Airline - Quality service and ticket prices

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Can we all just agree on the idea of "You get what you pay for" and kinda move along? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

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I'll stand in firm opposition. First of all we are getting much more than we pay for with JC. You are growing because of it. Whatever your business model or plan is, you are offering a high quality product/service. There is lots of perceived value here.

As far as airlines: it's OK for customers to take a "get what you pay for" viewpoint. It is never OK for the employees or management to take that tack. There is only one rule for long term success in any business or industry; give the customer more than they pay for. Especially in a service industry, that doesn't mean spending a lot of money, it can be as simple as training your employees to have good communication skills or firing them if they don't. I have been in the industry for 30 years and I have never seen even that simple thing done. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
Actually, here's a letter written by Herb to a chronic complainer who said that she will "never fly Southwest Airlines again."


Dear Ms. Crabapple,

We'll miss you.

Love,
Herb

This woman complained about everything, and even made a few CSAs in DAL cry. Finally Herb stepped in and told people to stop trying to make her happy as it was impossible. The whole story is in the books Nuts .
 
I forgot to add in that we've really got to look at the bigger picture in terms of the 'cultural shift' going on in America.

Remember, we're in an era of a entitlement-crazy, litigation-happy, something-for-nothing-and-can-I-have-two society.

Flight delayed? Heck, pick up the telephone and call the airline or your travel agent (unless you were too cheap to use one that'll answer the customer service line) and start looking at your options.

Any frequent flier knows this.

50 passengers standing around one gate agent during irregular operations and you're going to stand in line where you could have a seat, call the airline directly and rebook yourself in minutes? Could the author have not anticipated the scene earlier?

What are the chances that the author threw a big hissy fit in the gate area, threw around his press credentials to no avail and then embellished his story?

I dunno, but I'd like to hear USAir's (or whichever connection carrier) side of the story for a little balance.

My questions:

(a) Did he contact the airline prior to writing the article?
(b) Is this his first flight cancellation?
(c) Considering DCA has a substantial USAir operation, did the author try another gate agent/supervisors, or just stand in line miffed with a stenographers pad jotting down details?
(d) Did he try the reservations line or booking agent?

Granted, the author most likely got a raw deal and the situation was largely mishandled, it seems, by USAir, but take a charge of the situation and use the available resources.

Drop a carton of eggs on your tile at home? Don't complain about it, take charge, get it cleaned up before it solidifies, take care of business and then get upset. The worst thing I see in this country are people waiting for solutions to fall in their laps.

"Fat? It's not your fault, it's the carbohydrates!" (pshaw, right!)

"Sad? Take a Zoloft!"

"Angry? Call my law offices!"

"Late? It's not your failure to hit the freeway with ample time, it's traffic"

Ok ok ok, I'm on a rant, but I'm a believer in the school of thought that the term Personal Responsibility doesn't involve pointing fingers, it involves stabilizing the situation FIRST, and then trying to ascertain what went wrong SECOND.
 
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And before you say (again), that a person that travels should just expect something to go wrong and be responsible enough to prepare for it---let me remind you that there is no warning that you do not have access to luggage.

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Please quote where I've said that in this thread ... infact I've said several times that the airlines have a long way to go in customer service. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
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I guess one of the things I don't understand is the general tone of most of this thread. In my experience airline customers are like most others. 98% are very reasonable people who respond well to being treated with respect. This in spite of the fact that travel is often stressful with vacation and business plans often riding on the airlines operating on schedule.

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I guess I'm sorta biased since all of my experience is in Orlando. It might work differently in other places with the non-leisure crowd. While I agree a lot of customers just want their side of the story to be heard and be treated with respect, in my experience it's more like 60% of them. I have had very very few dealings with people operating on business trips. Almost ALL of my customer contact has been from families or vacationers.
 
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And before you say (again), that a person that travels should just expect something to go wrong and be responsible enough to prepare for it---let me remind you that there is no warning that you do not have access to luggage.

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Please quote where I've said that in this thread ... infact I've said several times that the airlines have a long way to go in customer service. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[/ QUOTE ] I'm sorry, my first little paragraph was directed to your reply, but the rest was a "you" as in "you people on this website" lol. Should have clarified.
 
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And you know what, two of the thre restaurants I worked for are out of business .... draw your own conclusions. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

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You're bad for business?

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and if you have kids with you and then you aren't allowed access to your luggage--well that's even worse!

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This is why I carry all the essentials in a carry-on. How many comedians make jokes about lost luggage? We're all aware that it happens, we just never expect it to happen to us. While it's technically not our fault when the airline looses our luggage, there are some intelligent things we can do to help ourselves out. Any medication you have, put it in the carry-on. I also carry an extra set of clothes in my carry-on just in case, along with my contact lens stuff and a toothbrush. The cel phone, my wallet and any tickets (including return trip tickets) are also in my carry-on. You'd be surprised how many people check their tickets in their luggage, then they need it when they get to security.

