Customer Service Surprise
I just ran into the dangdest example of customer service.
We have all heard of the “trip” from hell, but this was the “ticket” from hell. I was trying to buy an airline ticket from either Tri-Cities, TN, or Asheville, NC (depending on schedule and price), to Boston (to see my new grandson), to Reading or Allentown, or Harrisburg, Pa (depending on schedule and price again, for a speech in Hershey, PA), to DFW, then, finally, back to Tri-Cities or Asheville.
If I were a rich man (sounds like a good title for a song), this would be no problem. I’d fly first class on the best schedule (or, depending on how rich, I’d fly jet charter). But I ain’t rich, and this was my money. So I set out to find the cheapest ticket that would meet my schedule.
Delta told me they could not get me from Boston to Harrisburg. They offered no alternative, just said they couldn’t do it. On other airlines it was either the wrong schedule or the wrong price (as high as $1,400 plus).
Then I found the aforementioned example of customer service. Continental sold me a ticket that met all requirements for a grand total of $662. I was amazed.
How did Continental do it? They don’t have a flight into any of the three PA cities on my schedule either, but they do have a solution. They put me on a bus—repeat, bus—for one leg. It is their bus. It leaves from and arrives at the respective airports, and it takes no more time than waiting on and riding an airplane for that leg. Amazing. And look at the price.
They say that the railroads, when they were king in this country, made a tragic mistake—they thought they were in the railroad business when they were actually in the transportation business. Continental seems to realize that they are in the transportation business, and they did what it takes to get me where I want to go. More power to them.
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Paulette–
Aww, thank you so much. I ‘preciate you.
I have long taught that the best customer benefits are those that make a “profit”–meaning that they are more important to the customer than they cost the provider. This seems to be one of those cases.
Surely it must cost Continental less to put me on a bus than to put me on an airplane or not get the job (transporting folks where they need to go) at all. I certainly hope Continental does make a profit on my ticket.
Thanks,
Ralph Hood
I like this article. While I understand the need to publish unkind experiences, the lesson is often lost on the reader. This article, on the other hand outlined the response of all our dreams as service providers and expectation as customers. Kudos to Continental.
Dave–
Thanks for the kind words. When writing anything at all nice about any airline I usually just get attacks from people who hate ‘em all. Nice to get a favorable comment!
Thanks for writing,
Ralph Hood
That’s an amazing story. It encourages my enthusiasm toward Continental merging with United. I’m a very frequent flyer on United. I haven’t yet determined what business they think they are in, although they don’t seem to think they are in the transportation business, or even the airline business. I guess the closest I can come to describing it is that they are in the “Don Rickles” business –the business of insulting everyone in their close proximity. Perhaps Continental can move them toward the airline business, or even the transportation business.