A Practical Guide to Airline Customer Service. Colin C. Law
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Название: A Practical Guide to Airline Customer Service
Автор: Colin C. Law
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Маркетинг, PR, реклама
isbn: 9781627346948
isbn:
Figure 1-7: Tangible and intangible products.
Tangible products can be easily matched by competing airlines. Standardized seat pitch and width, hi-tech in-flight entertainment system and delicious meals are becoming the norm within the industry. These lead to airlines competing against one another on the basis of intangible customer services.
How a product is being delivered is as important as the quality of the product. Customers judge the quality of a company mainly based on the service that they get. This is especially so in instances which customers is flying with an airline for the first time. They will often evaluate the quality provided based on the service offered by the sales agent. For example, a customer would like to visit Sydney and has never been there before. This is also the first time he is flying and has no knowledge about making reservations for his first flight. He contacted several airlines’ reservation departments to inquire about his trip. As the airlines are offering similar products at the same prices, he will eventually decide to fly with the airline which the reservation agent offers the best customer service as that is his best point of reference. The excellent service provided by the sales agent has resulted in his confidence in the airline, hence causing him to make the final decision to fly with a particular airline.
Tangible customer service
Product quality
The overall product that a customer purchases is evaluated based on its quality. A product’s quality consists of multiple elements that motivate customers to purchase a particular service from airlines. These elements include an airline’s reputation, safety record and the amenities offered both on the ground and on board an aircraft.
Service environment
This is also known as the service landscape or ambience. It refers to the physical locations where a customer experiences an airline’s products. These may include the check-in counter’s setup, airport lounge’s layout, boarding gate’s design and aircraft cabin interior’s design, just to name a few. The environment also plays a part in influencing customers’ overall perception of the airline and the chances of retaining return businesses. According to a psychological study of human behavior affected by the environment conducted by Albert Mehrabian in 1974, a customer may react in one of either two directions when making a decision: approach and avoidance.4
Approach reactions are generated when customers are satisfied—they are happy with the environment, e.g. state-of-the-art cabin facilities and appealing interior design of the aircraft, and are willing to stay longer or return for future occasions. On the other hand, avoidance reactions are created when customers do not enjoy the surroundings, e.g. crowded and dirty airline lounge. Below are other examples of approach-avoidance factors that customers consider:
The layout and design of the check-in area at the airport has a direct impact on customers’ level of satisfaction.The design of the common and individual queue areas have a direct impact on customers’ waiting time.
Airline lounge service is only available to high-yield customers.The design and the facilities in the lounge will affect customers’ level of comfort while waiting for boarding. Customers who spend their time in the lounge prefer a spacious and private environment for rest or to work.
The boarding process used by the airlines impacts customers’ level of satisfaction.The boarding procedures adopted by airlines include boarding by rows, by zone or by random. Using different strategies has both positive impact and negative impact on passengers’ waiting time at the boarding gate.
The color theme of the aircraft cabin and the background music is instrumental in creating a memorable travel experience for customers.A clean and modern-looking aircraft also helps in raising customers’ level of satisfaction.
Cabin Identify of Thai Airways International
In 2014, Thai Airways rebranded their aircraft and incorporated elements of the Thai culture in their new business class and economy class cabins. Thai teak wood, silk foil, rattan and Thai artwork were used in the cabins to reflect Thai culture and traditions so as to create a strong motif and brand identity.5
Figure 1-8: Airline’s service environment.
The service environment is also dependent on employees’ moods and the quality of the service they provide is often affected by the conditions of the working environment. Therefore, a clean, safe and well-designed environment can have an indirect impact on customers’ level of satisfaction and impression of an airline.
According to Mary Bitner (1992), the service environment consists of multiple factors that affect customers’ satisfaction. These include ambience, use of spatial space, functional congruence, signs and attires.6
Ambience
The ambience refers to the physical environment conditions. This includes all elements related to temperature, humidity, air quality, smells, sounds and light that influence customers’ perceptions. While the ambience at the airport’s check-in lobby is controlled by the airport authority, the airport lounge environment and the cabin environment can be adjusted based on individual airlines’ preferences and needs. The cabin’s temperature, pressure and humidity and lighting are also adjusted according to the time of the day to make the customers feel more comfortable.
Space
All customers prefer to have more privacy and space. The layout design of the check-in lobby, furnishing arrangement in the airline lounge and aircraft cabin setup also affect customers’ level of satisfaction. A waiting area that is spacious and well-designed conveys a sense of openness and vice versa for one that is cramped and littered. An aircraft with too many seats may be unattractive to the customers as even though the airlines may be earning additional profit from the sale of these seats, the amount of space offered to the customers is compromised.
Functional congruence
Functional congruence refers to how well something with a functional purpose fits into the environment in which it serves that purpose. In the instance of an airline, this includes the functioning of the equipment used, the locations where check-in service is provided, availably of check-in kiosks at the airport and the distance from the airline lounge to the boarding gate. These come together to form the entire service experience.
Signs
Clear display signs are extremely important in an airport. While these are already put in place by airports, some airlines do provide their own signs to further assist and direct passengers to the correct boarding gate. In the aircraft, signs are installed to inform passengers when to fasten their seat belts and when they are permitted to use their electronics during the flight.
Attire
As ambassadors and representatives of the airline, it is essential for employees to be well-dressed and well-groomed. Some airlines also implement dress codes for passengers who are accessing the airline lounge as well as boarding of an aircraft. For example, Qantas has enforced the smart casual dress code for customers who wish to access the lounge.7 American Airlines forbids customers who are dressed inappropriately or barefooted from boarding СКАЧАТЬ