airBaltic update and a message to web-savvy businesses: a social media presence is not a substitute for real life service

Update: Just over two hours after sending the follow-up email, I’ve received a response from an airBaltic senior customer relations representative. This email more carefully explained that due to a technicality, I am not eligible for this refund. Refunds are issued with official embassy documentation of visa refusals. My passport/visa was not refused, but rather was terribly delayed. Legally, the fact that I did not have my proper travel documents in time, for whatever reason, is not grounds for a refund. This would have been fine if this was the case from the beginning; however, I was informed, and thus led to believe that a full refund would be rewarded. Additionally, this still does not justify the level of customer service clients consistently receive from airBaltic representatives. They should be aware of their shortcomings and work towards improvement.

Last week, airBaltic was heralded at a local conference of top Latvian businesses for its online presence. However, companies like airBaltic need to realize that simply being savvy with social media is not enough. Ultimately, all the facebook friends/fans or twitter followers in the world don’t mean a thing if the company does not treat their clients with dignity, fairness, and respect. If social media is going to be their thing, then maybe they should be a little more… well… sociable.

airBaltic: a lesson on how to fly the unfriendly skies

United Airlines slogan says, “Come fly the friendly skies.” Well, United this ain’t.

One of my biggest complaints since moving here to Riga has been the operations of the local dominant airline, airBaltic. AirBaltic operates about 70% of the flights coming into and out of Riga, so there is often no alternative option. Additionally, airBaltic’s parent company is none other than the Latvian government itself. The fact that the government owns a majority stake of the company means that the odds of additional competitor airlines are about as likely as finding sunbathers on the sands of the Bay of Riga in mid-December.

I’ve made phone calls, I’ve sent emails, I don’t know what else to do… so here it is: a blog post expressing my frustrations. I apologize in advance for its length, but I wanted to be thorough. In the past, airBaltic has been more responsive to twitter complaints than they have to real life complaints (see my twitter feed for evidence). This leads me to believe that they are somewhat concerned with their online reputation. My hope is that this post might get enough attention from airBaltic or from the online community to present some sort of remedy to this problem. Maybe, just maybe, the airBaltic higher-ups will be made aware of what a shoddy operation they are running… but my fear is that they will not care in the least, as long as the profits keep rolling in because they’re the only name in town.

I’ve had my problems in the past with airBaltic. It seems that they have so many unsold seats that, at a certain point, they just cancel the flight altogether, and give very little consideration or flexibility to passengers on rescheduling flights. When an airline cancels a flight because of non-mechanical or non-weather related reasons, it becomes their responsibility to ensure that their customers are satisfactorily rescheduled. This is not the case at airBaltic. I have now had three flights with airBaltic canceled, two within 24 hours of departure. But this third one is the one that has made me reach my tipping point.

I’m tired of dealing with an airline where, as a customer, I don’t matter; like my time and money are worthless. AirBaltic doesn’t even have a toll-free phone number to speak with a customer service representative. To get that privilege, one needs to shell out .37Lvl/minute  (over $.70/minute). Considering that every time I’ve called to speak with a representative, I’ve been placed on hold for approximately 30 minutes or more, that can get to be some serious cash.

The specific problem is as follows, outlined point by point in an email sent to airBaltic on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 23. The email also documents the complications with securing a Russian visa that led to me canceling my flight.

If you don’t want to read it all, here’s the summary:

I was unable to fly to Moscow because of complications with my passport and visa at the Russian embassy. AirBaltic instructed me to send documentation of this from the Russian embassy visa office , along with copies of my passport and original flight itinerary, and I will be given a full refund. I sent all requested documents, and yet was denied a refund. The ticket price that I am asking to be refunded was $215.43, but more than anything, it’s the principal of being treated unfairly, time after time.

See below for the full email to the airBaltic representative. I’ll be sure to update with any progress.

Hello,

I’m writing again as instructed by an airBaltic customer service representative. Before finally reaching a representative, I waited on hold for 35 minutes. At that point, he instructed me to write an email to customer service. He ignored (or wouldn’t listen to) the fact that I had already written last Friday, March 18 (see below) and proceeded to hang up on me.

The level of customer service support at airBaltic has been consistently frustrating, utterly disappointing, and completely unacceptable. Please take the time to address my concerns and issue a full refund as you had ensured.

