Air Canada dropped the ball....BIG TIME!!!
Oct 29, 2014, 6:30 pm
#46
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Toronto
Programs: AC*50K
Posts: 137
Oct 29, 2014, 9:40 pm
#47
Join Date: May 2012
Location: BKK/SIN/YYZ/YUL
Programs: DL, AC, Bonvoy, Accor, Hilton
Posts: 2,917
In the end it is not AC's responsibility to provide "free" travel, it is a kind/good gesture. Just because a friend/family member passed away and the "world is watching" it doesn't mean that you should get everything for free or people will do anything for you! What about other people? People die everyday!
During this time of grief there are better things to thing about and reflect than complaining about a fee. This is very lame and a new low!
Once in a while I support AC decisions and its rare!
During this time of grief there are better things to thing about and reflect than complaining about a fee. This is very lame and a new low!
Once in a while I support AC decisions and its rare!
Here's an illustration: When is the last time you have seen a blog or travel writer offer a sincere love letter to AC? Johnny Jet the Travel Insider (TM) had this to say about Delta in a rather lengthy entry about a flight he was on where a deceased soldier's casket was in cargo.
Delta Flight 2255 from Atlanta to Los Angeles seemed to be an ordinary flight with the exception of Candy, who was the most loving flight attendant I’ve ever encountered. Besides using her southern charm to quickly defuse every situation, she began her welcome announcement by thanking the handful of uniformed soldiers on-board for serving our country. Her poignant message was followed by applause and put into perspective that none of us would be able to do what we do if it wasn’t for these brave men and women
The Lazy Vagabond offered up, Why I love Delta Airlines.
Some would say the prose it is over the top, but the question I ask is where are similar reports or stories for AC? And before you counter with a phooie, and dismiss it as USA based ra-ra talk, I direct your attention to
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/list...and-then-some/ WestJet: Friendly skies and then some More loved than Apple. One can criticize West Jet for many things, but it has a strong and supportive fan base. It is an airline that has worked hard to cultivate those warm feelings. I'm not picking on AC, because Air Transat amd Sun Wing are often lambasted for poor customer relations. In the USA, AC's mentor United is even worse.
How a business responds to a PR issue is an indication of the value the airline puts on its brand image and how it wishes to be perceived by its customers. Time and time again, AC has bungled basic PR. IMO, it is a company that cannot manage a crisis. I saw it first hand during a weather related delay at YYZ. Ineptitude and lack of leadership on the ground distinguished my experience. Unfortunate events happen, and I recognize that often it is not the airline's doing. However, how an airline responds especially when it knows well in advance that a weather system will cause a problem at YYZ, speaks volumes. Some airlines have a culture of the senior executives responding fast and taking responsibility: Jet Blue, Singapore and Virgin are examples. Other airlines have executives who seem to demonstrate a clueless indifference to their customers' travel experience (Thai Airway and Air France are two of the most notorious examples that come to mind).
Please consider the big picture.
Oct 29, 2014, 9:57 pm
#48
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2014
Programs: AC SE100K-1MM, NH, DL, AA, BA, Global Entry/Nexus, APEC..
Posts: 18,877
For many people, the issue is how the "crisis" was handled. This event was not well managed. The story grew legs and has caused some additional reputational damage to an airline that has seen its once beloved position eroded over the years to the point where there is real animosity for the airline. You may not see it, but it's there. AC is self inflicting the damage. Each small event is minor, and somewhat inconsequential, but they add up such that the cumulative damage is serious.
Here's an illustration: When is the last time you have seen a blog or travel writer offer a sincere love letter to AC? Johnny Jet the Travel Insider (TM) had this to say about Delta in a rather lengthy entry about a flight he was on where a deceased soldier's casket was in cargo.
Delta Flight 2255 from Atlanta to Los Angeles seemed to be an ordinary flight with the exception of Candy, who was the most loving flight attendant I’ve ever encountered. Besides using her southern charm to quickly defuse every situation, she began her welcome announcement by thanking the handful of uniformed soldiers on-board for serving our country. Her poignant message was followed by applause and put into perspective that none of us would be able to do what we do if it wasn’t for these brave men and women
The Lazy Vagabond offered up, Why I love Delta Airlines.
