I often get stuck on Delta airlines because of the links with Air France. I detest Delta. It's one of the worst airlines in the business anywhere in the world and I've flown on quite a few of them. The problem has less to do with the customer facing team and more to do with the generally low standard of quality. The people at Delta are almost always as pleasant as I've ever met in the industry. Maybe not Singapore Airlines, but who is? If anything, they tend to be embarrassed with the low standards. Quit flying old planes with outdated equipment and sub-standard food. Even for the airline industry, I wouldn't feed it to the neighbors cat who rummages through the trash can. Quit kicking down and start looking at the corporate problems that start at the top.
The Atlanta-based airline hopes customer-service classes will help its staff lose the 'tude, and bring back service with a smile.
But Delta has a long way to go before passengers will forget its abysmal record in 2010. During the first nine months of last year, Delta recorded the highest rate of customer complaints with the Department of Transportation. It finished the year with the highest rate of canceled flights. And, as of November 2010, it was ranked second-to-last for on-time arrivals among major carriers. "Nobody here aspires to being what we were last summer," said Delta Executive Vice President Glen Hauenstein.
So, as part of a $2 billion improvement plan, the airline is sending its ground staff to finishing school. All employees who come face-to-face with travelers - that includes ticketing agents, gate agents and their supervisors - must attend a one-day session where they engage in role play scenarios with angry, confused and lost customers. Scenes involve late-arriving passengers who will likely miss their next flight and travelers with lost luggage that contains important medicines. Apparently some staff need to be taught that the goal is to assist customers, not to pass them on to someone else.
