Over on Twitter, I was alerted to a letter published in Business Traveller Magazine where a customer had sent in a legitimate complaint letter to United Airlines, sharing his experience of poor service in Business Class and suggested that more investments be made into customer service training.

It was great that United Airlines actually responded to the letter in the magazine itself. And that’s where the positives ended. Of the five key points raised by the customer, only one was directly addressed. In fact, the response went on to totally digress from the topic and talked more about the airline’s new premium cabins, and not customer service. That got me thinking, it’s probably not just the cabin crew at United who needs lessons in customer service, but even folks from Corp. Comms.

This is very ironic, because just a couple of weeks ago, at the Loyalty 2010 event, while having lunch with Robert Sahadevan, United’s VP of Loyalty, I was very impressed by the focus they have on their frequent fliers and premium passengers. Hence, this response was disappointing, to say the least.

I thought I’d do my bit here for United (and help other airlines too, …

It’s the long weekend in many countries. Canada, US, most of Asia-Pacific are on a holiday. Yet, it’s very nice to see that airlines are listening. Chris Brogan tweeted today that he’d pay JetBlue $7,200 for one year of unlimited flying “pass”. And @JetBlue immediately replied that they’re “listening”.     Somewhere else on Twitterland, Christi Day of Southwest Airlines was dealing with an outburst from @TheKevinSmith, on Valentine’s Day eve, which finally involved Southwest’s VP calling Smith personally. Though these may seem like normal twitter conversations, to me they reflect a paradigm shift in the way airlines have started to deal with their customers. It wasn’t too long ago, where I had to print out and post a letter to an airline for a missed-connection claim, because their email inbox was full! And the matter took over 5mths to get resolved (in the end, I didn’t get my $$). JetBlue and …

Think about this. You’re being helped by a very courteous flight attendant on your flight from New York to Mumbai, via Hong Kong. But there’s no way that you’re ever going to meet her again. You want to know her better, but there’s just no way. Or how about that Customer Service Rep who was so helpful over the phone in helping you change your flights? Again, he was no more than just a voice.

That’s partly because airlines have acted like faceless organizations all this while. You seldom get to interact with the people behind the brand. And that’s exactly what Cathay Pacific has tried to overcome, with their micro-site showcasing its people.

Meet the people – in a different light
On the people site, you can get to know better not only Cathay’s customer-facing staff like the Pursers or the Customer Service officer at the airport, you can learn just as much about the cargo handlers and the aircraft dispatchers. The flash-based interactive website literally has people “flying around” and once you click on them, you encounter two …

Last week, I attended a very refreshing workshop on customer service in Singapore. Ron Kaufman, one of the best-known customer service coaches in the region, led it. I found his ideas on how front-line staff should deal with customers immediately applicable to the airline world.

Inspired from Ron’s workshop, I’ve taken three of the best lessons from him and suggested here how airlines can use these to drive brand loyalty.
Do something unbelievable
In Ron’s words, delivering unbelievable customer service comes above delivering an expected or desirable customer service. Seth Godin would call this the “Purple Cow Effect”. It’s about doing something that’s customers don’t expect, in turn getting them to talk about to with their friends.

A very good example of this is the now-famous rapping flight attendant from Southwest Airlines. He did something mundane – reading out pre-fight safety instructions – in an unbelievable way. And not only was this much appreciated by those on the flight, but the word spread and this rapping flight attendant was a huge hit on YouTube. He even made it to Oprah! That’s the power of unbelievable.
There is such a thing as karma – …

In my recent brand review of Qatar Airways’ Business and First Class, I mentioned that the X-Factor in the whole experience was actually on the ground – their exclusive terminal for premium passengers in transit.

I experienced similar feelings last Friday, as I was given a private tour of JetBlue Airways’ swanky new Terminal 5 (old TWA terminal) at JFK airport in New York. Given the large proportion of time travelers spend in terminals these days, especially for short-haul flights, what JetBlue has created at JFK can be a game-changer. And here are three reasons why I feel it can do wonders for the already well-loved airline brand that is JetBlue.

1. It didn’t feel like a traditional US airport (at all!)
As  you walk in to T5, the first thing that strikes you the feeling of space – lots of it. That’s created by the high ceilings and tons of natural light coming through the glass panes. Moreover, there’s soft music playing at T5 (reminded my of Singapore …

Image by xrrr via Flickr

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I read one of the most shocking emails I’ve come across in the recent past concerning airline staffs’ adherence to rules. This was a story published on The Consumerist a couple of hours back. In this case, Mike was trying to rush his girlfriend to Portland, Oregon, from San Francisco, on United Airlines, so that she could be at her dying mother’s bedside. But they missed the flight because “it was time for [the ticketing agent] to go on her break.”
Is company policy more important than life?
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I know employees at United Airlines are unionized, and they have strict guidelines as to when they can work and when they need to take a break. But I wonder why this agent couldn’t issue the tickets, which took two minutes, as opposed to arguing with Mike for ten minutes justifying her break.
It’s the brand execution that matters
I’ve written about United Airlines eliminating their only call center, I’ve written …

Image via Wikipedia

In a startling revelation today, United Airlines announced that it’s closed down it’s sole customer service call center in India. This means that customers will no longer be able to call in to send feedback (positive or negative), as all comments have now got to go through the post (whoever writes those today!?) or in an email.

