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A new emphasis on customer service

December 21, 2005 |

All the major online agencies have recently introduced customer-service initiatives. In response, many of the troubled domestic airlines are upgrading their Web sites and retraining their phone agents to better compete. The net result for travelers could be a better overall customer-service experience.

All the major online agencies have recently introduced customer-service initiatives. In response, many of the troubled domestic airlines are upgrading their Web sites and retraining their phone agents to better compete. The net result for travelers could be a better overall customer-service experience.

But how well are these programs working? None of the online agencies or airlines would share the numbers used to track customer satisfaction. And while there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that the recent preoccupation with customer service has improved the travel experience for some customers, it is probably still too early to declare it a success.

Lorraine Sileo, an analyst at PhoCusWright, a company that does research on online travel, said its research pointed out that customers return to a particular online travel agency for only a few reasons. “People are looking for low fares and a Web site that is easy to use,” she said, “not marketing spin.”

Customer-service programs, on the other hand, are as much a result of a competitive marketing decision as they are reactions to customer feedback, said Paul English, the cofounder of the travel site Kayak.com, who also publishes a Web site (paulenglish.com/ivr) that lists strategies for dealing with company call centers. If there is a problem, he added, it is that travel companies continue to underestimate the level of disenchantment among their customers.

“Customers are enraged,” he said. “They don’t feel as if they deserve to be put on hold for an hour, and then told ‘no.’ Call me a pessimist, but I think it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better.”

Get the full story at The New York Times

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