The day after the night before: how should AF regain passengers' trust post-strike?
#31
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Seat 1A, Juice pretty much everywhere, Mucci des Coins Exotiques
Posts: 34,339
For how long are "things back to normal?" I have always tried to avoid AF (for two reasons: I hate CDG and the French strike too often) and will continue to do so. I just hope the French airplane drivers, AF management and the French politicians will not bring down KLM.
#32
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Programs: KL Gold, SQ KF Gold, CX Green
Posts: 9,373
#33
#34
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Hong Kong, France
Programs: FB , BA Gold
Posts: 15,495
Indeed, and because when you face a situation of almost certain reputational damage and want to implement a corrective measure, you should just be a bit too generous rather than a bit too mean.
For that same reason, I would also personally not favour doing things which are simply targeted at French residents and not others. Others who have been disrupted by the strike will see it on the website or hear about it and say: "gosh, and nothing for me while I had to cancel my trip? What a cheek!" I think that in terms of "damage control", you have two strategies - either you individualise based on actual problems, or you cast the net as wide as possible. To me, doing in between based on probabilities while some French residents have not been affected at all and some foreign residents have been affected a lot would simply not make sense.
I think the message must be "we are so so so sorry" and it needs to be clear enough that everyone willing to hear will understand it!
For that same reason, I would also personally not favour doing things which are simply targeted at French residents and not others. Others who have been disrupted by the strike will see it on the website or hear about it and say: "gosh, and nothing for me while I had to cancel my trip? What a cheek!" I think that in terms of "damage control", you have two strategies - either you individualise based on actual problems, or you cast the net as wide as possible. To me, doing in between based on probabilities while some French residents have not been affected at all and some foreign residents have been affected a lot would simply not make sense.
I think the message must be "we are so so so sorry" and it needs to be clear enough that everyone willing to hear will understand it!
There are two separate issues. Proper treatment of affected pax, French or not, and that includes compensation either in the form of money or miles (I am not talking about a few thousands but a few 10,000s). Of all the people that I know who were affected (to and from HKG), only one knew that he could claim 600. As we all know, this was never advertised on AF website, only on some obscure press release dated 15 September on the corporate website. It would be stupid for AF to play hide and seek and not volunteer the compensation.
The forthcoming campaign to regain goodwill can be targeted, but there is no reason to only target those affected. Given the media coverage and the images of stranded pax, AF badly needs to regain the trust of all pax, not only those that got affected. And the campaign can be different whether the tickets originate in France, Europe or far away.
#35
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: AA Plat, UA 1K>Plat>moving to Silver
Posts: 2,067
Who was on holiday during this strike? Not many people I would suggest. Schools were all in session, right? I think that the lions share of people who were put out by the strike were business people. Business people who travel a lot know that most all airlines strike (LH is having another strike as I post this) and they will go back to booking whatever airline/route makes sense logistically or price-wise.
#36
Join Date: May 2005
Location: EUR
Programs: FB Plat./BA Gold (thanks BD)/A3 *Gold/HH Diamond/A Club Gold
Posts: 918
[QUOTE=stimpy;23602702]Who was on holiday during this strike?QUOTE]
[QUOTE=stimpy;23602702]Who was on holiday during this strike? QUOTE]
Just about every retired person I know, plus as many people who can possibly avoid taking holidays in August as possible (why pay twice as much for an overcrowded experience spoiled by other people screaming children...).
However, we actually agree. Many more business travellers (AF's bread and butter) were impacted than tourists, however the impact on Business travellers is less and AF has apparently been good at minimising impact and regular travellers are much better equipped to deal with disruptions without it being the end of the world.
Unfortunately on the news however I have not seen one passenger interviewed who was carrying a briefcase. They were all infrequent flyers making for a vocal media impression, which in turn, amplifies the impact of this as being far worse than it really was and giving a negative impression to many people who in fact might not even have been flying during that period.
The damage here is that once again the clichs of French people, always on strike, AF unreliable, etc., etc. are back tenfold and that is what AF needs to address.
FWIW - this year I have already spent three nights at the Sheraton Frankfurt courtesy of Lufthansa (and I have *G status). AF, one way or the other has always got me were I need to be on the date I needed to be there... But will people ever think of LH as unreliable compared to AF, not likely....
[QUOTE=stimpy;23602702]Who was on holiday during this strike? QUOTE]
Just about every retired person I know, plus as many people who can possibly avoid taking holidays in August as possible (why pay twice as much for an overcrowded experience spoiled by other people screaming children...).
However, we actually agree. Many more business travellers (AF's bread and butter) were impacted than tourists, however the impact on Business travellers is less and AF has apparently been good at minimising impact and regular travellers are much better equipped to deal with disruptions without it being the end of the world.
Unfortunately on the news however I have not seen one passenger interviewed who was carrying a briefcase. They were all infrequent flyers making for a vocal media impression, which in turn, amplifies the impact of this as being far worse than it really was and giving a negative impression to many people who in fact might not even have been flying during that period.