• On February 22nd, I applied for a visa to visit Moscow on the weekend of March 18. (I am an American citizen living in Latvia). I was told my passport would be ready with the visa on March 3.
• On February 24th, ensured that I would have my passport returned well before the departure date of March 18, I purchased a return ticket on airBaltic flight #418 from Riga to Moscow.
• On March 3, I learned that there were complications with processing my visa, and that I had to stop at the Russian visa company office to sign an additional document that they neglected to have me sign on my first visit. At this point, I was instructed that my passport would be ready to pick up on March 14.
• On March 14, I received a phone call from a translator on behalf of the Russian Embassy visa company notifying me that my passport would not be ready until between 15.00-17.00 on Friday, March 18.
• If you recall, the original flight time was scheduled for 12.00 on March 18 (see attachment 4 for documentation).
• On Tuesday, March 15, knowing that it was not possible for me to receive my passport from the Russian embassy until several hours after the scheduled time of flight departure, I took action to cancel my flight.
• First, I went to the airBaltic offices on Terbatas. They told me that since I booked my flight through Orbitz, I would have to work with them.
• So I called Orbitz on the evening of Tuesday, March 15. An Orbitz representative spoke with an airBaltic representative and was instructed that in cases of failure to complete flights due to visa complications, passengers are awarded a full refund of the original ticket price.
• In order to receive this refund, I was instructed to get documentation from representatives processing my visa at the Russian embassy verifying that I was unable to travel due to visa/passport complications (I did not have my passport or visa in my possession at the time of departure).
• On Friday, March 18, as instructed by the embassy representatives, I returned to the Russian embassy at 16.30 to retrieve my passport and visa (which, at this point, was no longer of any use because it was too late to catch the scheduled flight). At this time, I also obtained a signed and stamped document verifying that I was, in fact, unable to travel because I did not have my passport and visa in my possession before my scheduled time of departure. As an American, this was not an easy document to obtain from a Russian embassy representative, but with patience, persistence, and a lot of explanation, I was able to obtain it.
• Immediately after returning home from the embassy, I scanned the document verifying that I did not have my passport and attached that document along with my original flight plans and a copy of my passport and sent these documents as an attachment to customers@airbaltic.lv. This is exactly as I was instructed to do in order to receive a full refund for my ticket price.
• On that Friday evening (18th of March), roughly an hour before the flight departed (the 12:00 flight had since been canceled and rescheduled for 19.00), I phoned Orbitz to notify them that I was completing the tasks asked of me and they, in turn, instructed me to get back in touch with them after I had received a response from airBaltic.
• On Tuesday, March 22, I received a response to my original refund request denying me of my refund.
• On Tuesday, March 22, I phoned back to Orbitz at approximately 17.25, Riga time. The Orbitz representative then waited on hold for over 35 minutes for an airBaltic customer service representative to respond.
• Finally, at 18.02, March 22, Dairis responded to the phone call and explained that since the offices were closing, that I would have to call back again the next day (today, March 23). However, before he hung up, he did confirm that passengers who are not able to travel due to complications with visas are given full refunds for their purchased tickets.
• Today, March 23rd, at 10.50AM, Riga time, I phoned Orbitz again. And again, sat waiting for 30 minutes for an airBaltic representative to respond to the call. Initially, the Orbitz representative thought that because she was waiting so long for a response, that maybe according to local Latvian time, she was trying to make a call outside of regular business hours. I assured her that no, it was 11:02AM local time. Someone should pick up. Eventually someone did.
• As I mentioned at the start of this email, that representative then simply told me to email customer service with my request. He did not bother to listen to me trying to explain that I had already done this, and then rudely hung up the phone. After waiting for 35 minutes, he hung up on me. This is unacceptable customer service.

So once more, I submit to you the requested documents:

• Verification from the embassy representative that I could not travel because I did not yet receive my passport back from the embassy before the originally scheduled flight time.
• A copy of my passport
• The original flight itinerary
• The revised flight itinerary

Please consider this request and see that I am approved for a full refund of my ticket price.

Thank you,
Aaron Anthony

 

The English Speaker’s Dilemma

Having now lived in a non-English speaking country for more than a year, language is something I think about daily. I’ve become used to not understanding most of the conversations around me and my inability to read the great majority of printed media. If I am able to recognize a word or phrase, I often make up an entire scenario within my head to fill in the missing 98% of the parts I was not able to understand. Once in a very great while, like groping for two uncoupled socks in the dark and coming up with a match, I’m accurate with my guesses. More than likely though, I come away with two unmatching socks and without a clue as to what was being said.

Even if it's not spot-on, we get the idea

However, this “unmatched sock” situation is only true for conversations where I remain an outside, 3rd party. The moment I engage myself into the conversation, a quick transfer to English- or at very least an attempt- is likely to follow.

