The recent problems of United Airlines have been well documented and I wouldn’t like to comment on specific incidents – we have all read so much about the passenger being removed from an overbooked flight now that there is little value in adding one more opinion on the story. However, there are some important lessons that can be learned from this, and other recent airline incidents.
In a business like airlines, how the customer feels is important and forms a great deal of the overall customer experience. Many airlines have been struggling financially and have been cutting back on every possible frill and luxury so air travel today certainly does not feel like the exciting experience it used to be.
So customer expectations have been reduced, but so long as an airline offers comfort and safety perhaps that’s enough? I don’t think so. I think there is still room to surprise the customer, even after all the costs have been stripped out of the business and those free glasses of wine are a thing of the past.
Look at this story of how a Southwest pilot held up a departure because a passenger was running late. The passenger would have had no chance to see his dying grandson if he missed that flight and the pilot personally delayed it by not boarding the plane himself. What’s important to note is that the airline supported their employee and said he made the right decision to help this customer – even if it delayed others. They supported the decision of their employee and clearly they empower their team to make decisions that can improve the customer experience.
Contrast this with the response United gave after the passenger removal incident. They talked to the media and blamed the customer for being belligerent. The CEO misread how the public felt when he emailed every staff member saying they did the right thing. This has now led to a constant stream of negative stories about the brand. In many cases, other passenger removals are clearly justifiable, but in the current atmosphere they just add fuel to the fire of a PR disaster.
I believe there are three key steps any brand should take when faced with a challenging situation like the recent incident at United Airlines:
In industries like air travel there is a need for rules and compliance to ensure passenger safety, but there is also room for employees to have enough flexibility to create a great experience for the customer. However, when things do go wrong these three simple steps can avoid a costly PR meltdown and customer backlash. What do you think about these lessons? Leave a comment below and let me know, or get in touch on LinkedIn.
Leading business process outsourcer (BPO), Webhelp, has announced a new partnership with Plan Bee Ltd, with the installation of its first ever bee colony at its customer experience centre in Sheffield. The importance of honey bees to food production has come into sharper focus recently, with greater recognition of the vital role that bees play in either pollinating the many vegetables and...
Webhelp UK, one of the country’s leading customer experience and business process outsourcers (BPO), has proudly announced its sponsorship of ultra-athlete and cystic fibrosis warrior Josh Llewellyn-Jones. It will support him through a series of remarkable fitness...
Lack of cash: all fashion brands are short of cash at some time or another. This was the reason for organising a workshop entitled: "Cash is king - How to optimise cash flow at each stage of your development". It was suggested by the Fédération Française du Prêt à Porter Féminin (French...
Following our publication last year of " The Spring of B2B Marketplaces ": it is time to look back and to answer these questions: has there been some movement in the market? Have B2B players evolved in their marketplace business models? Is launching a new market observatory worthwhile? The answers...
...
Strictly Necessary Cookies
The website requires the use of cookies for essential functional requirements and these are outlined in the terms and conditions.
Enhanced Functional Cookies
Some features of this website use services provided by third parties websites. These features use cookies to implement their services on this website and may collect data about your visit to help them optimize their functionality. The Webhelp terms and contitions outlines the cookies used by these services.