The airline industry hasn’t had a good reputation when it comes to customer service. Be it long queues, hours on hold, and back-and-forth emails, most customers don’t have a particularly important experience with the airline industry. Therefore, airlines must reinvent how passengers view airline customer service by providing top-notch customer service to gain customer loyalty and trust.
It is important for airlines to improve their customer service because it leads to increased customer loyalty. The correlation between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty is an obvious one across all industries and most people would prefer to rebook with an airline because of a positive customer experience.
Furthermore, great customer service can also help an airline stand out among the competition. Even if an airline is not performing well on logistical factors, it can make up for its customer customer satisfaction. Therefore, airlines must come up with ways to improve their customer service. For this reason, we have listed below some ways by which airlines can improve their customer service.
Speed Up the Check-in Process
Check-in is one of the biggest concerns for customers of all ages. Be it a leisure trip or a business trip, people want to have check-in convenience so that they can get on board easily. Airlines need to realize this and develop time-efficient methods that can speed up the entire customer check-in process. This would save both the customers and employees valuable time and make the customers more satisfied with the service.
One of the ways by which airlines can make this happen is by using mobile apps that can aid passengers throughout the boarding process so that the entire process of checking in and boarding is as simple as it gets for passengers.
Communicate Properly
Airlines also lack proper communication with their passengers, so most passengers are unhappy about it. By communicating proactively, airlines like JAL, can solve most of the problems of their passengers and increase their satisfaction level. This involves communicating with the passengers about their baggage status, reminding them to bring the necessary documents to the airport, and informing them about any changes in flight time.
Such communication can create a smoother and more positive experience for the customers, which would ultimately lead to improved customer satisfaction.
Go Above and Beyond
Going above and beyond can help you in improving your customer service in any industry. It has been estimated that airlines can lose up to $1.4 billion by not prioritizing their customer service. By going above and beyond the standard customer service, airlines should provide something unique and original to their customers to let them know they care about them and their customer experience.
By being unique and going beyond the normal experience, airlines can gain a massive competitive advantage. There are multiple airlines including Alaska Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and Korean Airlines that go the extra mile, provide unique offerings, and exceed the expectations of their passengers.
Ask for Feedback
Another way by which airlines can improve their customer service is by asking for feedback from passengers and acting upon it to improve their services. One of the best ways to know what your customers would want to improve about your services is by asking them and there is no one better to give honest feedback and firsthand insight than a passenger who has traveled with your airline.
Therefore, airlines must ensure that they are taking regular and frequent feedback from their passengers and acting upon it to improve their services. It should be kept in mind that the process of providing feedback should be simple and completed in just a few seconds so that it is convenient for passengers to provide feedback.