This year I celebrated my birthday by travelling the furthest most parts of Eastern Europe. My girlfriend borrowed her sister´s SUV and another pair joined us with their Toyota jeep and we had a great offroad experience. We were crossing streams at points where there were no bridges, grilling on secluded places by the rivers, places unacessible for other people.
The highlight was a barbecue with grilled quails. My hosts have been promising me this local specialty so much, that although in the time of my visit there were absolutely no quails to buy, the man of the other couple, who is an important local developer, somehow through his connections just ´made them appear´ from somewhere. In my experience, a typically eastern european cultural characteristic - that almost impossible things through some collective deep engagement suddenly can be done :)
The highlight was a barbecue with grilled quails. My hosts have been promising me this local specialty so much, that although in the time of my visit there were absolutely no quails to buy, the man of the other couple, who is an important local developer, somehow through his connections just ´made them appear´ from somewhere. In my experience, a typically eastern european cultural characteristic - that almost impossible things through some collective deep engagement suddenly can be done :)
The whole week´s travel expenses, coming to and from the airport, buying delicious local foods and eating in nice restaurants costed me only about a 100$. Funny thing, if you consider that just for the airplane tickets I needed to pay 272€, plus extra costs to be able to take my suitcase with me.
Usually one can fly from Hamburg to Kiev for already 50$ with Wizzair. But I chose another carrier, because of visiting my parents before my holiday, I needed to start my holiday in a different place than the one I was returning to. The flights were to be carried out purely by Lufthansa, so I was thinking that flying ´The´ Lufthansa will actually be something more special.
Little did I know at the time, that the holiday will cost me an extra 1000$ more than just the flight tickets and travel expenses.
The flight from Kiew to Munich was special in many ways. In a country like Ukraine, where a teacher makes 50$ a month, you will see flying only the richest people of the country. Observing from my aisle-seat, I saw a giant fat politicaian reminding meof Boris Yeltsin, a gay famous artist, swedish businessman with his housewife and 3 kids, a bunch of ukrainian businessmen and some more normal looking people - probably Ukrainians living in Germany, earning german wages.
With the holiday coming to an end, I pulled out my iPad to concentrate on preparing myself for my hectic geman work life and didn´t look that much around. |
I have always been kind of against the consumer craze surrounding Apple products, but after moving abroad, I needed a strong communication device, so I bought myself one. This white magical white box with maximum storage, SIM-Card slot, a nice beige original leather case and many useful apps, this baby and its insurance has costed me more than 1000$. With ´all my life´ in it this device, it became pricelsess to me in just a several months time.
´Es wird wackeln´: The first clue I got, that it will be a very special flight, was when the pilot told us, that we need to fasten our seatbelts, because the airplane would be ´shaking a lot´.
The way he anounced it was very peculiar. He firmly, directly and very simplistically said ´Es wird wackeln´. -Now, if you don´t speak geman, you need to know, that it is a sentence that in the german language one would professionally never say. It basically means it will be shaking in a very plane, non-official german. In normal circumstances in aviation one never says it this way. Instead, one is trained to mitigate the problem, by saying something like ´Dear passengers, we are expecting some turbulences..´.
Very soon the plane was very rapidly ´falling´ through the gray german clouds down on Munich. The rapid descent being even purposelly assisted by the pilot, who probably wanted to gain maximum power and in this way control of the airplane.
I noticed this whole situation kind of late, because I was so infused in reading stuff on my iPad. After I looked away from the device I have realised, that around me there was a dead silence and everybody was serious. I realised, I would probably look like an idiot, who is pretending to ´be cool, reading from his iPad´ -while all others silently concentrated themselves on the unpleasant descent. On my right side were sitting a ukrainian father and his son, who has been bent over his seat-desk, was literally clinging to it with all his force and silently kept his eyes shut. To be honest, I need to confess it at this point, that for a moment I have even been considering secretly tweaking my iPad in such a way, that I could take the picture of the son, because the scene was just hilarious! :)
I have probably flown about 100 times in my life, but I have never really experienced cross-winds at landing. This time, I did. It was no way as bad as on the video underneath, but after the ´falling´ experience has ended, shortly above the runway it started to carry us left and right and the plane was additionally tilting from one side to the other, dangerously approaching the runway with the tips of it´s wings.
The sitaution has gotten realy unpleasant, so I put my iPad into the net under my table. It´s funny, how they all do the same in this video as well.
