Customer satisfaction has always been key. In today’s hyper-competitive business world, companies are finally waking up to the fact that without truly engaging customer experiences, they are going to be left in the dust by their competitors. Consumers are more demanding than ever before; they expect brands to treat them like they are the most important person in the world, and to be offered experiences that are carefully tailored and crafted based on their preferences and habits.

A customer has detailed how a Ghanaian airline company, the Africa World Airlines (AWA) tried to outsmart him by changing the time on a flight ticket he purchased Saturday, June 29, 2019, scheduled to fly from Accra to Kumasi on Monday.

According to Mr James Kwasi Oberko, the client executive (a lady) he met at the Client's Office rather handed him a ticket with 11.20am as his departure time, instead of the 9.00am he had booked at a cost of GHC 249.00.

In a lengthy write-up on his Facebook timeline, the KNUST administrator narrated that upon realising the error just minutes after the ticket was issued to him, he went back to make the correction but to his astonishment, the client executive told him the 9.00am ticket was GH 399.00, and not GHC 249.00 he had agreed on and made payment to.

He said it was at this point that he sensed something fishy and immediately demanded that the client executive should cancel the booking and refund his money.

Kwasi Oberko, also a former broadcaster, explained that: “so beyond all the inconveniences they'd have put in, they set me up to look stupid on Monday morning as I insist on the 9am flight”.

He said, when he was taking the turn of events for a genuine error, he also later realised it is the company's norm to put their clients on flights at a time when patronage is not booming.

“Initially, I thought the Client Executive committed a genuine mistake. As things unfolded, I realized it was a deliberate ploy to put me on a flight at a time when patronage is low”, he disclosed.

Below is the full write-up:

SHAMEFUL AIRLINE BOOKING TRICKS, AWA IN THE MIX

1. I went to the AWA office at Kotoka Airport this afternoon to purchase a Monday morning 9am ticket to Kumasi.

2. After a very long non-business related chat with another customer, one of the six Client Officers took my details and booked me for 9am flight at GHC 249.00 which I had chosen.

3. Five steps from the counter, I checked on the ticket to ensure everything was in order. Lo and behold, the lady booked me for 11.20am. I went to her to correct her mistake.

4. Out of nothing, she began moving up and down pretending to be so busy. After constant reminders in 20mins, she asked me to leave my email and that she'd forward it later. Not wanting any drama on Monday morning, I preferred leaving the premises with the corrected ticket.

5. She got back to me saying the 9am ticket was now GH 399.00, instead of the earlier communicated GH 249.00. I immediately asked her to cancel the booking and refund my money.

6. As her colleague asked her what the issue was, she narrated a totally different story from what had happened in Ga. I immediately told her to STOP lying in Ga too. I took my money and went to book at Passion Air.

Initially, I thought the Client Executive committed a genuine mistake. As things unfolded, I realized it was a deliberate ploy to put me on a flight at a time when patronage is low.
The marketing and sales tricks employed by companies to outwit UNSUSPECTING CLIENTS is SHAMEFUL and must stop.


 

Source: Eric Nana Prekoh/Ghanaguardian.com