Delta
Air Lines Has a Secret Weapon for Delighting Customers. It's Something Every
Business Should Copy
If you're going to pay
people to respond to tweets, empower them to solve problems and make people
happy.
BY JASON ATEN, TECH COLUMNIST@JASONATEN
Photo: Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images
I know that most
people don't think highly of having to talk to customer service.
That's true for almost every type of company, though I suspect that--generally
speaking--airlines are near the top of the list, right below cable companies.
Part of the problem is
that if you're calling customer support, it's probably because something has
gone wrong with your trip. It's probably because your flight has been canceled and you're stuck in an
airport somewhere instead of lying on the beach, as you
intended.
For a long time, if you
were flying Delta, the best way to handle a situation like this wasn't to pick
up a phone to call. Even if you're a frequent flyer with access to special
phone numbers, there was a better way. That's because one of the most
underrated customer service experiences was sending a direct message to Delta
Air Lines' Twitter account.
I've told the story before of being on a
flight with a maintenance issue that was going to delay us enough that I'd
likely miss my connecting flight. Seated next to me was someone with Delta's
highest status, known as Delta 360. The gentleman was on the phone with some of
the airline's best customer service representatives trying to be
rebooked.
I, on the other hand,
did not have such status, but I did have a secret weapon. I knew that I could
DM Delta's Twitter account and that they were some of the best customer service
agents, anywhere. Before the gentleman with uber-high status was able to
complete his phone conversation, I had been successfully rebooked on another
flight, all using Twitter.
During the pandemic,
however, Delta's social media support disappeared almost entirely--or, at
least, that's how it seemed. If you sent a direct message, you'd receive an
automated response to reach out to the company using one of its other channels.
The problem was, those channels were not nearly as fast, and often not as
helpful.
Yes, it was convenient
that you could chat via Messages on your iPhone, but as people started
traveling again, it wasn't uncommon to have very long wait times to get help.
It makes sense that the company would need to consolidate its support staff
into the channels most people were using, but the unfortunate effect was that
one of the best customer service experiences anywhere turned into one of
the worst.
A Delta spokesperson
told Inc. that "during the pandemic, we made strategic adjustments to our
resources across all customer care channels to best support our customers and
people. While we never fully stopped offering support on social channels, we
have focused on strengthening our social customer care team with a vast set of
knowledge so that we can serve customers on their preferred channel and offer
the welcoming and caring service they expect from Delta."
It's also true that
during the pandemic--like a lot of companies--Delta offered employees early
retirement in an effort to reduce staff expenses at a time when people were
staying at home, without having to go through layoffs. One unfortunate side
effect is that you often lose some of your best and most experienced people
when that happens.
Now, however, Delta has
quietly been helping customers on social media again. The airline has a team of
30 or so agents that monitor social channels for @mentions and are able to
respond and handle issues. Many of them have previous experience in various
areas of Delta's support organization and receive additional training. As a
result, the company is able to both fix problems and make people happy on a
platform otherwise known for doom scrolling.
Look, Twitter is still
mostly a dumpster fire, but if you look past the arguing over whether Elon Musk
should make his dog the CEO, it's actually a very useful platform for
connecting with companies and brands. It's especially useful for customer
support.
Brands tend to be very
conscious of how they are represented on social media. No company wants lots of
unanswered complaints hanging out there on the internet, so they tend to pay
attention when people post things publicly. The lesson here, however, is that
instead of just paying people to monitor and offer generic replies, staff your
social media team with the very best of the best.
Unlike other support
channels, like email, messaging, or call centers, what happens on social media
is public and is one of the most important representations of your brand. It's
worth the investment to make it a world-class experience for your customers.
That's exactly what Delta has done, and it's very good news for all of us.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Friends,
Is there a place on PCN where I could place a notice of jobs available that may be of interest to retired pilots?
Instructor positions are open at CAE in several training centers.
Best regards,
Bert Colter colterbb@gmail.com
Editor: Bert, you just did it!
