What KLM doesn’t get about customer service
Before I get into it, let me just say that our KLM flight from Amsterdam to Tokyo was great. The flight attendants were great and the food was good.
Recently my wife and I went to Europe. We live in Japan. The trip went great…until I was getting ready for the flight back. We’d flown from Tokyo to Rome, then to Venice, then to Amsterdam. On all of those legs we’d had 2 bags of checked luggage each. This is — for whatever reason — normal for flights to and from Japan. All the big airlines that service Japan that I’ve flown on (Lufthansa, Alitalia, Air Canada, British Airways, Delta) offer 2 checked bags.
In Amsterdam I thought I’d treat myself and buy a new guitar. The day before flying I thought I’d just check the luggage size restrictions as the hard case was a little big. Our return flight was on KLM.
KLM offered only 1 bag.
I was shocked. I contacted KLM via twitter and explained our dilemma. We’d had 2 bags all the way, and now — on the return leg, no less — we were limited to 1. I asked if they’d give us 1 extra checked bag.
They said no.
Now, I want to talk about customer service. I run a couple companies of my own. I deal with customer service issues all the time. My ‘golden rule’ about customer service is: if the customer asks for something, and it doesn’t cost you anything, give it to them. It always creates happy customers, and, like I say, IT DOESN’T COST YOU ANYTHING!
KLM were totally impersonal in their communications. They had a rule and they were sticking with it.
Here’s their first twitter response:
KLM: We retrieved your booking and we can see that your previous flights were operated by Alitalia and you made the booking through Expedia. Since your return flight will be operated by KLM, baggage rules will apply which is 1 piece of check-in baggage and one hand baggage. We hope this answers your question.
Uh, no. That doesn’t answer my question. How could that answer my question?
I happen to have a fair amount of Flying Blue points. Even though I didn’t want to, and didn’t think I should have to, I thought I’ll buy the bag with points.
KLM: Unfortunately Phil, we cannot use miles when adding baggage to flights. We apologize as only cash (when adding at the airport) or card (via online) can be used for this transaction. Please let us know how we can assist you further. We are here to help.
(How are they helping, in any way?)
Now, if I go online to my flight it says that I can use points…until I try and go and use points then I get a popup that says, Sorry.
Me: Can you explain why it gives me a price in miles but doesn’t let me buy with them?
KLM: (no response)
I needed to pay cash. 160 Euros.
I contacted Expedia. To me it is outrageous that KLM won’t honour the conditions of the rest of the flights of the booking.
Unlike KLM, Expedia do good customer service. KLM always responded in corporate speak. The guy from Expedia told me his name! Faceless corporate responses are another no no in the age of social media. I want to speak to a person. Not a company. I AM speaking to a person, and not a company.
Mani from Expedia PHONED me and discussed the issue. He agreed with me, but there was nothing Expedia could do. KLM wouldn’t budge.
Incredibly, Expedia offered to PAY for the bag themselves, even though it wasn’t their fault.
Expedia rules.
But I didn’t want Expedia to pay. I wanted KLM to explain why I couldn’t get a bag.
I contemplated taking the guitar back, but, just in case I thought I’d buy the baggage to get the advance price (why is it so much more expensive to get it at the airport?!?!) and then if I could take the guitar back, I’d not use the extra bag.
Me: If I buy extra bag but don’t need it can I get refund for that?
KLM: Unfortunately not! The purchase of extra baggage is non-refundable. If you do not know yet if you will need to purchase extra baggage, please be informed that you can still purchase your extra baggage during online check-in or at the airport. Do not hesitate to contact us in case you have any further questions.
Why the HELL would they not refund an extra bag that was pre-purchased and not used? Again, this gets down to the ‘if it doesn’t cost you anything, do it’ rule. This is a rule for rule’s sake.
Then I decided to post this to twitter:
Me: I’m looking forward to writing a piece for @Medium on the customer service fails of @KLM. Big companies still don’t get it.
15 minutes later KLM answered.
KLM: Hello Phil, please be informed that we’re currently looking at the possibility of adding the bags to your booking. We will update you.
Why threatening to write a piece on Medium would spurn a response I don’t know. But, great, I’m looking forward to getting the bag. Because nobody would tell you they were ‘looking into it’ and say no.
Except KLM.
KLM: We are back as promised, Phil [yippee! I should be grateful they answered!]. Please note that the price per passenger per bag is 20,000 miles. If you would like us to request this for you, kindly confirm and we can do the needful at our end. Awaiting your response
So, they weren’t going to give me a free bag. They were going to ‘kindly’ let me pay for one out of points. How nice of them!
This is actually even worse than just saying no at the beginning.
Imagine this: you’ve bought something, let’s say a computer, and you want a mousepad. They shop down the road gives away free mousepads with their computers, but the shop you bought yours from doesn’t. But you go back anyway and ask for one. The shop assistant says no. You’re dejected, but ok. Now, if the shop assistant says ‘hold on, let me go into the back and confer with someone about it’ THEN comes back and says no, what this implies is ‘maybe we’d give it to some people’ (otherwise we’d say no right away) ‘but we thought about it in your case and decided that you don’t deserve one’. That’s the subtext.
I wasn’t getting the free mousepad. KLM went away, thought about it, and decided I didn’t deserve it.
They could have looked at my booking, understood the situation and just given me the bag. It’s not like I was asking for a free upgrade. I was simply asking them to do what the other airlines in my booking had done, and what all other airlines do. It would not create a ‘dangerous precedent’ of giving 2 bags to everyone, forever. And I used to be a Flying Blue Silver member. I was a ‘frequent flyer’, a loyal customer, until 4 months ago (I just don’t fly enough any more).
So I paid, but, in my opinion KLM just doesn’t get it.
Yes, this is all about me wanting to fly with a guitar back to Japan. It’s not about world peace or ending hunger. But really, it’s about customer service. Not once during our exchanges did KLM explain their rules. They just quoted them. Not once in our exchanges did KLM acknowledge that other airlines do better in the area of luggage.
I used to fly KLM/Air France a lot. But, now I probably will never fly with them again because I know that if I get into a problem all they are going to do is read the rule book at me. They don’t give a toss about their customers as human beings, or having unique situations.
Some big companies — like Expedia — get it. They understand that customers want to be listened to and acknowledged. That Expedia offered to pay for something that wasn’t their mistake is beyond great. Why can’t companies like KLM get it? They have taken the step of providing customer support via twitter — which is nice — but their customer support really is just explaining to the customer why they are not going to help. We are in the age of personal service. The time for being treated like cattle is over.
If you have an experience with KLM — or any other large company — that is similar to this I’d love to hear it. Or, if you’ve have a good experience, let me know about that too!
