Although I have enough complaints about KLM myself I would like to invite people to post their opinion on how KLM can turn things around for the better based their negative experiences from the past.
Of course I'm hoping that some some KLM employee will take your responses to management as a suggestion for improvement.
a dutch BA Fan
True enough, as Nick notes, the decline in KLM over the last 5-10 years has been somewhat remarkable, IMHO! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif
I personally feel that KLM is getting a "slight boost" from many of their service oriented employees that still take tremendous pride in their work and in their Natioanl carrier. I've witnessed some "great efforts" in this regard. Yet, there seems to be little support from top management and this "philosophy" is like a rapidly proliferating "cancer." http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif
It seems as if they dont even read their mail since when I wrote them to compliment these employees I got back "form" messages (eventually) apologozing!!! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif
Hopefully they can arrest these problems and correct them promptly, since I still have a kind of fondness for them. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
Nick
I find many of the staff ( mostly ticket and gate agents ) very unfriendly, unhelpful and totally rule bound...
Eg. not willing to put a pax on an earlier flight when connections permit, mind you, NW wouldn't and they've both been caught out by having to change the res anyway due to delayed flights.
Missed opportunity for KLM.
BA Fan
I do agree... KLM has gone downhill since i first travelled them in 1988 !!
Of that there is no question - but then i wonder what could be done ?
As a European resident - I am a KLM Fd member ( and not a NW member ! ), which does have a few perks, like complimentary lounge access. But mostly the FD programme sucks.
I travel frequently between AMS and LHR, and even occasionally on a free ticket !! Which if you need to change...you may as well through away, because you get charged a 5000 points penlty - which is actually the equivalent of a oneway AMS-LHR ticket in coach
Reservations must be made 2 weeks in advance !!
Please note that I am a RoyalWing Elite level member... and if you have ever been in the RW lounge in AMS you'll know how special this is !!! NOT!
hum... learning *what* exactly from NW? On transatlantic, NW has consistently been the worst carrier I have been on
Uh, I meant that as sarcasm actually. I agree 100% with you on the NW front. If anything those two, with an alliance that includes a shared bottom line, seem to be only making each other worse or stuck in the same place.
When I flew CO last December one of the FA told me that the operations people of CO and NW were meeting so that NW could learn something about improving service from CO. Maybe that they can pass onto KL, or maybe now CO can just pass it on directly to KL.
In any case, I don't know where KL is planning on making cuts, but I suspect there's not much to be cut in customer service... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif
[This message has been edited by SMessier (edited 04-09-2000).]
[This message has been edited by lance (edited 04-09-2000).]
Although I was once upgraded because my flight was oversold, even Business Class was nothing great. I ended up with a choice of two seats: I could pick one where the inflight entertainment system didn't work, or with a footrest that didn't work.
But I'll say this, the flights to Germany I've taken on KLM have been cheap. I don't know that they're ready to change their entire philosophy. Maybe they can learn something from NW... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
KLM flights are notorious for being over-sold, so they don't need to improve sales by service improvements.
If you are suggesting they change the entire style of operation from a discount carrier to a service driven airline, then boy so they have some work to do. Go back on these threads and you will see lots of examples of where improvements can be made. But I don't think KLM have any wish to do this, they are just continuing along the path of discount-carrier by cutting costs.
Nick
And they are also more papist than the pope: they wil not put you on an earlier KLM UK flight with a non flexible ticket whereas KLM UK agents often will.
NW, on the other hand, have routinely offered to put on earlier flights without my even asking.
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