The Airline Customer Service Quandry

I speak often about providing the best possible service to customers. To me, having a positive impact on customers is one of those intangible benefits of being in the service industry. I have to remind myself that I was once one of the employees that people complained about and although I have found fantastic ways to help people rediscover themselves and the spirit of service, I must also empathize with those in service positions that have become disillusioned.

So what are some of the reasons why service personnel, airline personnel in particular, are finding it hard to provide warm and caring service? Let’s take a look at a few right off the top of my head.

Employee Burnout


Unhappy airline employees are not about a bunch of spoiled, whining, entitled, individuals complaining about their pay and benefits. The truth is most employees of the airlines started out excited about their jobs and motivated to do what was necessary to satisfy the customer. What has happened over the last decade or so is a result of a continuous assault on their feeling of security and trust in these giant organizations; add onto that the changes the entire world has had to endure because of 9/11. We cannot forget that 9/11 had a much harder psychological impact on airline employees because of the specific assault on the airline industry. Both before and after this tragic event, airline people have had their wages cut, benefits reduced, work rules tightened, and retirement stripped or adjusted drastically. Many of these workers have invested many years into their careers and made financial sacrifices to keep their employers afloat in exchange for promised future returns. While their paycheck continue to remind them of their ongoing sacrifice they have witnessed company executives being showered with multi-million dollar bonuses. Of course airline workers are not the only people to go through a belt tightening at work, but the difference is that while these things are happening, they are on the front lines dealing directly with customers. All too many times, it is the customers who unjustly feels their anger simply because they have so much contact with them.


I believe that things will continue to become tenser at legacy carriers especially as union work groups begin to negotiate for pay raises to bring them back to pre-concession levels plus adjustments for cost of living, etc.

Lack of Customer Service Training


In the airline industry, you would expect that customer service training would be delivered regularly. I can tell you first hand that this is not the case as I have been with a mAAjor airline for years and have received only one customer service training designed for the rank and file flight attendant. Labor/management tension aside, there is still a huge need to arm customer service employees with skills that will allow them to more effectively deal with common customer service issues. At this point, most employees are operating with skills they have developed at the "school of hard knocks". I have been on task forces to create large scale customer service training projects only to have them canceled for "financial reasons" or due to union protests against the programs. On the latest task force, the flight attendants union complained about the training because of the fact that the millions that would be spent on the training program would be improper given the compensation their membership had given up. I agree that training should be delivered to those that deal with customers, but I can’t help but understand the union’s position as well.


Unmotivated and Fearful Airline Management


Managing a legacy carrier in the face of rising fuel costs and increased competition from discount carriers is not an easy job to say the least. Improving customer service, wonderful as it sounds, really has not been a top issue due to the fact that customers seem to be motivated more by price than anything. Airplanes are flying full, even at the airlines with the worst customer service ratings. Add to that the affinity passengers have to frequent flier programs and executive have less reason to take on customer service issues since travelers are virtually "glued" to the airline they fly most. Also, I believe upper management has a fear that customer service training would add fuel to the fire in regards to employee protests against executive salaries and bonuses. Honestly, would you feel a need to make any waves if you were receiving multi-million dollar bonuses? I know I would not be so quick to!


So even though you think management at legacy airlines should be putting millions towards improving the condition of their fleets or even purchasing new planes; in actuality they are opting to do just barely enough to keep the planes moving.


Customers Forced to Support a Broken System


Load factors are at record highs right now. Even if customers made their choice of airlines based on the quality of service, many would have very few choices due to the lack of seats. This situation is only temporary and eventually those airlines that are not delivering a quality product will suffer. Air travelers are going to have to demand a higher level of service or move to carriers that are; even if it costs a few dollars more. Most major airlines have created customer service departments to improve the situation, but these programs are very slow to address the employees that have the lowest morale. Instead these programs are mainly touching the employees that are already delivering the best service since they consist mainly of those employees that volunteer to take part. It is becoming more and more apparent that the customer service programs currently in place at several legacy airlines exist simply to weaken efforts by the public to enact a Passenger Bill of Rights. By creating these customer service programs, airlines can claim to the government that they are “policing” themselves; which would negate the need for legislation.


Choices Have to be Made


As an airline worker, I can tell you that if I think about the state of the industry too much it can get pretty depressing. I had to come to the realization that my attitude cannot be based on the actions of others including management. I had to decide that my attitude is a choice based on my desired quality of life. There are many of my coworkers that have discovered this and many that are still stuck in a place of anger and resentment that is not allowing them to live the way they really want to and in turn do their best at work.
The complexity of this issue will have us talking for years to come. The truth is that customers should never have to suffer due to problems with labor and management, but we cannot escape the human emotional factor of it all.


Regardless of the reasons, we come to the same conclusion. Customers do not deserve and will not accept poor service indefinitely and will take their business elsewhere if they are not treated appropriately. Will the leadership at the legacies shift priorities in order to change their respective corporate climates and improve the morale of those that deal directly with their customers? Will more and more of those in customer contact positions shield the customers from the battle rather than pull them into it? Stay tuned