Oh no...
The pierre de a la resistance recently was when I was in London this month booking a flight home and they would not confirm an Economy seat with a Business Class ticket.
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Nov 7, 2007
SIA losing the fight in the air and on the ground
HAVE you tried calling SIA reservations recently? How many times did you have to call before you finally got through? It is easier to get through to CitiCab at 5pm on a Friday than SIA on a Sunday at 6am these days.
I guess you could call me a frequent flyer. On average, I travel every three days and I have been Solitaire for the last few years. I am a fan of Singapore Airlines, not only because they used to pay my salary (working at SQ Centre) but because they have a very high reliability of taking off on time and I always know that I am guaranteed a seat on the class below, if the flight is full. With multiple meetings in multiple cities over a short period of time, these two factors are of high importance.
Unfortunately in many other areas, SIA is losing ground over the competition. Allow me to give a few examples. Remember the slogan 'the Youngest Fleet'? This is now being challenged. I travel to the Middle East once a month every month and Emirates, Qatar and Ethiad Airways are using new aircraft with flat seats and large movie choices.
Flying SIA is now an expensive privilege. Every eight weeks, I am in Europe. SIA is double the cost of a Business Class ticket compared to Qatar Airways and I sometimes have difficulty justifying the difference. Now hang on, before you get the idea I am a fan of Qatar Airways, I am not. I had my worst ever delays with them. SIA has always prided itself on its service in the air but the difference between other Asian and the fast growing Middle East competitors has all but squandered the difference. The blankets, for example, on other airlines leave SIA's looking old and thin.
And whatever happened to OSG - 'Outstanding Service on the Ground' - another of SIA's differentiators? Those of us who fly through Hong Kong all know that there First and Business Class boarding is much faster and easier. Heathrow Airport offers a fast track service on both departures and arrivals for Business and First Class. I was in Glasgow airport last month and they were very proud of their brand new hand-luggage scanner that was very fast and the only one in the world that automatically sends high-risk bags on a different exit track and the containers back round to the waiting passengers. This dramatically reduced the security waiting time. I know, when Terminal Three opens everything will be different.
SIA has always wanted to provide service on the ground that matched the high excellence in the air. Does that not begin with being able to call to book my flight? Is that not what the industry calls a 'moment of truth'? Now you might tell me to use the Internet but, hang on, I am Solitaire. Should I not be able to choose how I want to book my flight and when I am in the back of a car between meetings I do not have Internet access to change a flight.
The pierre de a la resistance recently was when I was in London this month booking a flight home and they would not confirm an Economy seat with a Business Class ticket. I tried my best to explain to them the Solitaire privileges but alas to no avail. This is only topped by my friend who just gave birth. During her pregnancy, she called SIA and asked for an extension on her PPS until after she gave birth as she would not be flying and she did not want to lose her PPS status. Our friendly carrier considered her request and then gave her a point-blank 'no'.
I write this letter in the hope that others who are finding it harder and harder to give our national carrier their business will cry out and the small voice of the passenger will be heard.
Robin Speculand
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_174242.html
Showing posts with label Tourism (SG). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tourism (SG). Show all posts
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Worker caught on webcam stealing alcohol from guests
'We were convinced that someone was taking our alcohol.' 
'We were shocked as it is a five-star hotel in Singapore, a country known for its high standards of service.
'They immediately alerted the management, who refunded their three night's hotel stay of $597 and waived their Internet charges.
'We were shocked as it is a five-star hotel in Singapore, a country known for its high standards of service.
'They immediately alerted the management, who refunded their three night's hotel stay of $597 and waived their Internet charges.
The Electric New Paper : Hotel housekeeper cleans up... ...in more ways than one
Worker caught on webcam stealing alcohol from guests
She picks up bottle... unscrews the cap... ...and pours out the booze
THEY suspected that someone might be stealing alcohol from their whisky bottle.
By Veema Bharwani 16 October 2007
THEY suspected that someone might be stealing alcohol from their whisky bottle.
So three Hong Kong tourists staying at the Hilton Singapore set up a webcam to see if they could catch the culprit on camera.
The result?
A 20-second video clip of a hotel housekeeper pouring whisky from the guests' bottle into an empty water bottle.
She repeats the process by pouring more whisky from another bottle into a separate water bottle.
The video was recorded on a webcam attached to one of the tourist's laptops.
This was the last thing the trio from Hong Kong was expecting on their weekend getaway in Singapore.
