#56 How British Air’s Customer Care Is Mired in the 1950s

Issue #56 – Tuesday, June 4, 2019

http://dennyhatch.blogspot.com/2019/06/57-how-british-airs-customer-care-is.html

  Posted by Denny Hatch

How British Air’s Customer Care
Is Mired in the 1950s 
 

Just back from our 5^th fascinating Viking river cruise: Budapest to Bucharest on the Danube.
     The American Airlines flight direct to Budapest was mercifully uneventful.

The Return Flight to Philly Was a Zebra—

An Old Horse of a Very Different Color 

On Thursday, May 23^rd, we were in a Heathrow Terminal 5 waiting room. On the apron below were six of British Airways’ fleet of 57 old Boeing 747-400s (built 1988-2005). They were slated for U.S. destinations—Philly, Austin, JFK, Dulles, etc.

     At noon we were invited to board our 12:40 Flight BA 67. When we reached the narrow jetway the line of people wasn’t moving. Suddenly two “engineers” with yellow vests and hardhats rushed past us. In short order we were ordered to return to the waiting room.
     A “minor problem” resulting in a “slight delay” was announced.
     Three hours later it was decided that two guys in hard hats were not capable of fixing a fuel leak (presumably with Gorilla tape). The flight was canceled and we were turned loose into the mayhem of Terminal 5 to fend for ourselves.

Heathrow Hell

Above is the British Air customer service

desk where we spent the next 2-1/2 hours. 

It was as though this situation had never before arisen in the history of British Air—a canceled flight with no others available, the need for a hotel room, meals and a re-booking for the morrow’s flight.
     Here was 1950s customer care at its most primitive: long lines of distressed passengers dealing with harried British Air ground personnel. The technology: telephone calls, busy signals and interminably long waits. The British Air staff members were nice as could be, but trapped in a broken system. Example: it took a half hour to produce a voucher for the shuttle bus to the hotel.
     After 7 hours in Heathrow hell—(and 10,240 steps later according to Peggy’s Apple wristwatch)—we at last had our luggage and were aboard a rattletrap bus crammed with people and suitcases, backpacks and carry-on’s heading for delivery to the cluster of hotels ringing the 4.74 square miles of Heathrow property.

KLM's Wizardry at Schiphol

Is Slam-Damn-Dunk Miraculous! 

Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport has the stranded-passenger scenario down to a gnat’s eyebrow. The automated, computerized system has 100 amazing Transfer kiosks scattered throughout the airport is dazzling.

http://dennyhatch.blogspot.com/2018/09/25-dealing-with-customer-misery.html
 
• This is Artificial Intelligence at its best—machines that serve, sooth and reassure harassed, scared travelers.

• An automated system does not get tired, cranky and desperate for a smoke or bathroom break while interacting with stressed-out, confused victims of a cancelled flight. 

• The Schiphol eliminates the need for human intervention and saves big money as well as passengers’ sanity. A klutz of any age can work it. Live help is available, but seldom needed.

• Every major airport in the world should implement this magnificent business model.

The Renaissance Hotel, Heathrow—a Little Bit of Heaven!

It was a bumpy 20-minute ride in the jam-packed shuttle bus. Once at the hotel, we were warmly greeted. A special desk was set up to handle flight-cancellation victims. Check-in was smooth and quick. We were given vouchers for dinner and breakfast and a room key.
     The room was clean, comfortable and contained a fine hot shower, flat-screen TV, instant coffeemaker and mini-bar. Dinner was fine: I had an Indian curry dish and Peggy opted for a gorgeous fish-‘n’-chips. She ate every bite.

The 20-minute shuttle bus ride made me believe the hotel was several miles from Heathrow. Actually our room overlooked an active runway. I felt comforted being close to Heathrow.

Lessons for Marketers

• The next morning, the hotel driveway was chock-a-block full of tour busses.

• The demographics of this clientele: relatively upmarket tourists and travelers.

• The breakfast buffet was lavish and the dining room filled with guests. The hotel was doing a land office business.

• Flight cancellation victims did not choose that hotel. We fetched up there by circumstance.

• And… we were relieved and damned glad to have a nice place to stay. I have no idea what the room rates were. British Air was paying.

• For Renaissance, this was free money. They did no marketing to get us there. Our stay was the result of a busted plane and the airline’s ineptitude.

• For Renaissance, this was substantial business. The checkout desk clerk told me this had been a light night—only 45 passengers were there with flight cancellations. He told me sometimes as many as 400 rooms are taken as a result of cancelled flights.

• A bonus for the hotel chain was being able to make disgruntled guests so satisfied they would remember the experience with pleasure and consider booking Renaissance on future travels. Plus there was the word-of-mouth factor.

• In this case, Renaissance—along with a slew of other hotels in the Heathrow area—had cut a deal with various airlines to guarantee help in the event of screw-up and turn Customer Relationship Misery into Customer Relationship Magic (aka CRM).

• Whatever the business model, savvy marketers are constantly on the lookout for unique—and often hidden in plain sight—sources of additional revenue. 

P.S. More Heathrow Hell

The following a.m. we boarded another creaky old 747 bound for Philly We were on time and cleared for departure, whereupon we were forced to sit around for 4 hours in a sweltering cabin while the “engineers” fiddled with problems.
     After 11-1/2 effing hours inside an old 747 we arrived back in Philly 4 hours late. The landing was so rough I thought for a moment we had crashed. (I can't blame the pilot; by then he must have been a basket case.)
     A number of folks missed important connections—weddings, funerals and meetings.

Takeaways to Consider

• When you screw up, it is imperative to make it right for the customer immediately.

• If you start losing customers (who can write nasty reviews online), you are on a treadmill to oblivion.

http://dennyhatch.blogspot.com/2019/04/49-don-jackson-on-how-to-wow-customers.html

• "Times of adversity and customer screw-ups may be the only times when you can really show your customers how much you love them."
   —Malcolm Decker, Freelancer, entrepreneur

• When traveling long distances with myriad connections for an important event, speech or cruise, consider leaving a day early. If the flight is delayed, you're covered. If you arrived a day early, you can relax, maybe do a bit of sightseeing and hey! you're on your way to getting over jet lag!

###

Word count: 982