I needed to change these dates as I had delayed an earlier return flight from Singapore to Shanghai until 24 Feb to attend to some urgent family matters.

I called the SIA call centre in Singapore on 16 Feb at about 11.45am and was told that because my ticket had been booked online with the SIA office in Shanghai, I would need to call that office directly.

This is despite my repeated explanation about the overlapping flight schedules and my assurances that I was willing to pay any charges incurred.

The female officer was so unhelpful, I called the Shanghai office from Singapore immediately, at about 11.50am.

My call went unanswered. As the office there closes at midday on Saturday, I hung up after 20 minutes of being placed on hold while incurring IDD charges.

I then called Singapore call centre again and spoke to Mr W. He said he would telex the Shanghai office immediately and should get a response within five hours. He said I should call back later to check.

So in the early evening I called the Singapore call centre again and spoke to Ms M. She confirmed her colleague had sent the telex but that the Shanghai office had already closed. She asked me to call again at midday on Monday.

I called at about 11am that day and spoke to Ms A, who said the response had arrived, but it turned down my request because the ticket was a non-flexible discount fare.

She insisted there was nothing she could do as the decisionhad been made by the Shanghai office.

I repeatedly explained that I had overlapping SIA flights on the coming weekend and that I was prepared to pay rescheduling fees. She insisted the matter was out of her hands. I asked to speak to a more senior officer, who repeated that there was nothing the Singapore call centre could do.

I was very upset and insisted on speaking to an even more senior officer, and after a long wait on hold spoke to Ms A.C.

She again repeated that because my ticket was a special offer booked through the Shanghai office, the Singapore call centre could not help.

After a long debate, she said she would contact Shanghai herself to relay my request and call me back before 5.30pm.

I fail to understand why, as a customer in distress, I faced more than five hours of uncertainty before getting a response.

Given SIA is an international company run from Singapore, why must a customer be at the mercy of a decision made by it Shanghai office? Why can't the Singapore call centre do take action - as well as offer a more consistent and positive customer experience?

I still need help to re-schedule my flights.

Tan Boon Pheng