Interesting (in a good way) reply to a Customer Care email
Oct 25, 2006, 9:01 pm
#1
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Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: PSM
Posts: 69,232
Interesting (in a good way) reply to a Customer Care email
Short version of the story is that I went out to Vegas a few weeks ago for a quick weekend. Weather was horrible and lots of delays. Friend's wife goes to checkin (she was running late, but checkin was still available) and is told not to worry about the long line. She gets to the front of the line and is denied boarding because she got there too late. I spend the next 60 minutes dealing with 2 ticket agents and a red coat who were much less interested in helping than in telling us to come back tomorrow. Finally the station manager fixes the problem, including calling the gate agents who inappropriately released seats to standby pax and closed the flight early and "teaching" them again that they made an error (and getting the 2 other pax we met in the gate area back on the flight as well).
I documented pretty much all of it, including the names of the red coat and station manager, as well as the PC agent I dealt with. I sent it off to CO in a relatively polite, but accurate description of the frustration we experienced. Here comes the amazing part:
I got a REAL response back!! ^ ^
Check this out:
To their credit, they have made the mark in each of the subsequent trips I've taken, including getting a last minute u/g on a changed flight made less than 90 minutes prior to departure. They don't mess up too often, but I'm very pleased to see that when something happens that is completely within their ability to control, they actually seem to indicate that they are willing to put some effort in to fixing it.
And maybe this is just a generic, BS form letter and no one ever reads the monthly reports, but the Customer Care Manager did include the name of the Red Coat in the response, so I know that at least they actually read my message.
Kudos to CO.
I documented pretty much all of it, including the names of the red coat and station manager, as well as the PC agent I dealt with. I sent it off to CO in a relatively polite, but accurate description of the frustration we experienced. Here comes the amazing part:
I got a REAL response back!! ^ ^
Check this out:
Dear Mr. sbm12,
As the manager assigned to address your concerns, I offer my most humble apology for the negative perception we may have caused. Continental Airlines prides itself on being the industry's best at providing you the best service, tailored to meet your specific needs. I am saddened to learn that we missed the mark in your case.
So your concerns do not go unnoticed, I will document your total experience in our monthly Corporate Customer Care report, making sure to highlight your experience with our Red Coat, <name witheld>. The report will be forwarded to senior management for an internal company progress review and appropriate internal action.
Thank you for selecting Continental Airlines for your travel needs. Given the opportunity to welcome you aboard once again, I am confident you will experience the outstanding service and operational reliability we traditionally provide.
As the manager assigned to address your concerns, I offer my most humble apology for the negative perception we may have caused. Continental Airlines prides itself on being the industry's best at providing you the best service, tailored to meet your specific needs. I am saddened to learn that we missed the mark in your case.
So your concerns do not go unnoticed, I will document your total experience in our monthly Corporate Customer Care report, making sure to highlight your experience with our Red Coat, <name witheld>. The report will be forwarded to senior management for an internal company progress review and appropriate internal action.
Thank you for selecting Continental Airlines for your travel needs. Given the opportunity to welcome you aboard once again, I am confident you will experience the outstanding service and operational reliability we traditionally provide.
And maybe this is just a generic, BS form letter and no one ever reads the monthly reports, but the Customer Care Manager did include the name of the Red Coat in the response, so I know that at least they actually read my message.
Kudos to CO.
Oct 25, 2006, 9:27 pm
#2
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Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Bay Area, CA
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Good response!
Usually when I write, I'm not usually interested in compensation, rather the company understanding and doing something to fix/prevent the problem in the future. It looks like you ultimately got through to the right person. ^
Usually when I write, I'm not usually interested in compensation, rather the company understanding and doing something to fix/prevent the problem in the future. It looks like you ultimately got through to the right person. ^
Oct 26, 2006, 8:02 am
#3
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: CLE
Posts: 9,816
Originally Posted by channa
Good response!
Usually when I write, I'm not usually interested in compensation, rather the company understanding and doing something to fix/prevent the problem in the future. It looks like you ultimately got through to the right person. ^
Usually when I write, I'm not usually interested in compensation, rather the company understanding and doing something to fix/prevent the problem in the future. It looks like you ultimately got through to the right person. ^
I am with you Channa. I think it serves all of our best interest to provide constructive feedback and praises to CO as it helps raise their awareness of issues.