'We didn't expect this to happen in Singapore. We were looking to have a good time here,' said Mr Manoj Budhrani, a 28-year-old businessman.
The three men were in town for a weekend getaway from 28 Sep to 1 Oct and stayed at the Hilton Singapore.
They started their weekend by popping open a one-litre bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label whisky in their hotel room on Friday night. They said they had bought it for $237 from the airport duty-free shop. They also had a bottle of the less expensive Johnnie Walker Black Label.
They left the bottle in the room and went out clubbing later that night.
The next day, just before stepping out to lunch, one of the three men, MrJai Chulani, 28, remarked to the other two: 'Wow, we drank a quarter of a bottle last night. Not bad.'
But when they returned to the room at 5pm the same day, they noticed the level of alcohol in the bottle had dropped from the three-quarter mark to the half-way mark.
'We would not have noticed it if Jai hadn't remarked how much we drank before we left for lunch,' said MrBudhrani.
He said the others teased him saying he must have been drinking the alcohol on the sly.
'I told them it wasn't me,' MrBudhrani said with a laugh.
'We knew something was up because when we came back the room was clean. So someone had been there in our absence.
'We were convinced that someone was taking our alcohol.'
Not willing to let the incident rest, Mr Chulani suggested that since he had a laptop with a built-in webcam, they could leave it on to record what was going on in the room.
So on Sunday morning, just before leaving the room for the afternoon, the three men created the perfect setup.
They turned on the laptop and its camera, pointed it towards the side table on which the whisky bottles rested and pressed the record button.
They made sure that the laptop had its screen-saver on, so it couldn't be seen that it was recording.
Also, since they had almost finished the first whisky bottle, they opened a second and drank a bit out of it.
'We thought if someone was taking the whisky, they were trying to be careful about it and wouldn't take it if it was obvious - like when the bottle was too empty or too full,' said MrNavin Gaba.
Later that Sunday, when the trio came back to the room, they got a shock when they scanned through the five-hour long video recording.
CULPRIT CAUGHT
The camera caught a housekeeper, who looked to be in her late 40s, swiftly pouring some 20 per cent of the whisky from the first and second bottles into separate empty water bottles.
She did this without hesitation.
Added Mr Budhrani: 'We were shocked as it is a five-star hotel in Singapore, a country known for its high standards of service.'
Added Mr Gaba, 28: 'It's not how much she stole but the principle behind it.'
They immediately alerted the management, who refunded their three night's hotel stay of $597 and waived their Internet charges.
The hotel's general manager, MrAlain Mahillon said they had reprimanded the employee involved when asked what action was taken.
The hotel would not confirm if they have or are planning to file a police report against the housekeeper, or if the housekeeper had been dismissed.
They also declined to comment on whether they run background checks on staff before employing them.
He would only say: 'Guest satisfaction is key to our business and we strive to ensure all team members receive regular training and development to ensure they deliver the quality of service that our hotel name is renowned for. We regret that this isolated incident occurred.'
But the guests are not entirely satisfied.
Said Mr Budhrani: 'We are seriously considering filing a police report as we don't want other guests to go through what we went through.'
On complaints of theft and similar incidents in hotels, The Singapore Tourism Board's director of communications, Mr Muhammad Rostam Umar, said: 'STB does receive feedback from all sectors, including hotels. The Board is committed to providing prompt assistance to affected visitors by channelling their complaints to the relevant agencies for their necessary action.'
For example, if a tourist complained of a theft while staying here, STB could advise the tourist to file a police report.
Consumers Association of Singapore executive director Seah Seng Choon said that while it had not received complaints on thefts in hotels, there had been other complaints like unsatisfactory service and hotels over-charging for bookings made over the phone, among other things.
'The complaints were usually resolved by means of refunds, discounts or complimentary vouchers,' he added.
The irony in this case is that the staff may have got the liquor anyway.
Said Mr Budhrani: 'We would have never been able to finish the two bottles of whisky on our own. We would have left the unfinished bottles in the room for the staff.'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Worker caught on webcam stealing alcohol from guests
She picks up bottle... unscrews the cap... ...and pours out the booze
THEY suspected that someone might be stealing alcohol from their whisky bottle.
By Veema Bharwani 16 October 2007
THEY suspected that someone might be stealing alcohol from their whisky bottle.
So three Hong Kong tourists staying at the Hilton Singapore set up a webcam to see if they could catch the culprit on camera.
