CDG Paris customer service issues

280special

Anyone travel via CDG recently ? Havent been there for a while but the laziness and rudeness of both airport and shop staff hasnt improved any ! We were left waiting for a good 12-15 mins for passport control while the two layabouts inside the booth had a chat , then when they eventauly called people forward one of them wouldnt even reach up to pick up the passport you had to stretch in to hand it to him while he lounged back in his chair, before throwing it back on the counter.

And as for the staff in the shops, talking, not serving people, shouting at customers who asked to be served...unreal...one of the guys in our grup asked to make a complaint to be told they didnt have a policy for that or anyway for it to be taken down ! and thats before you look at the massive overcharging for basic stuff such as a bottle of water or a soft drink.

Maybe not as bad as a few years ago were we were stuck for 70 mins in a huge Q waiting for passport control, given a rental car that fell to pieces as we drove along then having to put up with smart ass comments from the car rental staff but I will be doing my best never to set foot in the place again !

Cosmo Kramer

Welcome to Paris. The only good thing about flying to CDG is that it prepares you for what to expect for the rest of your trip to the city.

Transited through there to JFK a few months ago because I got a good fare and the opportunity to fly on an A380, but only for that I wouldn't have touched the place and certainly won't be hurrying back there. Transited through Heathrow to and from the US in the last few weeks and, despite the congestion there, it was a million times better than CDG. Schiphol remains my favourite though.

Davidth88

CDG has always been unreal .

Horrible airport , even makes LHR look good.

cocoshovel

Been there 4 imes myself and its a terrible airport indeed. Staff aside for the moment, the airport layout is absolutely terrible and hard to get around. The terminals are ugly too. I think it pretty much has a reputation world wide as one of the worst airports going.

I transited through there 3 weeks ago and the information staff were just downright d*ckheads. They were laughing and making fun of everybody who walked up to ask questions. I went up anyway and asked for the directions to my gate, the thick headed indivudual continued having a chat with his friend for about 10 seconds before turning to me and pointing in a general direction and saying with condescending tone "you get the train...you know...the train:rolleyes:" and proceeded to smirk at me.

It doesnt sound bad in text but to be there he was extremely rude to me everybody else. I just gave him dagger eyes, smiled and walked off.

Also, there was a disabled woman our aircraft that had to get off before we were allowed get on. We were bussed to the plane and had to wait 15 minutes past our departure time while waiting for someone to show up and help this lady off. Nobody showed up and in the end we watched her struggle down the stairs slouched over a ground crews shoulder. The disabled carers (or whatever they're called) never showed up the whole time since the plane landed.


I would avoid going through there ever again if possible. The only reason I chose it was because flying on the A380 would be a nice experience. Amsterdamn beats it by a mile for a connecting airport.

Davidth88

Totally agree .

I have transited through there a few times , each time was worse.


The prices are just unreal ( although I believe Turkish airports win the prize for being the biggest rip off )

Hate it with a passion

The old terminal is ugly , not easy to navigate because half the lifts only go to some floors etc .

The new terminal is horrible , the gate areas are too small and uncomfortable

And if you are ever in Terminal 3 ... it makes a barn look comfortable

I was in there once and my flight was cancelled due to a strike , the staff just looked at us shrugged their shoulders and said 'cancelled ..... go ' , when I mentioned EU rights etc they just turned and walked off.

LeftBase

Few years back the check in agent tried to charge us 80 squids a bag for just having them. Airline had a one bag policy and we all had one bag. We had to ring the airline directly and have them explain this to the check in agent. Total joke!

280special

Thanks for the replies, Glad to see it wasnt just me ! That place is just unbeleivable. But then as other people said to me at the time it seems to be a thing in the Paris area, rudeness and unhelpfullness abound, not at all like most of the rest of France !

Davidth88

280special wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, Glad to see it wasnt just me ! That place is just unbeleivable. But then as other people said to me at the time it seems to be a thing in the Paris area, rudeness and unhelpfullness abound, not at all like most of the rest of France !

