Airline Customer Service - a moral tale for New businesses large and small

There is really a time when, as a pair of trains that are approaching each other and picking up speed, it is known that it must be removed, or at least wince significant, in anticipation of the collapse and the explosion of flames and metal flying that you know is a few steps. You know you should, a part of you wants, but you can not get away.

This is the feeling I have in these days as I watch the airline industry. We are flying with absolute reckless abandon and is only a matter of time before you touch something. I'm not sure what hit-reregulation, the economic reality, unexpected competition blimp upstart companies, but I know that when hit, will be spectacular.

So what is fueling all this talk of trains crashing and dire predictions in the airlines? Two words: customer service.

Every good entrepreneur understands one thing, if nothing else-not understand that customer service is vital for the survival of a society. In fact, ask any small business owner the secret of his success and the answer usually has something to do with customer service. You can have the greatest product around the world, but if it does not work on customer service, making the customer experience as good as can be, then you are not going to sell much. If a recent survey conducted at the University of Michigan is correct, this seems to be a lesson lost most airline executives these days. In fact, with the lowest ratings since 2001, this is the worst of the three consecutive years of decline.

The worst in terms of customer satisfaction were United Airlines and U.S. Airways, finishing next-to-last and last, respectively. Continental and U.S. Airways had the largest overall decline with double-digit percentage drops. At the other end of the spectrum, Southwest remained on top, a position he enjoyed in the last 15 years.

What is wrong?

The problem is to live up to expectations. According to Claes Fornell, the University of Michigan business professor and director of research center that compiled the data, "There is no other industry anywhere that has so many basic mishaps in terms of not providing the basics. They had to deliver passengers with their luggage to a particular destination within a certain period of time, and often fail to do so. "

The unhappiness with airlines is nothing new, but the terrible results of the survey this year have put the spotlight on management, despite the problems of fuel prices, crowded airports, and other factors that are legitimately beyond their control .

The low-cost Business Model

Unlike many other goods and services, purchasing airline passengers primarily on price. This leads to a business model where the cost cutting to allow for reduced rates is simply more practical than a model that supports improvements in service and services that could help justify ticket prices and more realistic. While this may seem a case of blaming the victim, you must remember that the airlines are very sensitive because people fly on certain flights and carriers, and because they do not and the choice is usually up to the price. However, while this may be the seed of the problem, does not justify the management of the airlines for some terrible gaps that have made the current systemic problems worse.

Rates and taxes, more taxes

Airlines have learned that the cut-throat price reductions for tickets often means that the cut throat is their own being. After all, do not reach a point of diminishing returns and you have to recover lost revenue somewhere else. There are two ways to do this honestly and openly or under the table. Meals on board were reduced on flights and soon many other services either disappeared or have been assigned taxes (remember when you have the headphones for free?). Once these things have happened and the pressure of unrealistically low rates has not been easy, with the tactics table was the way the airline executives have chosen to go. This explains why so great a share the outrage that travelers feel toward airline industry comes from the hidden cost of the trip, taxes unadvertised taking the bloom off the bargain ticket prices. Aviation.com airfarewatchdog.com and have worked together to find the "Top 10 Hidden airline fees more odious." According to the results of Aviation.com, they include:

10. Make a reservation by phone or in person. Cost: $ 5 - $ 20. U.S. Airways is among the most greedy about it: $ 10 to book by phone, or $ 20 to book a ticket at the airport or city (if you can find one). U.S. Airways, which may possibly cost you so much for a simple 10 minute call? Surely the airline does not pay its reservationists that much. Withdrawing U.S. $ 15 for the privilege of speaking to a human being. American, JetBlue, Southwest and $ 10 (for Internet-only rates in the case of Southwest, but we were told Southwest does make exceptions). Northwest and Virgin America charge just $ 5.

