Just wanting to know if Swissport or any handling agents for that matter have a code of conduct? Is it up to the Airline who contracts them to make sure they are handling their customers with respect or is there a passenger charter that they abide by ? .

For anyone interested and what prompts my enquiry my recent trip report highlights a case where the handling agent in this case Swissport treated me as in British Airways own words ''inappropriately''

British Airways B767-Lounges+ Swissport Disgrace!. (by OA260 Feb 7 2012 in Trip Reports)

British Airways were left to do damage limitation and still Swissport have refused to answer my complaints.

Do they fall under a wider charter or are they free to ignore customer complaints?

Swissport is under contract to BA. BA will go to Swissport and research the matter. BA will respond to you. Swissport will not. In fact BA may not allow them to do so.

After reading your other thread, you need to let it go. You felt offfended because the Swissport agent felt the passport may be fake. Doesn't matter if it was machine readable. There are machine readable fakes. The government holds the airline responsible for ensuring passengers have proper documents. Not the traveller, the airline. And in this case, the airline would likely pass the fine back to the ground handler. When in doubt, stop and verify.

You fell it could have been handled better. Perhaps so. BA even agreed with you and gave you enough points for two free tickets. They'll handle it with Swissport. It's been 3 months with your knickers in a twist. It's gotta hurt by now.

What else do you want? To know the agent was drawn and quartered? Publicly humiliated for daring to ensure a passport was valid? IMHO, Greece is a country lacking in customer service skills in general. The current financial situation there with paycuts and tax hikes doesn't make anything easier. The agent had a responsibility to verify your documents were valid, and so did the police. They were harsh, in your opinion. Big deal. Understand they had a job to do. We haven't been offered the agents side of the story. There's usually two sides to a story. We are only getting one here.

Quoting toltommy (Reply 1): What else do you want? To know the agent was drawn and quartered? Publicly humiliated for daring to ensure a passport was valid?

  

I know that encounters like this can feel bad, however after your initial complaints and the fact that the police chief personally apologized to you it is time to let it go. Many people are questioned in ways they consider rude and very few get a specific personal apology for having their feelings hurt. I suggest you thank the Police Department for being so kind to you and forgive for the Swissport agents decision.

Quoting toltommy (Reply 1): In fact BA may not allow them to do so.

I had thought of that . Maybe BA choose to handle it but I didnt get that impression with my converation with the head of BA Greece.

Quoting toltommy (Reply 1): After reading your other thread, you need to let it go

Oh I am over it I dont have an issue thats going to have me fighting against Swissport. In fact I doubt I will ever hear from them and it will go down as water under the bridge.

Quoting toltommy (Reply 1): You felt offfended because the Swissport agent felt the passport may be fake.

Not at all as I stated I truly realise its their job to check these things for the safety of passengers and the aircraft. If a terrorist gets on the aircraft then they are to blame but do you presume the person guilty and actively tell the Police it is a fake or do you say to the Police that could they check this to make sure its in order. There is a big difference even the Police acknowledged. Also whilst this is being dealt with you are entitled to be treated with respect which BA and the Police admitted.

Quoting toltommy (Reply 1): It's been 3 months with your knickers in a twist. It's gotta hurt by now.

Not at all just this is the week it has come up for me to post my TR on this specific event if you look at my other TRs I had been travelling for a month .

Quoting toltommy (Reply 1): Greece is a country lacking in customer service skills in general.

And then again I can say I have had a lack of customer service in lots of countries so lets not go down the road of generalising. I know plenty of excellent customer service experiences in Greece and on the two Greek carriers Aegean in particular.

Quoting toltommy (Reply 1): There's usually two sides to a story. We are only getting one here.

Indeed but they chose not to defend themselves . I invite Swissport to post I have nothing to hide.

Until now flying Swiss for the last 5 years and using Swissport at ATH I have always praised them thats documented in my TRs which anyone in doubt can look back on should they wish .

Quoting toltommy (Reply 1): They'll handle it with Swissport.

