When did customer service became a cost of technological advancement? This past weekend I flew with American Airlines and was very dissatisfied with their check-in process. As I strolled up to the ticket counter I was halted by the hand of an A.A. employee. With extreme attitude she asked me if I already had my boarding pass, I simply replied "No," and she ushered me outside of the ticket line to a row of kiosks. Apparently, American Airlines will have nothing to do with you until you have paid your bag fee and acquired your boarding pass through one of the kiosks. That is of course unless you are flying First Class. Also, please tell me why I have to check in through a kiosk, then get in another line to receive my luggage tags from an A.A. employee. Why couldn't the employee help me in the first place?
I love the generation in which I live and I am fortunate to have technology as such a large factor in my life, but that does not mean that I would choose to operate with machines rather than people.
The A.A. employee approached everyone after me with the same snooty attitude. That is no way to attract business or to keep business. Customer Service should not be lost in a time where machines are replacing people. Customer Service should be even stronger in that situation because of the lack of person-to-person interaction.
If it is my choice, I will not fly American Airlines in the future. I place a high importance on customer service and definitely did not receive that through their airline. I like to be comforted and assured that I am in the good hands of a good company when I am thousands of feet above ground. I like to be greeted with a smiling face and an optimistic attitude, and to depart with a sincere "thank you for flying with us today." I like receiving my in-flight instructions from a person over the intercom who will make the monotonous routine funny and interesting, rather than listen to a voice recording. I like not having to pay for the first bag I check-in. I like employees who are enthusiastic about their jobs, who want to make their company the best it can be.
I like Southwest Airlines.
1 comment:
That is ridiculous! I recently flew Continental and Frontier and everyone with their team was very helpful and nice. There is no reason you should not have been able to use the desk if you wanted, they have the same programs.
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