9. Cashing in frequent flyer miles without sufficient advance notice. Cost: $ 0-100. Who says frequent flyer tickets are free? Some airlines will allow you to book a frequent-flyer seat even up to the day of travel with no fee. These include Airtran, JetBlue, Northwest and Southwest. But others (Continental, Delta and United) charge $ 75 if you book without enough notice (defined as 3 days on Continental but unreasonable 22 days on Delta), and charge Americans a neutral figure 100 if you book 6 days or less before departure.

8. Bringing a pet onboard in the cabin. Cost: $ 50-85 (each way). These fees have skyrocketed in recent times. Muffy and Buffy will not ring the call button for a glass of milk, and will not be carrying bags or imposing on the airline's bottom line in any way, but their price could end up costing more than yours. Most airlines now charge $ 80 each way. On United you pay $ 85, JetBlue 'only' $ 50.

7. Re-banking frequent flyer miles. Cost: $ 50-100. If you cash your miles and decide not to use your ticket, you'll be struck by a charge to enter the miles to your account. Why? Here is exactly what cost to the airlines' part? These tickets are issued electronically, so what's the problem?

6. Baggage check. Cost: $ 3 - $ 25 (one way). We are talking only to check even one bag, even if they are large or overweight (that's another story). Spirit Airlines charges $ 5 for each of the first two bags if paid online, otherwise $ 10 each. The third bag costs a whopping $ 100, more if it is large or overweight. Skybus charges $ 5 for the first two, and $ 50 for each additional. Allegiant costs $ 3 for the first, $ 5 for the second. Air Canada offers a discount for no checked luggage, which is a sneaky way of charging you if you do. It's not like the airlines are giving us more big hat, so the idea is great here? Do not be surprised if you see other airlines following suit.

5. Getting a refund when the price drops. Cost: $ 25 to $ 200 or more. If you purchased a TV from Costco or BestBuy and they lowered the price the next week, chances are you could get a refund, no questions asked. Apple also gave credit when it dropped the price of its iPhone soon after launch. But most of the airlines or refund nothing (British Airways and most other international carriers) or they'll pay a 'fee' of up to $ 100 on a domestic ticket, and even more internationally. What justifies this? He actually costs $ 100 to spend a few minutes to rewrite your electronic ticket? I doubt it.

4. Flying standby on the same day of the trip. Cost: $ 0-50. There was a time when there were empty seats on a flight the next or previous on the same day the original, the airline confirmed it for free. But now, most airlines charge to catch a flight the day before or after the original flight, if you want a confirmed seat (you can still take your chances of many airlines and standby without a confirmation for free, but that is not the same thing). Only AirTran, among the major airlines, with no up charges, if you show up at the airport before departure original and want to take an earlier flight, or ask to switch to a later departure. American, Continental, JetBlue, Northwest, and U.S. Air charge $ 25, Delta (always the leader in charge) and United sock you for $ 50. Southwest is an entirely different animal: there is no fee to fly standby as such, but you'll pay the 'up' last minute deal, which could be hundreds of dollars more than the original price discount

3. Paying for lap children. Cost: $ 10 to 10 percent of the adult fare (international flights). What the hell is the meaning of this? Your boyfriend is not in a chair, and certainly not take the free food and alcohol (if present). The Little Tyke responsible for consuming extra jet fuel? On a charge of say, $ 1,200, you will be billed $ 120 or more for the privilege of holding the baby in her womb for 10 hours (on business class fare, for example, $ 5,000 you pay $ 500). Domestically, Skybus never miss a chance to line his pockets, charging $ 10 'administrative expenses' for children on the ride. It is to compensate the child is breathing oxygen during the flight? By the way, if there is a fuel surcharge on the flight, your kiddie will pay that too: as much as $ 90 each way.

2. Getting a seat assignment. Cost: $ 5 - $ 11 each way. Air Canada, AirTran and Allegiant are some carriers that now charge for this 'perk.' AirTran charges $ 5 if you are on a discounted coach ticket; Allegiant charges $ 11. AirTran charges $ 15 if you want to take the exit in the front row and Northwest recently increased the charge from $ 15 to $ 20 (but I think it's worth it).