Or imagine this scenario, sure to be familiar to anyone who’s traveled even a little bit outside the native English-speaking world. Let’s say you’re walking through a market in AnywhereLand where they speak AnywhereLandian. AnywhereLand could be a major, westernized society, or it could be an isolated, non-westernized society… it doesn’t matter. But you’re there and you’re walking through the market. You pick up a small craft and, in pleasant AnywhereLandian, the shopkeeper asks you a question. You can guess that he’s asked if he can help you, but his AnywhereLandian just sounds like gobbledegook to you. Still, you infer the meaning and reply in English with, “No thank you. I’m just looking.” Instantly, the shopkeeper switches to English, which, despite the accent, is perfectly understandable, and offers you more information about the craft you’re holding in your hands. You ask if it was made locally, and the response is adequate, yet you can sense the shopkeeper’s frustration at his limited English vocabulary. His next sentence is an apology for not being able to think of the words and you feel a sense of his shame at his inability to speak more fluently in English. You assure the man that his English, no matter how broken, is wonderful- and certainly much better than your AnywhereLandian. As for you, you’re in his country and you’ve only learned how to say “cheers” and “thank you” in AnywhereLandian. Yet he’s the one apologizing to you for not speaking better English.

In the past few decades, English has emerged as an international connecting language. For example, last night, I was at a party hosted by a Norwegian man, and in attendance were people from England, Germany, USA, Canada, Chile, Argentina, and of course, a lot from Latvia… I’m sure to be missing some nationalities as well. These sorts of international gatherings are commonplace in my world, and they’re able to happen because of the ubiquitousness of the English language. In fact, I’ve even been engaged in a conversation after meeting someone for the first time and been complimented on my English. I, of course, then reveal that I’m from the US and that my English should be very good… I’ve been practicing my whole life.

As a teacher at an international school, I’m able to see the English language as a key to success for so many top students. If a student wants to be as successful as he or she can be, this means becoming very proficient with English. Especially in a small country like Latvia, where (according to wikipedia) there are only 1.4 million Latvian speakers, an ability to be conversational in English is pivotal to creating opportunities for one’s own success.

And so, we have English emerging and firmly establishing itself as the international language for cross-cultural communications, be they professional, social, educational, or otherwise. For certain, with the growing universality of the internet, this trend will continue to be even more widespread.

This sounds great, right? One big happy world where we can all communicate openly no matter what our language of origin. And imagine my luck; of the thousands upon thousands of languages that are spoken in the world, I happen to have been brought up speaking THE “chosen language” as my native tongue. Without a doubt, this has been an enormous boon to my global pursuits. Yet, I can’t help but be a little unsettled by this as well.

Only 50 cents is enough to feel the magic atmosphere

There’s a joke that goes as follows:

Q. What do you call someone who speaks two languages?
A. Bilingual

Q. What do you call someone who speaks three languages?
A. Trilingual

Q. What do you call someone who speaks one language?
A. American

And for the majority of Americans this is true. While I might be able to stumble through a conversation in Spanish with the grace of a baby hippo on ice skates, that’s the closest I get to being even bilingual. I might know some words or phrases in other languages, but, to paraphrase Aristotle, one phrase does not a language make. I know this is true for most Americans as well. Maybe we studied a language in high school, but for most people, that’s as far as it goes. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, but they are just that- exceptions. Within my international social gatherings, it’s normal for a person to be conversational in three, four, or even more languages. Two is bare minimum- native tongue and English. And then there’s me. Just English.

There are, of course, reasons for this. Primarily, Americans typically only speak one language simply because we don’t need to speak anything else. Think of it this way. The continental US is roughly the size of Europe. If each state (or even region) of the US spoke its own language, like countries and regions in Europe, then certainly, you’d have a lot more multi-lingual Americans. And of course, I realize that the diversity of the US allows for communities to exist where you can walk the streets without hearing or reading a word of English, but by and large, we “speak American.”

I know, this should be a good thing. I’m fortunate that I can go nearly anywhere in the world and find people who speak my language. But still, I can’t help but feel like this as much a curse as it is a blessing. If I had grown up speaking another language, I’d have almost certainly have learned English, and hopefully would have a strong mastery over the language as most of my international friends regularly demonstrate. I feel lazy and sometimes incompetent with my ability to speak only one language.

The natural response to this is, “Dude, just learn a new language. Your own laziness is the only thing keeping you from doing it. If you want to speak more languages, then work for it, study it, practice it, and you will.” I admit, this is true. But it’s not quite as simple. If I choose to study a language, it is because I want to do it, not because I need to do it. And that “want versus need” distinction is huge when talking about incentive to learn. I see this with my international students. If they want to be most successful after high school, they need to learn to be very proficient with English. For me, the list of reasons to learn additional languages is extensive, but none of them are a necessity to my success in the world. I have been motivated to learn more languages, and have ventured into studying both Latvian and Russian to various degrees, but this pursuit is more like a mental exercise or a hobby than anything else. It feels like a hobby because the truth is, I don’t need to speak anything other than English.

Ultimately, I know that there are more advantages to disadvantages to being a native English speaker. I’m able go almost anywhere in the world, find someone under the age of 35, and have a good shot at being understood when I speak my native language. This is a wonderful thing. But I can’t help but wonder what sorts of linguistic and cultural opportunities are lost by my inability to more effectively communicate in more than one language.

