Rude, and dishonest staff at Airlink with zero compassion for regular clients.

I travel regularly and quite often I use Airlink. I traveled on a Sunday from O R Tambo to Pietermaritzberg Airport on 20 November 2022 on flight 4z743, and unfortunately I forgot my phone in the magazine compartment in front of my seat which was seat F9 (a window). I noticed this when I got to my hotel and told myself I’d call in the next day to report it and see if perhaps my phone was handed over. I called the Pietermaritzberg airport offices first, they informed me that they can’t do anything as the aircraft left again back to O R Tambo. I called O R Tambo and was told there’s nothing they can do about. When I say there wasn’t even a single drop of compassion with all those people I spoke to you better believe me. They were not interested in trying to help at all. I kept asking them if they could send someone to go over to the aircraft and check the compartment as it was way in there and someone who wasn’t looking for it wouldn’t be able to see it there. Every proposal was brutally dismissed and there was no denying that they simply didn’t care. I called again in the afternoon (the O R Tambo office)to see if I’d find a more willing staff member, I thought I had she said she can try and trace the aircraft so that someone can double check all the stops it made and if it was handed over at any of those locations. She asked me to call back, I did and found a rude person who said it’s not possible to trace the aircraft, when I asked for the lady I’d spoken to earlier he said that person had knocked off and her next shift is the following day at 13h00. I could see there was nothing I could do here. I was helpless and defeated. When I arrived back in JHB on 26 November 2022 I went personally to the Airlink desk and found the most unpleasant human being ever. I asked her where are the lost and found offices her response was mind you she was so rude she didn’t even greet me appropriately. After I initiated the greeting she had a very cold and uninterested demeanour. Her response to my question was “you go to the candy store and turn right, you’ll see lifts and press one.” Now I’m asking where is the candy store she says “Ma’am you have to turn around and you’ll see the candy store” I was so shocked at her behaviour, I asked for her name as she wasn’t even wearing a name tag her name is reportedly Paulina. She’s an extremely rude and unpleasant person.

I learned from the office that the aircraft is searched first by the flight attendants before it’s deep clean by the ground staff.

I know for a fact that my phone was mistakenly left behind in seat F9(which was a window seat so no one could have taken it after I had left) The only explanations here are that either the flight attendants don’t search the aircraft properly or they do and they don’t declare passengers belongings or the ground staff who do the deep scrubbing also don’t do their jobs properly or they do but when it comes to declaring things, they forget that part of their training.

Here I am with no phone a phone with very important unrecoverable information. And it’s no one’s concern at Airlink.

Absolutely terrible service and zero compassion.