Is Emirates too big for its boots?

[ekpilot]

Interesting

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/517983-is-emirates-airline-getting-far-too-big-for-its-boots

Keep Discovering:ok:

[kumul1]

Emirates should stop believing its own hype and listen to its customers who want it to succeed as it gets set to become the world's largest airline.
.....unquote.

Not only should they listen to the pax, they should also listen to their employees, the front liners, who want nothing more than the airline to succeed so they can enjoy more of the proffit.:ugh:

[Gulf News]

This has been brewing for years yet in the past none of the local press would dare say anything disloyal about the almighty EK. The fact is that perhaps articles like this are the only way that the top floor management will get to hear that things are not all roses on the shop floor. The middle management wouldn't dare pass bad news up wards for the fear of being held accountable. This has been the Emirates culture since long before I joined some 10 years ago.

This will have repercussions though sadly not positive, cabin crew ground staff and standby for a scathing email from KG or TG threating all sorts of horror. Unfortunately the root causes will be overlooked and life will continue as normal.

Whilst I am usually quick to promote the Emirates product from a flight deck point of view I find my travel experiences with the company mediocre to say the least. I am extremely grateful to be able to avail of an ID90 F seat however if I was paying full fare to witness some of the shockers I have of late as a passenger I too would be looking to the like of EY to fulfill my travel needs.

[disconnected]

We see the decline year by year. We wrote the reports. We made the suggestions. We did what we could until the shear thanklessness of the task and changing attitudes taught us not to bother and simply look after ourselves.

What differentiates a soldier from a mercenary? The both do the same job, both get paid and can both pay the ultimate price. The distinction is in the belief that the future is worth fighting for.

Most at EK lost that belief some years back. The future wasn't for us.

[brassplate]

atm, largest, rudest, and most boastful, from the ground up. fly ey anyday.

[Wiley]

I've had five sets of visitors to the Sandpit over the last few months. Sadly, not one of them had a good thing to say about their travel experience with EK. I encouraged all of them to write letters of complaint. Those that did got the standard form letter full of platitudes in reply.

It pains me to say it, but if you were able to break out three EK passengers from a time bubble of around 1994, one from each class, and put them onto the bucketshop operation we've become today, they wouldn't believe it was the same airline.

We all love to lambast journalists, but in this case, I'd say the lady is absolutely on target with every criticism she's made. Someone very close to the top in EK quite obviously made a decision four or more years ago that maximizing profit at all costs was to override quality of presentation and service. Judging by the airline's always in the black bottom line over the last few years, the beancounters would say it was a very good decision.

However, I think it would be a safe bet to say that EK has suffered enormous intangible losses in non returning customers and not gaining many, many potential new customers because of (in some cases quite vociferous) negative word of mouth from dissatisfied customers.

One pair of my visitors this year are Skywards Premium members who travel Business Class, usually at least twice a year between Europe and Australia. They told me they'll be trying Etihad next time they travel because friends with similar travel habits say it's streets above EK in all regards. Their comment was "They wouldn't have to try too hard".

[White Knight]

Sadly have to agree with regards to service - too big a turnover of CC doesn't help.... Save fils, lose dirhams....

And how often do we depart DXB with 40 or 50 missing bags???

[Dixons Cider]

What differentiates a soldier from a mercenary? The both do the same job, both get paid and can both pay the ultimate price. The distinction is in the belief that the future is worth fighting for. I like it.

EK staff of past believed they were part of something special, and I reckon they were. That was reflected in the pax experience. Morale has dropped over the years, and this thread is indicative of the net result. The question should be asked "why". We all know the answer - its been steered that way by the leaders and managers in the pursuit of short term gain.

No revelation there, and sadly nothing unique to EK. DO THESE PEOPLE NOT LEARN! It's dumbfounds me, it shouldn't by now but it does.

The staff are the company. Look after the staff, and they will look after the owners. A Branson-esque statement true, but even more relevant here in our region where the bulk of staff are expatriate and have no particular allegiance to the country/employer other than their package and the experience. Screw them hard enough, and they'll desert you. They dont need to be here.

The journo talks of once loyal pax leaving EK for the EY experience. EY is still relatively new and still enjoys a 'novelty factor'. They are going the same way however, from where I sit, morale is not good. No amount of training and bullying will produce the product they want - UNLESS THE STAFF BELIEVE.

It really is that simple. :ugh: :ugh: :ugh:

[halas]

And how often do we depart DXB with 40 or 50 missing bags???

