Well, what do you know; AirAsia is listening to consumers. After years of treating passengers like cattle without any rights, AirAsia is now going to refund fliers for long delays.

Some months ago, I had shared here the story of how we were treated when our AirAsia flight was delayed in Siem Reap in December 2006. Subsequently, a reader had responded to my letter essentially saying instead of complaining, I should stop flying AirAsia if I thought its services were so bad.

I responded to that letter as I thought it was important to underscore once again the importance of consumers being bold enough to highlight shoddy service experiences instead of keeping quiet.

I don't claim any credit for AirAsia's decision to start compensating fliers for long delays; it's difficult for one person to bring about a change. I believe it was the avalanche of complaints from many people and across all media that led to this positive action.

So folks, the next time you get shoddy service from your pay TV channel, your telco, a hospital or a government department, fire up your PC and write away!