Garuda must show professionalism

Garuda must show professionalism

Having had my handbag (including a Bali-Jakarta return ticket)
stolen after a dinner party in Jakarta recently, I called my
travel agent in Bali and reported the stolen ticket, then
reported the theft to the police in Pejompongan -- all within
eight hours.

A subsequent visit to Garuda Darmala Sakti to replace the
ticket revealed an internal memo to employees saying that Garuda
domestic tickets lost or stolen would not be replaced. Since this
"recent" change in policy has not been announced to the ticket
buying public, I take this opportunity to warn Garuda ticket
holders that no amount of haggling will get your ticket back even
if, as in my case, it was not used by unauthorized persons and
was officially stated by the police to have been stolen. You have
no choice but to buy another ticket -- at full price.

Garuda certainly has the corporate right to make policy
decisions, but it should have the corporate responsibility to
make those decisions public. Perhaps company funds for the recent
full page ad in The Jakarta Post to apologize for a lack of
professionalism would have been put to better use with the
publication of exactly what Garuda policy is. Certainly the
traveling public would like to see more professionalism and less
breast-beating. Actions speak louder than expensive words.

SUSAN ANN SCHERER

Denpasar, Bali