Joi's Saga

First stop after arrival - baggage claim - this place is a JOKE...the monitors don't work so you have to ask someone which conveyor belt you should go to AND couldn't get Jonathan to come help me with my bags because he was denied a "special pass" to come into the baggage claim area. I was told to find a porter and he/she could help me with my baggage. In addition, the immigration check is still on the 2nd floor so you have to go down two flights of stairs to get to baggage claim - no escalators here. The signs and paint haven't been changed since the 80s either...I understand the government is spending some a small fortune on renovations - they should just tear it down and start from scratch.

Let me get back to Joi. After my bags were handled, I decided to find a KLM office to find out what was going on with Joi and when he would be put on a flight. The KLM flight attendants did not know who I needed to talk to so I had to guess as to what I was supposed to do. My sister, Lils, accompanied me to the terminal where the KLM office was located but she was denied entry and had to wait outside the glass doors(crazy!). I spoke to Jamal Ali (KLM Mgmt) who helped me complete "lost luggage" paperwork (since Joi was checked in as excess baggage) and he also indicated that he would work with the Amsterdam officials to find out what was going on. Late the following evening I received a call that Joi had arrived safely and was waiting for pickup at the Cargo Terminal in Embakasi. Since it was really late, we decided to pick him up early the next morning and that was when the mayhem began...

Thankfully, my brother-in-law, Duncan, decided to be my spokesperson when we went to Embakasi. I'm thinking "spokesperson for what exactly?" and my sister said "carry some money" - again, for what exactly?? Ok, so this was my first real lesson on being a Kenyan and how stuff gets done:-) Duncan, looking foreboding in his attire (which I later found out was deliberate because Kenyans don't take anyone in jeans seriously...yeah, marinate on that BS for a minute)asked me to let him do the talking and I was happy to relinquish the reigns. We get to the Cargo building and there is a gate with guards who proceed to ask us for our business there and give up our IDs in exchange for some visitor passes. They direct us to the first building and with no signs posted we asked some dude what office we could pick up "lost baggage" from. He quickly indicates that we were in the wrong office and he kindly walks us to the third building, up about 5 or 6 flights of stairs (to the 2nd Floor - go figure). We get there and the KLM agent says, "who sent you here? This is not where you should be picking up your cat. Go back to the first office." After these first few minutes I'm already pissed that I have to walk back down those stairs and go back to building 1. The kind gentleman who helped us is still in tow and noticing our frustration says,"I'll help you guys" and I'm thinking, "Thank You Jesus!" What I am VERY unaware of is that this guy is on his HUSTLE and this is how he makes his money - offers to help because the system there is screwed and he knows that we could be there for hours. After going back and fourth from building one to three, Duncan is finally at his breaking point (I broke already and at this point I'm in a corner singing Kumbaya...ok not really but this SO could have been me). The only thing we have learned of Joi and his whereabouts at this point are that he is somewhere in the Cargo Terminal and that KLM decided to send him as "freight" rather than "luggage". What this means, my dear Watson, is that he has to be CLEARED through customs in the regular way product is imported into the country. Which means they put a value on him (like they care about a cat) and I have to pay Clearing Charges, Customs Excise Taxes, Handling Charges, Compound Fee & Agent Fees(agent=kind gentleman helping us out)! Can we say Nai-ROBBERY!!

Since we are now officially screwed and figure out that these guys will hold on to the cat until we show them some $$, Duncan demands that the agent dude tell him what fee he intends to gain upfront and that he wants proof that Joi is alive and actually on the compound. Agent takes us to the animal compound where he had earlier indicated that the "Vet" was examining and monitoring all the animals and all I'm thinking is "please don't touch my cat!" We enter some concrete cells and only two seem occupied but no sign of Joi. We inquire whether they have proof that Joi was really brought here and they motion to one of the cells and say, "isn't that one yours?" I take a few steps closer to the cell and sure enough, I see orange fur but the kennel is not Joi's but I decide to take a look inside just to make sure. JOY, it is JOI (corny, so what?). I question as to why he was in a different kennel than the one I specifically bought 2 days previously for the flight. I went to the TSA and KLM website and got a kennel to their exact specifications and he arrives in another kennel???? Pray tell, what happened to the kennel he was in (that had the food and water bowl they specifically asked for) and the one with his toys? Which other critter has been in this kennel and could there have been any communicable diseases passed between the kennel exchange? This is INSANE. Truly, it's like having lost luggage and when you get to the airport to pick it up, it is a different bag altogether with your contents in it - I mean, really, where's the sense in that? Oh, Oh, and get this...when I identify the cat as rightfully mine, the "vet" asks me "where is his paperwork?" and I almost lost it. Err, let's recap. The original paperwork that KLM and the Embassy of Kenya approved, was attached to the kennel per their requirements when we left Atlanta. Mmmh, new kennel has ZERO paperwork because it is not my kennel! How very convenient...thank God my vet in Woodstock makes a card for each animal that contains ALL the pertinent info - vaccines, microchip tags, weight, etc. Boo-ya!

We go back to the KLM office in building 3 and even cool, calm and collected Duncan has "had it with these guys" and he states that we would like to lodge a complaint against KLM. We are ushered two desks down to the "complaints department" and Duncan tells the lady that he would like to know what the SOP for lodging complaints. OH brother! This would have to be re-enacted it was SO very painful...in short, we go back and fourth and the lady gives us (customers) the # to someone in Amsterdam so we can call him ourselves. She also gives us email addresses to God knows who and repeatedly asks us to CC her on the communication. Ok, why the hell is the department called the complaints department if all she does is hand off customers to other people? She never once picked up a phone to find out what had happened in terms of why Joi had been left in the first place, why he was in a different kennel, why he had been sent as freight and why I was being asked to pay to get my cat out of that hell-hole they called "animal compound." No, she just kept on saying that we (the customers) would have to call the guy in Amsterdam and that she had nothing to do with it even though she is the complaints department for KLM. Go figure! After wasting about 30 minutes TRYING to lodge a complaint we leave her desk and guess who's waiting outside the door? No, not Joi but the hustler - Mr. Agent, ready to cash in on his fee.

We were there for about 4 hours before we gave up the good fight and succumbed to the idiotic system and paid roughly Ksh9,000(~$130). It's the principle and not the amount of money! I had already paid for Joi's license, excess baggage fees and vet charges before we left just to ensure I had done everything right! Needless to say, I have filed my complaint against KLM and will be expecting reimbursement. I will keep you posted via the blog:-) As for Joi, he was happy to be reunited with his mommy but only to be thrown into a world totally foreign to him. Meeting my sister's very fiery Spitz, Scooby, and a live hen has proven to be more than he can handle. These days Joi spends his day walking stealthily around the house as if avoiding land mines, hiding under my bed and planning his escape back to the land of milk and honey where his days consisted of looking for the best sun spots!