On the 6th January we were outbound from Harare leaving at 18:50hrs. We arrived at the airport at 17:55hrs as the check in staff were getting off the desks. We called the airport to notify the Emirates staff that we were on our way and we were advised to get there as soon as we could.
We tried to explain the reason why we were delayed and that it was beyond our control as we got stuck in the traffic on the airport road due to a road traffic accident. All our explanations fell on deaf ears as they stated that they had closed the gates up all the way to Dubai. There were 5 of us and they knew it was a busy period and that next day flights would be fully booked.
It was not like they had gone, they were still there and a customer pleading nobody took heed. They went off and told us to wait until they came back, and we waited from 1755 hrs up until 1945 hrs. They advised us to wait until they had boarded the passengers then they would advise us of the course of action to take with other airlines. The staff were rude uncooperative, unhelpful and told us to go to Avondale to the local office to sort out the tickets there.
When we got to Avondale we were told all the flights were full and we were suppose to seek alternative flights. The customer service was horrible. Tried to ask for senior staff and we were not allowed to see them stating they had already consulted them about our case.
In the end my wife and three kids had to find flights with Kenya airways which cost us USA$ 2000.00 and we were charged an extra USA$ 1400.00 with Emirates to gain some seats when they got to Kenya. I was advised my ticket could not be changed hence I had to wait for a slot on the next flight. My wife and kids had a tough time with stop over times of over 6hrs in Kenya and another 8 hrs in Dubai.
They left on the 8/01/15 and I got a seat later that day on the 08.01.15 and was charged USA$ 1700.00. We had initially purchased tickets for Aus$14000.00. I followed later that evening with Emirates and left my family in Dubai with kids aged 10, 8, and 4yrs old. One of your staff queried why my family had been allowed to have such a schedule when there were about nine flights leaving for UK. Why the staff were heartless considering there were kids involved. The experience has left sour taste in our mouths.
My kids held Emirates airlines with high esteem only to be traumatized about their reunion with their parents. I thought customers are a vital part of your business but it seems nobody was willing to help. Since arriving in Australia we are barely making it since the savings we had for kids’ school fees was wiped out with some charges which we never got an explanation how they arrived at them.
We were made to feel like second class customers. We are even questioning being members and be treated like that and we really do not see ourselves flying Emirates again. I know if they really wanted to help especially that our delay was just 5 minute window to the closure of the check-in staff with good customer services they would have helped. This is why I have reached out to the Emirates complaint department on multiple occasions now. I guess probably we do not count when it comes to business values of the Emirates.
I work with the public also and realize that the connotation that states "a customer is king" is an important facet of the business without him/her there is no business. We never felt like kings but beggars, and now living like a destitute because someone did not value us as customers. We were polite and courteous as possible but still got a raw deal. I have brought this to your attention so that it could be investigated and hope to hear from you soon.
The whole experience has traumatized my family especially my kids having been apart from them for a year so that we could make the transition of migrating to Australia seamless but instead it has left my family on the verge of destitute having been reaped off of our hard earned money.