The result?
A 20-second video clip of a hotel housekeeper pouring whisky from the guests' bottle into an empty water bottle.
She repeats the process by pouring more whisky from another bottle into a separate water bottle.
The video was recorded on a webcam attached to one of the tourist's laptops.
This was the last thing the trio from Hong Kong was expecting on their weekend getaway in Singapore.
'We didn't expect this to happen in Singapore. We were looking to have a good time here,' said Mr Manoj Budhrani, a 28-year-old businessman.
The three men were in town for a weekend getaway from 28 Sep to 1 Oct and stayed at the Hilton Singapore.
They started their weekend by popping open a one-litre bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label whisky in their hotel room on Friday night. They said they had bought it for $237 from the airport duty-free shop. They also had a bottle of the less expensive Johnnie Walker Black Label.
They left the bottle in the room and went out clubbing later that night.
The next day, just before stepping out to lunch, one of the three men, MrJai Chulani, 28, remarked to the other two: 'Wow, we drank a quarter of a bottle last night. Not bad.'
But when they returned to the room at 5pm the same day, they noticed the level of alcohol in the bottle had dropped from the three-quarter mark to the half-way mark.
'We would not have noticed it if Jai hadn't remarked how much we drank before we left for lunch,' said MrBudhrani.
He said the others teased him saying he must have been drinking the alcohol on the sly.
'I told them it wasn't me,' MrBudhrani said with a laugh.
'We knew something was up because when we came back the room was clean. So someone had been there in our absence.
'We were convinced that someone was taking our alcohol.'
Not willing to let the incident rest, Mr Chulani suggested that since he had a laptop with a built-in webcam, they could leave it on to record what was going on in the room.
So on Sunday morning, just before leaving the room for the afternoon, the three men created the perfect setup.
They turned on the laptop and its camera, pointed it towards the side table on which the whisky bottles rested and pressed the record button.
They made sure that the laptop had its screen-saver on, so it couldn't be seen that it was recording.
Also, since they had almost finished the first whisky bottle, they opened a second and drank a bit out of it.
'We thought if someone was taking the whisky, they were trying to be careful about it and wouldn't take it if it was obvious - like when the bottle was too empty or too full,' said MrNavin Gaba.
Later that Sunday, when the trio came back to the room, they got a shock when they scanned through the five-hour long video recording.
CULPRIT CAUGHT
The camera caught a housekeeper, who looked to be in her late 40s, swiftly pouring some 20 per cent of the whisky from the first and second bottles into separate empty water bottles.
She did this without hesitation.
Added Mr Budhrani: 'We were shocked as it is a five-star hotel in Singapore, a country known for its high standards of service.'
Added Mr Gaba, 28: 'It's not how much she stole but the principle behind it.'
They immediately alerted the management, who refunded their three night's hotel stay of $597 and waived their Internet charges.
The hotel's general manager, MrAlain Mahillon said they had reprimanded the employee involved when asked what action was taken.
The hotel would not confirm if they have or are planning to file a police report against the housekeeper, or if the housekeeper had been dismissed.
They also declined to comment on whether they run background checks on staff before employing them.
He would only say: 'Guest satisfaction is key to our business and we strive to ensure all team members receive regular training and development to ensure they deliver the quality of service that our hotel name is renowned for. We regret that this isolated incident occurred.'
But the guests are not entirely satisfied.
Said Mr Budhrani: 'We are seriously considering filing a police report as we don't want other guests to go through what we went through.'
On complaints of theft and similar incidents in hotels, The Singapore Tourism Board's director of communications, Mr Muhammad Rostam Umar, said: 'STB does receive feedback from all sectors, including hotels. The Board is committed to providing prompt assistance to affected visitors by channelling their complaints to the relevant agencies for their necessary action.'
For example, if a tourist complained of a theft while staying here, STB could advise the tourist to file a police report.
Consumers Association of Singapore executive director Seah Seng Choon said that while it had not received complaints on thefts in hotels, there had been other complaints like unsatisfactory service and hotels over-charging for bookings made over the phone, among other things.
'The complaints were usually resolved by means of refunds, discounts or complimentary vouchers,' he added.
The irony in this case is that the staff may have got the liquor anyway.
Said Mr Budhrani: 'We would have never been able to finish the two bottles of whisky on our own. We would have left the unfinished bottles in the room for the staff.'
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