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A few weeks ago, @BryanGStephens (sorry Bryan, can't find the link) wrote a post about customer service (focusing on the lack thereof). So let me tell you about my day yesterday...
First of all, airlines texting you about flight delays and gate changes is wonderful. And I will happily use the Internet instead of a human to solve any problems. But that only works if the websites and apps are actually working. I think we've entered the age of computer systems being too heavily relied upon while at the same time, those same systems are unreliable.
Yesterday, I got a text that my flight from Austin to Las Vegas, with a stop in Denver, had been delayed three hours. First time on this route I've booked a flight with a stop, but because there was no plane change, the three-hour delay from Austin didn't scare me. All I had to do was reschedule my shuttle from Las Vegas to St. George, UT.
The plane took off from Austin per the new departure time and landed in Denver. About a dozen people didn't deplane; like me, they were booked all the way to Las Vegas. A flight attendant finally told us to leave; thinking we just had to deplane, then get on again, we all left. Only to see that the plane we had been on was now heading to San Antonio. We were directed to Frontier Airlines customer service and told it was between gates 34 and 35 (we were at gate 1). As I began the long, long walk to find the customer service desk, I noticed even numbers were on the left, odd on the right. By the time I got in the 30s I was convinced I had been directed to some mythical place like Platform 9-3/4.
I eventually found the customer service desk. Upon arrival, I got in line behind nine others. There were three people working the computers. Two women arguing with at least one customer service person at a time, quite often two. That's because they had dealt with every agent, and when they had been handed over to another agent, the original agent often had to interject to correct what was being said.
I quickly made friends with two former Air Force gentlemen (about 30 years old?) and we entertained ourselves for the 90-minute-plus wait eavesdropping, then passing the info back to the poor people in line behind us, which was growing by the minute.
What we gathered: the two women had been thrown off their flight and had missed two flights on which they had been re-scheduled. They were now being asked to pay $75 to get on the next flight. Whenever it was mentioned that they had been thrown off the flight, the negotiation started all over again with comments like: you can't prove it, you don't have video, I never said that, I didn't do that, there are no witnesses, blah blah blah. And then we were off to the races again. And they were not paying, no way no how.
The woman doing all the yelling was heavily accented; it was the consensus that she was speaking Arabic (or some non-romance, unfamiliar language). Yelling woman was about 40; the quiet woman looked a little older.
What I noticed: the woman doing all the yelling and negotiating was being unreasonable in tone and body language and was treating the customer service people like dirt; however, when she spoke to her companion in whatever language they shared, she was laughing and smiling.
I finally concluded that she was having the time of her life and thoroughly enjoying herself.
When it was finally my turn, I greeted the poor customer service gentleman with a big smile. He cheerfully got me on the next plane to Las Vegas, which had thankfully been delayed for three hours. Twice while he was helping me (what's with the interminable typing???), the ladies crowded into my space to continue their conversation with the guy who was helping me; I finally had to throw an elbow and a death glare. They were constantly asked to move aside, only to get loud refusals: I'm not moving! Then all smiles while they chit-chatted to each other.
The customer service guy upgraded me, assigned me a great seat and gave me a free drink voucher. I met the Air Force guys in the bar for a beer, then excused myself to find a quiet corner to watch the debate on my phone.
I know about 12 people who have flown in the past few weeks. More than half of them have had to deal with delays and computer problems (including me, with a three-hour delay on the tarmac due to a defective door sensor (!) on the way to Texas, and then again yesterday on my return journey). What took me over two hours to get sorted with an agent yesterday should have taken five minutes using the Frontier App or webpage, but both were down. My daughter's last two flights were delayed due to a computer glitch with baggage. My sister was delayed, then re-routed due to some other computer glitch. We've replaced glitchy people with glitchy computers.
Also, I don't know what happened to the two women. They were still there arguing when I walked by the customer service desk an hour later. I am convinced they were having the time of their lives, at the cost of making miserable the customer service agents and every person in line in need of help.
PS: My journey finally concluded in Utah at 3:30 am. I've given up trying to figure out hours spent due to all the time changes; suffice it to say I felt as though I had walked the entire way, and I'm pretty sure driving would have been quicker.
Discussion (24)
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Great post.
I know only that--as frustrating as the customer service experience on this side of the pond can be, and how often my blood-pressure escalates to dizzying heights as a result--I'm so glad I'm not in the UK.
My sister's experiences are so much worse.
Most of the time--in the US--such inconveniences are the result of accident, or incompetence, or they are the result of people tripping over each other and doing a poor job of communicating, but generally in a good-willed sort of way. And it's almost always possible--eventually--to find the problem-solver in the haystack, if you're persistent enough.
As far as I can see from my sister's experience (and taking into account a fair amount of my own, when it comes to supporting my family elders in their later years when they needed help with many things), Britain is full of "Jobsworths" who are committed to deliberately obstructing and making difficult any attempt to resolve a customer-service problem. This goes all the way from local government, to the NHS, to the roads and the trains, to those entrusted with public safety like the police, and--only then--to private companies whose agenda also seems to be to make things as inconvenient and burdensome as possible for their clientele.
Things can always be worse. And, some places in the world, they already are.
Full disclosure: some of my most treasured memories (and a few lifetime friends) have come from my most horrific "customer service" debacles. I'm not suggesting such debacles should be applauded. I am suggesting that, sometimes--if one chills a bit--one can find the small opportunities in one's minor crises.
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JY and I downloaded an App in Scotland last year that we relied on heavily for transportation. trains, busses, ferries. It was accurate and effective - something that we have never found "customer service" people in Scotland to be.
When I lived in Scotland in the late 70s, I was appalled by how difficult it was to get anything done. In my travels there in years hence, things have gotten worse. I actually stole a pack of razors from an airport there; I couldn't use the self-checkout because they were a restricted item, yet there was no one there to take my money. Similarly, my mother's small pension had been overpaid to the tune of a couple hundred bucks; I visited the office three times and couldn't find anyone to take my money. "You'll never take me alive" is my attitude when I can't pay someone.
And Canada is terrible. I have always said that you could blindfold me and spin me around at the US / Canadian border and I would be able to identify which country I was in based upon my first interaction at a motel or restaurant. My west coast cousins in Canada do as much business as they can in the States.
Agree 100%. I was texting my daughter from the Denver airport bar about my two Air Force buddies and she replied: At least you do make friends wherever you go. And I'm at the point of my life that delays and snafus don't make much difference; I know I'll get there eventually, there's no meetings I need to get to; usually just a kid picking me up on the other side who will be mildly inconvenienced. And I'll always find someone to talk to. And there's always a bar ...
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The single biggest problem in these areas, as with AI in general, is that nobody can get the information out, until someone else first puts it in.
So, let me get this straight, customer service in the UK is worse than here?
Why do the British put up with so much?
Sad.
As for the two women, that is what security is for.
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I have a lot of theories about why the Brits put up with so much; unfortunately it's a very long tale that begins with WWI and probably isn't very interesting. Suffice to say the Brits have lived generations with byzantine regulations and "authorities" of all sorts and are very comfortable with it.
My parents (Scottish immigrants) never really lost the attitude. I had to school my mother constantly that she didn't have to come up with some long-winded excuse about why she was returning something. 1) The salesperson didn't care; 2) it was none of their business.
As for the two women, I saw security called twice; they never showed. At least when I was there. So poor customer service at all levels.
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