Business View Magazine September 2018

2 3 H From the Editor Here at Business View Magazine , we talk to hundreds and hundreds of busi- nesses a year and constantly get tutored on what constitutes good customer service, as well as the importance about standing behind one’s products and services. One industry that talks a good game, but consistently tends to come up short, is the airlines. Americans love to travel, but often say they hate the airlines on which they do. That fact has been illuminated, once again, by the University of Michigan’s American Customer Service Index, a 24-year-old ranking of how good – or bad – a job U.S. companies operating in 45 different industry sectors do when it comes to satisfying their customers. Airlines remained mired in the bot- tom 20 percent of U.S. companies – as they have been since the first report was issued in 1994. In fact, this year, air- lines ranked as the eighth-worst sector in terms of customer service. Whether it’s lost luggage, a missed connection, getting bumped (or dragged) from a flight, the major airline companies have, at best, a checkered history when it comes to customer service, and it seems that almost everyone has an airline horror story. Here’s mine: Recently, my daughter, who is a Peace Corps volunteer in Macedonia, booked a flight home for Christmas. The advertised price for the round trip was $800 split between two airlines – one American, which I’ll call Company A, and one European, which I’ll call Company B. When I called Company A to pay for the flight, I was told that the price was no longer $800, but was now $1,058. I complained to the agent, but was told to call Company B, because it was their legs of the travel that were not yet “con- firmed.” I did call Company B, and was told that there were still seats available on those flights, but since the travel was booked through Company A, I needed to contact them. I contacted Company A, again, and was informed that since it did not have what it called a “seamless” relationship with Company B, it had no guarantee over pricing, and that, at the present time, “no seat was available at that code.” However, if I wasn’t happy, it would allow me to cancel the booking within 24 hours. I complained that that wasn’t the point. The point was that a price was advertised, but it turned out not to be real, which meant that the two airlines were guilty of a classic “bait and switch.” A price was posted, my daughter booked the flight at the posted price, but that price really never existed. Company A blamed Company B, and Company B blamed Company A. Neither one was willing to take respon- sibility for their blatant deception or the way the system allowed them to collude with no consequence, and, at this point, no recompense. Yet, it’s my contention that somebody owes me $258. I decided to bug Company B, because it was the one that actually switched its prices. I posted a complaint on its website and received an apologetic response, asking me to fill out a com- plaint form, which I did, and informing me that someone from its “feedback team” would soon get back to me. Since that time, I have posted several more complaints, and each time, I get a short response apologizing, thanking me for my patience, asking me to repeat the confirmation number of my complaint form, and promising to get back to me. This has gone on for several weeks, with at least a half dozen back and forths, but no one has really responded with anything other than empty promises about future contact. At this point, I’m not expecting any. It seems their MO is simply to wait me out with disingenu- ous apologies. There is not one company that we have spoken with over the past several years that would ever condone this type of poor customer care. In most instanc- es, a business that displayed this type of shoddy service would be out of business in jig time. And yet, it seems that it is standard operating procedure for much of the airline industry. So much for “the friendly skies.” I suppose the only good news is that I get to see my daughter at Christmas. That’s certainly worth the extra $258. Al Krulick Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief Al Krulick Associate Editor Lorie Lee Steiner Vice President of Operations Lauren Blackwell Research Directors Paul Payne Brendan McElroy Josh Conklin Lisa Curry Matthew Mitchell Christian Combes Digital Strategist Jon Bartlow Alyson Casey Director of Administration Creative Director Dana Long Vice President of Business Development Erin O’Donoghue Vice President of Publishing Andre Barefield CGO Alexander Wynne-Jones COO Brian Andersen Executive Publisher / CEO Marcus VandenBrink USA Canada Caribbean Oceania Email for all inquiries: info@businessviewmagazine.com WWW.BUSINESSVIEWMAGAZINE.COM 12559 New Brittany Blvd Fort Myers, 33907 239.220.5554 CONTACT US Home. Find your local Coachmen dealer today! 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