So let’s now return to the market in AnywhereLand.

If you identify more with the shopkeeper who switches from AnywhereLandian to English, and then apologizes for not being more fluent, realize that the English speaker is not ignorant to your efforts. The English speaker understands that no matter how broken your English might be, the fact that you’ve made an effort to learn something is likely more than can be said of what the English speaker has learned in any language other than his own.

If you identify more with the native English speaker, consider how fortunate you are that the world speaks your language, but also consider what is sacrificed in this lingual process too. Consider, if you will, what is “lost in translation.”

The Faces of Riga Architecture

As I walk the streets of Riga, I’m always fascinated gazing up into the watchful eyes of the stony faces peering down on me. Riga’s art nouveau architectures is among the finest in the world, and these faces are a hallmark of the style. On a recent summer evening, I took a short walk about town to photograph some of these faces (some of these are positioned at the tops of tall buildings, so some photos are a bit fuzzy in full size).

Entryways, Window-ways, and Otherways- a slideshow

Last week, I posted a slideshow documenting one of my travel photo trends I’ve developed over the years, reflections. This week, I offer one more. I like to use entryways, windows, and other openings as a means by which to frame the subject of the photo. Here is a collection of examples of these shots from various points around the globe.

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Reflections Around the Globe, a slideshow collection

Over the years, I’ve noticed some patterns with my travel photography. One such pattern is my interest in reflected images. Here is a slideshow with some of my favorite reflection shots from around the globe.

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A Night on Inishmore

Stupidly, I left my pack along with the flashlight and Cliff Bars back at the B&B in Galway. It was getting dark. I’d spent nearly the entire day hiking around the perimeter of Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands. I found myself perched hundreds of feet above the crashing waves of the Atlantic with only grazing cows for company and the grass beneath my feet for my bed. I thought it’d be fun; after all, it wasn’t very cold during the day. Damn was I mistaken. It’s fun to talk about it now, but this was not a fun night. Barely slept a wink.

Anyway, on the bus ride from Galway to Dublin, I was inspired to write a little verse based on my experience, preparing for my Shakespeare unit at school, I opted to write a sonnet in pentameter. In the end, I know I’m no poet, but sometimes I like to pretend.

A Night On Inishmore

Dun Aengus, Black Fort, time’s not forgotten,
Grey stones hand-laid, bring forth the isle’s steward.
Do as fathers’ fathers’ twice begotten.
Leaves of grass, the succor sprawls ‘cross the yard.
Fruit of the vine for bovine and equine,
Graze along shores; seas bespeckled with skiffs,
Incantations to ichthean divine.
Wing’d denizens soar Acropolian cliffs.
Perched on a shelf, I face mortality.
To toe that perilous line of demise;
To stir the cauldron of vitality.
Errant Aran past cedes to shutt’ring eyes.
I shiver ‘gainst the tempestial air;
Leo stalks round his celestial lair.

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Vienna Opera on the Cheap: A User’s Guide

Any visit to Vienna is incomplete without seeing at least some opera. Even if you don’t like it, it’s something everyone should experience. Tickets for performances at the Staatsoper (State Opera) can run well up into the hundreds of Euros, depending on the opera and performers. The cheapest seats can be purchased for around 10 Euro, but these will all come with at least a partially (if not entirely) obstructed view. Thankfully, there is a fine tradition in all of the premier opera houses in the world to save hundreds of standing room tickets to be sold 80-90 minutes before each performance. These tickets run from 3-4 Euro, making it possible for even the thriftiest of travelers to indulge in a slice of upper-crust entertainment.

Vienna's State Opera House

During my visit, I saw a dual performance of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci, by Pierto Mascagni and Ruggero Leoncavallo, respectively. My Vienna opera experience, particularly Pagliacci, turned out to be the highlight of my entire visit; however, there are a few things that I wish I knew about purchasing standing room tickets beforehand. Here, I’ll provide a few quick pointers on how to go about buying the cheap seats to some of the best opera performances on the planet.

The Ladies of Ski Break 2010

Last week, while on ski break, I met some incredible ladies, three in particular. I immediately found myself very attracted to each of them, each for very different reasons. These are the kinds of women that, in one situation or another, I’d love to picture myself dating for an extended period of time, but probably will never be so lucky.

Latvian Spelunking

While the Mid-Atlantic States get pounded with a snow storm back home, we’ve also been getting a fair share of the cold, white stuff here in Riga. When that snow begins to melt, some of the buildings around town form some killer icicles. I mean literally, killer icicles. These things could be lethal should they happen to fall on an unexpecting passerby. As a result, sections of the sidewalks are taped off, and it’s not a rare site to see guys like this one, strapped into a harness, carefully climbing on rooftops shoveling away snow and knocking down precarious icicles.

Latvian spelunking