My Bad Experience with an Airline Brand

You really don't have to be on board an Airline to have a Bad Experience

Last Saturday I had to purchase a ticket for my brother to London, and i was very lazy being in bed and not wanting to get up, anyways i reached for my Netbook and went on the Internet to book and pay through my online banking. I was lying down there on my bed feeling very cool with myself that this makes my life really easy and i wont have to drive all the way to the Airline office..... so i booked the ticket and paid for it.. by the way it was an Emirates ticket.

This was my first direct interaction with services of the Brand Emirate, with obviously very high expectations from this very premium Brand , however, at this moment those expectations were being met. Anyways i paid for the ticket got my receipt sent to my mail box but there was no eticket sent, 1st day, second day no eticket 3rd day no eticket only for me to receive an email from the airline that my booking had been cancelled... for God sake my account had been deducted 4 days ago and someone is telling me that my booking had been cancelled? (that was the begning of my frustration)

I called the Airline, no one is picking up, i go to the Bank, they call the Airline no one is picking up i go to the Emirates office at the Airport and no one can help; they say i have to go to the their Head office in Victoria Island those of you who have no clue where that is... just imagine at least 1 hour minimum in traffic and probably another 2 hours when returning...

Now i am back to where this all started; this was the reason i wanted to avoid going to the Island and pay for the ticket online but now i think that's just what i have to do..

I find my way to the Island yesterday got there and the security guys passes me on to this guy who offers to assist me solve it.. I am standing there waiting, the guy takes my payment receipt and say "i will be with you in a short while" 30mins time he returns to say "they are working on it" i said thank you..

Now its 1hour 30mins and i am still waiting for these guys to just print a ticket i had already paid for .. now i am there for 2 hours and i am getting calls i have to attend to pressing issues at the office.. this guy seems to have forgotten me .. i am angry and no one would even look at me.. the security guys say to me they cant give this guy a call because they don't have his desk phone number (this is an office for Gods sake - how much more can an excuse be so flimsy?) i asked them to go in to remind this guy i am still here but they said no they cant go in ... (who has the responsibility of attending to people at the counter when those who are stationed there don't even know their jobs).. now i am completely over the edge, angry, furious just name it...

Then to my greatest surprise a young lady walks in with her kids and she has the same challenge as i did .. paid for a ticket online and it was never delivered..

I mean why do you have to start an online service when you know you are not ready to provide the services excellently and professionally.. its completely rude to your customers and this is why most brands destroy their perception in the minds of their customers and prospective customers by just simply rendering some shitty services

Well the long and short of this story is that after almost 2hr 30mins a lady comes our that i had to complain to and she asked me in to attend to me .. and you know what .. the ticket had been printed for over 2hrs and that so called guy just forgot about me outside and i had to wait for nothing..

I know some of these brands are built on very strong propositions to their customers/ consumers but then its is very important that when people interact with your brand the kind of experience they get from your people they talk to, the ambiance of your office, leaves a lasting impression that will continue to help reinforce that proposition... but in this situation that wasn't the case.. and i am sure they are thousands of consumers out there that suffer similar from brands they interact with..

Finally key question is are the brand aware of this or what? or there are just not able to properly implement an internal branding exercises that will ensure a structured way of dealing with customer issues... Well if you read this and you have had a bad experience from any brand please share..

More Than Just The King of Pop

"If you want to be a street sweeper then sweep the streets like Beethoven played music..."

Tonight I saw the first time in my whole life the biggest memorial service and it makes me wonder who this man truly is, beyond being Michael Jackson, An Entertainer, The King of Pop

I never knew him beyond his songs but after hearing all the testimonials tonight from people who have experienced him, it felt like I had experienced him from a completely different perspective, I saw not just that legendary Michael Jackson anymore, but a man who was a humanitarian who used his gift to give people hope, direction, love, peace of mind, fulfillment.

I saw a man whom beyond the colours of his skin at different times in his life has been able to unite people, touch people's lives and send a message to the world with words as simply as PEACE & LOVE, with these words he thought the world from young to old, male & female, black & white, Asian, Latino, all races that we are one world and we can live in peace.

The question then for me is does God really care about how you change the colour of your skin or how you use your heart for the goodness of mankind?

I am truly touched, and for me this is both an inspiration, and a further reinforcement that I can be who I want to be by doing it the best, I can change peoples lives, I can put smiles on peoples faces and ultimately I can be there for the good of mankind.

There is a Michael Jackson in every one of us, lets find it and spread the message of LOVE & PEACE amongst our brothers and sisters.

Rest in Peace MJ