No the staff in CDG have to be sent on special 6 month courses to ensure they are the rudest on the planet

brandon_flowers

I have been in CDG at least 20 times in the last 18 months and mother of divine god how did they come up with such an abomination of an airport. The French are usually considered brilliant engineers but this place is just complete b***s**t.

The best is the flight from Dublin with Cityjet operating out of 2E with the aircraft parked at 2G. If you are taking a domestic flight after the Dublin flight, you land and taxi to 2G, get thrown on a bus to be taken to 2E and then have to get the shuttle bus landside back to 2G. Turn around takes at least 45 minutes all going smoothly but I can guarantee your luggage will not be on the flight.

Expensive yes especially in 2E but not as expensive as Zurich. €18 for a wrap and a bottle of water!!

cocoshovel

2E was the terminal I flew from with City Jet. Its not overly great but its a mile better than the big circley prison sewer looking thing (terminal 1 I think) that Aer Lingus flies into. Its a maze!
2E actually makes for a fairly quick connection if you're coming in from the a380 NRT route.

Davidth88

brandon_flowers wrote: »

I have been in CDG at least 20 times in the last 18 months and mother of divine god how did they come up with such an abomination of an airport. The French are usually considered brilliant engineers but this place is just complete b***s**t.

The best is the flight from Dublin with Cityjet operating out of 2E with the aircraft parked at 2G. If you are taking a domestic flight after the Dublin flight, you land and taxi to 2G, get thrown on a bus to be taken to 2E and then have to get the shuttle bus landside back to 2G. Turn around takes at least 45 minutes all going smoothly but I can guarantee your luggage will not be on the flight.

Expensive yes especially in 2E but not as expensive as Zurich. €18 for a wrap and a bottle of water!!

Indeed , I once flew Dublin - CDG - Rennes . I had a 1 hr connection in CDG.

I landed , and on a bus , which seemed to go in ever decreasing circles around and around until it disappeared up it's own backside . Then rush from 2E to 2G , just made the gate before it closed , all sweaty etc. Then another bus , and onto an aircraft that was sat about 50m away from the aircraft I had got off !! I then sat there while I watched a bloke walk over to the other aircraft , pick my back up and walk the 50 paces over to the aircraft I was sitting on. At least I knew my bag was there , but I was cursing the stupid design of the airport

Dacian

cocoshovel wrote: »

2E was the terminal I flew from with City Jet. Its not overly great but its a mile better than the big circley prison sewer looking thing...... Its a maze!.....

Great description of a horrible airport.

Love Paris, hate CDG (and Beavais)

kub

And we all know that is why Ryanair don't fly in there. The nice crew members in Ryanair would not know how to handle them.

Davidth88

cocoshovel wrote: »

big circley prison sewer looking thing (terminal 1 I think) that Aer Lingus flies into. Its a maze!

That terminal was considered state of the art believe it or not !

It's very odd , lifts only go to certain floors , escalators go up , but there is no way down , the roads go around the outside of the building on the second floor ( I think ) it's just mad.

It does have the advantage that tugs are not required , the aircraft can taxi directly to/from the stands.

The one-way systems in CDG are plain weird , I remember flying there back in 1986 I think from London , the taxi took longer than the flight ( a' la Amsterdam if you land on the runway that is about 6 miles from the terminal ).
I also remember being 1 hr late because it took nearly 45 mins to cross all the runways one time.

brandon_flowers

Another quirk of CDG and the famous 2G terminal is that if you land in the direction heading away from 2G you have to taxi around the perimeter of all the other terminals to park up at 2G. It can take up to 45 mins, you will actually pass the main road into CDG and a sign that says "Bienvenue a CDG" etc.

Unfortunately if you are coming from Dublin you then have to take the 45 minute bus to 2E!

The inside of 2E and 2F are actually 2 of the nicer terminals in Europe, agree they are expensive (what airport isn't these days) but there is plenty of space and they are clean. The business lounge in 2E is not bad either mainly because it is huge and there is always seats available.

Bob_the_dog

Hate it with a passion, sadly while working for a French company it's very hard to avoid the place.

One positive are the comfy loungers at either end of 2E, spent many hours there waiting on delayed flights but its still a ****hole