MULIKA 40 thoughts on “Is Modern Coast Express Conning Travelers?” Leave a Reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Name * Email * Website Comment You may use these HTML tags and attributes: Post Comment Notify me of follow-up comments via email. Blog at WordPress . | The Sight Theme . what if kenya Is Modern Coast Express Conning Travelers? Posted on November 18, 2013 by MAKENA ONJERIKA 40 Comments Share this: Google + Makena Onjerika Like this: Last night/this morning (17th November 2013), I travelled on a bus branded Modern Oxygen from Nairobi to Mombasa (bus J). This was the worst bus ride I have ever had on this route and worse still, the most expensive (1700/- for a “business class”seat). Modern Coast offers two kinds of bus services on the Nairobi- Mombasa route: the normal bus which has no air conditioning and no internet. This service goes for 1300/- The more luxurious service Modern Oxygen comes with air conditioning and internet access. The bus I travelled on yesterday was supposed to be an Oxygen bus (see a copy of my ticket below. I have blacked out my ID number). modern ticket 1. It did not have internet flat out. The hostess, who we picked up on the way to Mombasa, claimed not to have been previously aware of this problem and explained that the transmitter seems to have broken down earlier. 2. The air-conditioning system was expensively broken. I was in fact sitting under two open holes blowing extremely cold air. The hostess, a very resourceful young woman, provide tape to all passengers sitting under broken vents (see the photograph below), but had to spend the whole night switching the aircon on and off because it either got too hot or too cold. broken ac on modern bus 3. The bus was dangerously unstable on the road, actually swinging from left to right the whole way to Mombasa. It clearly has a mechanical problem. In short, the management at Modern Coast, sold fake tickets to me and other travelers knowing full well that it would not be able to fulfill the services for which were were paying a premium. That bus carried about 47 passengers. Some quick maths reveals that Modern Coast made about KES 19,000 extra from selling a broken bus as a first class Oxygen bus. There is no telling how many trips that bus has made in that condition. This is dishonest, unethical and tantamount to theft. How can Modern Coast steal so blatantly? Because once travelers pay for the tickets, they cannot get refunds. Further, it takes time for one to discover all the faults in a bus, by which time the bus has already left Nairobi and cannot be stopped without collective action from all passengers. Further, when traveling overnight, most passengers are afraid of complaining as they may be forced to alight in unknown, unsafe areas. No one likes delays and so most of us Kenyans just endure. But why should we endure? Please note that before sharing my story here, I informed Modern Coast Express through several channels. I was the only passenger who dropped in at the manager’s office on arrival in Mombasa to complain. Perhaps the other passengers felt that they had more urgent things to do. But in these days of horrific buses accidents and negligence from travel companies, how can we still be in our ACCEPT & MOVE ON mode?Why should we endure this type of nonsense, Kenyans? This is not a free service. We pay. Or perhaps the other passengers felt it was hopeless to complain. At the manager’s counter, I received no apology. And upon demanding a refund of the extra 400/- I had paid, I was told, “No Refunds”. The man did not seem concerned when I told him I would take my complaint online. I went further and wrote the company a formal complaint through their website contact form, then send a duplicate of the same via their facebook page. Lastly, I tweeted them. Their twitter response: “@Onjerika please resend that complaint, sorry for the inconvenience.” My attempts at reaching them again for clarification for where to send the complaint, received no response. And so, I have been forced to go public. Therefore, I, as a consumer, demand the following: 1. Clarify and list on the modern website all the services to be expected on Oxygen Buses. 2. Remove and give evidence of having removed and repaired all your broken buses. Evidence must be inform of inspection services given by the inspector of vehicles and must be published online, on your website. 3. Refund the extra 400/- paid by each passenger on bus J (17th November 2013) and give evidence of having done so. So this is my question to us all, Kenyans? Do you think Modern Coast Express (and other long distance buses in Kenya) should be allowed to continue conning Kenyans? If not, do something about it. Share this post with all your friends and ask them to share with their friends through every online and offline channel. Let’s talk loudly about abuses by Modern Coast Express (check out other complaints on mteja.org ) as well as bus services. Let us collectively demand better service from these companies. It is both feasible and a consumer right. We are the ones we are waiting for. We must build the Kenya we want. UPDATE: it seems Modern Coast Express thinks we are playing games. Here is a response from someone claiming to be an employee of Modern. This issue is going viral an they want me to use the right channels so that they can act?? 1. BOBBY NYAWANDA says: November 19, 2013 at 12:13 pm (Edit) hi we at Modern Coast respond to official complaints posted either to our facebook page or email addresscustomercare@mod not to say Makena is lying, we are simply saying she never used the right channel to air her complaints,kindly use the above email address an your complaints will be addressed accordingly, once again thanks for using modern coast and thanks for choosing us. Reply MAKENA ONJERIKA says: November 19, 2013 at 12:30 pm (Edit) Thanks for your response Bobby. About time you woke up and smelt the coffee. This email address is not publicized on your website. And so dissatisfied costumers like myself have no way on finding this right’channel’. Further, I did engage your company on twitter and did receive on response, but nothing there after despite repeatedly asking to be directed to the right channel. I have acted openly and honestly, but have been forced to use my own means to get your attention. My demands are stated clearly above. It’s now up to Kenyans to decide whether or not your response is adequate…
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 15:52:29 +0000