1. Use the bathroom. Fee: OK, airlines are not installing pay toilets. Yet. But things are going ...

Sure, that last might be a prediction, but it is not beyond the realm of possibility. Add these and other taxes due to the fact that airlines have, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation inspector general, has failed to live up to commitments made in 1999 to improve customer service-low fares, a decent level of service , treating people right and you can see how customer satisfaction can make a real success.

The crowd, delays and maintenance problems

It 'a rare thing to see a blank terminal in a major airport in this country and is a rare thing these days to see an empty seat on a plane. Many airlines are reducing the number of flights offered and the ability to fill their remaining flights. It dates back to the forces that drive airline tickets to bottom: the less you charge per seat, the more places you need to break even. This, of course, makes the flying experience, was once a luxury no matter what you had instead of class, something more akin to pork stuffed in a car. This trend has led to other problems as well, including delays for the extra baggage on each flight, lost luggage and so on.

One reason for these cuts is the fuel, but there is another reason maintenance. U.S. airliners are not exactly new. The statistics of the U.S. Department of Transportation shows that the average age of a commercial airliner in the United States is 11.7 years. This is the average. Some are very young and others are much older. Older aircraft are not in themselves dangerous, but they do tend to require more maintenance than newer aircraft. Consider that a modern airliner is perhaps the most complex machine ever built with a number of structures, systems and subsystems, many of which may have an impact airworthiness of aircraft.

The main problem here was identified by Consumer Reports in their survey entitled "An Accident waiting to happen?" which indicated the way in which the major airlines are outsourcing more than half of its repairs and maintenance, often to foreign repair stations. However, to make matters worse, they found that the FAA was based on the same airlines to inspect the plane. This, and a very intimate relationship between the airlines and the FAA made for a situation of danger to the public flight and a costly problem for airlines.

For example, March 6, 2008, the FAA levied a record $ 10.2 million penalty against Southwest Airlines. The reason was failure of maintenance. Had operated 46 airplanes without performing mandatory inspections for fuselage fatigue cracking. The FAA investigation found fatigue cracks in 6 of 46 aircraft, which could have proved disastrous. Later, the FAA has initiated a review of maintenance practices south-west. At the same time, Southwest grounded 41 planes to verify that they had been properly inspected in response to an "ambiguity related to required testing" their findings. More recently, American Airlines and Delta inspected more than 400 of their respective aircraft, clearing more than 700 flights.

The Bottom Line: resentment

Consider the following comment, found on consumerist.com:

Airlines seem to have waged a war of attrition on the whole idea of ​​customer service for the last 20 or 30 years. When you get to the point that it is less painful to take two days to drive across the country with all the horrors of inflated gas prices, fast food, nothing on the radio, but Rush Limbaugh and country music and the state of Nebraska, you know c 'is something terribly, terribly wrong.

The author of this comment is right, there is something terribly wrong, not only with a single airline, but with the entire industry and their captive audience, for passengers, is getting sick and tired of it. With each new cut or fee, airlines cry "poverty", but United was one of the top 10 most profitable companies for the first quarter of 2008. The airlines (with the notable exception of Southwest) have, in their efforts to squeeze every last dollar from their customers, forgot that the activity is more than that. It's about building a mutually beneficial relationship with customers that keeps them coming back. There once was a time when people had brand loyalty to airlines how they had with the cars and other products. You had people like my parents, who only fly United, others only fly American or Delta or Continental. Those days are gone.

What are you doing for your customers? How are you improving their experience and transforming them from "one-timers" in repeat business? The lesson of the airlines, an industry that once enjoyed a great reputation and has now become one of the most despised, is that without a concerted effort to create repeat customers, to create a great customer experience is about to change from the solution of a problem to be the problem.

What would you be? ...