Now, that's all pretty easy if you don't have kids. You have an automatic carry-on in that diaper bag (I like the cool one that looks like a backpack if anyone wants to go to Babies R Us and buy it for me.....), so that limits you a bit. Make sure you've got some extra stuff in there, including a change of clothes for the baby. Put some snacks in a carry-on and a book or two. If your stranded in an airport, you gots to keep the kid entertained.

If you're doing a short overnight trip, put it ALL in a carry-on. Trust me, skipping baggage claim all together is worth the hassle.
 
Customers=$$$,so deal with it!Customers deserve to be treated with out most respect. Go tell your customers that you paid $150.00 for a round trip and we will treat you the way we want-i bet you won't make it through in any business.
There are those customers(minority) that are frustrated and sometimes need the attention of a security officer or police. That is beyond what anyone can do and don't mind losing those type of customers-and there are those customers(the majority) that are simply frustrated and get pissed off like any human-being. And those need better treatment and good solution to their problems. I worked in the airlines and 98% customers will always be understanding and nice to you-if you treat them the way they want to be treated.Last but not least-people in customer service should have the skills and patience!
 
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My questions:

(a) Did he contact the airline prior to writing the article?
(b) Is this his first flight cancellation?
(c) Considering DCA has a substantial USAir operation, did the author try another gate agent/supervisors, or just stand in line miffed with a stenographers pad jotting down details?
(d) Did he try the reservations line or booking agent?

Granted, the author most likely got a raw deal and the situation was largely mishandled, it seems, by USAir, but take a charge of the situation and use the available resources.



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Agree with the points about society in general. But I find that this bleeds over into customer service. When you take a customer service job you are taking primary responsibility for your customer's satisfaction. How many customer service people do you run into who do that? It's so rare it is really starting to drive me a little nuts. (OK, I heard that).

I mean I rarely have a day go by that I don't get to listen into the personal phone conversation of someone who supposedly is "helping me". A problem is as likely to get a dull stare as helpful action.

So in the case of a delayed flight it is the customer service reps job and responsiblity to communicate with the customers and make sure they know their options and what they can do and what the airline can do. It's not their job to sit there with their t****s up their a*s while the savvy frequent fliers figure out how to end run the whole situation.
 
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And you know what, two of the thre restaurants I worked for are out of business .... draw your own conclusions. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

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You're bad for business?

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Damn right! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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.Last but not least-people in customer service should have the skills and patience!

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Sad truth to this is that these people are not paid what they are worth. It doesn't take to many screaming passengers (tourists, diners, etc) in your face for you to say "This isn't worth $6.65/hr." Either that or the people that are skilled at customer service get promoted to the dreaded management position. Then they get locked in the ivory tower and lose touch. You also have to look at the population in general. There aren't that many candidates (at least in Orlando) that I would even THINK about placing in a customer service position. It's more of a "take what you can get" marketplace. Same thing is happening with the airlines. And for the love of god, TAKE CARE OF YOU PEOPLE. If the agent is unhappy, I can guarantee you they won't go the extra mile to satisfy the customer since they really don't care if the company survives or not.
 
I think you'll find that MOST business travellers are reasonable. Why? Because they do it a lot. They go to the airport, see that it's raining, and say, well, betcha we won't be leaving on time. Do they get mad at the CSR because of the weather? Nope.

I was travelling enough where I could justify to my boss picking up membership in one of the airline lounges, and you can imagine that I dealt with delays, cancelled flights, and so on. One time they lost my luggage.

The thing I remember that struck me as funny was that at least three or four times, I was told, "you're taking this very well, sir." I told them, well, screaming at you isn't going to help things, is it?

What amazed me is that the CSRs always laughed and said, some people think it does.

I don't get it. You need help from someone, and you're going to scream and shout at him? Yeah, like that's going to get him to bend a rule for you.
 
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Customers deserve to be treated with out most respect.

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Customers deserve to be treated as well as they behave. Basic human civility overides everything. Whenever someone starts usinghte word "deserve" i get testy. The only thing ANYONE "deserves" is basic civility beynd that a persons own behavior determines how that person will be treated beyond the first encounter. Don't like it? Chang your behavior.

But I agree wholeheartedly with Flyover's last comments. A lot of "customer service" positions are filled with the lowest paid/least trained folks management can find (not just airlines). And THAT is a big problem. Companies don't recognize the skill and importance of these positions and just view them as "another hourly" category. It takes a special person to be able to handle customer service on a long term basis ...
 
