earlier this month, i
was in kuala lumpur for a business trip. this almost weeklong trip finished on july
7th and i was on my way back to manila. in KLIA, i went to my usual routine
and looked for the philippine airlines checkin counter. not too many passengers on the
queue and there was just one line. after just about three minutes or so,
it was already my turn.
i handed my passport
to the ground crew, her name is ain annuar. she was not the warmest of the
bunch but it was ok since you rarely chitchat with them anyway unless you have
some little requests. this trip, no such need for me. aside from two boxes of
notebooks and my luggage, i didn't buy anything from KL.
ain kept on flipping
through my passport and it seemed that she's having some issues. i kept quiet. she
then asked if i can show my eticket, which i handed over. she then told me to look
for the july 2 KLIA immigration stamp on my passport. i was taken aback. why
would i have to do that? i only looked at the stamps on my passport during my
earlier days of business trips (because i am excited and that's a normal
reaction from a young guy). but now that there are just way too many stamps on
it (it will only expire in 2019), i do not look at these passport stamps
anymore. what i want is to get through that step the fastest possible time, get
my luggage and take the taxi to go to my hotel. it's also not my problem if she
cannot find a single july 2 stamp in it.
but this impolite
ground crew had the gall to instruct me that i should always look for this,
saying that this is my responsibility. with me starting to get fumed and
incensed, told ain, as long as i went through the proper way, i don't have to
check whether there was a stamp or not. ain countered saying that "you
know sir, there are other ways to get in, you know sir!" at that point, i wanted
to berate her and make a scene. but i know that i have to keep my composure. in
a controlled voice and manner, i told her that i'm not going to justify her
insinuations and i knew that i went through the proper immigration process and
the stamp is in my passport. she was still talking in her inaudible local english
but i waived my hand and said, "no more word from you at this point. you
should be polite and more importantly, stop making these ridiculous
insinuations." she then went through the motions of giving me my passport
and boarding pass, circling the gate number and the rest of usual things to
say. i knew that at that point she had already seen the stamp and true to her
superiority complex, did not apologize for the ridiculous statements she made
just a few moments ago.
through twitter, while
still in the immigration queue, i immediately let KLIA and @flyPAL
know of this incident. PAL immediately sent a direct message but there was absolutely
zero response from KLIA. PAL said that they are going to forward this issue to
the parties concerned. i of course got through the immigration counter (the
july 2 stamp is in my passport, you irritating ain annuar!!!), and boarded
PR526 bound for manila. no problem at all.
before this incident,
i was so happy that PAL is not on a codeshare with malaysia airlines anymore. malaysia airlines flights are just way too depressing, especially the food and the
service. PAL at least pushes for more, inflight meals are good (ice cream of
dessert), newspapers, inflight entertainment via your own device and the crew
are always willing to accommodate your little requests (1 more pandesal
please!). i'm still happy 'though… but PAL has to review and reassess their
ground staff in other airports. in NAIA, i never had a problem. but given what
transpired in KLIA, i'm now having some doubts in other airports that a similar incident might happen. ground
personnel, like ain annuar, should be sent back for an intensive training camp on
how to provide the best customer experience and how to freakin identify KLIA
stamp from other immigration marks! or best, transfer her to some tasks which
would not require dealing with passengers directly. otherwise, issues like this
will hound PAL, especially as KLIA seems not to care at all. such unpleasant
incidents dampen the overall experience and put unnecessary stress to
passengers who just want to enjoy the flight and come back home safely.
take note of this,
PAL. i'm still flying with you, don't worry.
