Africa-Press – Mauritius. Her name is Céline. She is a businesswoman and spends her time travelling the world over. Last Saturday, Céline was travelling to Cape Town on an early morning flight.
The airport was crowded. So much so that she had to queue up outside, in the sun, right where taxis usually disembark their passengers. ?Oh well, she thought, with some luck, I?ll get through quickly.
? There were about six flights at this time. Eventually, Céline gets in. She looks for an indication about her flight. She sees it almost straight away. It said ?Cape town, Business Class.
? But the lady behind the counter told her that she was in the wrong queue. Surprised, Céline asked where she should go.
?Over there?, says the Air Mauritius employee, pointing to the last counter at the other end of the airport.
Not amused, Céline pushed the trolley and made her way through the crowd. Took her a good ten minutes. Once at the counter to which she was directed, Céline queues up.
When she gets to the top of the queue, she is again told she is at the wrong counter and is directed to? the counter where she came from. ?Keep cool?, mutters our friend.
?Do not lose patience.
? She thought, repeating the mantra as per the silly advices of her self-help books. Ten minutes later, there she goes again. There are seven people in front of Céline, all of whom look unusually dressed for Business class, thought Céline.
When our long-suffering friend finally reached the counter, she told the hostess that she had been redirected to the initial counter. ?Oh?, was the only response.
?Well, it says on the sign, doesn?t it?? insists Céline.
?O. K.
? was the answer.
?One more question. Were those people ahead of me travelling Business?? ?No?, replies the Air Mauritius representative. ?Ok that?s it.
Could I speak to your manager please?? asks a livid Céline. ?There?s eight of them around and they are nowhere to be seen?, replies the bored hostess.
Céline decides not to lose her temper. She stood and waited dutifully and did her best not to scream. After the check-in and queuing-up for immigration formalities, Céline makes her way to the Business class lounge.
She walks in, goes up to a hostess and politely asks : ?May I please have a glass of cold water?? Céline receives no answer. The hostess walks past her and two minutes later, slams a glass of tepid water on the table.
Without a word. The plane was meant to leave at nine. Boarding was meant to be at eight thirty. At nine o?clock there was still no announcement calling for boarding.
Céline inquired about her flight on five occasions. ?Not yet?, was all the answer she got. Eventually at twenty past nine, there was a call for boarding.
Without a word of apology. It was an exasperated Céline who boarded the Air Mauritius flight. ?So much for paying extra to get a little bit extra service?, she mumbled to herself.
When Céline told me her story, I asked why she didn?t make a fuss and ask to see a manager. If we aspire to expand our tourism industry, surely the quality of service must become of prime importance.
?I have to use SSR all the time. Making a fuss would have got me nowhere.
On the contrary, those people would have made sure that next time I travel, the service gets slightly worse?? Keep going Air Mauritius. Keep going AML. This sure is the road to success?
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