A dressing down for SIA

[Gunners]

A dressing down for Singapore Airlines January 22, 2011
.A dressing down
Our family has always enjoyed the comfort and service provided by Singapore Airlines. However, last week our daughter and her fiance flew to Australia from Abu Dhabi to get married.

Letter in yesterdays SMH


This involved transporting the wedding dress, which was small with no hoops and weighed almost nothing.

Story continues below Singapore Airlines was contacted before the flight with a request for a small area to hang the dress, which was fully encased in a travel bag.

My daughter was told it could be a security risk and was not given any hope of a place to hang the dress. At check-in and again on the plane they were refused any assistance with the dress.

Consequently, the dress arrived in a poor state and required drycleaning to restore it to its pre-departure condition. My daughter and her fiance were also unhappy with the cabin service on both legs of the journey.

[qantas_flyer]

A dressing down for Singapore Airlines January 22, 2011
.A dressing down
Our family has always enjoyed the comfort and service provided by Singapore Airlines. However, last week our daughter and her fiance flew to Australia from Abu Dhabi to get married.

Letter in yesterdays SMH


This involved transporting the wedding dress, which was small with no hoops and weighed almost nothing.

Story continues below Singapore Airlines was contacted before the flight with a request for a small area to hang the dress, which was fully encased in a travel bag.

My daughter was told it could be a security risk and was not given any hope of a place to hang the dress. At check-in and again on the plane they were refused any assistance with the dress.

Consequently, the dress arrived in a poor state and required drycleaning to restore it to its pre-departure condition. My daughter and her fiance were also unhappy with the cabin service on both legs of the journey.

Hmmm, tragic! Just a damn shame. It sounds like they are never happy with anything. Hope the wedding was up to expectation!

[zvezda]

Some people always want to blame others.

[Gunnar Smithsen]

I call bullshit!

Having done the whole 'transporting of wedding attire' to and from Australia (SYD-SIN[inclusive of 1 week stop-over in SIN]-FRA-JFK-FLL) via SQ/DL in whY I can honestly call the above letter to the editor utter BS..

/RANT

[FlyBoy]

I call bullshit!

Having done the whole 'transporting of wedding attire' to and from Australia (SYD-SIN[inclusive of 1 week stop-over in SIN]-FRA-JFK-FLL) via SQ/DL in whY I can honestly call the above letter to the editor utter BS..

/RANT

That's nice - How about sharing your actual experience then ????

[Trawler]

My wife took her wedding dress onboard BNE-SIN-FRA with SQ in Y, no problems whatsoever. Staff were extremely helpful.

[SINFJ]

Come on, paying 1900 buckaroos from middle east to Ozzie isn't your normal paying one dollar ninety cent bus ride from bedok to boon lay. It is therefore right to rant. You are not paying subpar money so you wouldnt expect subpar service.


I am just aghast about a post where someone denounced it as bullshit because his gown never got damaged by SQ in his only opportunity in getting married. The empathetical side would lean on thinking that the whole flight was bad because OP got no help with the dress. Or that the expression of the crew was black as charcoal. Or there was no more fish left.

Some people... tsk tsk.

[Gunnar Smithsen]

I am just aghast about a post where someone denounced it as bullshit because his gown never got damaged by SQ in his only opportunity in getting married. The empathetical side would lean on thinking that the whole flight was bad because OP got no help with the dress.

1. That would be me...

2. Never claimed to be married, but simply charged with the task of 'transporting' wedding attire for a wedding that I was attending. Haven't had the fortune of getting (hopefully) my 'only opportunity' to tie the knot. But having the wedding attire hung up for duration of my flights, was not a problem for any of the cabin crew I dealt with. Perhaps I was a bit harsh in my initial assessment of the letter by denouncing it as bullshit - alas, I was calling it how I saw it at the time

3. If by OP you are referring to Gunners, I believe Gunners to be copying a 'Letter to the Editor' from the SMH Online Edition

4. If it were Gunners that this had happened to, I'm fairly sure we would have heard about it prior to the above appearing in the aforementioned website / newspaper

But I digress...

FlyGuy

Basically, it was two garment'esque bags, asked both at check-in counter and upon boarding the aircraft if the bags could be hung, this wasn't a problem for the crews involved on any of the three flights involved... Perhaps it was the way I asked...

[SINFJ]

Hi there, thanks for the confirmation and sorry if I have sounded curt. I only wanted to say that we might just want to be more empathetic to another's predicament without being presumptious.

