The column for anyone fed up with bureaucracy, frustrated with delays or furious with poor service. Tell us your complaint and we'll try to fix it ...
Jeanie Shiu, of Sha Tin, was upset that Cathay Pacific staff in Sydney were completely indifferent to her request last month to extend the departure date of her discount ticket by one day so she could attend her uncle's funeral. Her uncle had died a week before. In the end she had to buy a Virgin Atlantic one-way ticket back to Hong Kong.
'I am writing to express my great disappointment in Cathay Pacific. Last month, my dear uncle in Sydney was very ill and hospitalised as he was in a terminal cancer stage. I immediately scheduled the next day's CX flight [on April 13] and flew to Sydney,' she wrote.
'The CX ticket that I purchased from my travel agent was valid for 10 days and it was at special promotional price of $3,750 plus $879 tax.'
She was set to fly back to Hong Kong on April 23. The day after her arrival her uncle passed away. 'Once I knew the funeral would be held on the day of my departure, I tried to reschedule my return flight to the next day, April 24, so I could pay my last respects. My bad experience started from there.'
She called Cathay's customer service hotline in Sydney and was met with indifference and derision. 'The customer service officer told me in a very cold voice that I could not change the flight because many passengers booking this promotional-priced ticket have different 'excuses' to request changing the flight schedule! I was so shocked by her uncaring attitude,' she said.