And why after a 14+ hour flight do they leave you standing 45 minutes at the carousel which is then switched off, that you than have to look for an EK rep and be told there are no more bags, then join the que at the lost luggage counter and fill in the details to get your bag two days later.......

In a 16 hour time frame that they have had the bag, they should be able to inform you on arrival that the bag is not there, here is the form, we'll be in touch, bye.

As happened to myself and others on a particular MEL flight last year.

As an aside, a friend of mine in Oz who travels at least five times a month through the middle east and on to europe, will not fly EK and tells all his mates not to as well, as, and l quote "They are nothing like they used to be".

He prefers any of the asian carriers to get here and will travel with any european airline to go west. No EK involved. Says it makes his travels less stressful.

halas

[Ndicho Moja]

Just ask the passengers who had to deal with EK ground staff after the returned flight EK 722 NBI-DXB.

From all reports the cockpit and cabin crew did a great job. The real disaster struck when people had to deal with the ground crew. That was Nairobi. From all reports the ground crew in DXB wanted to deal even less with the onward connections. As far as DXB ground crew were concerned, this was an operational problem and nothing to do with EK in DXB even though the connections were with EK.

Shame EK, Shame.:=

[Fart Master]

.............you pay Peanuts...............

The bags situation is a MAJOR problem, I have not left with all the passengers bags from Dubai for approx 4 months

[GoreTex]

emirates doesn't care if a pax is unhappy and doesn't fly with them again, there enough others who will take his seat, as long the planes are full why change a running system.
if you dont like it leave or fly with somebody else

[Fart Master]

That's the problem, in the end people will leave. What I will say in Emirates defence is that many many airlines have done the same thing in the past and still plod on.

[Kamelchaser]

Goretex, I understand what you're saying..certainly you'd think from EK's attitude in these cases that they couldn't care less if we got return business. However, any good businessman will tell you it costs (I think the figure is) seven times more to entice a new customer, than it does to retain an existing customer.

EK spends a fortune on marketing..without a doubt it has a very effective sponsorship and marketing program. So why the hell do they waste so much of that money when at the operational end we turn the customer away?

You'd have to wonder if it wouldn't be better to spend a bit less on self-promotion, and a bit more on training and retention of good staff. Then the word gets out that you have a good product anyway, and you retain that existing customer base, as well as gain new customers from feedback.

I had dinner by the canal in Venice a few months back. Lovely location, but shocking service, and awful, ridiculously expensive food. The restaurant owner probably didn't care less...I was a tourist, I wouldn't be back anyway, and the next night another sucker would sit in the same seat, thinking "oh, this is a lovely location..." Sound familiar?

[disconnected]

We have comment from passengers - first hand
We have comment from those at the sharp end - first hand
We have comment from the people at the coalface for passenger relations - first hand.

Its a very different message from the managers and corporate communications who rely on their statistics and balance sheets to tell the story

Beware EK, beware...

[Flying Spag Monster]

Guys this is not all bad news....at least it might free up some seats for staff travel!!

[Wiley]

A man who can put some positive spin on ANY situation.

I like the way you think, Spag Monster.

[stellar]

Just goes to show we've had the best ever profit share!!!!
When it comes down to it and we've to deal with down-right rudeness, lack of courtesy and complacency from our internal departments (we are the customers remember) would that be acceptable from the "front line"- we are the "product"- I don't think so-a little bit of respect is required here people!!!!!Nuff said.

[fourgolds]

Old Chinese Proverb that applies here,

They know the cost of everything but the value of nothing !

[mallrat]

I thought Oscar Wilde was Irish....:ugh:

[gadgetman]

The article is surprising only because it is in the normally rabidly sycophantic local media.
It backs up much of the comments from the skytrax (remember all those lovely awards Ek used to receive/ buy a few years back?) website, and from what the regular passengers have been saying for a long time.
The goodwill and loyalty that has been lost over the last few years is beyond measure. The seats have continued to filled however, so the accountants feel there is no cause for concern. How long they continue to be filled will be somebody else's concern I guess.
The complaints about the decrease in service are in perfect sync with the increase in hours that employees are expected to work. The strain of the increasing number of minimal rest ULR flights, plus the added hours overall, coupled with the insane sign on times has had a direct impact on customer service. Next time you walk into a briefing room at 0200, see how many crew manage to smile, or look even remotely enthusiastic, you'll be able to count them on the fingers of one foot. In the mean time, watch the few remaining capable crew (who can think for themselves, or manage basic arithmetic) flee to other countries or jobs, leaving only the bitter, the trapped, and/or the truly clueless to be the face of the company.
It's conceivable that when the new terminal opens in DXB, it will take a lot of the pressure off, easing the congestion in the passenger areas, and ensuring an efficient baggage system. Conceivable, but not likely. More likely it will be a huge logistical clusterphuq.

