Remove That Self Service Check-in Box

Remember my previous story here? Well, I encountered the same kind of set-up at Davao International Airport. Two boxes too, just like at Cebu. And mind you, both boxes were working! I saw a girl tinkering with one, so the atrevida me went to the other, to check it out! Ah, the things I do when I am early for a flight! Really.., even I myself later often gets surprised at many ridiculous things I do when I am bored!

Do those boxes really work? Hey, they do/did! Though I still say Dear Cebu Pacific, please remove and throw them away! Just donate the PCs inside those boxes to elementary schools in need, or even me!

Let’s do a run-through of my check-in, so you know why those self-service boxes need to go away!

It asks for your booking reference number and you enter it on the touch screen:

Your name displayed, it asks you to tick a little box to the right (for check-in):

It then displays some reminders, and you affirm you have read them by touching "Check Me In Now":

Once you touch “CHECK ME IN NOW”, voila! you're automatically checked-in with a seat number:

Easy diba? And you have 2 choices (sa baba). Either you 1) View Seat Map, or 2) Print Boarding Pass.

BUT... eto na naman ako sa mga "but" na yan.

But we know us Filipinos, we must insist on our seat preference! Ala eh at bakit nagmamarunong ang penkyuter na yan, at binigyan agad ako ng 16F? Hindi man lang nagtanong kung ano ba ang gusto ko!

So I viewed the seat map to choose either 10A or 10F or 11A or 11F – all still vacant (maaga ako eh).

Aba, AYAW palitan ng damuho! If I chose Back to Main, babalik sya sa main screen BUT just the same naka-check-in na ako, assigned to Seat Number 16F. Para que ang seat map na yan, tingin-tingin lang?

There was no other choice but to print my boarding pass, so I printed the boarding pass nga..,

BUT I told my royal self, I will just wait, and still go to the counters when they open, for a seat change.

Hmp! Useless machine. Not passenger friendly. Ginawa para masabi lang meron silang kiosk. Idiots!

Okay, while waiting, I glanced at the girl on the other machine, she couldn't find a booking reference on her printout. I tried helping. It wasn't there. I think what she printed was the payment confirmation, not her electronic ticket, nor even just a summary of her booking. But, I told her, it wasn't entirely her fault.

Why was it not her fault? Well, in other more reliable airlines, the booking reference is always shown in any document that is sent to the passenger. Kahit resibo pa yun. Reference nga eh. Hello, "reference"!

So I told her to either find her booking reference number from the Cebu Pacific website (if she can), or check her emails (if she can), or stand around and wait with me, for opening of the check-in counters!

As the (now stressed) girl and I waited for the check-in counters to open, a family of five came by, and one of the kids (a bespectacled genius-looking nine/ten-year-older) got curious of the machines. I told him he can do their flight check-in on those computers. I even added that "all you have to do next is to later give your check-in luggage to the staff for tagging to your destination". O di ba ang bait ko, di ba?

So, he and his younger sister went excitedly into action! They separately checked themselves in, using those 2 boxes. A few minutes later, the impressed (of course proud) parents joined-in. They asked the genius son to also check the rest of them in. Done! But (I guess I expected this), they were not seated together. Aahehe, I told them to also wait for check-in counters to open, like I (and the girl) was doing!

Soon the Cebu Pacific check-in counters opened, and I was first to be served, since I came first!

I told the clerk I checked-in at the self-service box, it automatically assigned me Seat 16F which I don't like, but it wouldn't allow me to change that to any seat. He just smiled, as if familiar with my concern!

He got the boarding pass I printed, asked for my preferred seat, I said 10A, he made a few key strokes on his PC, and voila, I had a new boarding pass with my desired seat – 10A! All done in mere seconds!

But (meron pa ring BUT!), that happened only because there was no passenger queue yet, since I was there very early. As in I was first to face them when they opened their check-in counters. So, no issue!

Oh.., see that girl in the picture? She was the one who could not find her booking reference hehe!

Anyway, so all went well, right? Yes, because it was still early. Yet, I'm still very confidently suggesting insisting advocating that Cebu Pacific just throw those boxes away! Why? Kasi nga, if you still have to see the counters anyway, why bother checking-in at a dumb self-service machine? Itapon nalang yan!

Cebu Pacific won’t have to spend on people to redo what those boxes can/should be able to do. They also won’t waste electricity powering idiotically programmed boxes, just eating-up extra airport space!

Besides, there's what is called web check-in. Itapon na ang mga kahon na yan!

ISSN: 2515138.875-1417