Tenacious

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

Atlanta... When a flier is frustrated, it takes just one surly airline agent to give a black eye to an entire company.
And so after a particularly bad year last year in customer service, Delta Air Lines is sending 11,000 agents back to school. Every ticket counter, gate and baggage agent and supervisor is going through renewed training in hopes of rejuvenating Delta's customer service after its merger with Northwest Airlines and a summer of canceled flights left customers stranded.
"Nobody here aspires to being what we were last summer," said Delta Executive Vice President Glen Hauenstein.
In fact, among major airlines Delta finished with the highest rate of customer complaints filed with the Department of Transportation in the first nine months of last year, and was second-to-last in on-time arrivals and baggage handling through November. Delta also had the highest rate of canceled flights among major carriers in 2010, according to FlightStats.com.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...627254652.html

NYC96

Inquiring minds want to know, is it the "employees" who are getting the complaints or the fees, company policies and procedures OR the second to last place in on-time/baggage statistics??

Hmmmmm????

PhlyingRPh

I don't fly DL, but my gut tells me this is among the smartest investments any airline can make. ^

eoinnz

Qantas did the same thing for it's employees over the last year and a bit but for all employees from ground staff to cabin crew to pilots to catering. 18,000 employees completed the one day course in the a new training facility worth $10 million.

http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airl...ence/global/en

midoriw

Good for them.

My sob story: I was a long-time Northwest flyer (literally my whole life - from when I was 3mos old), so I was committed to continue flying on Delta when the merger happened. The customer service was just too terrible to, unfortunately. I was even Platinum at the time, and had been traveling with family members who were Gold and Diamond... You would think they might take more care in treating FF's better.

From ticketing agent mistakes, failing miserably at rebookings and mishandling delays/cancellations, to terrible service inside even the first class cabin, I've just had terrible experience after terrible experience with them these past 2 years. And it honestly has made me sad - It's been like breaking up from a long-term relationship (NW/DL) and wishing you'd seen what someone else (UA) had to offer all along :'(

So to answer, for me (and my family) personally it was all three.

PaperQueen

1+ in a big way.

I can tell in under 30 seconds whether I'm speaking to a Minnesota-based SkyMiles call center or the ones in Salt Lake and Atlanta. If the former, the attitude is upbeat, problems are fixed, and you feel sincerely appreciated. If, however, you end up with SL or Atlanta, your concerns are shrugged off with a "too bad, so sad" approach and you're pretty much left hanging.

Breaks my heart.

Tenacious

^

a7800

I had the opportunity to have a great conversation with a PMNW pilot as our tables were set-up next to one another at a high school career fair.

He was very happy to hear about the affinity I had for NWA and said that he was going to tell his co-workers about it.

He said that he really missed NWA. But to be fair, he was generally positive about the way things have gone since the merger.

mrx900

sheesh,...its about time DL did something about it....

u2fan

I hate to sound cynical, but I have always believed you have to want to give great service - it is something that comes from within: it is not something you can teach in a day: I hope it works though.

FlyingNone

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I feel exactly the same way. One can have all the "charm" in the world but this doesn't come in handy (except for an apologetic tone) when intelligence and common sense are needed instead, i.e., when a passenger needs urgent assistance with a ticketing problem or other vagaries, disappointments, mishaps, circumstances (you know what I mean). I know an agent who is extremely sweet, softspoken, excellent manners and charm yet she doesn't have an ounce of common sense or ability to handle problems "johnny on the spot"; always needs help from other agents....and so it goes.

DenverBrian

I completely agree. The bad news is: we live in an instant gratification society today. Kids grow up believing - in their heart of hearts - that it's all about them getting, not giving, service. Because their parents instill this in them, and that's the teaching that takes.

You have to want to give service. But fewer and fewer of each succeeding generation wants to give service.

traveltravel

The charm factor has been noticeable lately ... language on the phone and in email correspondence has become flowery and appreciative. FlyingNone makes a good point that logic and critical thinking skills are also a necessary part of the service equation. Employees need to feel empowered to make decisions.

FlyingNone

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Right. There are ways to think out of the box without compromising company policy or a fair shake to the customer.

jbcarioca

IME there is no question about it. Delta has been working hard to improve service and the wrok is showing. A year ago I was not enamored of dealing with Delta. Now, even with the horrid IT problems unsolved, the agents do a very good job of working to resolve issues.

Not to be churlish, but the IT problems are visible in everything from Choice Benefits, partner bookings and inventory management. In addition availability itself is a problem. All the agent professionalism in the world cannot compensate. the agents themselves will lose heart if they do not see improved IR support.