So I will take your view on things that BA will deal with it but it still doesnt answer the question is there a passenger charter that you know of that handling agents have to adhere to ? Taking aside my experience and thoughts.

Quoting OA260 (Reply 3): is there a passenger charter that you know of that handling agents have to adhere to ?

No. They get their direction from the airline they are handling.

And, frankly, so what if there was? The agent was apparently in the wrong even without one (I say apparently because I wasn't there).

Quoting OA260 (Reply 3): Indeed but they chose not to defend themselves . I invite Swissport to post I have nothing to hide.

They're probably prohibited from responding by BA.

Quoting OA260 (Thread starter): Swissport treated me as in British Airways own words ''inappropriately''

Quoting OA260 (Thread starter): Swissport have refused to answer my complaints.

Interesting. i recently had cause to complain to Swissport for unacceptable rudeness and threats, and they not only acknowledged my complaint but investigated it, upheld it and disciplined the member of staff concerned. Overall they handled the complaint very well.

Quoting OA260 (Reply 3): Until now flying Swiss for the last 5 years and using Swissport at ATH I have always praised them thats documented in my TRs which anyone in doubt can look back on should they wish .

May I just remind that Swissport is owned by French equity firm PAI partners and has no affiliation with LX. So the French are to blame 

See: See: http://www.paipartners.com/Our-Portfolio.htmx?itemid=2111104091901

Swissport's Core Values       (No offense intended OA260)

Swissport believes in quality customer orientation that delivers top-class service on all levels. Every employee is expected to "live our corporate values": after all, the culture of any company will be evident in its employees' attitude to their customers. Our three main cornerstones are:

People: We show respect towards people and their values by working with enthusiasm and enjoyment. We do not compromise on safety.

Professionalism: We are pioneers and want to creatively explore new options. We focus on achieving sustainable results.  

Partnership: We strive to exceed the expectations of our customer and keep the promises we make. We deliver excellent service: at any time, at any place.

Source: http://www.swissport.com/corporate/core-values/                  

Quoting Maverick623 (Reply 4): No. They get their direction from the airline they are handling.

Interesting thanks for the clarification .

Quoting RussianJet (Reply 5): Interesting. i recently had cause to complain to Swissport for unacceptable rudeness and threats, and they not only acknowledged my complaint but investigated it, upheld it and disciplined the member of staff concerned. Overall they handled the complaint very well.

Good to know so that kind of shoots down the theory that they dont consider it not in their power to add their own response. But I can only go by the guys above who threw into the ring that maybe BA sad they would handle it .

Like I said I have no motive to hunt down Swissport and their staff but I would have been happy with something like you got not even saying they had disciplined their staff member. Maybe they would still think it wasn't something they wished to do and that is of course within their rights how they handle their internal affairs and staff but a short email advising their regret without admitting liability to something would have gone along way and would have been good customer service.

Quoting tcm (Reply 6): Swissport's Core Values       (No offense intended OA260)

None taken  

Quoting tcm (Reply 6): explore new options. We focus on achieving sustainable results.

        You made me laugh thanks for the humour . I dont think BA can sustain 40K a time .  

Seriously thanks for the links was an interesting read .

Quoting OA260 (Reply 3): Maybe BA choose to handle it but I didnt get that impression with my converation with the head of BA Greece.

ASSUMPTION. Not fair to the discussion as you are playing the "hearsay" game. Airlines and companies all around the world use contractors and as a result expect to deal with the blow back should it go wrong. BA has done so AND as someone who worked in customer relations within the airline industry I can say very very GENEROUSLY in a complaint which to be honest many airlines may fob off as a "security" issue as they could have just said the agent was being cautious. They dealt with the complaint and you have clearly trumpeted enough steam to get as many BA people involved as possible and received much feedback from the company what more could you possibly want? Let it go, it is what it is and all you appear to be doing now is trying to tell as many people as possible for no reason!

Quoting OA260 (Reply 3): Indeed but they chose not to defend themselves . I invite Swissport to post I have nothing to hide.

