Japan Airlines
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JAL; extremely poor customer service, last minute cancellation and plays the victim blaming card
Japan airlines just called me to tell me my flight got cancelled and said that it was my fault for purchasing a ticket that requires me to have an overnight stay when they do not allow overnight stay. My flight is due the very next day. For context, my family and I are currently in Canada to attend my brother's graduation. We are now trying to make our way back to Malaysia. The solution they offered was either to get a refund or to take the next available flight 4 months from now (no compensation with other airlines whatsoever; it was either A or B). If I were to agree to a refund, I won't be receiving the refund or a cancellation notice via email 2 weeks after this call. Bear in mind that it's a regular call and not a recorded one or an official email so I'm not even sure if the email or the refund will follow through as told. Also, the only email I received from JAL was a flight confirmation, and the flight status is still shown as on-going on the internet and in apps. I understand that JAL staff is probably as frustrated as their customers but in no way should they utilise a skill such as victim blaming. One of their self-defense upon getting frustrated was that they have tried calling many times and it was our responsibility to answer (they have only called twice; 2 days before my flight and a day prior to my flight). My family and I on the other hand, have been trying to reach JAL helpline/customer service for the past 2 weeks (every other day, sometimes several times a day) and was put on hold for over an hour every time. The only success we got was getting in touch with cargo and was put back to JAL's elevator music. Is there really no other way for JAL to contact their customer? The day I managed to answer their call was also the day I had the opportunity to discover that my parents' flight was also cancelled. That's when the victim blaming began. Let's have a moment to think a little:- I. Why reach someone through a phone call instead of e-mail regarding flight cancellation knowing that their customers are travellers? Not everyone will have data roaming and travellers are more likely to purchase a local sim or check their e-mails instead. II. Are phone calls from +13106074160 recorded? And if it is, why aren't these recordings used to improve customer service experience or the entire company altogether? III. It usually isn't an issue if a person has an accent but the frontliners of JAL who are making phone calls have the thickest accent and they are carrying out the MOST IMPORTANT duty. Both JAL's employee and their customer are going to die of a heart attack from poor communication. IV. Why are there still overnight connecting flights available for purchase when one isn't allowed an overnight stay in Japan's airport? And how do we attain this information when we don't know this information prior to purchase? V. Why does it take so long to issue a refund but so easy to inform customers that their flight is cancelled at the very last minute? Wouldn't it make more sense to cancel the flight at the very beginning if nobody is allowed a long transit to begin with? VI. If the lady who called me is reading this, please do not hang up on me when you are frustrated. You have already started a fued when you played the blame game but nobody was yelling and your customer needs to repeat what you said back to you because your customer DO NOT UNDERSTAND you or your pronounciation. WE ARE NOT MOCKING YOU neither are we dense, WE ARE SIMply TRYING OUR BEST to make sense of the situation and what you are trying to convey. How has JAL benefitted from victim blaming, not taking responsibilities and not offering better solutions? LASTLY, I am uncertain as to why the lady who attended to us needed to ask for my family member's names (even the one who isn't flying) but just in case the information is going to be used for malicious intentions, I have gone through the trouble of recording the second half of our phone call in case nobody was recording it.