Sep 7, 2010
Airline Customer Service Makes or Breaks Brand
In today’s competitive environment for increased consumer selectivity and decreased spending dollars, bad customer service just won’t fly. So when a group of us were recently unable to make airline connections due to inclement weather – as in gale force winds – the experiences with different airlines resulted in examples of good, bad and flat-out stupid customer service.
Leading the pack for the single best customer service experience was Southwest Airlines. It took all of five minutes to chat with a well-trained, personable agent to take care of all our flight changes. At one point, the agent actually apologized for the bad weather, like she had anything to do with it. The thought of charging a passenger for making such a change never occurred to her. Nobody in our group was surprised. Southwest’s extraordinarily positive reputation and brand remain in tack. (I understand Continental Airlines charges a minimal fee to make reservation changes, but nobody in our group was flying with them.)
Runner-up for good customer service was Delta Airlines. While agents initially assessed a fee for making changes to the original flight, those fees were waived when the customer explained the weather situation. They did, however, charge a difference in fares or points. The airline gets an average score for being helpful – after all, this is a service industry. But for the customer having to fork over additional money, the thought still stings.
The worst consumer offender, hands down, was American Airlines. If this airline’s reservations agents were responsible for protecting our borders, illegal immigration wouldn’t be an issue as they would either shoot or charge them to death before crossing. Customer service features included:
· Consistency. Regardless of flight, fare or famine, American Airlines didn’t waive change fees for anybody. They were merciless.
· The average cost per person to change flights from one weekday to the following weekday was $1,000.
· Some of the group had purchased their tickets through the airline’s frequent flyer program, which was supposed to reward regular fliers for their business. Instead, these frequent fliers were punished for their loyalty by being accessed outlandish fees to continue to make an unavoidable flight change.
· I heard one American agent tell a colleague, “Whoa, making that change is gonna cost you a lot of money. Let me check again as this can’t be right.” He may as well have said, “You’re screwed”, like the ticket agent told Steve Martin in Planes, Trains and Automobiles . When your own agents are openly balking at their employer’s data on their computer screen, something is wrong. I know the airlines are hurting for dollars, but to hose your best users of your service is crazy stupid. And by the way, several in the group said they’d never use Amerian again.
As author Karl Albrecht of The Only Thing That Matters points out, “Many organizations fail at good customer service because their leaders don’t realize that the heart of the service journey is spiritual, not mechanical. They will bureaucratize the whole thing.” He must have studied American Airlines.
Was our situation a fluke? You tell me. Whether it was or not, the point is that these customer service experiences help solidify each airline’s brand as a good or bad organization. Hence, one single experience can make or break your brand and its equity, or lack thereof.
What kind of good and bad customer service experiences are you willing to share?
Amazing story! And I love Southwest.
My story is so much smaller in scale, but it happened Sunday night.
I don't hide the fact that I love Publix supermarket. Their customer service is simply top-notch. However, Sunday, I forgot to buy cat food and at 10:30 at night, I found myself standing in line at Walmart as Publix does close early. There were two things that struck me.
First, I did not have my jellybeans. Why? Because when I couldn't find them, the only associate that "tried" to help me said "they're somewhere in the candy section." Second, I was in the only open line for, oh, maybe 15 minutes, along with quite a few other people.
It isn't as big as what your friends who flew on American experienced, but it still is something that remains on my mind. It is something that will hurt WalMart as far as my business is concerned.
And we won't even discuss why I drove past "that which shall never be entered again," aka Kroger, to try WalMart.
I, too, prefer Publix over any other grocer. Considering your Wal-Mart experience, I might have left and just fixed some edibile people food for my cat! I just don't understand why employees/agents/staff/frontline company representatives don't take the time or effort to be nice, understanding and try to problem solve. Even if they're not in a position of authority, empathy with the customer goes a long way. I think the moral of the story is don't do business with American, Walmart and an occasional animal fast is okay!
Wow. Remake of an old movie, The Ugly American. Clooney was not in this one, right?
Hmmm… don't know about The Ugly American. But since George Clooney might be in it, I simply must check it out. Thanks for commenting!
Excellent post, Susan. With all the evidence of the damage caused by poor customer service it is wildly dumbfounding that even big companies that spend fortunes on PR and (overpaid) CEO's still don't get it.
We go out of our way to fly SWA and it, along with Vonage, are 2 of my models for customer service in our business. They just never disappoint. Stress free to the extent humanly possible.
Thanks, Jan, for commenting. I was talking to a friend recently who travels a lot for business. She won't fly anything but Southwest; even if the airline doesn't go to her final destination, she'll fly to another city and rent a car to get to her destination. Now that says something.
American, smamerican. I tried to use their web site to book frequent flier miles for a trip. The site was not working. I called and made the reservation by phone only to discover they charged me to use the phone instead of the internet — even though their system was not working and I told the agent that. I used up my miles and could not care less about booking a paid fare with them again. American's motto — "Fly the fiendly skies."
Good point about the phone fee – it's like "the more you need human assistance, the more it will cost you." And I expect the extra fees will continue, which, interestingly enough, is the basis for one of Southwest's recent ad campaigns! Thanks for commenting.
After doing business with Southwest then American you would think they are two completly different service based industries. Southwest with great customer care and American that thinks they are the only choice, no customer care. Incredible contrast.
The case of two opposites when the external circumstances – pool of customers, airplanes, flight routes, etc., – are pretty much the same. I wonder what the future holds for American. Thanks for commenting.
Another great blog. Your fan, Leigh
Thanks Leigh!