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Lufthansa makes dedicated staff look bad: The eTN Hero is Patricia Dzai of Swissport Johannesburg

April 24, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Lufthansa

“My personal hero today is Ms. Patricia Dzai. Patricia works for Swissport in Johannesburg, South Africa,” said eTN Publisher Juergen Steinmetz. Swissport is one of the largest aviation ground-handling agencies operating in countries around the world.

Major airlines hire Swissport to manage customer relations and logistics when it comes to baggage handling, including lost or misplaced items.

Lufthansa German Airlines’ ground handler in Johannesburg is Swissport. I recently traveled from Nice to Cape Town via Frankfurt and Johannesburg on Lufthansa German Airlines. I am a United Airlines Star Alliance Gold member and traveled on Lufthansa in Business class. Lufthansa is a member of Star Alliance.

When I arrived in Johannesburg, I heard my name called by Lufthansa’s lost baggage office handled by Swissport.

I was told my tube was still in Frankfurt, and they would put it on the next flight to Johannesburg. I explained it was of utmost importance to have the tube for an important trade show event, the World Travel Market in Cape Town, in the morning.

Patricia Dzai, the Swissport agent in Johannesburg, wanted to make sure this would be possible and sent an urgent message to Lufthansa in Frankfurt. The message said:

 

 

 

 

 

I was pleased to know my tube would go on LH 576 directly to Cape Town almost in time for the start of World Travel Market.

I went on to fly to Cape Town and received a text message in the evening saying my tube would be on the Lufthansa flight to Johannesburg, which was different from what Patricia had requested. Since it was late and the Swissport office in Johannesburg was closed, I was able to find a non-published phone number for Lufthansa baggage service in Frankfurt. Lufthansa, like most airlines, is hiding phone numbers to encourage passengers to communicate only by email.

I was told by Lufthansa Baggage Service in Frankfurt no such message to forward my tube to Cape Town was ever received by Swissport Johannesburg. The agent went on to say that passengers are often not told the truth by Swissport agents.

The Lufthansa agent in Frankfurt explained that his job was not to help me, since this was only handled in Johannesburg. I argued my tube is in Frankfurt and not Johannesburg, and the handling agent for Swissport in Johannesburg was closed.

The agent then said he was now doing a one-time exception for me and would reroute my tube on LH576 directly to Cape Town. He said there were 5 hours to get this done, still plenty of time according to him.

The next day I received another message telling me again the tube was on its way to Johannesburg instead of Cape Town.

I called Swissport in Johannesburg, and the news not could have been worse. They told me, apologizing, that my tube was still in Frankfurt for a second day, and they did not know why.

I again called the baggage-handling office in Frankfurt and was again told it’s all Swissport’s mistake for not telling them where to send it.

This time I was angry and called Swissport Johannesburg again. I asked Patricia why she was lying about this. I told her she never sent this request to Frankfurt, according to Lufthansa.

Ten minutes later, I received an email with a time-stamped screenshot from Patricia Dzai showing me exactly what was requested by her in the first place.

Patricia actually had gone out of her way originally to make sure I would be united with my tube on time and in Cape Town. I felt bad thinking she didn’t care and didn’t do anything, when in fact she did.

It shows that big companies like Lufthansa have a serious customer service issue. They hide behind a huge system and are trained to say it’s not their job and simply blame others for company shortcomings.

There was no way I could talk to anyone at Lufthansa about this, and my urgent email to them on the day I was trying to get the tube re-routed was just responded to 2 weeks after I was already back home in Hawaii. Lufthansa offered a 200 euro compensation.

No explanation was given and no apology for accusing Patricia Dzai and Swissport for not doing their job.

I finally received my tube on the last day after the trade show and took it back to the US unopened. When I changed planes in Frankfurt, I asked the agent working in the Senator Lounge to speak to a supervisor in baggage handling about this case and compensation. She told me I have to send an email, which I had already done days ago.

She gave me some chocolate and said they get customers’ complaints all the time and do their best to help and respond, but the back-up system by the airline is not there.

It’s all about a giant non-caring anonymous machine.

I extend my apologies to Patricia Dzai from Swissport, as I now understand she was also a victim of shortcomings created by Lufthansa German Airlines.

Patricia Dzai is the eTN Hero for today.

Travel News | eTurboNews

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New director of marketing named for The Kartrite Resort & Indoor Waterpark

April 9, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Benchmark has appointed Courtney Dall’Olmo director of marketing for The Kartrite Resort & Indoor Waterpark. The Benchmark Resorts & Hotels property is located in Monticello, New York, within the Catskill Mountains, and includes 1,600 wooded acres, the site of the Resorts World Catskills entertainment complex. David Kohlasch, general manager, made the announcement.

“I am very pleased to welcome Courtney to The Kartrite and back to Benchmark,” said Mr. Kohlasch. “She comes to us with keen understanding of the resort market, and as a former Benchmark employee now returned to us, an important awareness of our company’s signature Be The Difference service culture.”

Courtney Dall’Olmo previously served as the director of marketing and communications for the Topnotch Resort of Stowe, Vermont. Prior to this she held the position of marketing supervisor for the legendary Trapp Family Lodge, also of Stowe.

Ms. Dall’Olmo is a graduate of the University of Vermont where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Public Communications. She is the previous recipient with her colleagues of Benchmark’s Sales & Marketing Team of the Year Award. Ms. Dall’Olmo has relocated to the Monticello area.

Travel News | eTurboNews

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Tel Aviv Mayor hosts delegations from countries participating in 2019 Eurovision Contest

March 21, 2019 by Forimmediaterelease

Ron Huldai, the Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo hosted the Heads of Delegation of the 41 countries participating in the Eurovision Song Contest.

The Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Ron Huldai, greeted the Heads of Delegation at the dinner that took place at “The Lawrence”, and said: “It’s a great honor for us to host the Heads of Delegation of the countries participating in the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv-Yafo. During the conference, the Heads of Delegation will visit Expo Tel Aviv where the Eurovision Song Contest will be held in two months. The Symbol of Expo Tel Aviv is a Flying Camel that reminds us that everything is possible. When you see the Flying Camel, remember that in Tel Aviv-Yafo we always Dare to Dream. I promise that in two months, we will make another dream come true in our city”.

The Heads of Delegation Conference started with the participation of senior officials from the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) lead by Jon Ola Sand, The Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision, Ron Huldai, the Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Senior officials at KAN, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, Zivit Davidovitch, The Executive Producer of the Eurovision in Israel, Yuval Cohen, Editor In Chief and Lead Director for Eurovision and Tali Katz, the Head of the Israeli Delegation.

During the two-day conference, the Heads of Delegation attended a series of meetings organized by the producers and Board of Directors of the Eurovision and also attended a tour of EXPO Tel Aviv, where the event will take place.

Travel News | eTurboNews

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