INBOX Get in touch at
editorial@businesstravellerasia.com Star letter
Adrien Ng, Hong Kong
THE MANDARIN ORIENTAL TOUCH In today’s complaint culture, I believe it is key to give credit where it is due, and I was very impressed with a recent stay at the newly opened Mandarin Oriental, Taipei, where staff really went above and beyond. The one single element that sets the group apart
from its competitors is the level of passion from its staff. As cliché as it sounds, the service is without a doubt straight from the heart. Everyone I met at the property, from the front desk and the spa receptionist, to the bellboy and housekeeping, was proud to be part of the “family” – and rightly so. Going above and beyond was the norm and was absolutely no effort for the staff. Special mention goes to Philipp Knuepfer (hotel manager) and Mousa Wu (front office duty manager) who both served with a high level of professionalism. Another aspect that equally impressed me was the
degree of flexibility the staff showed – a feat that is hard to master. Guests are treated as individuals, rather than as a collective unit, with personal preferences acknowledged. During my stay there was a minor defect with the
hardware in the room and after all service-recovery procedures were followed, Philipp offered to meet me
Neha Mehta (Singapore)
OVER THE LIMIT I draw your attention to my plight caused by the seemingly poor decision to support my country’s national carrier, Air India. On a return trip to Singapore from Mumbai, flight AI 342 on October 9, I was asked to pay Rs5,100 (US$82) for excess baggage. According to airline rules, the weight limit is 40kg and during my stay at Taj Hotel, Mumbai, the bell desk staff helped me pack and weigh my stuff to make sure it was 40kg. However, at the airport I was not allowed to check the weight myself. It was taken to a different counter and when I requested to see the weight before making the payment, they still wouldn’t show me and just asked me to pay it immediately. They threatened that if I didn’t pay the money I wouldn’t get my boarding pass. The duty manager told me he would put my boarding pass in the dustbin if I didn’t pay in the next two minutes and I would be thrown out of the airport. So, basically I had to decide between paying and boarding the plane, or being kicked out of the airport. I wasn’t even given an opportunity to open my baggage and let go off the unnecessary stuff. It was pure coercion and I was at the mercy of staff that just fancied causing me trouble. I was humiliated and threatened by the duty manager at Mumbai airport and his team, who put undue pressure on me. I have never been ill treated like this and was in tears because of the harsh behaviour and shockingly rude words spoken to me.
16 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
to personally apologise. I wrote back to say that it was not necessary as I was satisfied with how the situation was handled and did not want to take up his time. This level of service is sadly lacking throughout most
larger chain hotels. All too often, we are faced with those that only know how to follow the rules and lack a sense of judgment, which can be frustrating at times. What Mandarin Oriental has is a very dedicated
group of employees who take pride in where they work and exhibit a level of professionalism that can only be achieved through experience.
■ This month’s winner of Letter of the Month will receive a Contura Suit Carrier, a compact, lightweight new- generation garment bag for packing suits to fit in carry-on luggage, keeping them straight and wrinkle-free. For the chance to win Letter of the Month, email us at editorial@
businesstravellerasia.com and include your full postal address and daytime telephone number. We reserve the right to edit letters.
To add insult to injury, I saw a passenger checking-in an extra 20kg, and the lady at the counter revealed that the flight was almost empty. Despite paying so much money, Air India then misplaced my luggage, which had my wedding dress, laptop, tax documents, educational certificates, formal clothes and a really expensive pair of shoes. I was informed by a SATS official at Singapore Lost & Found that I would be given an interim relief of S$150/ per day (US$120) as my clothes and essential items had gone missing. However when the luggage was found after three days, only S$100 (US$80) was paid. All of this was after a series of delays I had already experienced on my outbound journey. On October 3, I went to the airport to board the flight to Mumbai and was told that the Singapore–Mumbai flight AI 343 was delayed by eight hours (no call or message was sent to inform me about this prior to arriving at the airport) owing to which I would have missed my connecting flight to Delhi. So instead, I decided to go to Delhi by the morning flight (for which Air India eventually agreed to sponsor the costs). That Air India flight was also late by more than two hours. And, since my return flight to Singapore was booked from Mumbai, I had to buy an additional Delhi-Mumbai ticket (Flight G8/332 on October 7) for which I paid Rs3,000 (US$48). This series of bad experiences has taught me to not
to rely on our national carrier and instead take airlines that are more punctual and customer-focused.
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