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Agree with the points about society in general. But I find that this bleeds over into customer service. When you take a customer service job you are taking primary responsibility for your customer's satisfaction. How many customer service people do you run into who do that? It's so rare it is really starting to drive me a little nuts.

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Another example of "take what you can get." I'd say a good chunk of the people in customer service positions are not there because they like the job, they're there because it's all they could get or because of the money.

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I mean I rarely have a day go by that I don't get to listen into the personal phone conversation of someone who supposedly is "helping me". A problem is as likely to get a dull stare as helpful action.

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This is my major pet peeve. Can't tell you how many cel phones I locked up as a lead at Sea World. If I saw you with your cel phone out while you were supposed to be working, I took it and locked it in MY locker. You got it back when your shift was over.

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So in the case of a delayed flight it is the customer service reps job and responsiblity to communicate with the customers and make sure they know their options and what they can do and what the airline can do. It's not their job to sit there with their t****s up their a*s while the savvy frequent fliers figure out how to end run the whole situation.

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Yes, it is the CSA's job. However, they also have about 50-100 other people they need to help that probably have no IDEA what is going on. A frequent flier can help themselves AND the CSA by making a phone call or at least trying to handle it themselves. Shoving to the front screaming "I'm a Rapid Rewards member, help me FIRST!" doesn't cut it. One thing the airline should do is get some help out there (if it's available) ASAP when they know the flight is going to be cancelled.
 
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This is why I carry all the essentials in a carry-on. How many comedians make jokes about lost luggage? We're all aware that it happens, we just never expect it to happen to us. While it's technically not our fault when the airline looses our luggage, there are some intelligent things we can do to help ourselves out.

[/ QUOTE ] I am absolutely aware that luggage gets lost and I had immediate neccesities in the diaper bag (such as diapers and money and snacks) But what I was not aware of, is that you don't GET your luggage if you get stuck some where. See, if my luggage had been lost, but I wasn't stuck in Chicago, I would have either been in FL or been home. Then I would have had family there to pick me up and we could go to the store and get what ever we needed. Knowing that, I was comfortable with what I carried on the plane and with what I put on baggage check. SO if my luggage had been lost it wouldn't have been the end of the world.

HOWEVER, the problem was that I got stuck in Chicago, with a toddler, carseat, diaper bag, and stroller. And no luggage access. It NEVER occured to me that this could happen because I just always assumed they'd give it you. It was late at night by the time we got to the hotel, and I had no idea where anything in that city was, nor did I have a way to get to anything. So off to the gift shop I went. For $10 I could get 3 diapers that were 2 sizes too big for my son. For another $6 I could a trial size of deodorant. For $4 I could get a disposable toothbrush, etc. etc. As I said, it never occured to me that I would not have access to my things if I got stuck some where. It also never occured to me that I would have to pay for the hotel and meals. It cost us over $20 just to get some juice and bagels for breakfast, thank goodness I have credit cards, some people don't!

All my point was with that part of my story is that I think part of customer service is that you should let your customers know what to expect, what situtions could occur. Why not put on the ticket or website something like "It is our policy that customers do not have access to luggage should they miss a connecting flight, so we strongly enourage you to keep personal overnight items as well as money for food and accomodations with you on the airplane.". If I had read some thing like that, I would have been prepared. Now I know, of course, and so I can be prepared next time, but I think it's worth telling people upfront. Think of how much LESS angry people are when things aren't a shock to them. I was shocked and it was very hard to hear that, and not get mad, I didn't, but it was hard. Had I been told upfront, the whole thing would have gone a lot smoother. See what I am saying?
 
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Think of how much LESS angry people are when things aren't a shock to them. I was shocked and it was very hard to hear that, and not get mad, I didn't, but it was hard. Had I been told upfront, the whole thing would have gone a lot smoother. See what I am saying?

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Communication is the key to customer satisfaction. Over almost 30 years in the biz I found you could literally do almost anything to people if you effectively communicated. Conversly you could do almost everything right and leave them dissatisfied if you didn't communicate.

A mom stuck by herself with a toddler should get special customer service. Period, no excuses.
 
Shoot adreamer, you are lucky you were even compensated any. Last summer when I flew to Florida, the AA ticketcounter at MCI was having difficulties checking people in and the line ran the entire length of the terminal. We made it on the plane early yet the flight was held for about an hour so a large tour group could make the flight. Well that really f'ed up my travel plans. I arrived in STL with 5 min. to get to my connecting flight, yet nobody at the gate I arrived at seemed to care. As a result me and about 12 other people missed that flight to MCO so I was stuck in STL for 4hrs waiting for the next flight without even receiving an apology or anything. The gate agent wouldn't even talk to anyone. Tell me how that is good customer service! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif
 
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