But the airlines do a poor job of giving out information about delays. This creates what I call, a flightmare, where you are stuck in an airport with no idea of what's happening to your flight. This lack of information produces upset customers and burned out employees. Here are some free tips for the airlines for how they can improve the situation and gain more customer loyalty.
1. People like information. Your passengers are sitting in the terminal using laptops, Blackberries, and cell phones. They like to be connected to things. Not telling them anything is not good and don't just rely on an overworked gate agent to have all the answers. Set up a position designed to deal exclusively with flight delays. Information comes through them. Or have that person work behind the scenes but have their updates sent out instantly through the LED screens that are at each gate.
2. Explain processes. Let people know how you do business when faced with delays and how it will affect them. People like to know there is a procedure being followed. Let us into your world and I think you'll find we can be pretty forgiving of problems.
3. Don't overpromise. If a delay is likely to be an hour, say that. Don't say it will only be 15 minutes, let that amount of time pass, and then say it will be 15 more minutes. That gets old really fast. If you don't know how long the delay will be, say that. Building anticipation is good for customers but not delivering on that promise will create a hostile crowd very quickly.
These are good rules to follow in any business. How you handle challenges will help build customer loyalty.
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