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AirPhil Express has terrible and bad customer service

Posted by The Red Devil on Thursday, July 14, 2011 in ,
And I mean TERRIBLE! Be it online, on the phone or face to face. It's just so frustrating and sad that this had to happen. I was expecting more from them, even though they're a budget airline because they're owned by Philippine Airlines, which in my experience, has been nothing but excellent.

We've had a trip booked with them last April and we've waited all this time to hear a response from them but they haven't answered so I figured, it's about time I post what has happened. This is the transcription of our Facebook communications:

    • Hello Ian!

      We're now available on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/airphilexpress) and on Twitter (@airphilexpress) for customer support. Got any issues or complaints? Tell us and we'll work on that. :)

      APX
      (I've posted on their Facebook account on how terrible the service was. I even posted it on Twitter. They've responded tot hose posts with this)

    • Thank you for your message. I was expecting something more from your company in terms of customer service because PAL has been nothing but stellar and I was sorely disappointed with yours.

      I called to get a ticket booked for my boyfriend, who at the last minute decided to come with us to Iloilo. First off, your website needs A LOT of improvements. Whenever someone clicks on your contact details, we get a fatal error on screen which means the script you are using is in itself incorrect. This has been going on (at least to my experience) for almost 4 days now (and counting). That should be rectified immediately because had it not been for the fact that my sponsor had already booked my flight, I would've just gone straight to Cebu Pacific or Zest Air instead. This easily correctable error makes you lose possible online sales. Get that fixed and fast. I instead found a number on facebook.

      Second, I understand why a company would have a 24-48 hour holding time before the purchase of the ticket. I have asked PAL to do the same for me and they've gladly obliged and then some. I have already stated that I didn't care about the price of the ticket, what I wanted was a bit of understanding and consideration since I have just arrived from Baguio and will be flying to Iloilo in a few hours. I was told that the only way I could get that ticket reserved was if I went to the airport at 5 in the morning which was 5 hours before my flight! There was no empathy and there was no human appreciation of the situation. THAT was what I found appalling. I asked if she can have it held for just an hour later but she said no and that the only way for me to get this ticket was to go to the airport and take a chance to buy it there.

      I have nothing to say about the staff in Terminal 3. From the ticket office staff to the check in clerks - they were cheerful, friendly, helpful and emphatic. My boyfriend is 6'2" and is a rather massive British fellow. I've explained that AirPhil planes usually don't have comfortable legroom (We call your planes the jeepneys of the skies with the way you cram all these seats together with almost no leg room) and that if we could have a seat that was either at the first row or at the emergency exits. We were willing to take the responsibility of the task of manning the exit doors. Our check in clerk cheerfully put us on the first row and wished us well. It wasn't the same in Iloilo though when we were coming back. I have explained the situation to the check in clerk but this time, he stated that it was a premium seat and that I had to pay 200 pesos for the seat. I explained that in Manila, we weren't asked to pay but he said that it was a premium seat and that we all had to pay if we wanted to be seated together. It felt like we were being ripped off. I asked if he could explain it in a way that I could understand which meant I required a response other than the phrase "premium seat po kasi" and "Kasi ganyan po pag fully booked ang flight"

      And as predicted, there was non-existent leg room in our seats (18 a, b and c). Not only that, but the seats weren't even checked or cleaned as there was an empty pasta box (complete with fork) on the seat pocket in front of our seat which smelled like it's been there for a while. I pressed on the attendant button and nobody came over. I just grabbed the passing flight attendant and called his attention on it. He didn't even apologize for it, he just took a look and grabbed it and left. All this time, the attendant button was still blinking. It kept on blinking until take off. I purposely didn't unclick it to see if any of the attendants would come to our seat but we were able to take off without it even going off. Now, this tells me that either the button is just there for decorative purposes and that the FAs were trained to ignore the attendant call or they have absolutely no clue as to what that button is for.

      Please, take this feedback positively and make the changes.
    • Hello Ian!

