CUSTOMER SERVICE NON EXISTENT - KULULA

<p>I wish to lodge a complaint against the airline in particular a lady at the Kulula check in counter at East London airport.</p> <p>My colleague and I were in East London from Wednesday 18.05.2016 until Friday 20.05.2016 on a business trip.</p> <p>Our flight was scheduled for 18h00 on Friday 20.05.2016.</p> <p>We arrived at the airport at 17h10 dropped off the rental car and promptly proceeded into the airport.</p> <p>We were in the queue at 17h23, there was a lady at the counter in front of us who had just walked up to the counter and was being assisted at the time, so we waited our turn as there were four counters at the airport; but only one open albeit the fact that a gentleman was sitting behind one but wouldn’t help us.</p> <p>When the passenger in front of us walked away, we were told by the Kulula staff member at the counter that the check in counter was closed.</p> <p>Just like that no explanations…</p> <p>I said but we have been waiting in line and you saw us, if you knew the counter would be closing why did you not open another? To which she responded, “that’s not my problem”</p> <p>I said to her we here at 17h23 and your signs clearly state the check in counter closes 30 THIRTY MINUTES before the flight leaves… so is that false advertising when you clearly closed at 17h25 then if you’re telling me I’m late.</p> <p>She blatantly refused to assist us to the point of being obnoxious and very rude, told us to go to ticket sales and “make a plan”</p> <p>I could not believe what I was hearing or seeing…</p> <p>O.R.Tambo as big as it is and as far as check in counters and gates are from one another would have assisted us because we were in the queue…</p> <p> </p> <p>The lady at ticket sales was even worse; Babes Lumko, told me the manager has already left and the supervisor wouldn’t come from the boarding gate to assist with my complaint.</p> <p>East London airport is a very small airport, had she assisted us at the time we would have taken 50 steps to the boarding gate – it is not far at all from the check in counter, but that is not the point, my point is we were there at 17h23 because I have a digital watch and that is what I checked when we walked in to make sure.</p> <p>I cannot understand how a counter closes when there are people standing in the queue waiting to be assisted?</p> <p>If it was an issue in time, why did the lady’s bag who stood in front of us manage to get onto the flight and she was allowed to board, all in the same time frame as my colleague and I standing there?</p> <p> </p> <p>With no-one in sight to assist us or let me say willing to assist us, we had to change our tickets for 17h00 the next day at a cost of R364.80 x 2</p> <p>Because we had already handed the keys over to our rental car we had no transport.</p> <p>We had booked out of our hotel and now had nowhere to stay for the night.</p> <p>When I advised Chwayita Njokwana (Joy on her name tag) she looked at me and sarcastically rep**** that’s not my problem Ma’am.</p> <p> </p> <p>We then had to find accommodation at a cost of R1200 for the night.<br />Europcar could not give us a car at that time so we incurred a further cost of R300 to the hotel and another R300 to get back to the airport the next day.<br />R729.60 for ticket change.<br />All in all a cost of R2529.60 for our own expense and not the company’s because Chwayita Njokwana would not assist us or acknowledge that she was wrong in closing the counter before the advised time when we were there waiting in the line and according to her we were late.<br /> </p> <p>I want this looked into and the necessary action taken as soon as possible.</p> <p>People like Chwayita Njokwana (Joy) should not be a brand ambassador for Kulula; her behaviour and attitude was puerile and blatantly rude and one I will not accept. That says a lot about your customer service and after sales service; which we didn’t receive clearly.</p> <p>I work for a very big FMCG and we use Kulula on a daily basis, I have now advised our travel agent to use S.A.A and Mango instead.</p> <p> </p> <p>Please treat this as urgent. If it is not attended to or at the very least acknowledged by Wednesday I will be taking this to social media with names and all included.</p> <p> </p>