Yesterday’s post about my poor customer service experience with American Airlines is a perfect example of how airlines just don’t get it when it comes to customer service. Their philosophy and approach to customer service is like living in opposite-land. Here’s what I mean…
Airlines Are Reluctant to Fix ANYTHING
I’ve had my baggage lost, my zippers pulled off, my baggage clips gone missing and my bags damaged. If something could happen to a suitcase, it has happened to mine. That’s the reality of flying. The conditions of carriage are so lengthy, and filled with so many loopholes, that the average traveler won’t have much recourse when the airlines destroys your baggage.
Furthermore, they love to blame the TSA for baggage damage (and can you guess who the TSA likes to blame – that’s right, the airlines)? Nobody accepts responsibility for anything, leaving the passenger stuck in the middle.
Unless…
Airline Status = The Royal Treatment
If you have status with an airline, they will bend over backwards to make you happy. Delta Airlines once broke my strap on my backpack. The baggage representative was reluctant to compensate me for it until I mentioned that I had Gold Medallion status with Delta. In the blink of an eye I had airline miles, flight credit and a FedEx bag to ship my backpack out for repair.
No
questions
asked.
Replacing broken straps is a cardinal “no-no” when it comes to baggage damage. It’s clearly outlined in the multiple baggage policies. But because I’m statused, the airlines overlook these written-in-stone rules. The fact that Delta takes care of me is why I continue to fly them. It’s the whole reason why airlines build these lavish loyalty programs. But that’s exactly where they go wrong.
No Airline Status = Treated Like Sh!t
The airline industry is the only industry I can think of that acts under this belief:
You (the customer) have to earn the right to be treated with respect
Let’s look at my experience with American Airlines. I have no status with them. But I’m willing to bet if I did, they would have corrected my issue at the terminal. But here’s what they neglect to consider, every customer with no status they refuse to help, could potentially bring them thousands of thousands of dollars of future revenue if they just made them happy.
Let’s take a look at my flying history. In the last five years, I have (approximately) flown:
- 291,672 miles on Delta
- 136,054 miles on United
- 28,384 miles on American Airlines
But If We Did It For You, We’d Have to Do It For Everyone…
Now the argument against better compensation for customers is a financial one. If airlines had to compensate me, logically, they’d have to compensate every passenger whom they damaged their bag, or interrupted their travel schedule, etc. To that I respond, if you have to compensate that many people that it’s a concern to you, you have a process problem in your organization that needs to be fixed.
Stop damaging people’s bags!
Stop damaging the bags, and you can stop compensating people for it.
The Sad Reality
For most travelers (those that only have an embarrassingly meager 3 weeks of vacation time a year), they’ll never reach status on any airline. The thresholds are too high, and the frequency of their flights are probably too low for them to ever reach the lowest status level in the calendar year the airlines measure from.
So most travelers are stuck with being treated like shit. No wonder why no one likes flying anymore. It shouldn’t have to be this way.
Customer Service Should Be
If airlines showed a genuine concern for customer service, they would behave this way:
We (the airline) have to earn your business by treating you with respect
If you take care of the customer, you’ll earn their trust and in return, earn their loyalty. Never under-estimate who the customer is in front of you. EVERY interaction is an opportunity to win them over or push them away.
By the way, in the time it took me to write this post, and yesterday’s post about American Airline’s poor customer service, I booked a $430 ticket on United Airlines and a $621 ticket on Delta Airlines. $1,051 could easily have gone to American Airlines if they had just written me the check for $25 like I originally asked.
What’s been your experience with airline customer service? Share by commenting.
I’ll see you out there…!
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Airline status makes a massive difference on whether you enjoy, or don’t enjoy flying. This is especially true when things go wrong (which they will at some point). Few years back I got stuck changing planes in Amsterdam because of blizzards in Frankfurt where I was heading to meet some friends. Because of my gold card, it took less than an hour to get me a hotel and a new flight for next day. I talked with people at the airport who had been queueing already over four hours in a queue that looked like it wouldn’t be sorted any time soon. I’ve since lost my gold level, so I am not looking forward to when that happens again.
Jarmo @ Arctic Nomad recently posted something special..I Thought I Knew Coffee – Lessons from Knockbox
Once you get statused, you can never go back to being a commoner again!
well, the airlines I stick with are mostly Asia routed
Best Economy Service, Economy Seats, & VIP Lounge Food: EVA (12 years with them)
Best Premium Economy Service & Airplane Food, VIP Lounge Services offered: JAL (1 year)
Friendliest Yet Within Budget: China Airline (2-3 years)
Annie-FootTracker recently posted something special..Oops May Be Next Time ~ Japan Edition
Yeah, status is pretty important, which is why I am sticking with only 1-2 airlines just to rank up XDD
Annie-FootTracker recently posted something special..Taiwan (12) Bookstore For Thought @Taichung
Who’s you’re airline of choice?
Between you and Alec Baldwin, American Airlines is getting a pretty bad rap lately — deservedly! Non-status really is pretty bad on most airlines. That’s why I always try to fly United. I don’t know if the airlines will ever try to improve their customer service, but thanks for being a voice for us all!
Cathy Sweeney recently posted something special..A Quieter Side of Prague
By the way, I beat Alec in my Words with Friends match with him. The guy doesn’t know to maximize points by using the Triple Word tiles.
I have had a few baggage problems… and the only times it was fixed or I was reimbursed was when I had travel insurance. United has offered me a voucher before… but nothing else. Also- I really don’t like American Airlines. I have stopped flying them even if they are cheaper because the customer service is so bad and I have had too many times when they have been out right rude to me. Not again, not again!
jade recently posted something special..Filming with The Travel Channel: Day One
Yes, travelers have to buy insurance now because companies don’t take care of our property enough to return them in decent condition.
I have not had any bad airline experiences yet, but I’m sure they are coming. The way they throw those bags around, it’s no wonder they get damaged a lot.
Scott – Quirky Travel Guy recently posted something special..January links: Scenic beauty in Hawaii, Utah, Niagara Falls
Your turn will come soon enough my friend.
Ben,
I have had some problems with United and had no status. United was quick to make things right. They have changed flights for me with no change fee and they even compenstated me one time with a $100 flight voucher.
Wow! Kudos to United. Though I’d say you’re situation is the exception, but not the norm. Let’s hope they continue to move forward in this direction!
Oh, Ben, this post is AWESOME!!!! Brilliant in fact. And, yet, funny. I like how you did that. This is a hot topic and can easily get tempers flared just thinking about the inequities, BUT your titles and commentary were quippy enough to give some comedic relief. Oh, and you’re informative too, showing you’ve spent a lot of time in the air…
Courtney Mroch recently posted something special..Can You Help? Paranormal Group Collecting Donations to Benefit Cancer, Veterans & Mental Health
Thank you Courtney. Between banks and airlines – customer service is just embarrassing. I seriously want to smack these companies sometimes because their logic is well.. illogical.
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