When Arlene Morzinsky tried to check in for her recent JetBlue Airways flight to New Orleans, the airline told her that her business wasn’t welcome.
SERVICE
Hey travelers, is it better by bus?
It’s difficult to understate the rarity of Shannon Lee’s complaint. It’s almost as unusual as the topic of this story: bus travel.
No visit from Terminix, but they sent a bill anyway
Renee Delk insists a Terminix technician didn’t visit her home. Terminix’s records say otherwise. So who’s right?
The high cost of great customer service
Consider what happened to Virginia Bibliowicz’ father, who rented a car from Budget recently. Shortly after he picked up the vehicle in Knoxville, Tenn., he suffered a heart attack and died.
“When my sister and her husband returned the car later, Budget refused to let them pay the charges,” she says. “I think Budget and this rep should be commended, and they will certainly always have our business.”
Yes, customer service really is circling the drain – here’s what to do about it
You’ve probably heard your parents or grandparents say it — heck, maybe you’ve said it — but other than vague memories of the way things were, you had no proof.
Well, now you do.
A new survey by Arizona State University reviews historical data on the customer experience going back to a 1976 White House study. It found the amount of people reporting customer problems climbed from 32 percent in the 1976 study to 45 percent in 2011, and then 50 percent in 2013.
Maybe good airline service is possible after all
She remembered what happened to her on a domestic flight not so long ago, when she was recovering from rotator cuff surgery. Centanni, a retired government employee, wondered if one of the flight attendants could help with her carry-on bag.
“Ask one of the passengers,” the airline employee snapped.
So when a Cayman Airways attendant met her at the door without any prompting, offering to carry her luggage and stow it in the overhead compartment, she couldn’t believe it.
“I was amazed,” she says.
Does this “disgusted” passenger deserve a full refund?
They say their seats are unique products, and loathe the idea of “commoditization” which says all seats are basically the same. At the same time, they’re unwilling to promise these amazing seats in writing. (In fact, most contracts won’t even guarantee your flight will run on schedule or even you’ll be offered transportation.) And they’re more than willing to overlook their uniqueness to sell you a codeshare ticket on another airline.
All of which brings us to Sandra Dekoj and her case against Hainan Airlines. She asserts that her travel agent sold her a seat on a spanking new Hainan 787, but that she ended up flying on a dilapidated Airbus instead. And that package, which included a one-night hotel stay in Beijing, did not meet her expectations.
She wants a full refund, and she wants me to help her get it.
Secrets for getting the very best customer service
It’s even more rare — on the order of man-bites-man — to find a proven way to extract the very best service from employees.
I won’t mince words. Men are not biting men.
But a series of recent stories and one reader’s experience give me hope that it’s possible. In other words, you could get superior service every time you go to the store or log on to your computer to go shopping.
Decoding service-speak: 5 employee insults you need to know
Fortunately for these employees, they’ve developed a secret lexicon of words and phrases that can only be interpreted in one way by the general public, but that to them mean something quite specific and often insulting.
For example, let’s say you’ve just boarded a flight and you’re sending a message from your phone as the cabin doors close. Flight attendants are roaming the aisle to ensure all seatbelts are fastened and electronic devices are turned off.
Just as you hit “send” and start powering down your smartphone, you feel a hard tap on your shoulder and see a grimacing crewmember looming over you.
Are you a whining customer? 3 ways you can tell
Crybabies rarely get what they want, and even when they do, they end up looking ridiculous. If you don’t believe me, just spend a few minutes reading the comments on my consumer advocacy site. Or watch this video of a woman who missed her flight.
Enough said.
When it comes to getting the customer service you deserve, you don’t want to be whiner, but a winner.