[arooba]

I was very excited about flying with Turkish Airlines but my experience with their call center representatives has been a complete turn off and it has been a very disappointing experience. The 6 different representatives that I spoke in two days were extremely unprofessional, rude, and not helpful at all. I am not sure what the call quality standards are but they constantly rush the calls, cut you off during the conversation and make it very hard to make a simple reservation. One representative even disconnected the call on me after I asked for a supervisor as he was not letting me speak. The level of customer service has been shocking.
I had called in to make a reservation for a round trip- Toronto to Karachi. The reason why I had chosen to fly by Turkish Airline was so I could have a stay over for a couple of days in Turkey and find a reasonable price. The way the first representative started the call was just unacceptable. I was told I cannot pay on the phone with my Canadian credit card because of the destination I am travelling to. When I told the representative repeatedly that I would not be able to make it to their office by 5 (there was a 24 hr window for the reservation and the office closes at 5) the next day and would like to pay on the phone/online , “No maa’m it’s not possible” was the only answer I got every time. I had my credit card information ready to make the payment but I was told there is no way around it.

Because their system did not allow me to make a payment on the phone or the website for that price, I was not able to get my ticket on time. I could not leave work earlier unfortunately.

I called in again the next day and had a really bad experience with the representatives. The problem was the customer service reps refusing to help me out. They were very impatient and rude. I was finding it so hard to make a simple reservation.
I decided to wait, and give another try, hoping the morning staff will be a little polite and professional. I called in the morning. One rep after giving me horrible service disconnected the call on me. I then called on their complaint line and spoke to a supervisor who refused to escalate my complaint about the service I had received. I had gone above and beyond to get my booking on time but I did not get the help I was looking for.
I went to the office to buy the ticket. The prices had gone up. I explained my situation to the lady at the office who was very polite and told me to make a complaint about my experience using the feedback form on the website and told me the head office will definitely look into it and make the adjustment for me. She advised me "If I were you I would make the booking and then send a complaint through the form on the website and the head office will definitely help you and make the necessary adjustment". I bought the ticket and I am regretting it now.

The response I have received from their complaint department is just unbelievable. The response is unprofessional, poorly written, does not make any sense whatsoever. I am basically being told it is the same system that is used through out the world for reservations. Turkish Airlines is obviously discriminating against people travelling to certain destinations. I have a Canadian credit card and I was told I cannot pay on the phone because of the destination I am travelling to. On top of that when I escalated because of the horrible customer service and the ability of the representatives and the supervisor to help me in any way, my complaint was not taken seriously. The rep at the office also put me in a difficult situation by clearly advising me that I should get the ticket first and then make a complaint to have the price adjusted for me. The rep obviously did this so she could get her sale.

I have already told my friends to not fly with this airline even if it costs them a couple hundred bucks extra to book the tickets with a different airline. If making a booking is this hard, then I am worried what I would have to do to make any changes/cancellations. They absolutely refuse to help you out no matter what circumstances you're in. The experience has been an utter dissappointment.