Customer experience determines whether a business succeeds or fails. This essay examines a customer service case study with Southwest Airlines. It connects this occurrence to a 2019 article by Sara Staffaroni, which clarifies many facets of customer experience, as well as the Hotel Taj case study about client retention and CRM (Yoon, 2019). Through these case studies the essay will thoroughly address the significance of excellent customer service and offer a wonderful experience in a cost-effective and timely manner. Finally, the case study will discourse about how, as a hospitality management expert, I would have handled the issue with aircraft #399.
Management of customer service is crucial for airlines. The provision of high-quality services and meeting passenger requirements are essential objectives for airlines (Yoon, 2019). If a company does not provide services, there will not be enough money to pay the bills. As a result, travelers’ needs should be satisfied. Passengers’ complaints may result from subpar service. However, these criticisms could be used to improve the company. In the event involving flight #399, this was not the case. This situation may have been influenced by a number of factors, including leadership, poor crisis management, communication and service culture, and insufficient customer service training.
Several passengers who boarded the Southwest Airlines flight were involved in the incident. The pilot decided to make an emergency landing in New Mexico when he became aware of a problem with the cabin pressurization. After the landing, Nelly, Boris, and Kathy spoke with airline employees and came across Nicole, a harsh and disgruntled passenger service worker (Yoon, 2019). Nelly sought to talk to Nicole’s boss, Sean, after she realized Nicole wouldn’t help them. But the boss was just as impolite as his employee. Finally, Nelly was able to talk with a different boss, who was empathetic and contrite. He was successful in assisting the three buddies in getting where they were going.
In accordance with the Hotel Taj case study, the institution (hotels) must concentrate on implementing CRM (Customer Relation Management) techniques to store, gather, and seek the valid information, as well as share and verify it across the institution (Singh & Yadav, 2020). This will increase profitability and improve customer loyalty and satisfaction. The hotel industry is a fiercely competitive, lucrative, and expanding field. The hotels should put their attention into maintaining positive relationships with customers and meeting their demands if they want to compete successfully (Singh & Yadav, 2020). The institutions are gradually focusing on customer loyalty and retention while using CRM to increase revenues and sales. This study looked into how CRM is used in the hotel industry.
Comparison of the Sources
The purpose of the study was to determine how CRM affects customer loyalty in this sector. The Taj Hotel in New Delhi served as the research site. (Singh & Yadav, 2020) The main objectives were to determine whether CRM practices in institutions had an impact on customer retention, whether these practices had short- and long-term financial effects, how much or how little effective CRM results in customer satisfaction, and whether or not hotel services catered to customers’ wants and needs. It was discovered that most hotel staff members had a favorable opinion of CRM techniques. The benefits of CRM that are mentioned raise client happiness and retention. The customer service experience is always crucial in determining the success of the business since it determines satisfaction and retention among customers in both the hotel and airline sectors, despite the differences between the two industries.
A positive customer experience entails surpassing or fulfilling the client’s expectations at each engagement with the business, according to Sara Staffaroni’s essay (Lafrenière, 2019). According to the report, avoidable churn caused by a bad customer experience loses American businesses roughly 137 billion dollars annually (Lafrenière, 2019). Additionally, 73% of US customers said that while making purchasing selections, the customer experience is very important (Lafrenière, 2019). As a result of one unpleasant encounter, 95% of customers have taken action (Lafrenière, 2019). In both case studies, two essential components are needed for a successful customer experience management strategy: immediate feedback (across the entire consumer experience) and data analytics for bridging the gap between customer expectations and perceptions of the current experience being provided.
In conclusion, various industries have been under constant scrutiny in recent years for their consumer service methods. Following a number of high-profile incidents, travellers have become more cautious about interactions between clients and airline staff. In the end, it is imperative that any company maintain and regularly review its crisis supervision action plans, service culture, leadership, and staff training. There was need to make sure that the three traveling companions had access to the necessary information on their flight schedules and destinations as an expert in hospitality management. They need to have been made aware of the changed flight itinerary and the required accommodations following the emergency landing. It would also be important to provide them with the ability to comment on how the customer service was delivered and suggest ways to make this service better.
Apology Letter
Southwest Airlines
2299 Love Fields Dr
Dallas, TX 77689
03 Dec 2022
Mrs. Kathy Mathews
564 Middle River Str
El Paso, TX 76569
Dear Mrs. Mathews
Please accept my sincere declaration of remorse on behalf of the Southwest Airlines Company. I regret learning that your support for Nicole and Sean, our traveler administration experts, was not quite enough. They need to have approached the situation differently and sent your request to a person in a more powerful position. Their conduct was abhorrent, and I comprehend how disappointing it is when somebody who is supposed to be working for you responds indecently. We accept full responsibility for the situation and can see why Nicole and Sean’s solution did not meet your expectations. Our traveler management professionals have supplied a set of compensation guidelines that they must abide by in this circumstance. We will figure out a means to prevent the situation from happening again in the future. First of all, we are organizing more training sessions for client care call professionals. To re-connect with a customer on a lost or missed call, we shall demand that our personnel collect contact information from each client.
Please know that a situation like this will not ever happen again. We have put in place new mechanisms that will ensure that anyone who needs to speak with a senior employee in any capacity will be moved immediately as of right now. Our clients are encouraged to speak with anyone inside the company, all the way up to high-ranking management. I regret that we provided you with subpar administration and hopeless customer knowledge because it is exactly the opposite of what we value. We value our customers and understand how crucial it is to provide outstanding assistance. As a token of our gratitude, we have offered you full credit and a voucher good for 10% off your subsequent trip. We are really grateful for your patronage and anticipate that you will continue to be a valued customer. Kindly let me discern if you have any more worries or inquiries, and I will be glad to answer them.
Sincerely
Dana White
Customer Relations Manager
whitedana@southwest.com
References
Lafrenière, D. (2019). Why is customer experience so important? Delivering Fantastic Customer Experience, 5–14. Web.
Singh, A., & Yadav, A. K. (2020). A study of material management policies in chain of Hotel Industry (a case study of Taj Hotel). International Journal of Trade and Commerce-IIARTC, 8(2). Web.
Yoon, S.-J. (2019). A study on the quality of service and customer loyalty of airline’s crews and the status of airline’s use. Korean Journal of Hospitality & Tourism, 28(6), 145–163. Web.