I have probably flown about 100 times in my life, but I have never really experienced cross-winds at landing. This time, I did. It was no way as bad as on the video underneath, but after the ´falling´ experience has ended, shortly above the runway it started to carry us left and right and the plane was additionally tilting from one side to the other, dangerously approaching the runway with the tips of it´s wings.
You should see, how quickly people have started to leave the airplane after they were allowed to do it! :)
In Germany they usually only let you out only in the front of the plane, so I needed to wait quite some time to be able to stand up. Usually I just relax in such situations and wait my turn, so I waited to be pretty much one of the last people leaving the plane. I would have waited even longer, but the scared son and father on my left stood up, eager to leave the plane.. I kept kind of under preassure and needed to leave the seat.
Something like a few seconds after coming out from the tunnel leading to the airplane, I realised I forgot my iPad. I turned back to return to the airplane, but the doors of the tunnel leading to the plane serve as an one-way-valve, so I couldn´t return. ´Fortuanately´, I have seen a security man goallessly wandering around the corridor. I approached this north-african looking man of about 30 years and described him my problem. Speaking very colloquial German, he started pulling himself out of the situation, saying that he is in a rush to go meet someone. He refused to let me back to the airplane, go there himself, or even just contact somebody that would bring me the iPad out from the airplane. He shrugged me of, saying I should go to the Lufthansa Servicedesk. He also didn´t really know to tell me where the Servicedesk is located..
In Munich you can not return to the tunnel leading to the airplane. |
I found the Service Desk myself. There, the personel was friendly, but advised me to rather move further quickly, in order to catch my connecting flight. I was given an email address cabinlost@baggageservice.de to write to to get my iPad back. I took the address, trusting these people, that I was given the address of Lufthansa's service for lost items, who will give their effort to locate and intercept an item of such a high worth for sure.
(After all, I have experienced seeing a similar situation, where another person left their phone in the seat-net on a plane of a low-budget german airline. In no time, they were contacted by the airline, being informed, that the mobile phone will be delivered to the airport with the next flight!)
I thought that Lufthansa as an airline of an even higher standing would be having systems functioning with the same efficiency - and therefore I made no scene and I peacefully boarded the next flight. But I was wrong in my trust! Immediately upon landing in Hamburg, I saw that, at least there, Lufthansa seems to have a (real and ´own´) desk for lost baggage. I asked the gentleman working there, if he can maybe give me some news, concerning my lost object. The gentleman at the desk surprised me by telling me, that Lufthansa has no way of communicating with similar services on the other airports (like Munich!!??) and nothing else is left to me, as to write to the email address I was given to. So I have written an e-mail immediately after coming home and described my problem in detail.
I received an automated e-mail answer with a signature of one certain lady, stating the received my report. After another 3 days I have received another automated e-mail, this time from a totally another lady, saying that my item was not found, they regret my loss and the case is now CLOSED. There wasn't even a telephone number attached for any further questions, explanations or instructions. Being left with many questions I started my own research, to find some kind of contact of the mysterious 'Baggageservice.de'.
As far as I could get some questions answered, the lady's efforts in finding my lost object have only been:
Putting an inquiry in the World Tracer computer system. After 3 days there had been a no such item found in the system - so the case was closed. On the telephone she informed me, that they are responsible to look into the system for only 72h. ´They looked into the computer after 72 h again, so their duty had been fulfilled´. I asked, if there would be a later notification from the system, in case the item would be entered into the system later. She replied, that the system doesn't have a such function - and even manually she or anybody else will later not be looking into the system, because they looked again after 72h.
I asked some further questions (concerning the fact, that the planes are always searched through after landings; items easily traceable to customers; flights being traceable). Her answer was that the personnel probably reported no lost item, or the iPad flew further to some other airport. Asking which airport the airplane might had flewn further , she replied: 'I HAVE NO CLUE... It's been already since the morning, when I sent that email to you'.
In this way I was prevented to even do some research myself - research that actually belongs to her (and Lufthansa's) assignments. 'On the telephone I restated the fact, that such items are never overseen, one can't even use locked Apple products, so people have not much interest in stealing them... -but after Mrs. Raspa totally vehemently answered: 'one can easily unlock Apple electronic devices', I was really out of questions..
I later found the World Tracer system on the internet myself. With the idea of at least searching the system myself, I wrote an e-mail reply to the last e-mail of the aforementioned Mrs.Raspa of Baggageservice, to kindly provide the number of the entry of my object into the system. It is now more than 2 weeks since I had sent that e-mail -and I am still waiting for the (very simple) answer.
