Again I had to fly an airline other than my favorite LAN because of connectivity reasons with destination to Asuncion, Paraguay. Already at check-in, a huge cue at the business counter with Brazilians that seemed to have emptied Miami’s retail outlets made me endure an excessive waiting time. Then, the check-in lady advised me that my carry-on was exceeding the allowed limit of 10 kg, which after seeing the 200 kg of average weight that my fellow passengers were bringing appeared to be totally absurd. Additionally, my colleague was not allowed to go on the plane because, according to the airline’s system, as an American he needed a Visa for Paraguay. Of course this was not TAM’s fault, but the way this situation was handled showed that nobody really cared. So I decided to fly alone without first complaining that no other airline (naming their key competitors) has ever rejected that I take my little carry-on bag on board. The check-in lady finally agreed and let me go with the bag. She could have made that decision from the beginning!
During the flight we had to opportunity to choose from a fancy sounding menu. The wine was fantastic: Protos, one of the best Spanish reds from Ribera del Duero, but the food was not good at all: smelly dry fish filet, old mushy salad, fatty raw fluffy ham, styrofoam-like croissants and overly ripe fruits. Not acceptable in business class and in total contrast to the wine and the price of the ticket.
The obligatory stop in Sao Paulo was also every other thing than pleasant. After walking down the stairs from the airplane to step into a bus, driving through half of the airport, getting through a security check with belt release and laptop extraction, I took the only working of two elevators accessing the so desired VIP area. When you see TAM’s “VIP” launch you would never imagine that you arrived in a 20 million inhabitant mega city. Of course it was completely overcrowded and if you could get a chair you better took care of it like gold.
On my way back to Miami it struck me that some South American airlines seem not to worry about terrorists. A large red glass cup, a glass plate and a battery of full metal utensils were provided with the meal, included two knives with the shape of a surgery scalpel but much bigger and heavier. On top of that, before leaving the plane, one of the knives from another passenger was left lying on the floor so that I could take it as a souvenir. It works great as a letter opener.
Going back to TAM's service, I must say that it was quite arrogant and I had the feeling that non-Brazilians were not welcome. Maybe it was that way because I responded in English when the stewardess asked me something in Portuguese. When we were getting ready to land, Cloesia, one of the female flight attendants even urged me to give her back the noise reduction headphones before I could finish my movie. As I did not pay attention to her, she brought some cheap headphones from economy threw them on my armrest and demanded to return to her the so precious headphones. I felt like in a hidden camera scene. No big deal, because I had my own Sony noise reduction headphones that I pulled out to finish watching the Sex in the City episode. Not that I am a fan, but I was curious to see how one of Samantha’s escapades was going to end. As a customer I felt harassed by pretty Cloesia and somehow insulted, because I was given the feeling that if she did not collect that item, I could have taken it home. I thought she should be more relaxed, like Samantha.
Definitely, friendly and accepting customer handling personnel is key for achieving excellence in customer service. It is incredible how demanding the airline business is and how only few companies manage to do most things right in order to keep customers for life. TAM is not one of them. Have a good flight!
