Does MAS Service Really Sucks? – part 3 the office replies…

In Does MAS service really suck part 2,  I wrote:

I emailed my complaint on MAS service to their Managing Director, Mr Idris Jala. This was done on Thu Jul 16 00:40:23 2009.  I got a reply from Mr Jala at  5:17:13 AM.

In his reply Idris had instructed an officer to get in touch with me.  Well the officer finally did do so at 230pm.  Here is the officer’s reply: (Remember MAS is MH – Malaysian Hospitality- see how the reply matches to MH)

Thanks for the feedback. I will get back to you soon.

In the meantime, can I assist you in the Langkawi booking. We can offer you the same rate as you saw in the internet.

Best regards

Note that no where in the reply is there a hint of remorse or apology for the situation.

Contrast this to Idris Jala’s reply:

I am sorry for the unpleasant experience and I can understand your frustration. I don’t know what went wrong here. We will get to the bottom of this. Please give us a chance to win you back as a customer.

Thanks for the detailed feedback. This kind of details makes it a lot easier to do trouble-shooting.

Idris is truly a class act on his own. His takes ownership for the situation, expresses regret for it and very openly asks for a second chance.  I truly felt comforted by his reply.   The reality is that MAS is still MAS and it is the sheer determination of Idris that is making the difference. MAS is not MH, Idris is.

My online message back to IDRIS JALA:

Dear Idris, I have been applauding you all this while for you fantastic work in MAS and I will continue to applaud you. But I have come to realize that MAS is not IDRIS although IDRIS tries to be MAS.  MH is a beautiful slogan but with no legs to it.  At every touch point, MAS gives an unbelievably painful experience.

In 2008, one day after I bought my KL – LHR – KL “C” class ticket, I changed the return date and was charged Rm2,800 for it. I never complained.   In Feb of 2009  changed the date on 2 “Y” class tickets and was charged Rm1,800 per ticket. This I grumbled  and they reduced it to RM800 per ticket

The reason I don’t complain is because I totally understand why you are doing it. You have a business to run and you will run it in the way that is best for your business.  It’s a free market and people have to just make choices. But  I do expect reciprocal respect. I now have decided that it is very difficult for me to have a  relationship with MAS anymore because MAS is prepared to take but not to give. That is not reciprocal.

In Malaysian Hospitality we don’t screw our guest instead we go the extra mile to help.    But when your very senior officer can’t even apologize – it means that he doesn’t see my problem as a real issue. Like many other in MAS he probably thinks that I am another troublesome customer that is not deserving of MAS.

Cheers.