Post photo: Boeing 747-8 | © Lufthansa
Who does not know them, the initially yellow and now blue birds that adorn many passenger planes. For me, they have always been the epitome of the free world and unimagined possibilities.
Maybe because I was allowed to “board” the first Lufthansa plane back in 1964, as it is now called. And over the decades, the term Lufthansa has been associated with quality, good service and, most importantly and very importantly for me, with a reliable means of transport.
So it was also quite logical for me, when shares were advertised as a future-proof investment in Germany, that I "invested" in Lufthansa shares - admittedly right from the start without approval and to the chagrin of my better half, who is a professional in money matters.
And when I look back over the last few decades in this regard, I have to admit that there is hardly a nicer, more elegant way to throw your money out the window than with Lufthansa shares. My better half has now come to terms with my Lufthansa obsession and, when it comes to shares, tells me that I should better invest in holiday flights, since the award miles clearly result in a better dividend.
Nevertheless, the Lufthansa world was fine for me and, even though more and more alternatives were coming onto the market that could also transport passengers from A to B — some of them have even set themselves the goal of making Lufthansa the benchmark for air travel substitute. I cannot judge whether they succeeded, as I remain biased in this matter to this day.
So it was also natural for me that, when traveling to the USA became possible again, I booked a flight from Frankfurt to Los Angeles for my better half and myself - as usual and tried and tested - online with Lufthansa.
So beautiful, so good. But now it has happened that I suddenly fell ill and we have to throw all our plans overboard for the time being.
And now the unimaginable happened to me! And this is the reason for this blog post.
On Monday my better half wanted to rebook the flights, which is also possible since we pay extra for this Lufthansa service.
Fact 1:
There are Lufthansa telephone numbers, but these are pure death loops! If you would like to try it yourself, you are welcome to try it. There is no one at Lufthansa who will ever pick up the phone and take your call.
Lufthansa service phones:
+49 6986799799
+49 6986799699
Fact 2:
If you actually want to use it, the Lufthansa website is of a quality similar to that of a used car dealer from Berlin-Marzahn. Although I was able to book the flights via my Lufthansa account, I now have to realize that they are only booked on the corresponding account of my better half. Interestingly, the bookings can be found on my Lufthansa app.
But anyone who now thinks that this is sufficient and that one can rebook their flights using the Lufthansa website or the Lufthansa app has made a huge mistake.
There are tons of contact forms you can fill out, but none of them get you anywhere. And when you finally get to the "Rebook" notice, clicking it will take you back to the start of the site — patient people like me can keep themselves busy for days.
Fact 3:
Anyone who knows chatbots from larger companies and uses Cortana, Alexa or Siri from time to time should beware of Lufthansa's "Elisa". Because in contrast to modern chatbots, this one also only leads the user in endless loops, at least if they intend to rebook a flight.
And anyone who now thinks that I stopped my efforts for Elisa too early, I can assure you that she is now making advances to me.
fact 4:
Complaints and arbitration options are offered on the Lufthansa website, but if you want to delve into the depths of badly — or even intentionally — designed or programmed websites, be warned, because damage to your health cannot be ruled out!
Previous result:
Despite our best efforts (!), we were not able to rebook the flights. I have now sent the facts and my concern to a Lufthansa e-mail address found on the Lufthansa website and the whole thing additionally by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt to another Lufthansa postal address in Frankfurt am Main.
Now I'm curious to see if there will be someone at Lufthansa who will at least sign the return receipt — I wouldn't be surprised if that's the cleaning lady's job.
Stay tuned... and will keep updating this blog post as well...
Fact 5:
Lufthansa still knows what e-mail is. Unfortunately also that you can generate an automatic answer. And the "funny" part is that they put you back in a death loop — but who knows, maybe dead customers are more profitable to transport than corpses.
Dear Lufthansa customer, Thank you for your e-mail.
We ask for your understanding that, due to the current situation, we cannot reply to your message immediately.
In view of the exceptionally high volume of inquiries and in order for us to be able to answer the most urgent ones quickly, we kindly ask you to consider the urgency of your inquiry and, if necessary, to contact us at a later date.