How does EK deal with all this? more toys of course. Our pax have been fed up for years with those irritating cords on the passenger handsets. Our new versions all have wireless handsets in first and business. The fact they are remarkably troublesome, prone to locking up, or not being docked properly by pax is a mere trifle compared to the cries of ecstasy that come from all the other passengers upon discovering these wireless controllers... apparently.
Passengers love spending half their flight trying to get a simple movie to run, elderly pax in particular see these technological contraptions as a veritable challenge that will surely aid in fending off Alzheimers for another year or two.

If EK was even remotely interested in getting feedback from its pax or crew, one of the first things they need to be told is that "Needless gadgets of questionable reliability do not replace basic, efficient customer service."


Here endeth the rant.

[casio man]

Quote "If EK was even remotely interested in getting feedback from its pax or crew, one of the first things they need to be told is that "Needless gadgets of questionable reliability do not replace basic, efficient customer service.""

Good post Gadgetman, and one very apt coming from a nick like yours!

[fourgolds]

Hey Mallrat , you are probably right. Heard it from a Chinese Captain when I was flying in the East. Ha guess old Leung read Oscar Wilde !!!

Top of the mornin to ya

[Londonlads]

Only look at some of the cabin crew they recruit and you will understand why Emirates isn't as good as before! Scary!

[DesertRose1958]

I flew with Emirates on the following flights, I was with my daughter and 2 grandchildren and everything that went wrong was the passengers fault, it was horrible.

EK863 16th May MCTDXB
EK107 17th May DXBLCA
EK108 23rd May LCADXB
EK866 24th May DXBMCT

We asked for two buggies to be tagged at check-in and were told they'd be tagged at the door of the aircraft, we thought this was a bit suspect and asked the guy who was checking us in if he was sure, he said he was . In hindsight we know realise he was just too lazy to do what he was supposed to do. When we got to the aircraft one of the female cabin crew laid into us, she just wouldn't have it that we had nothing to do with the bags not being tagged. Even when we had sat down she still came at us, I told her the name of the guy who'd checked us in and suggested she made a complaint about him. A little while later she was back for round three and had another go, all this whilst we were trying to settle two very young children. I said once more that we had asked for the bag to be tagged and anything she had to say about it shouldn't be said to us. At this point she said, "I have complained to the guy who checked you in" and when we asked what he said she wouldn't tell us. At this stage I told her very nicely to 'please go away and leave us alone. In the true fashion of the bully she was then as nice as nine-pence every time she passed us. Of course she hadn't spoken to the check in guy, she was just in the mood to be nasty and we were her targets.

We're self-sufficient, independent travellers who very rarely, if ever, need anything by way of service from cabin crew, and it's just as well we don't because absolutely none would have been forthcoming. Yes, the crew are immaculate and are expert in the use of half a dozen phrases that are designed to give the impression they are there to help, but it's all a facade. Perhaps we were just unlucky with the crew we had on our journey but underneath the grooming there was nothing, it was just a veneer.

Much is made of on-board safety and the need for passengers to recognise they mustn't block the aisles with hand-baggage etc, but what if the biggest threat to safety is a male crew member who's done so much body building that he has to walk down the aisle side-ways. The only thing blocking the aisle in an emergency during flight no EK108 would have been him. It seems like a very strange way to get your own back on passengers that have pissed you off. But given Emirates love of the latest in technology maybe he was a walking, talking, battering ram designed for use on stubborn doors during an emergency.

Zones - would the guys at the departure gate in Dubai please accept that no matter how loud you shout for passengers in zone a, b, c, etc to board the aircraft, they won't be able to if they don't have a zone printed on their boarding pass. It's not their fault the computers in Muscat can't handle that amount of technology, though it may suit you to believe it is.

When 5 passengers in two rows didn't receive a meal it wasn't their fault either, take it from me, there wasn't enough room for them all to be hiding under their seats. They weren't given meals because the crew members serving them went to get something and never came back. And were the hungry passengers really being un-reasonable for feeling a tad miffed about it?

I think that's what bugged me the most, that nothing was ever the fault of any Emirates staff member, it was always the passengers fault, it was apparent time and time again that Emirates staff could do no wrong.


And to the cabin crew member on flight EK86, the one with a Far Eastern background and an Australian accent, you really do need to re-think your chosen profession, trust me, no amount of lipstick is going to make you anything less than downright mean and nasty. Shame on you!