Thursday, August 27, 2009

You Know Your Customer Service Sucks When...

This is an Air Canada customer service response to a customer's complaint after the customer was bumped from four straight flights.

"We regret that you were dissatisfied with our response and our gesture of goodwill(the goodwill was 25% discount on the customer's next base fare flight)...while we understand that you are disappointed, we must remain consistent with our handling of similar requests for all customers".

Translation of last line: "We aren't going to do anything for you".

Here is what you should have done Air Canada.

Put the customer up in your Air Canada Lounge.

Buy them dinner and some beverages.

Upgrade them to business class when you finally put them on a flight.

If they are a frequent flyer bonus their account with miles for the inconvenience you caused them.

Offer them a free flight.

And to the tall foreheads at Air Canada, who wrote your customer service policy?

You don't ask a paying customer whom you have left a bad taste in their mouth to spend more money with you by offering a 25% discount on a full fare flight! That's not a gesture of goodwill, its an insult!

Tony Mariani