Some would say the prose it is over the top, but the question I ask is where are similar reports or stories for AC? And before you counter with a phooie, and dismiss it as USA based ra-ra talk, I direct your attention to
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/list...and-then-some/ WestJet: Friendly skies and then some More loved than Apple. One can criticize West Jet for many things, but it has a strong and supportive fan base. It is an airline that has worked hard to cultivate those warm feelings. I'm not picking on AC, because Air Transat amd Sun Wing are often lambasted for poor customer relations. In the USA, AC's mentor United is even worse.
How a business responds to a PR issue is an indication of the value the airline puts on its brand image and how it wishes to be perceived by its customers. Time and time again, AC has bungled basic PR. IMO, it is a company that cannot manage a crisis. I saw it first hand during a weather related delay at YYZ. Ineptitude and lack of leadership on the ground distinguished my experience. Unfortunate events happen, and I recognize that often it is not the airline's doing. However, how an airline responds especially when it knows well in advance that a weather system will cause a problem at YYZ, speaks volumes. Some airlines have a culture of the senior executives responding fast and taking responsibility: Jet Blue, Singapore and Virgin are examples. Other airlines have executives who seem to demonstrate a clueless indifference to their customers' travel experience (Thai Airway and Air France are two of the most notorious examples that come to mind).
Please consider the big picture.
Here's an illustration: When is the last time you have seen a blog or travel writer offer a sincere love letter to AC? Johnny Jet the Travel Insider (TM) had this to say about Delta in a rather lengthy entry about a flight he was on where a deceased soldier's casket was in cargo.
Delta Flight 2255 from Atlanta to Los Angeles seemed to be an ordinary flight with the exception of Candy, who was the most loving flight attendant I’ve ever encountered. Besides using her southern charm to quickly defuse every situation, she began her welcome announcement by thanking the handful of uniformed soldiers on-board for serving our country. Her poignant message was followed by applause and put into perspective that none of us would be able to do what we do if it wasn’t for these brave men and women
The Lazy Vagabond offered up, Why I love Delta Airlines.
Some would say the prose it is over the top, but the question I ask is where are similar reports or stories for AC? And before you counter with a phooie, and dismiss it as USA based ra-ra talk, I direct your attention to
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/list...and-then-some/ WestJet: Friendly skies and then some More loved than Apple. One can criticize West Jet for many things, but it has a strong and supportive fan base. It is an airline that has worked hard to cultivate those warm feelings. I'm not picking on AC, because Air Transat amd Sun Wing are often lambasted for poor customer relations. In the USA, AC's mentor United is even worse.
How a business responds to a PR issue is an indication of the value the airline puts on its brand image and how it wishes to be perceived by its customers. Time and time again, AC has bungled basic PR. IMO, it is a company that cannot manage a crisis. I saw it first hand during a weather related delay at YYZ. Ineptitude and lack of leadership on the ground distinguished my experience. Unfortunate events happen, and I recognize that often it is not the airline's doing. However, how an airline responds especially when it knows well in advance that a weather system will cause a problem at YYZ, speaks volumes. Some airlines have a culture of the senior executives responding fast and taking responsibility: Jet Blue, Singapore and Virgin are examples. Other airlines have executives who seem to demonstrate a clueless indifference to their customers' travel experience (Thai Airway and Air France are two of the most notorious examples that come to mind).
Please consider the big picture.
Outstanding! Thank you.
I would also add:
What type of relationship does a company choose to have with its customers? Are you pro-active, or reactive; are you welcoming to your customers or do you treat them as adversaries or annoyances to shoo away?
I am perpetually baffled by the poor way AC communicates to the people who pay them for a service. Why is it that I can call DL Customer Service and a real person answers the phone? Why does AC hide behind an online form on their website where emails are often not answered?
The perception I get is that AC runs its business where the customers are adversaries. Obviously not all customers and not all the time. We have all had experience with great phone agents, or GAs or FAs, SDs, concierges etc. As individuals, there are many shining stars. But the company itself often seems to go out of its way to make some of us feel like bugs on a windshield. Why is that?