resources to other areas.
In this case, AF would feel they already amended the change and why bother for more. It'd be my problem if I don't recognise this change as their remedy. So it's all about the mentality towards the issue.
yes they can keep eating more chocolate and bread, oooops maybe some CN antiques too if they can eat
It's not a problem of just an airlines. It's the whole country I should say!
For Apple OSX quickest way is to Command Shift+3 for entire screen shot or Command Shift+4 and your cursor will change to crosshair to drag the area you want to save screen shot. The png file will save on your desktop. I use this all the time for online transaction records.
Welcome Music is my life to join on the comments. Pixmation and my local French friends also advised of the same, but I can tell you what suggested was what I used to deal in online business with some companies like HSBC and Cathay Pacific. At that time, not even HSBC offer their platform for Apple in 2004. I didn't realise now some companies have such a big mistake but didn't admit it. I think internet has been born in the World for a long time that everything now should be smooth and advanced. We shouldn't go back to something "uncivilised"..., but now with this example, we got to see we need to in respect of this kind of company.
This problem of not being to reserve seats online is still the same (9 Dec 2009):
Our reservation tool is currently unavailable. We are doing our best to restore the functionality in the shortest terms.
God knows what "shortest terms" menas but apparently several months.
I got a confusing email from them when I complained, which seems to say please telephone to reserve seats.
Thanks Robert for the sharing. So AF does need to look into their overall administration. If Airlines determines to get everything online, they should have a very comprehensive system.
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