E-mail reply (08.10.2021 10:13 (COM-2076847))
You can find up-to-date information and useful answers to frequently asked questions here https://www.lufthansa.com/de/de/reisen-und-corona
With kind regards,
Lufthansa Internet Service Center
My e-mail seems to have reached an employee.
Dear Mr. Kümmerle, so that your request is in the right hands and can be processed directly, we have passed it on to our reservations and flight bookings service team, who will offer you support.
If you have any questions about future flights in the meantime, please call our Lufthansa Service Center on +49 69 86 799 799. You can find further worldwide telephone numbers online on the Lufthansa website http://www.lufthansa.com/de/de/Hilfe-und-Kontakt under “Contact options”.
With kind regards,
iA (sender)
Email reply (08.10.2021 15:28 (FB ID 35208835))
It is Sunday afternoon, October 10, 2021, 16.54:XNUMX p.m. and Lufthansa replies:
Hello Heinrich Kümmerle, thank you for your e-mail.
First of all, we would like to formally express our regret that the processing of your request was not possible earlier due to the very high volume of e-mails.
We have checked the facts described. Due to an entry in the booking, it was not possible to rebook online. We have corrected this. You can now rebook the flight.If you need assistance with this, we are at your disposal on +49 (0) 69 86 799 699, Monday to Friday from 07.30 a.m. to 22.00 p.m. and on weekends from 10.30 a.m. to 19.00 p.m. Telephone numbers outside Germany can be found on our homepage under > Menu > Help > Help on lufthansa.com and to the mobile app.
Please understand that further questions about your booking or rebooking requests cannot be processed by e-mail due to the complexity of the matter. For this reason, we would like to ask you to contact our Lufthansa Service Center directly on +49 (0) 69 86 799 799 with your request, which is available XNUMX hours a day. Telephone numbers outside Germany can be found on our homepage under > Menu > Help and contact > Questions about your upcoming trip.
We are currently recording a high number of customer contacts in our Lufthansa service centers, which can lead to longer waiting times. Thank you for your patience. Our employees endeavor to process your inquiries as quickly as possible.
With kind regards,
Your Lufthansa Internet Service Center
Email Response (Booking Details | Departure: 28 October 2021 | FRA-LAX (COM-2076847))
(Unterschrift)
Now I'm curious to see how the rebooking works tonight...
For half an hour I've been trying to find the booked flights in my account on the Lufthansa website. Unfortunately, they are still not there.
Now my better half tries again with her account ... and ... it works, she can transfer us!
What a difficult birth! But for now the day is saved.
Two questions remain
Will Lufthansa succeed?
- get my account back in such a way that I can find booked flights there and also rebook if necessary?
- to offer all of your customers halfway functioning customer service again?
It is to be hoped that Lufthansa's flying parts have retained their tried-and-tested form throughout the pandemic and that the supporting parts can get back on their feet.
Because even as an airline, the whole thing only works if all departments work together harmoniously and thus offer the customer a functioning, sustainable and also convincing overall package.
Then things might even turn out better with the shares — a win-win for everyone, so to speak.
Addendum on October 13, 2021
For the sake of completeness, I have to mention that the reply to the registered letter was in the mailbox today. Sent on Friday, signed on Tuesday. — Doesn't exactly speak for Deutsche Post; another construction site that I don't want to open right now.
Addendum on December 28, 2021
Completely surprising, I received the following e-mail today:
Dear Mr. Kümmerle,
In order to ensure that your request is in the right hands and can be dealt with immediately, we have passed it on again to our reservations and flight bookings service team, who will offer you assistance.
If you have any questions about future flights in the meantime, please call our Lufthansa Service Center on +49 69 86 799 799. You can find further worldwide telephone numbers online on the Lufthansa website http://www.lufthansa.com/de/de/Hilfe-und-Kontakt under “Contact options”.
With kind regards,
iA M… G…
Email (Lufthansa Customer Relations | Your feedback to Lufthansa, FB ID 35208835)
"When a business is bought, it is bought for its potential — for its future, not its past."
Russell L. Ackoff, Re-Creating the Corporation (1999: 133)
