IT is painful to see, in these times of economic turbulence, that some companies still offer deplorable customer service. An example of this is our national carrier, MAS, which has, in recent months, put on a great show of improving its competitiveness by having impressive marketing campaigns and price slashes.

It was disappointing to me then to find out that when it comes to MAS, it is the early bird who suffers.

I recently purchased tickets to Sydney at a price of about RM3300 (one-way), thinking that booking the tickets early would save me some money. Then I found out that the same ticket could have been bought for half its price had I waited for the recent promotion (ending today).

I called up MAS customer service hotline, was put on hold for 50 minutes and was finally told that this “incident” is something I, as a loyal MAS customer, have to accept.

After all, the call agent said, it was already stated that MAS reserves the right to alter its prices (as stated on the website). Customers who had purchased their tickets earlier would just have to “bear with it”.

This is more than just a normal consumer grouse. This is about something bigger — it’s about how Malaysian customers always seem to be at the losing end of the bargain when it comes to the “big boys”. On top of the financial loss, customers often have to put up with poor customer service or after-sales service.

N.J.K., Petaling Jaya

Source: NST – February 27, 2009