      We're very sorry about this unexpected event. And yes, we will never take your feedback as a negative one. Instead, this will be a good trigger for us to improve the service the passengers deserve.

      You can forward your sentiment to customercare@airphilexpress.com. On behalf of Airphil Express, we're sorry for the inconvenience tis[sic] event may have caused you.

      APX
    • Pardon me for being critical but if you were really concerned about the customer service, YOU would've IMMEDIATELY forwarded this message to the concerned group. This is the prime example of how terrible your customer service is. What could have made this correspondence redeemable (and perhaps would have alleviated my annoyance) was if you had said "I have forwarded your concern to our manager." This means you have taken on the responsibility of the issue and that you are truly sincere about your apology and are prepared to make sure that the necessary steps to improving customer service happens.

      Nonetheless, I've send it to the email address you've provided. My boyfriend however, is less forgiving than I am. He has made a blog post about it and is terribly terribly upset.

      We want to be able to get your feedback and post about this experience. We own an online travel website that has 94,000 readers a month and we want to be fair in our reporting. Though we appreciate your apology, we would like to know why this has happened and what will be done to ensure that this will not happen again.
    • Good Morning Ian!

      Alright, Ian. I will escalate this concern to the customer support head. Our Facebook will serve as your channel when we want to update this complaint. I apologize for my previous reply.

      Have a nice day!

      APX
      (First off, "Alright, Ian"?! That's so patronizing! Do I sound like a 5 year old that can be appeased with an "Alright, Ian?". Second, you're using Facebook as a channel for complaints? How professional is that? Lastly, you had to wait for me to tell you what to do? Oh dear lord...)
    • Hello,

      I have emailed the people you told me to contact and they haven't replied to us yet.
    • Hi Ian!

      May I know the name and email address you used? Thanks!

      APX
    • Hello,

      You provided the email address (customercare@airphilexpress.com)

      You also stated "I will escalate this concern to the customer support head. Our Facebook will serve as your channel when we want to update this complaint"

      It has been 13 days since that statement (see above message sent to me on April 13 at 9:01 am) Surely, that's more than enough time to read an email.

      Thanks.
    • Hi Ian!

      What's your name and the email address you used to email us.

      APX
    • ianvictor@discoverph.com
    • Hello Ian!

      The customer care checked their emails and they didn't receive any email coming from ianvictor@discoverph.com. What we did is we forwarded this conversation straight to them. Please wait for our reply.

      APX
    • Hello,

      I have sent the email and I have the header if you need it. I haven't received any notice from the postmaster so that means that it was delivered. It could have been sent as spam. Regardless of that however, you stated that it would be sent to the concerned people.

      I'll just wait for your reply then.

      Thanks.

That's the end of our communications. I have not heard anything from them anymore. I will be posting this on DiscoverPH as well because in all honesty, people should be aware of how terrible their customer service is!

Yes, they are a budget airline. I understand that and I also understand that they're trying to cut corners and make do with what they have to be able to provide such cheap air fares for people who would like to travel on a budget. However, no matter how cheap your fares are, you shouldn't scrimp on customer service! It is the lifeline of any company.

I'm not trying to be a brat who can't get her way. Hey, I've flown on other budget airlines that have the same price for the fare (even cheaper sometimes) but they're never ever this bad with customer service! Cebu Pacific has great customer service! Their FAs are always smiling and they even converse with you! But this, this is just appalling.

I hope this reaches the big bosses. They should start taking a look at how this is affecting their sales and customer service. Make a search on Google and you'll see even more posts about their customer service and how bad it is.

1 Comments

Izzy Bizzy says:
3:31 PM

My God! I never realized that ripping off passengers is their devious scheme in getting above competition.
They are currently offering me a refund for a flight that is days away which would mean that I am losing my hotel in Cebu, transfers abroad. All at no expense to them because they are offering me the convenient alternative of a refund! I hope somebody hears us.

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