The damage here is that once again the clichs of French people, always on strike, AF unreliable, etc., etc. are back tenfold and that is what AF needs to address.
FWIW - this year I have already spent three nights at the Sheraton Frankfurt courtesy of Lufthansa (and I have *G status). AF, one way or the other has always got me were I need to be on the date I needed to be there... But will people ever think of LH as unreliable compared to AF, not likely....
#38
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: FB Plat for life
Posts: 730
received this email from AF today
Dear Sir/Madam,
The strike action which started on Monday 15 September has finally come to an end. We would once again like to offer our sincere apologies for the difficulties caused by this situation.
Beyond dissatisfaction, many of you have sent us messages of encouragement and support for which we thank you most sincerely.
As this conflict has affected your activities and your lives, we owe you an explanation.
The air transport market has changed, your travel habits have changed and it is up to us to adapt. There is increasing demand for low-cost flights in Europe and France, and while our offering was insufficiently adapted to this segment, our competitors have been taking advantage of this growth.
We are now going to step up development of Transavia, the Air France-KLM Groups low-cost airline in order to compete with our rivals on a level playing field. This project is vital for our Group, which is why, even if we made every effort for the strike to end as quickly as possible, we had no choice but to move forward with this plan.
The development of Transavia in France is good news for you as, in addition to Air France and HOP!, we plan to extend our product line and better meet the needs of customers seeking low fares while taking advantage of the quality services provided by the Air France-KLM Group. This will also be the opportunity for you to discover new destinations.
The development of Transavia in France is also good news for the French people, as the project will create 1,000 new jobs, including 250 for pilots.
Our strategy is to offer you a wide range of services, including low-cost and very high premium products, for both your professional and leisure trips. We will therefore be progressively introducing our new long-haul cabins, bringing you the Companys best products and services.
With the support of all Air France staff, we are pleased to welcome you back on board our flights and will make every effort to regain your trust.
Dear Sir/Madam,
The strike action which started on Monday 15 September has finally come to an end. We would once again like to offer our sincere apologies for the difficulties caused by this situation.
Beyond dissatisfaction, many of you have sent us messages of encouragement and support for which we thank you most sincerely.
As this conflict has affected your activities and your lives, we owe you an explanation.
The air transport market has changed, your travel habits have changed and it is up to us to adapt. There is increasing demand for low-cost flights in Europe and France, and while our offering was insufficiently adapted to this segment, our competitors have been taking advantage of this growth.
We are now going to step up development of Transavia, the Air France-KLM Groups low-cost airline in order to compete with our rivals on a level playing field. This project is vital for our Group, which is why, even if we made every effort for the strike to end as quickly as possible, we had no choice but to move forward with this plan.
The development of Transavia in France is good news for you as, in addition to Air France and HOP!, we plan to extend our product line and better meet the needs of customers seeking low fares while taking advantage of the quality services provided by the Air France-KLM Group. This will also be the opportunity for you to discover new destinations.
The development of Transavia in France is also good news for the French people, as the project will create 1,000 new jobs, including 250 for pilots.
Our strategy is to offer you a wide range of services, including low-cost and very high premium products, for both your professional and leisure trips. We will therefore be progressively introducing our new long-haul cabins, bringing you the Companys best products and services.
With the support of all Air France staff, we are pleased to welcome you back on board our flights and will make every effort to regain your trust.
#39
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Somewhere between 0 and 13,000 metres high
Programs: AF/KL Life Plat, BA GGL+GfL, ALL Plat, Hilton Diam, Marriott Gold, blablablah, etc
Posts: 30,348
I received it too and find it a complete waste of space. For all the many things I may have been interested in hearing from AF, some vague propaganda on how great their Transavia plan is is certainly not one of them.
I actually find it in extremely poor taste that as passengers are worried about returning to normal traffic, avoiding future strikes, and whether one can safely book AF tickets or not and how things will be handled if another conflict arises, not to mention wounds of past travel plans, they are effectively avoiding all those issues to score points on that plan of them.
It simply served to remind me of how, while I think AF customer service handled the strike well, Gagey and de Juniac have pretty much been as useless and autistic as the pilots in the past two weeks.
As far as I'm concerned, this letter does not rebuild my trust but on the contrary dent it because it shouts at me that the first consideration is some internal company game and not the passengers ( again!)
I actually find it in extremely poor taste that as passengers are worried about returning to normal traffic, avoiding future strikes, and whether one can safely book AF tickets or not and how things will be handled if another conflict arises, not to mention wounds of past travel plans, they are effectively avoiding all those issues to score points on that plan of them.
It simply served to remind me of how, while I think AF customer service handled the strike well, Gagey and de Juniac have pretty much been as useless and autistic as the pilots in the past two weeks.
As far as I'm concerned, this letter does not rebuild my trust but on the contrary dent it because it shouts at me that the first consideration is some internal company game and not the passengers ( again!)
#40
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: Eurostar Carte Blanche, SBB-CFF-FFS GA-AG, SNCF Grand Voyageur LeClub
Posts: 7,831
The day after the night before: how should AF regain passengers' trust post-strike?
