Posted by: Bihan August 20, 2005
RNAC, a passengerspeake
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Even after so many years of operation, I see no improvement in RNAC. It seems to be worsening rather. The often heard big scandal in aircraft purchase aside, a look at the general management of RNAC, its customer service and the way it treats its passengers both on ground and on board make it # 1 shame carrier instead of a flag carrier of the nation. A few questions/comments: 1. Why RNAC requires that a traveler with a confirmed return ticket on RNAC must go to its office in New Road for reconfirmation whether you are flying within 24 hours of the arrival into the country or more. 2. When you go to the RNAC office in New Road, the people in the counter make you feel as if you are there to bother them. There is sheer lack of customer service and professionalism. 3. At a check in counter, they allocate better seats to the RNAC staff traveling on free tickets; those paying passengers are treated as secondary. This has happened to me three times consecutively. 4. If you are flying RNAC to Delhi with an onward connecting flight, you have to face an ordeal. For some strange reasons or arrangements, RNAC does not check your baggage all the way to your destination to the connecting flight from Delhi. Even if it does on the paper, you still have to contact at the Delhi airport an RNAC baggage handler, who seems uninterested, unhelpful and tired, to make sure that your baggage has actually arrived and passed on to the connecting airlines. I have flown other airlines from Kathmandu with a connecting flight and did not have to go through the RNAC type paperwork in Delhi. I don?t know why RNAC still needs to go through this age old paperwork. Even if they must do it for some reasons, the least RNAC could do is to make it easier for the connecting passengers by being prompt, informative, and customer service oriented. 5. RNAC asks for a phone number when you book or reconfirm a ticket. Several times when they knew that the flight was late, nobody bothered to inform me, nor do you get a responsible answer when you call the RNAC checking on a flight status. 6. The worst scenes are at the check in counters in Delhi, Hong Kong and Bangkok. The peons tout you when they see you have a little more extra luggage and negotiate openly to exempt it for extra money. Of course, it happens with the full knowledge and connivance of the RNAC staff in these stations. I have personally been approached many times and rejected it outright. Here are my suggestions to RNAC: a. Overhaul the management Fire those lazy bum good for nothing flight attendants and corrupt staff immediately. Establish a standard of quality customer service; drop the staff first policy. Listen to the customers and make improvements. I know most of the staff hired on the basis of the Minister or some higher ups chits and through back door are still in the RNAC; most of the productive ones have left for the private airlines. Hire young staff on contract. Train them and retrain them on an ongoing basis. This is one way to turn the corporation from its current moribund state to a money making business. Bring in "managers" who are good in modern management, not those bums who are connected to this or that "raja" or somebody higher ups. They have runined the management culture of RNAC over the years. It is a profit making business and hire the managers that practice the principles of modern management. b. Choose only limited international destinations that make sense from the operational and business point of view No need to fly all over that you cannot keep the schedule. I would rather focus on quality of service to limited international destinations than having a bad name for not meeting its obligation. The destinations like Bangkok, Hong Kong, Delhi, Lhasa, Dubai would probably make sense to keep up with the schedule and assure the quality service. For God?s sake, make other arrangements for the King to fly. Every time King takes an RNAC aircraft with him, the entire schedule is screwed up causing a lot of inconvenience to the RNAC customers. c. RNAC must realize its money timely and with late from those who owe it Often we hear that RNAC is yet to realize its money from various travel agencies, individuals, HMG and even embassies. What RNAC should do is any undisputed amount owed by various agencies and individuals to RNAC that is not received even after two reminders within a reasonable period of time should be published in the newspapers and also on the website. Alternatively, if the labour disputes and low quality of work continue to hamper the operations, one way to salvage RNAC would be to put it into liquidation, send the staff home and revive it with completely new staff. d. Take the passengers complaint seriously; reward the employees who perform well Listen to the passengers when they have a complaints; give the employees a bonus from the profit. Practice transparency, transparency and transparency. Please take it as a passengerspeak. All said in the interest of saving the national flag carrier from going down into the history to become the national shame carrier.
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