When traveling in central and Latin America I expected a certain number of hair pulling experiences related to poor customer service, third world inefficiencies and archaic systems. However, I wasn't prepared to be driven to the brink here in Holland.
The concept of "customer service" doesn't seem to exist here. The dutch love their rules and don't like to make exceptions. In the US, merchants generally go out of their way to keep their customers happy. Merchants in Holland don't seem to care if you leave a happy customer or not.
The girls and I planned to join Joel in Prague for the weekend. Joel booked us a 7am flight Thursday morning on Czech Airlines and arranged to meet us at the airport - he was in the country on business. My experience at the airport Thursday morning actually provoked my first international breakdown.
When we booked our tickets on Czech Airlines we assumed we were booking E-tickets, but after we submit payment the web site prompted us to select a location to pick our tickets up at. This was annoying, but we were able to select the KLM desk at Schipol Airport since it was a KLM operated flight. This was a minor inconvenience, and would have only added 25 minutes to my early morning itinerary if Czech Airlines had in fact DELIVERED my paper tickets to the KLM desk!
When the KLM agent told me that my tickets had not been delivered, she did not present me with any possible solutions. She verified that we had seats on the flight and that our tickets had been booked, but without the paper tickets she couldn't verify that Czech Airlines had paid KLM for our seats on their flight, and therefore, she couldn't let us on board. She told me to call Czech Airline's central office in Amsterdam when it opened at 9am to speak to them about a solution. When I asked if we could call Czech Airlines 24 hour reservation number she informed me that all Czech Airlines Schipol airport and after hours operations are handled by KLM. So if you encounter a glitch while at the airport after normal business hours there is nobody from Czech Airlines to help you resolve the situation.
I asked the agent what time we could get on a flight if we waited until 9am to call the Czech Airlines office in Amsterdam. She told me that all the flights were booked to capacity until 3pm. I didn't even consider the 3pm flight as an option. There was no way I was going to pay the $50 cab ride for a second and third time, or wait 8 hours for the next available flight. We either had to get on the 7 am flight or cancel our entire trip to Prague.
In this electronic age, I couldn't believe that there wasn't a solution to this problem. And why was it such a big deal that KLM didn't have proof of payment from Czech Airlines? They were code share partners, right? Doesn't that mean they worked together and should be able to resolve payment even after I had flown? When I pressed the KLM agent for other options, she told me that I could buy seats on the 7am KLM flight for 500 euros and then request reimbursement from Czech Airlines for my unused tickets - we paid 250 euros for our unused tickets so that was not an acceptable solution. When I asked her if she could call the airline in the Czech Republic she told me she was not authorized to make long distance calls. She continued to smile and try to send me away.
I was determined not to give up until our flight had departed. Years of non revenue standby travel on American Airlines taught me that anything is possible until the plane pulls away from the jet bridge! I offered my cell phone to the KLM agent to use to call the Czech Republic. She was embarrassed by this gesture and said that I shouldn't have to pay for the call. She left her desk and went into the back room to get authorization to make a long distance call.
While she was off attempting to call the Czech Republic I called Joel in Prague - who happened to be staying at the airport hotel. He jumped out of bed and ran across the street to the Czech Airline ticket counter and got a representative to call the KLM ticket desk at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam. Joel reported back to me that the problem should be resolved. However, when my unhelpful KLM agent came back she said there wasn't anything that could be done and that she 'talked' to everyone and tried 'everything.' When I told her that my husband had gone to the ticket counter in Prague and they said it would be taken care of, she said that she had talked to the agents in Prague but it didn't change the fact that we needed Czech Airlines issued paper tickets to get on the plane.
By that point an hour had passed and I had been unsuccessful. With only 50 minutes left until our flight left - and the reality of a cancelled trip in front of me - the 250 euros didn't sound like such a bad option to me anymore. I told the KLM agent that I was finally prepared to pay the 500 euros for our tickets. To my horror she replied..."it's too late now, check-in closes 45 minutes before departure." I pointed out to her that it was still 50 minutes before departure and she responded that it would take her at least 5 minutes to process and print the tickets. I asked her if an exception could be made given the circumstances. She said no, it was the rule. Of course that was her answer! I don't even know why I asked. She smiled and finally got me to go away.
I walked over to the benches where Maisy had been quietly playing for the previous hour and sat down and cried. As I sat there sobbing the agent came rushing over with three PAPER tickets for me. Apparently, someone from Prague had woken the Amsterdam Czech Airline office manager up and summoned him to bring those tickets to the airport. The KLM agent who had just refused to sell me a ticket on the 7am flight because there wasn't enough time must have had her cup of morning coffee. With only 40 minutes left before departure she escorted me to the check-in counter, got the representative to accept my luggage, escorted me through security and customs, and told me to run to my gate while she notified the gate that I was coming. I knew she had it in her. Next time I need to navigate the Dutch approach to customer service I am going to be armed with coffee and TEARS!
The adventure doesn't end there; once we got through security I realized that I had to run to gate 24B which was literally a mile away. I had Sophie on my back, Maisy in my arms and three bags hanging from my neck and arms. My legs burned, my lungs burned, my arms burned, I was miserable. The airport offered moving walk ways to help assist passengers along the long corridors but I couldn't take them because they were filled to capacity and would have only slowed me down. Fortunately, I had a huge adrenalin rush and the giggles from my two girls to keep me going. Maisy and Sophie had a ball on the run to the gate. They bounced the entire way. It must have been like an amusement ride for them.
When we got to the end of the B terminal my heart sank because the numbers only went up to B20. I looked all around and then realized that in our rush I must have missed the turn. So I had to run BACK down the terminal until I found the sign near B5 that directed passengers down the stairs and out to the busses for gates B24-30. We arrived just as the last bus was loading to take passengers out to our plane. I was hot, sweaty and tired so the fresh tarmac air and bus ride were refreshing.
The rest of our journey to Prague went smoothly and our experience in Prague has been great. My frustration and anger have dissipated enough now that I am able to look back on the experience with a little humor. Next time we fly to Prague we will be booking our tickets directly with KLM!
Check back next week to see photos from our trip.
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