See now why I put communication on top of the list of things to do to rebuild trust?
Of course I did not mean just any communication. It should be communication that puts customers at the centre, not the company. The wrong communication can destroy trust even further, and as we see with orbitmic it just happened.
Oh well...
Of course I did not mean just any communication. It should be communication that puts customers at the centre, not the company. The wrong communication can destroy trust even further, and as we see with orbitmic it just happened.
Oh well...
Last edited by San Gottardo; Sep 30, 2014 at 12:12 pm
#41
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: CDG/AMS
Programs: FB Plat for life, FB PC, M&M FT, Hertz President (+ many low tier cards)
Posts: 2,777
Yeah I agree with all of the above concerning this email. When I saw it in my inbox I thought there would be some words targeted at regaining trust. No such thing. Great for the new jobs that are created in France. But how do I get confidence in the future as a very frequent AF passenger with all that blahblah?
#42
Join Date: May 2011
Programs: FB plf; IB oro; LA black
Posts: 457
Yeah I agree with all of the above concerning this email. When I saw it in my inbox I thought there would be some words targeted at regaining trust. No such thing. Great for the new jobs that are created in France. But how do I get confidence in the future as a very frequent AF passenger with all that blahblah?
Last edited by saraoutou; Oct 1, 2014 at 5:50 am
#43
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Hong Kong, France
Programs: FB , BA Gold
Posts: 15,495
#44
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: PDX
Programs: Delta Diamond, AF-KL Flying Blue life Plat. Hertz Plat., Marriott & SPG Platinum.
Posts: 12
#45
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: 🇸🇬 🇭🇰 🇫🇷
Programs: Many
Posts: 4,749
I received another message from AF, this time in relation to my BlueBiz account :
Message Direction Gnrale Commerciale Air France
Cher Client,
La grve dclenche lundi 15 septembre vient enfin de s'achever. Nous vous renouvelons nos sincres excuses pour les difficults occasionnes par cette situation.
Par-del le mcontentement, un grand nombre d'entre vous nous a adress des messages d'encouragement et de soutien. Nous tenons vous en remercier chaleureusement.
Parce que ce conflit a perturb les activits de votre entreprise et les dplacements de vos collaborateurs, nous vous devons des explications.
La demande pour les vols low costs connait une croissance rgulire en Europe et en France, et tant que notre offre adapte ce segment tait insuffisamment dveloppe, cette croissance ne profitait qu' nos concurrents.
Nous allons maintenant acclrer le dveloppement de Transavia, la compagnie low cost du groupe Air France-KLM. Ce projet est vital pour notre Groupe c'est pourquoi mme si nous avons tout fait pour que la grve s'arrte au plus vite, nous n'avions pas le droit d'y renoncer.
Le dveloppement de Transavia en France est une bonne nouvelle pour les Franais, car ce sont 1000 nouveaux emplois, dont 250 de pilotes qui vont tre crs.
En parallle, nous continuons investir bord de nos avions Air France et KLM en introduisant de nouvelles cabines long-courrier, vous proposant le meilleur des produits et services des deux Compagnies.
Avec l'aide de l'ensemble de nos personnels au sol, bord et de nos quipes commerciales nous sommes heureux de vous accueillir nouveau sur nos lignes et de poursuivre notre partenariat dans le futur.
Patrick Alexandre
Directeur Gnral Commercial Air France-KLM
Pierre Descazeaux
Directeur Gnral France Air France-KLM
Cher Client,
La grve dclenche lundi 15 septembre vient enfin de s'achever. Nous vous renouvelons nos sincres excuses pour les difficults occasionnes par cette situation.
Par-del le mcontentement, un grand nombre d'entre vous nous a adress des messages d'encouragement et de soutien. Nous tenons vous en remercier chaleureusement.
Parce que ce conflit a perturb les activits de votre entreprise et les dplacements de vos collaborateurs, nous vous devons des explications.
La demande pour les vols low costs connait une croissance rgulire en Europe et en France, et tant que notre offre adapte ce segment tait insuffisamment dveloppe, cette croissance ne profitait qu' nos concurrents.
Nous allons maintenant acclrer le dveloppement de Transavia, la compagnie low cost du groupe Air France-KLM. Ce projet est vital pour notre Groupe c'est pourquoi mme si nous avons tout fait pour que la grve s'arrte au plus vite, nous n'avions pas le droit d'y renoncer.
Le dveloppement de Transavia en France est une bonne nouvelle pour les Franais, car ce sont 1000 nouveaux emplois, dont 250 de pilotes qui vont tre crs.
En parallle, nous continuons investir bord de nos avions Air France et KLM en introduisant de nouvelles cabines long-courrier, vous proposant le meilleur des produits et services des deux Compagnies.
Avec l'aide de l'ensemble de nos personnels au sol, bord et de nos quipes commerciales nous sommes heureux de vous accueillir nouveau sur nos lignes et de poursuivre notre partenariat dans le futur.
Patrick Alexandre
Directeur Gnral Commercial Air France-KLM
Pierre Descazeaux
Directeur Gnral France Air France-KLM