You wont hear from Swissport. They are contracted to BA. BA will handle the complaint (and has done I may add). And calling them out on a wee forum like this is a little petty.

Quoting OA260 (Reply 3): Until now flying Swiss for the last 5 years and using Swissport at ATH I have always praised them thats documented in my TRs which anyone in doubt can look back on should they wish .

Much like your experience of inconsistency amongst staff at BA and why you chose not to fly them too often in the future which is your decision (personally I find inconsistency in pretty much every airline I fly with and far worse then simple personality clashes that seem to occur with BA staff, its those personalities which make flying BA interesting IMHO) why can you not just accept that this is a simple case of getting an overzealous agent on a bad morning (and im assuming it was early in the morning if it was the 9am departure) who probably took the hump at you for no reason like a lot of people do and dragged a few of her colleagues down to that level with her...and the police! Iv seen it happen myself. Put it down to a once off.

Basically what I am saying is, its over, its dealt with, you added to the compensation culture that is dragging this world down, its done, move one, enjoy your life, find new experiences, find new airlines, buy the world for your cousin or whatever you want to do in life. But this issue has ended!

Gosh, did I just get up on a soapbox? lol......All intended with humour I may add!

So. I read your report. I do not think this is a Swissport problem. The same thing happened to my mother in Chile, flying LAN MDZ-SCL-MEX. Since she is a 69 year old adult, travelling on her own back when LAN still had F, on F, the thing was completely unexplainable. It´s the exact same story as yours, we only need to substitute ATH with SCL and BA with LAN.

Except the employee who mistreated her was a LAN employee.

However, my mother is a character to be reckoned with and it was the Chileans who got a mouthful and the short end of the stick. Including the police. They must have been sorry they took her to "the little office", the way she tells the story.

I will say it again. I cannot understand why the LAN employee thought her passport was fake. She and I went to the Mexican office that gives passports the same day, together. Furthermore, she produced two more passports, to the employee (she has a few nationalities) and still, same story as yours.

I understand it is the airline´s job to verify the travelling documents of its passengers, but something must be said when an employee has an issue with said document. A higher authority from the airline should be involved before they call the police. Even then, the way they handle it is very important. "Ma´am, I have an issue with your passport. Let me check a few things before I can tell you what the next step is" It´s all it takes. Saves anguish and aggravation to everyone involved.

What I´m saying, is that it´s not Swissport. It´s the particular employee who handled things wrong. Wether because of lack of training, an attitude, a power trip, stupidity or whatever.

In this case, what happened to you smells of stupidity and incompetence. And I´m sorry it ruined your morning with your cousin.

You were generously compensated by BA, and I dare say, even if they had not given you the points they gave you, they were at least reachable, understandable, and talked with you directly. With that, they did more than 90% of the airlines I know out there would have done.

Quoting tonystan (Reply 9): ASSUMPTION.

So is your ASSUMPTION ( oh dear caps lock came on )   And have another look I said ''maybe''   As ''suggested'' above .

Quoting tonystan (Reply 9): BA has done so AND as someone who worked in customer relations within the airline industry I can say very very GENEROUSLY in a complaint which to be honest many airlines may fob off as a "security" issue

Again you miss the point my issue was not with ''YOUR'' ( oops did it again )   Employer .   And obviously BA decided it wasnt something that could just be brushed off . BA dont throw out 40K Avios for nothing . They stated that the behaviour was unacceptable and inappropriate.

Quoting tonystan (Reply 9): You wont hear from Swissport. They are contracted to BA. BA will handle the complaint (and has done I may add). And calling them out on a wee forum like this is a little petty.

Another ''ASUMPTION'' ( This caps lock really is annoying dont you think ? )   Calling it out on a rather large forum wouldnt you say highlights the issues I had and warns other people about what can happen and a companies actions. Why do you come to a forum that is full of news and speculation and often issues such as this if you dont like it . Something bad happened I aired it for people to read. Members will take their own opinions of who was right who was wrong and some will have their own reasons for doing so . Fellow check in workers/airline staff ( such as yourself ) etc... Other Airline staff will agree with me as I have seen in the replies to the report.

