How does KLM get away with such poor customer service

[Capetonian]

It's funny you should mention the NS(Dutch Rail) being customerfriendly! Not many Dutch residents would agree with you!

We hear about whinging Poms but I have rarely heard a nation run themselves down as the Dutch do, particularly in respect of the quality of service delivery. Compared to most other places, Holland is a paradise as far as this is concerned, even the Nederlandse Spoorweg (sp?). Just compare it with the rail network in the UK! It's all relative!

[Xolon]

True
We, Dutchies, are pretty spoiled if it comes to public transport. We start complaining when there is a 5 minute delay and don't even start about the latest issue; trains doing 1hour short hops without toilets!! Buslines of 4 hours, subways, Trams..all without toilets aswell, but you won't hear us complain about them

I've worked for some years as ground handler at Schiphol airport and it can be very hectic in scenarios like we experience now in Europe (snow, ashclouds...). I believe the lack of good information is a overall problem, not only KLM.

Unfortunatly I'm not a regular flyer, but I do understand where these problems come from. Unfortunatly most passengers don't and think they are the only one being effcted by the chaos

[Katamarino]

I compained to KLM in June about a terrible transatlantic flight I had on a KLM ticket.

I received a reply two weeks ago...they are not a great airline.

NS however I find to be quite good - there are nearly always staff present to assist, and most of the time their trains run to the minute!

[PAXboy]

OK, I'll be the one to say the incorrect thing (especially since it's the season of good cheer!) Has KL customer service declined, since they got taken over by AF?

[Capetonian]

Has KL customer service declined, since they got taken over by AF?

Nothing incorrect in asking this.

Overall, yes, but in fact in Holland, which is the only place where I've dealt with them, there is no noticeable difference.

[cavortingcheetah]

Actually, the merger has had significant advantages.
Now when KLM separate suitcases from the client's flight they ship the bags from AMS to CDG and wing them out on the next Air France flight. So now luggage, which is often lost at Schiphol, usually catches up within twenty four hours.

[robtheblade]

I take 6-8 long haul flights a year and as I have to pay for my own ticket will almost always opt for the cheapest. This means I may use 6-8 different airlines a year.

I have no problems using KLM and they do seem to give consistent service, unfortunately, mediocre. The onboard service is always the same, food ok but served with a scowl. Don’t mind that, I’m not looking for an onboard romance. This is offset by them always giving me an extra vodka should I want one.


The two times there has been problems have been dealt with in an exemplary way. First time my flight from Shanghai was cancelled. I was asked if I would fly the next day with KLM or would I prefer to fly that day with another carrier. I opted to fly with Virgin and got home with just a couple of hours delay. The second time was when there was terrible disruption in Schiphol due to strong winds. There were massive queues to rebook so I phoned my daughter in the UK to ask her to rebook me. She phoned back within half an hour to confirm my flight the next day.


So for me, KLM are just fine.

[BadgerBoi]

I had an experience a couple of years ago, KLM ticket but flying AF - AF screwed me up royally, but didn't want to know, fobbed me off to KLM. The KLM agent (in Australia) did all he could to help, gave me a few thousand air-miles for my trouble, had my complaint all but resolved. However, he had to pass it back to AF to close my complaint. At this point, we started again from step one. I just gave up. Everyone I dealt with at AF were appalling, on the ground (who caused the problem), in the air (who exacerbated the problem) and in the office (who were atrocious and just didn't want to know). KLM were great (in the air as the second part of the flight, and in the customer complaint staff in Oz), empathetic and went out of their way to help even though they weren't at fault.
/end of rant.

[radeng]

I was told by Dutch friends that NS have gone downhill badly in recent years - has it been privatised?

[Capetonian]

I used NS daily when I was living there, about 4 years ago. I got used to hearing the Dutch complaining when a train was 2 minutes late, or there was standing room only at peak times in 2nd. class, or a train occasionally was a bit scruffy, maybe some litter around the doors, the odd bit of graffiti. My Dutch friends used to tell me that the trains were 'unreliable' and they would rather sit for an hour or so in the appalling traffic twice a day whilst I took a comfortable 30 minute train trip during which I could have my morning coffee and orange juice, catch up with emails, and sit in comfort.

I used to travel 1st. class in and out of work and the compartments were always spotlessly clean and never full. There were usually seats in 2nd too. Compare this with the stinking overcrowded misery of UK trains and there is nothing to complain about.

The only time I recall trains being cancelled was on an exceptionally hot summer day when the rails were stressed so trains had to run more slowly, so they cancelled 1 in 5 in order to assure a regular, if reduced service. This was explained, with apologies, over the PA in Dutch and English.

I sometimes went into Amsterdam and came back in the small hours, felt perfectly safe at the stations and on the trains.

The staff, on the odd occasion when I had to interact with them, were always pleasant and polite and usually laughed off my Afrikaans-oriented attempts at speaking Dutch with a smile and a reply in perfect English.

Since those days I go back to Holland at least 6 times a year and usually use the trains, most recently earlier this week. I have seen no deterioration in service levels.

[pwalhx]

Over the years I have flown a fair bit around Europe and the Far East with KLM and I agree with a previous poster their service is consistent.

Consistently adequate and rarely much more. But the fact is I don't care because in most cases I used them because of price and accept that I get what I pay for.

[Chele]

I avoid KLM

It's a Dutch trait not to be very customerfriendly! Something that was discussed on this forum not so long ago. Partly to blame on arrogance and partly on not being trained(properly) on handling complaints and service related matters.

Being a Dutch national that was raised mostly outside of the Netherlands, I have to fully agree with the above statement. It is not just a KLM issue, but a larger issue in general in the Netherlands.

The Dutch do not really understand the idea of customer service. I encounter the issue daily and I am still flabbergasted when it happens. In most cases, they come across as arrogant, indifferent, and incompetent; none of the three would anyone ever want to impart on their customers. It would behoove the Dutch to take notice.

Since returning to the Netherlands in 2003, I have started taking the steps to avoid doing business with Dutch companies that do not value customer service. I am sad to say I interact with very few Dutch companies. I do not fly KLM.

[Hotel Tango]

I think that part of the problem with poor customer service in NL is that the average Dutch citizen doesn't complain enough and, more importantly, take their business elsewhere. They tend to shrug their shoulders and put up with shoddy customer service as a fact of life. That's why those providing such poor service remain in business and become even more arrogant. This is of course generalisation. I have experienced some examples of excellent customer service in The Netherlands, but sadly it is the exception rather than the rule.

[pacer142]

The Dutch rail network may be *punctual*, but customer service levels and the quality of the accommodation is vastly below the standard of the UK system, IMX.