Baffled by the chain of events and no substantial effort of the persons involved, I turned myself to my acquaintances working in the aviation business. All their answers were uniform:
1. The airplanes are ALWAYS SEARCHED THROUGH after landing and all objects are being kept.
2. It is actually very EASY TO TRACK the objects back to customers.
3. Besides the crew checking the airplane, at the Munich airport there probably was a group of 2-5 cleaners that ADDITIONALLY cleaned the plane before it took of again, so
4. It is strictly UNPOSSIBLE, that the item was lost- and therefore the only explanation is, that the ITEM WAS STOLEN
5. Even Lufthansa itself has the history concerned to the problematic of personel stealing apple products (in terms of proven cases and successful arrests)
6. A company like Lufthansa should not be ignorant in a case, in which a customer´s item in the worth of over 1000$ had been goes missing and has possibly even been stolen by the persons working for Lufthansa. The COMPANY SHOULD DO MORE
(After all, I have experienced seeing a similar situation, where another person left their phone in the seat-net on a plane of a low-budget german airline. In no time, they were contacted by the airline, being informed, that the mobile phone will be delivered to the airport with the next flight!)
I thought that Lufthansa as an airline of an even higher standing would be having systems functioning with the same efficiency - and therefore I made no scene and I peacefully boarded the next flight. But I was wrong in my trust! Immediately upon landing in Hamburg, I saw that, at least there, Lufthansa seems to have a (real and ´own´) desk for lost baggage. I asked the gentleman working there, if he can maybe give me some news, concerning my lost object. The gentleman at the desk surprised me by telling me, that Lufthansa has no way of communicating with similar services on the other airports (like Munich!!??) and nothing else is left to me, as to write to the email address I was given to. So I have written an e-mail immediately after coming home and described my problem in detail.
I received an automated e-mail answer with a signature of one certain lady, stating the received my report. After another 3 days I have received another automated e-mail, this time from a totally another lady, saying that my item was not found, they regret my loss and the case is now CLOSED. There wasn't even a telephone number attached for any further questions, explanations or instructions. Being left with many questions I started my own research, to find some kind of contact of the mysterious 'Baggageservice.de'.
Searching the internet for Baggageservice.de and the name of the last lady that ´worked on my case´, under the term ´Sabrina Raspa' I found an internet presentation of a young, heavily tattooed lady, claiming she likes the book Feuchtgebiete (genital parts), likes football, is in the interest group Sexastisch, finished the Hauptschule (ground school) and is a member of the group 'Wenn alle schlafen und einer spricht- nennt man dies Unterricht´ (When all are sleeping and only one is talking - it´s called school).
I though myself, this must not be the right person, but to my luck she has also stated, that she works for Sand Baggageservice. The internet search for the company has shown, that Sand Baggageervice i.A. Deutsche Lufthansa is just a small 'Tante Emma' luggage shop in some corner of one of the terminals of the Munich airport.
I called the telephone number of the company and asked to speak to Mrs. Raspa. A very surprised lady answered, giving a full blown impression of not being used to leading professional conversations with customers. It pretty immediately became clear, that the colloquial German speaking lady with a chain-smoker voice couldn't have been the person realistically writing the official e-mail responses in complex English, while 'working' on my lost object inquiry, but has just been a someone doing the copy-paste maneuvers.
Putting an inquiry in the World Tracer computer system. After 3 days there had been a no such item found in the system - so the case was closed. On the telephone she informed me, that they are responsible to look into the system for only 72h. ´They looked into the computer after 72 h again, so their duty had been fulfilled´. I asked, if there would be a later notification from the system, in case the item would be entered into the system later. She replied, that the system doesn't have a such function - and even manually she or anybody else will later not be looking into the system, because they looked again after 72h.
I asked some further questions (concerning the fact, that the planes are always searched through after landings; items easily traceable to customers; flights being traceable). Her answer was that the personnel probably reported no lost item, or the iPad flew further to some other airport. Asking which airport the airplane might had flewn further , she replied: 'I HAVE NO CLUE... It's been already since the morning, when I sent that email to you'.
In this way I was prevented to even do some research myself - research that actually belongs to her (and Lufthansa's) assignments. 'On the telephone I restated the fact, that such items are never overseen, one can't even use locked Apple products, so people have not much interest in stealing them... -but after Mrs. Raspa totally vehemently answered: 'one can easily unlock Apple electronic devices', I was really out of questions..
