Worst Customer Service Experiences of 2008

1. By a WIDE margin, our worst experience of 2008 was trying to use Singapore's vPost.

GHASTLY!
ATROCIOUS!
HORRENDOUS!

After $130 and about 15 emails and calls to Singapore Post, we finally received 2 of the 5 items we ordered, and never got the others which we had paid for online.

At every step of the way, Singapore Post was argumentative rather than helpful, defending their policies and not trying to help us get our items.

The worst shopping experience of our lifetimes (and we've done a lot of shopping!)


2. Air Asia baggage check

Budget carrier Air Asia has a low baggage and weight limit to go along with their low prices. But when you purchase tickets, they also sell additional baggage allowance.

When we bought family tickets to Thailand, I purchased an additional baggage check for each of us. When we showed up at the airport, the first words the attendant greeted us with were, "You're going to be overweight." Hello to you, too.

It turns out that the additional bags allow you to spread the 15kg among multiple bags, but do not entitle you to extra weight. Come again? Have you ever heard of a more deceptive sale?

When I got upset, the attendant told me that a lot of customers don't understand the policy. But he also said "please don't get upset at me, I'm just doing my job."

Well, not only is this a deceptive practice, but his job is to please the customers and be helpful, not defend his own feelings. He needs to get in a different line of work. And Air Asia needs to change the way they sale extra baggage allowance.


3. GV Cinemas Gift Certificates

I checked online to learn about purchasing gift certificates for GV Cinemas. They gave the information on the vouchers and directed people to purchase them at GV Box Offices.

I went to a box office near me, and was given a form to fill out and told it would take three business days to get my gift certificates.

What?! What kind of screening is necessary to buy a gift certificate? It's not like I am applying for a permit at "Speaker's Corner!" The GV personnel gave me the standard Singapore response, "Those are the rules." I first learned how this works at Delifrance in 2000, when I tried to pay to upgrade my set meal hot tea to an iced tea. I could not do it because, "Rules is rules."

Sheesh!