“Along with the decision to end its association with a third-party contractor in India, United will shut down its current customer relations telephone line and advise customers to write or e-mail feedback about their travel experience.” – BusinessWeek

The only positive I see coming out of this is some consulting offers for Oliver Beale, of the Virgin Atlantic fame, to help write some letters that have an impact. Cutting 165 jobs in India might save some money for United, but the long term damage of not giving customers a way to interact Live with a person from the airline …

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This is a touching letter, from a flight attendant’s perspective, which was first published on Airliners.net. We felt compelled to share it.
To the Flying Public: We’re sorry
We’re sorry we have no pillows.
We’re sorry we’re out of blankets.
We’re sorry the airplane is too cold.
We’re sorry the airplane is too hot.
0AWe’re sorry the overhead bins are full.
We’re sorry we have no closet space for your oversized bag.
We’re sorry that’s not the seat you wanted.
We’re sorry there’s a restless toddler/overweight/offensive smelling passenger seated next to you.
We’re sorry the plane is full and there are no other seats available.
We’re sorry you didn’t get your upgrade.
We’re sorry that guy makes you uncomfortable because he “looks like a terrorist”.
We’re sorry there’s a thunderstorm and we can’t take off.
We’re sorry we don’t know when it will stop.
We’re sorry you’re crammed into a space so small that if you were an animal PETA would protest.
We’re sorry our plane has no music or video entertainment for your 3 hour flight.
We’re sorry we ran out of your favorite soda.
We’re sorry there are no more sandwiches.
We’re sorry that Budweiser costs $6.
We’re sorry we don’t have diapers for your baby.
We’re sorry we don’t have milk for same baby.
We’re sorry you can’t hang out by the cockpit door waiting to use the bathroom.
We’re sorry you can’t hang out at the back of the airplane.
We’re sorry you have to sit down and fasten your seatbelt.
We’re sorry you have to put your seat up for landing.
We’re sorry we don’t know when we’re going to land.
We’re sorry we don’t know whether your plane to (substitute any city in the world) will be waiting for you when we land.
We’re sorry we’ve been diverted because we ran out of gas waiting to land.
We’re sorry for these and so many other things that we have absolutely no control over but which we are held accountable for EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Please understand. Flight attendants are not the enemy. We share your space. More than anyone – we want to have a nice, pleasant travel experience.

Image via Wikipedia
When airlines across the world are cringing due to rising costs and reacting in a knee-jerk manner, hurting both employees and customers, Air New Zealand (ANZ) has taken a bold step in customer service practices and introduced an in-flight concierge on board. The concierges will commence their new roles flying the airline’s London to Los Angeles route, and later operate on flights out of New Zealand. The concierges will be providing a range of services, from travel advice to assistance with onward bookings, to all Air New Zealand’s passengers in the plane, regardless of the class they are in. They will be dedicated to assisting customers with questions and will have no additional roles.
Great for customer retention
This initiative by ANZ is worth a standing ovation. It reflects tough adherence to company standards, even in times of crises. It is such distinguishing services that will make the customer feel the center of the universe – a key to success in service industries. Hotels like Ritz-Carlton to a great job at doing this, …

Most airlines are squarely putting the blame for their woes today on fuel costs. Many are doing everything they can to cut costs by removing any little amenities they offered to passengers – from pretzels to in-flight video – and starting to nickel and dime them for any remaining amenities. But it is in times like these that airlines that take care of the customer – even relatively better care – will stand to gain not just a profitability edge over their competitors but also brand loyalty.

Given the circumstances, why not learn from the best in the hospitality business – The Ritz-Carlton hotel group. Not only is Ritz-Carlton known for service excellence, looking closely at their service credo and mission, you’ll realize that most of what makes them admirable doesn’t cost a bomb.

The best customer service in the world is free!

All Ritz-Carlton staff carry a laminated card in their pockets, which has on it the company motto, “Three steps of Service” and “The Employee Promise”. Contrary to the usually hard-to-decipher corporate speak, these are actually very easy to follow and implement. Even if airlines adopt the Ritz-Carlton credo, “We’re ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen”, their service would improve by leaps and bounds. Simply put, treating customers and peers with utmost respect (like ladies and gentlemen) will create an uplifting experience for everyone.

After treating everyone with respect, if airline staff can incorporate Ritz-Carlton’s “Three steps of service” into their daily routines, they would be winning many more hearts. The first is using a personal, warm and sincere greeting. This really does wonders. Anticipating and addressing guest needs leaves an indelible impression on the customers’ minds for a long time. Lastly, giving them a personalized, warm farewell will ensure that they remember their last moments on the flight with a smile.