Quoting tonystan (Reply 9): Much like your experience of inconsistency amongst staff at BA and why you chose not to fly them too often in the future which is your decision (personally I find inconsistency in pretty much every airline I fly with and far worse then simple personality clashes that seem to occur with BA staff, its those personalities which make flying BA interesting IMHO)

Lucky in my experience that is a rare thing , take Swiss for instance 100 flights and I have had consistancy on 99% of them .

Quoting tonystan (Reply 9): All intended with humour I may add!

Indeed as is mine   As for the compensation culture I didnt ask to join it , hopefully BA can get their expenses back from Swissport when their next bill for handling comes in   I didnt ask for compensation I asked for an investigation so I and maybe others are not subjected to the same ordeal as I was.

Quoting AR385 (Reply 10): So. I read your report. I do not think this is a Swissport problem

Hi thanks and interesting read. Well it is really as when you work for a company you are representing it. If I do something wrong in my job then it reflects badly on my company. It is then for my company to act accordingly be it verbal warning etc....

Quoting AR385 (Reply 10): I understand it is the airline´s job to verify the travelling documents of its passengers, but something must be said when an employee has an issue with said document. A higher authority from the airline should be involved before they call the police. Even then, the way they handle it is very important. "Ma´am, I have an issue with your passport. Let me check a few things before I can tell you what the next step is" It´s all it takes. Saves anguish and aggravation to everyone involved.

Exactly . People are missing the point here . The treatment was rude and insulting. During the process of ''security'' checks all passengers are to be treated with respect and dignity. Anyone that doesnt agree with that must be on a different level of understanding of customer care and what it involves.

Quoting AR385 (Reply 10): You were generously compensated by BA, and I dare say, even if they had not given you the points they gave you, they were at least reachable, understandable, and talked with you directly

Indeed and like I say BA customer relations were great so I wasnt having a go at BA although some people seem to have got a little anal about that  

Hi Philip.

You know my opinion on this one already. I think people are really missing the point that you're not attacking BA and you are in fact praising their handling of the situation. You are merely asking for input as to why Swissport didn't reply to your complaint. You have had some very informative replies which are really interesting but unfortunately some people decide to get offended and get their knickers in a twist over a simple question.

Quoting tonystan (Reply 9): Basically what I am saying is, its over, its dealt with, you added to the compensation culture that is dragging this world down

I don't think that's a fair comment. Philip was not looking for any compensation. He was understandably upset at being treated like a criminal when neither he nor his cousin had done anything wrong so he complained to everyone he could think of. It's one thing to have your passport "security checked" but it's another thing completely to be thought of as guilty until proven innocent by the check-in agents and the police. I imagine it was a very frightening experience being taken into the police questioning room with no idea what was going on or why you were even there. I'm absolutely certain that Philip would have preferred not to get those 40,000 Avios but just to have a simple and pleasant experience with BA. Something went majorly wrong here and BA compensated Philip very generously (as he has admitted himself). I don't think it's unreasonable of him to expect the same level of customer service as he provides every day in his job!

Quoting gpbcroppers63 (Reply 12): I think people are really missing the point that you're not attacking BA and you are in fact praising their handling of the situation.

Indeed Gareth I am happy with the way BA handled things .

Quoting gpbcroppers63 (Reply 12): I don't think that's a fair comment. Philip was not looking for any compensation. He was understandably upset at being treated like a criminal when neither he nor his cousin had done anything wrong so he complained to everyone he could think of. It's one thing to have your passport "security checked" but it's another thing completely to be thought of as guilty until proven innocent by the check-in agents and the police. I imagine it was a very frightening experience being taken into the police questioning room with no idea what was going on or why you were even there. I'm absolutely certain that Philip would have preferred not to get those 40,000 Avios but just to have a simple and pleasant experience with BA. Something went majorly wrong here and BA compensated Philip very generously (as he has admitted himself). I don't think it's unreasonable of him to expect the same level of customer service as he provides every day in his job!

