UNPROFESSIONAL, *********** MANAGEMENT OF A SITUATION

On 21 October our flight from Paris to Amsterdam was delayed due to us not being able to land in Amsterdam because of bad weather. We eventually landed at about 12.20. This obviously resulted in me missing my connecting flight to Cape Town. I completely understood that no one is control of the weather conditions and that this happens from time to time. What happened at Schiphol Airport ,at the KLM transfer desk when we eventually arrived and tried to book another connecting flight, was an absolute disastrous, unprofessional, unorganized, traumatic experience for me. Running around the airport trying to find out where to go to and what to do was the first challenge I experienced. Eventually arriving at T6 transfer desk is where my nightmare, traumatic experience really started. There were only two KLM staff members helping the 1000’s of stranded passengers to book transfer flights. The ques were long, and again that is something that is understandable in this situation. But how it was handled was absolutely appalling. For such a big airline not having a contingency plan for such situations was something that I could not understand, this surely was not the first time that they had to handle a situation like this. The ques were getting longer and longer by the minute, as the two staff members was not able to help the people in a fast and timely manner. There was no one from KLM that was coming down the line to explain to us how the system works etc. When I eventually got to the front of the line, I was given a ticket number 941 with a time of (17.33) that I would be helped and told that I could walk around the airport and just make sure that I am back at that time. Only then did I realise that getting to the front of the line, I would still have to wait until my number is called. I decided not to leave the area, afraid that if I am not there, that I would miss my spot and would have to wait in the que even longer. That time turned out to be around 21.30 when I eventually got to the KLM transfer desk to have a connecting flight booked. At one stage they moved all the people that were still standing in the que without , a number, to move into an area in front of the KLM transfer desk, while us with numbers were seated in the seating area around the T6 transfer desk. After a while one of the passengers noticed that the numbers on the overhead display boards were not changing and that it seemed that the people without numbers were being helped while we with numbers were patiently waiting to be called. There was a couple that was at the airport since about 10.30 and they were also still in seated area waiting for the numbers to be called. I eventually asked a KLM supervisor (as that was what we presumed she was), and Schiphol staff members to get the people with 800 numbers to form one line, and the people with 900 numbers to form another, to try and make it fair that people who have been there the longest gets helped first and hopefully we can get some system going, as the digital number system was not working. That however was not done. As the hours went by the people were becoming more and more impatient, they were getting increasingly anxious as the lines were moving so slow. I was emotionally very tired, and all I wanted to do was find out when I can get the next flight home. I landed at the airport around 12.20, and I only got to the transfer desks around 21.30 after they got another two KLM staff members to come and help at the transfer desk. All my and some of the other passenger’s suggestions for the KLM staff members to organize the line so that passengers can be helped in number order was met with total disregards. A KLM representative at the airport was very aggressive and threatened to close the T6 transfer counter as some of the passengers became impatient and vocal having to spend 9 - 10 hours at the airport. That kind of threat should never have been made, had KLM organization and managed the situation been better. As I said I eventually got to the transfer desk to have my flight booked. I wanted to have a direct flight from Amsterdam to Cape Town and the first available flight was on Saturday, 23 October. The KLM reservation agent at Schiphol Airport advised me she made a reservation for me for 2 nights at the Hyatt Place Schiphol Airport. When I checked in at the hotel, I was informed that my reservation was for 1 night only. By this time it must have been 22.30 and all I wanted to do was have something to eat, shower and sleep and deal with this the next day. The receptionist at the hotel told me that I would have to contact KLM via their customers service number but after holding on for about 40 minutes I dropped the call. The other alternative was to go back to the airport to try and sort this. After spending almost 10 hours at Schiphol Airport the night before, I was too tired, emotional, and traumatized to go back to the Airport not knowing how many hours I would have to spend in ques to have another night booked at the hotel after my traumatic experience of the day before. I requested someone else from South Africa to contact the KLM Customer Service Team on my behalf. She could also not get through to the KLM Customer Service team after numerous attempts. I also attempted to connect with the KLM team via the what's app chat, but they were of no help either and the delayed response that you eventually get does not help the situation as hours and hours go by without a reply. I eventually had to make alternative arrangements for accommodation for the night of 22 October, as again the KLM representative at the transfer desk did not book adequate accommodation for me, although she told me that she had, adding to my trauma and anxiety of sorting out these problems which I should not have had to do. Will KLM see me as a passenger on board again, I don’t think so. I cannot imagine having to go through such an experience again.