I have just taken a quick return trip between Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. Within two days of my return, I received emails from both the airline I flew with and the hotel I stayed at asking me to fill in a survey about my experience.
So, in the interests of doing them a favour, and sharing my experience even further via this blog, I did.
The Malaysian Airlines email came from a sender called “Passenger Ops”, which sounds a little like a division of the armed forces.
It began: “Dear Sir/Madam, Welcome to the Malaysia Airlines Customer Experience Survey! From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for flying with Malaysia Airlines and we hope that you had a pleasant flight with us.”
How could I say no?
It was, of course, one of those surveys that ask you to rate your experience in various areas from 1 to 10.
All very standard — except some of the questions were not well thought through.
For example, I was asked to rate the availability of alcoholic beverages. I ticked “unacceptable”, because they didn’t have any. (For the record, I didn’t ask but the man in front of me did). However, it later occurred to me that could also be interpreted as me thinking that is was unacceptable that alcohol was available.
Also, although I said I had only cabin luggage, I was still asked how long I had to wait for my luggage, with 0 minutes not being an option.
A proof reader may have helped, too. Exactly what are “archade” games?
The upshot, though, was that it was a fine flight, comfortable and efficient, with pleasant service.
The approach taken by the Ibis Styles Kuala Lumpur Fraser Business Park hotel, part of the global Accor chain, is different.
They ask you first up for a mini-review to be published on their website before going into the 1-10 thing.
So, here’s what I wrote:
I needed a place to stay for an overnight trip to Kuala Lumpur to renew my visa for Thailand. The hotel is easy to get to using the airport express train and the public LRT system, but it’s in a bit of a dismal neighbourhood. The shopping mall that you have to walk through to access the hotel from the railway station is deserted; it would make a perfect location for a dystopian sci-fi film. I went through in daytime, but I think I might have found it a bit intimidating after dark. The hotel itself is quite good: affordable, interestingly decorated, with very pleasant staff and efficient service.
I booked with Accor because I’m a Le Club member and I knew what I would be getting — value for money, a clean, safe place to stay and a warm welcome — and I wasn’t disappointed.
I hope, from the bottom of my heart, that this has been helpful.
