I love Nigerian entrepreneurs and will proudly fly a Nigerian carrier to Lagos from anywhere in the world if the circumstances are justified. I would rather patronize ‘my own’ country’s fledgling services just to identify with the spirit of entrepreneurship. Arik Air describes themselves on their website as ‘a wholly-owned Nigerian airline with a commitment to the people of Nigeria to deliver new standards in aviation’. However, on a recent trip to Lagos by Arik Air, I had reasons to question the entire customer experience. Here are ten of them:1. The Arik Air website does not provide a means for you to make on-line payments for flight reservations. You only find out after searching frantically for a 'Payment' button. There is no information on their website informing the customer that on-line payments are not possible. In this age of electronic payments being offered by almost EVERY world class air carrier, this is not only shocking but also NOT in their own best interests. I understand the worries about internet and credit card fraud; but surely there are proven ways to securely collect payments online.
2. Anyway, after you’ve decided your dates, you can make a reservation online. You are given a reference number for your reservation. With the reference number in hand, you have to call up a service centre (on a premium rate 0844 number may I add) to find out how to pay. This adds at least another £5 to your bill (when you factor in the time spent waiting in the call queues listening to elevator music).
3. When you finally get through to a service centre agent, you learn that the only form of payment accepted is cash. Also, payment MUST be made in person, in cash, at any branch of Barclays Bank. I don't expect that many potential travelers have £800 lying idly in their accounts. Imagine if a family of four were planning to travel. They would need at least £3, 200 CASH….CASH! Sadly with Arik, there is NO recourse to your credit cards. This must surely discourage patronage of Arik Air. The service centre agent reads out a bank account number into which you are expected to make your payment. She advises you that you have a limited time to do this otherwise you could lose your reservation.
4. You have to put your schedule on hold and make time to physically go to your bank (assuming you do not bank with Barclays) to withdraw the total cash value of your ticket. Again, this must surely discourage would be travelers who do not have the time to do this. In addition, withdrawing such large amounts of cash arouses and attracts suspicion in some climes. You need to appear composed and at ease or else the cashier may ask you some additional security questions just to be sure you’re not pulling a fast one. It doesn't matter that it is your money in your account. You see, cashiers are trained to make psychological evaluations of people withdrawing uncommonly large sums of cash. Lack of eye contact, sweat on your forehead, fidgeting from one leg to another and general impatience will not help your case.
5. If you're unlucky not to bank with Barclays, you have to travel from your bank branch to a Barclays bank branch carrying the huge sum of money, risking becoming bait for the nifty London pickpockets. The best advice is to find a branch of your bank where you do not have to travel too far to a Barclays branch.
6. If you go at peak times, you will most likely have to queue at the Barclays branch. As it is likely that you can only do this kind of transaction during your lunch break (if you are a 9 to 5 worker), you are likely to be caught in the middle of the rush hour.
7. On the bank pay-in slip, you will need to write your full name and the reference number you received when you made your reservation earlier on-line. This is a necessary step, the Arik agent tells you, to enable them trace your payment. At this point, you should rightfully begin to worry about your money getting lost in some manual and archaic tally number system.
8. While you ponder this, the Barclays cashier begins to eye you with suspicion. You see, he or she is trained to....you guessed right, 'to perform psychological checks on people paying in huge cash sums'. The fact that you're black and speak with a Nigerian accent only makes things worse. Remain calm and make eye contact as you watch the cashier use her magic highlighting pen to test each bank note to determine that you haven't presented counterfeit notes.
9. Cash validation and payment completed, you need to note the name and location of the Barclays branch you've just visited. You will have to call Arik Air again (on the same premium rate number...cue another £5) and tell the agent who you are, the bank branch where you made the payment, WHEN you paid it in and how much you paid in.
10. If you're expecting to receive immediate confirmation that your ticket has been issued, you're wrong! The agent tells you that they'll need to confirm receipt of your payment (likely to take between 24 and 48 hours) before your ticket can be issued. After a nail biting wait, you receive an email saying that your ticket has been issued. Congratulations…you can now fly Arik Air to Lagos!
In fairness to Arik Air, their aircraft is modern, spacious, and clean and appears to be well maintained. The cabin crew conduct themselves professionally and in a courteous manner (you somehow expect the worst with Nigerian air carriers). The best part is that they seem to ‘get’ Nigerian air travelers (unlike some other airlines I have travelled with) and our unique flying behaviors and seem to handle it quite well. Arik Air offers relatively affordable prices for flights to Lagos. It is a shame that the customer experience they offer is not much more of a bargain as well.
PS: I have one more poor customer experience to note. The flight to and from Lagos (six hours each way), for me, was rather forgettable as the in-flight entertainment system was broken and didn’t work both ways!
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