Tiger Tales, once bitten! Has this ever happened to you? On Sat Oct 27th my partner and I were booked on a Tiger flight Mel-Syd returning the next day. We were off to attend my niece’s first daughter’s christening. Unfortunately the child became ill and ended up in hospital. So I thought it would be a relatively simple matter to change the flight when a new date for the christening was known. Simple indeed – if I was prepared to cough up $400. The first $200 to first preserve the original fare by moving to a future date, then a second $200 to change the date again once the date of the christening was known. Silly me thinking that a budget airline would show some level of compassion for a genuine case. I ‘gently’ argued my case with the call centre, who quoted policy (now I knew I was screwed) then parried my case through their customer service, who use ‘insurance’ as their defacto for any action on their behalf. So I upgraded my complaint and sent my grievance to Andrew David their CEO in Australia and Chin Yau Seng, CEO Tiger Holdings. To date zip. Unfortunately, there is no relevant legislation, except a trip to VCAT, to give any protection from the maze of ‘do’s and don’ts’ that Tiger or anyone else parleys if a service is not provided. Customer service counts for nothing, but I would wonder if this is really the hallmark of self-destruction. So lesson learned, money burnt and it’s off to Sydney – driving.
Sorry Arthur - you picked the lowest ot the low-cost airlines and agreed to their terms and conditions which are presented to you before purchasing tickets. VCAT won't have anything to do with it. Best wishes to your niece and I hope she recovers fully.
Arthur B
Arthur B
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 31 Aug 2012
Total posts 4
Tiger Tales, once bitten! Has this ever happened to you? On Sat Oct 27th my partner and I were booked on a Tiger flight Mel-Syd returning the next day. We were off to attend my niece’s first daughter’s christening. Unfortunately the child became ill and ended up in hospital. So I thought it would be a relatively simple matter to change the flight when a new date for the christening was known. Simple indeed – if I was prepared to cough up $400. The first $200 to first preserve the original fare by moving to a future date, then a second $200 to change the date again once the date of the christening was known. Silly me thinking that a budget airline would show some level of compassion for a genuine case. I ‘gently’ argued my case with the call centre, who quoted policy (now I knew I was screwed) then parried my case through their customer service, who use ‘insurance’ as their defacto for any action on their behalf. So I upgraded my complaint and sent my grievance to Andrew David their CEO in Australia and Chin Yau Seng, CEO Tiger Holdings. To date zip. Unfortunately, there is no relevant legislation, except a trip to VCAT, to give any protection from the maze of ‘do’s and don’ts’ that Tiger or anyone else parleys if a service is not provided. Customer service counts for nothing, but I would wonder if this is really the hallmark of self-destruction. So lesson learned, money burnt and it’s off to Sydney – driving.
TheRealBabushka
TheRealBabushka
Member since 21 Apr 2012
Total posts 2,058
Peanuts and monkeys come to mind. But we never learn do we?
johnaboxall
johnaboxall
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
Member since 24 Aug 2011
Total posts 384
Sorry Arthur - you picked the lowest ot the low-cost airlines and agreed to their terms and conditions which are presented to you before purchasing tickets. VCAT won't have anything to do with it. Best wishes to your niece and I hope she recovers fully.
Arthur B
Arthur B
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 31 Aug 2012
Total posts 4
Thanks for the well wishes. I guess the bloke who wrote 'Customer Satisfaction is Worthless' was on to something!
ciaomucca
ciaomucca
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 16 May 2012
Total posts 28
There was an interesting debate about the matter of airline leniency for family matters/personal crises over at Cranky Flier last week, loads of comments from readers on both sides of the argument: http://crankyflier.com/2012/10/22/airlines-should-not-bend-rules-those-family-emergenices/