[Gunners]

I do not know if the letter in the online SMH is true reflection of an actual event. However, it takes a lot of time and effort for someone to bother writing to the SMH. I do not know how the garment can be a security concern given it what was allowed on the plane.

If the incident is true I understand how the rest of the flight would seem to be "below standard." One something happens it tends to set the frame of mind and in business psychology it is know as priming. I not surprised the rest of the trips on SIA would seem to be substandard.

From a marketing point of view I am sure that this family will remember the incident for a long time. It is certainly unfortunate if it happened and I am sure different FA would have handled the matter differently.

Another example of priming and the one of my best experiences on SIA is when I left my jacket in the Gold Lounge in Brisbane Airport and SIA held up the departure of the plane to retrieve my jacket. On that trip the FA could do nothing wrong.

One of my worse experiences was when I was given an upgrade Y to J and settled into my seat and just before takeoff told a PAX had not turned up was moved back to Y in a middle seat (was alse in Y on orginal boarding pass). Everything on that flight seemed to go wrong. I sure it was perception and priming.

Another example of priming are hotel lobbies. First impressions when walking into a hotel sets the mindset for the stay and that why so much money is spent on the lobby area.

I am sure people will have good and bad experiences with SIA and the PAX and FA are only human. There are too many variables for PAX to have the perfect trip every time. Most flights tend to be positive and uneventful.

[allmotor_2000]

Well said!

My last trip I bypassed the dismal TBIT lounge and was at the gate area when the flight crew arrived. It just happened they sat next to where I was hanging out and I smiled and said 'hi' to one of the crew as normal pleasantries. Anyways, she (LSS) was very curt. I just went back to what I was doing. She probably thought I was hitting on her.

Anyways, I board and as I went to my seat in 1B that very same LSS had nothing to say as she stumbled on my name.

In any case, it sets the mood and I was much happier from NRT-SIN!

I do not know if the letter in the online SMH is true reflection of an actual event. However, it takes a lot of time and effort for someone to bother writing to the SMH. I do not know how the garment can be a security concern given it what was allowed on the plane.

If the incident is true I understand how the rest of the flight would seem to be "below standard." One something happens it tends to set the frame of mind and in business psychology it is know as priming. I not surprised the rest of the trips on SIA would seem to be substandard.

From a marketing point of view I am sure that this family will remember the incident for a long time. It is certainly unfortunate if it happened and I am sure different FA would have handled the matter differently.

Another example of priming and the one of my best experiences on SIA is when I left my jacket in the Gold Lounge in Brisbane Airport and SIA held up the departure of the plane to retrieve my jacket. On that trip the FA could do nothing wrong.

One of my worse experiences was when I was given an upgrade Y to J and settled into my seat and just before takeoff told a PAX had not turned up was moved back to Y in a middle seat (was alse in Y on orginal boarding pass). Everything on that flight seemed to go wrong. I sure it was perception and priming.

Another example of priming are hotel lobbies. First impressions when walking into a hotel sets the mindset for the stay and that why so much money is spent on the lobby area.

I am sure people will have good and bad experiences with SIA and the PAX and FA are only human. There are too many variables for PAX to have the perfect trip every time. Most flights tend to be positive and uneventful.

[FlyBoy]

Well said!

My last trip I bypassed the dismal TBIT lounge and was at the gate area when the flight crew arrived. It just happened they sat next to where I was hanging out and I smiled and said 'hi' to one of the crew as normal pleasantries. Anyways, she (LSS) was very curt. I just went back to what I was doing. She probably thought I was hitting on her.

Anyways, I board and as I went to my seat in 1B that very same LSS had nothing to say as she stumbled on my name.

In any case, it sets the mood and I was much happier from NRT-SIN!

When a staff member for any company is in uniform they are representing the company! So they should behave like they are "working".

I guess in this case she did, she was rude before you were on-board and was rude once you were on-board!

If you recognize a staff member without their uniform on, they have every right to not be interested in talking to you.

But when in uniform and basically AT their place of employment they should be alot nicer.

[allmotor_2000]

I really don't care either way... some people are inherently unfriendly but can throw the smile for work!

[cscs1956]

When a staff member for any company is in uniform they are representing the company! So they should behave like they are "working".

I guess in this case she did, she was rude before you were on-board and was rude once you were on-board!

If you recognize a staff member without their uniform on, they have every right to not be interested in talking to you.

But when in uniform and basically AT their place of employment they should be alot nicer.

Yes you are right. Once they ar on uniform. They represent the company.

[RHG]

would such a complaint arise if the airline did not heavily market itself as having best inflight service, being accomodating and thereby leading customers to assume they are paying to be served like "kings and queens."