You hit the nail on the head and nothing more to say .

As for asumptions about people and staff/employees etc... I only gather them from things I read and things people choose to share with us such as in these threads :

How's BMI Doing? (by American 767 Feb 9 2010 in Civil Aviation)

BA World Traveller And World Traveller Plus (by Sketty222 Jan 14 2010 in Civil Aviation)

Anyway I got the information I wanted thanks to RussianJet and TCM for the info it was helpful.

Im putting this behind me and Im sure the next Swissport experience will be better for sure  

OA, I shant get into a discussion with you about this. At least you realise it is time to let it go. A bizarre event which is clearly down to a single individual (the check in agent) acting on their own power trip of some sort. It happens, probably wont happen to you again but thats what it is!

I still think you could have let the compensation go but thank the person for their assistance, nothing stopping you!

[Edited 2012-02-08 20:29:24]

Quoting tonystan (Reply 14): A bizarre event which is clearly down to a single individual (the check in agent) acting on their own power trip of some sort. It happens, probably wont happen to you again but thats what it is!

That we can most certainly agree on .

Quoting tonystan (Reply 14): I still think you could have let the compensation go but thank the person for their assistance, nothing stopping you!

British Airways wanted to make amends and offer me a goodwill gesture . I accepted that in the nature in which it was offered. In my TR the person was praised and complimented as were BA management.

Case closed  

Quoting tonystan (Reply 14): I still think you could have let the compensation go but thank the person for their assistance, nothing stopping you!

Why? I've read both this thread and his trip report and he wasn't banging his fists demanding "compensation" throughout the process. Compensation was only offered in the end when the BA agent called him so why shouldn't he accept? I'm not sure why you're getting snippy about this, a person working on behalf of BA for a company BA contracts out to acted inappropriately (to BA's own conclusion) and BA therefore decided to offer a level of compensation it found reasonable...it's as simple as that!

Quoting toltommy (Reply 1): The government holds the airline responsible for ensuring passengers have proper documents. Not the traveller, the airline. And in this case, the airline would likely pass the fine back to the ground handler. When in doubt, stop and verify.

My Filipina Fiancée has her passport and visas (both for the Schengen treaty countries as well as her Irish residence visa) inspected and photocopied every time she flies. This will hopefully end now when she gets her Irish passport (she just received a letter from the Irish department of immigration that her application for Irish citizenship has been approved).
The handling agent basically covers himself with those copies. There are very good forgeries around and the airline (and the subcontracted handling agent, in the end the guy at the check-in counter) will be held responsible by the respective governments if the airlines birings in somebody without a valid visa or passport. At the least the airline will have to carry the offending person back to the country of origin at their own expense (and might have to bump a paying passenger for it if the flight was full), and they will get fined on top of it.
Nobody will demand of the person behind the check-in counter to be a specialist on forged documents, but obvious signs of missmatch or forgeries should ring a bell. Sometimes overcautious (remember, the guy / girl will be held personally responsible) employees trigger false positives.

Quoting OA260 (Reply 3): Not at all as I stated I truly realise its their job to check these things for the safety of passengers and the aircraft. If a terrorist gets on the aircraft then they are to blame but do you presume the person guilty and actively tell the Police it is a fake or do you say to the Police that could they check this to make sure its in order. There is a big difference even the Police acknowledged. Also whilst this is being dealt with you are entitled to be treated with respect which BA and the Police admitted.

As stated above, it is mostly an immigration matter.

Jan

Quoting MD11Engineer (Reply 17): My Filipina Fiancée has her passport and visas (both for the Schengen treaty countries as well as her Irish residence visa) inspected and photocopied every time she flies. This will hopefully end now when she gets her Irish passport (she just received a letter from the Irish department of immigration that her application for Irish citizenship has been approved).

We wouldnt have objected to anything being photocopied either. In fact Id rather they did have him on the Police database it would at least show up in future on their computers and avoid further issues.

[Edited 2012-02-09 05:58:51]