I later found the World Tracer system on the internet myself. With the idea of at least searching the system myself, I wrote an e-mail reply to the last e-mail of the aforementioned Mrs.Raspa of Baggageservice, to kindly provide the number of the entry of my object into the system. It is now more than 2 weeks since I had sent that e-mail -and I am still waiting for the (very simple) answer.
Baffled by the chain of events and no substantial effort of the persons involved, I turned myself to my acquaintances working in the aviation business. All their answers were uniform:
1. The airplanes are ALWAYS SEARCHED THROUGH after landing and all objects are being kept.
2. It is actually very EASY TO TRACK the objects back to customers.
3. Besides the crew checking the airplane, at the Munich airport there probably was a group of 2-5 cleaners that ADDITIONALLY cleaned the plane before it took of again, so
4. It is strictly UNPOSSIBLE, that the item was lost- and therefore the only explanation is, that the ITEM WAS STOLEN
5. Even Lufthansa itself has the history concerned to the problematic of personel stealing apple products (in terms of proven cases and successful arrests)
6. A company like Lufthansa should not be ignorant in a case, in which a customer´s item in the worth of over 1000$ had been goes missing and has possibly even been stolen by the persons working for Lufthansa. The COMPANY SHOULD DO MORE
The Munich airport is the 2nd largest in Germany. Lufthansa ist the largest German (and possibly European) air carrier and the company responsible for the vast majority of flights to and from the Munich airport. And apparently a giant like Lufthansa runs NO OWN customer service resolving issues with lost baggage and has no own systems, algorithms, databases and communication systems of its own. Even for items lost ON-BOARD of own airplanes, Lufthansa is outsourcing the job to a small petty luggage store on the Munich airport, -which on the side also deals with the issue of lost items on all Lufthansa's planes landing in Munich.
The employees of the contractor of this prestigious air carrier seem to be fully untrained and unfit for the job, that they don't even properly carry out. No effort is given when Lufthansa´s customer´s item worth over 1000$ goes missing. And what is even worse, in their behaviour these people even ARISE A STRONG SUSPICION OF POSSIBLY BEING INVOLVED IN THEFTS OF PASSENGERS´ ITEMS.
Did YOU know that Apple products can be cracked, although they are code protected and can be even made untraceable by their IMEI-codes and serial numbers? Do you KNOW anyone who can do it? Maybe the mobile phone shop on the corner of your street?
Lufthansa presents themselves as a top-quality, responsible and even a bit prestigious company. They translate their perceived status into high ticket prices. Prices far succeeding the low-fare airline companies (which could maybe afford a bad customer service because of cost reduction). Everybody with whom I talked about my event is surprised by the vehement and insufficient response of a company like Lufthansa and would expect more due diligence from a company like Lufthansa.
In the age of decaying customer service we see companies closing their in-person offices and establishing call centres in remote countries India. The greediest of the companies want to save money even to the extent, that you have as little contact with a live person as well. Your call will be answered by an answering machine, where you need to spend half-an-hour to put in different numbers, but none of the entries really matches the cause of your complaint.
THE MAIN QUESTION IS: CAN A COMPANY LIKE LUFTHANSA AFFORD SUCH A BOTTOM-LEVEL CUSTOMER SERVICE?
When I wanted to inform the Lufthansa itself about my event, I couldn´t really find any phone numbers of complaint centres on their internet site. I have instead found a complaint entry-box on their homepage. Seeing that it has a limited number of characters I can put in, I used the option of attaching files that the complaint form offered. I have even studied the internet on the topic, how to write a good customer complaint. To present my case clearly, I have put together a small Microsoft Word file and sent it through theonline complaint form. Several days later I have gotten an e-mail from Lufthansa, saying that they can not read the Microsoft Word file. I sent it again to the email address they provided, but since 3 weeks there had been no reply.
BEFORE YOU BOOK LUFTHANSA THE NEXT TIME, THINK IT OVER.
APPARENTLY THE CHEAPER AIRLINES CAN OFFER YOU AN EVEN BETTER SERVICE FOR LESS MONEY.
´´LOSSSSSS´´ |
What do you think about it all?
Should Lufthansa show more seriosity?
What do you think happened to the iPAd? Who do you suspect the most?
What would you do?
Did you have a similar experience?
What else do you suggest me doing?
Can you help? Lawyers, Public Relationship experts, Journalists, Aviation employees.. Contribute in making a story out of it!
Write me on flyclever1000@gmail.com and give me your suggestions.
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Travel a lot! Travel will enrich your life. But be informed. There are many strategies about how and when to travel, how to make your reseration, what to do and with whom.