If interested, look up CAE Training to learn more about training
opportunities for retirees.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Delta named World’s Most Admired Airline by Fortune
Staff
Writer
Feb 1, 2023
2:15pm
Delta has been named the World’s Most Admired Airline by Fortune, with
the company ranking No. 1 across the board in the industry for values including
innovation and people management. Delta also rated higher than any other
airline on the overall list of Most Admired Companies, climbing to No. 12 this
year.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the
Delta team on being named on Fortune’s list of Most Admired Companies for the
10th year in a row,” said Delta CEO Ed Bastian. “This award is a huge
testament and a recognition of all their hard work, their dedication and their
success. It’s no surprise that they are consistently recognized among the
best.”
Read more: https://news.delta.com/delta-named-worlds-most-admired-airline-fortune
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Opinion
piece by a vaccine skeptic editor……If this offends, don’t read it!
Since you
are choosing to read the following please keep in mind I am just one and in
many ways like you who has my own set of values, characteristics and OPINIONS. You may not share any of my thinking on this
subject and that is ok since it has nothing to do with flying and we all VARY in
our OPINIONS about life. Generally
speaking though, the High Life tries to concentrate on topics that may be of
interest to our large group. On occasion
something is shared that does or doesn’t float your boat. Actually, that is ok too. Read on if you wish or pass it by……the PCN
and HighLIfe will go on either way to serve a great pilot group.
Well, I
knew when I published the EKG article in HL 346 that there probably might be
some negative response. Bob asks me to
fact check more before I publish, and Steve wonders why I share such BS. So from the nearly 3000 member PCN, I got these
2 responses.
In HL 346 shared
article on the FAA EKG I mistakenly allowed the inference that there was an age
change because of the covid pandemic and/or the injury that has occurred with
some from the CV19 vaccine. The age hasn’t
changed but the parameters for an acceptable report have. Here below is the last update for the EKG
requirements:
+++++
So I
apologize if I inferred or allowed the inference that there was an ‘age’ change
for the EKG. What the gist of the
article in HL 346 was that the “goal posts have moved.” Meaning that the parameters
have widened and become looser.
In the October 2022 version of the FAA Guide for Aviation
Medical Examiners, the FAA has quietly widened the EKG parameters beyond
the normal range (from a PR max of .2 to unlimited). And they didn’t widen the
range by a little. They widened it by a lot.
Well, for all, including those that are
aligned with idea that the experimental vaccine couldn’t possibly be reason why
these parameters have changed, here is what caught my eye and the reason WHY I
published Tony’s share; the FAA has moved the goal posts for EKG parameters widening
the range by a lot. ……..for a reason! Again,
WHAT IS THAT REASON? With a range this
big few will ever get grounded with known heart related issues. Obviously there is something that has caused
them to widen the parameters. What could
it be? Allow me to add a little
background. We have all been through a
lot in the last 3 years and the entire world population has been heavily
pressured to take an EUA vaccine that has now proven not effective and, in my
opinion, not very safe. I personally
know 2 cardiologist whose businesses are through the roof with unprecedented
numbers. I bet if you know a
cardiologist or two they would share that their practice is also seeing
unprecedented patient numbers. When my guys were asked if it is the vax or
covid? They both said without any hesitation that it is definitely one or the other or both! Now
think about that for a minute. Heart
arythmia, myocarditus, congestive heart
failure and heart attack all happening through the roof and at earlier and
earlier ages and the extraordinary increase in numbers are reasoned by my
cardiologist acquaintances as either covid or the vax or both. With that as a personal back drop to why I
would allow Tony’s story to be published, it is simple. My feeling is that inquiring minds need to be
exposed to a number of theories as to the why that these numbers are spiking
and why more and more pilots (civilian and military) are having heart issues? So
when the FAA widens the EKG acceptable range substantially, there has to be a reason. Since I have 4 close friends dealing with
heart related issues that all suddenly appeared and they have all shared personally
with me what they think caused it. Knowing them all like I do I accept there
analysis as being valid and I agree with them what the reason is. If you look at the government’s own VAERs
data base, these two local cardiologists, my 4 friends, and the many other cardio pulmonary issues
that have happened in your circle, then it is easy to see that something isn’t
normal. Why did the FAA relax the EKG
parameters only after there were vastly increased numbers of heart related
issues amongst those screened and in the general population? If
you wish to write something down, without salty language, to share your own
opinion with the PCN on this topic I will faithfully publish it. When long time baselines change, like EKG widened
acceptable parameters, inquiring minds would like to know why and lacking a
convincing statement from the FAA for the reason theories abound. Thanks for letting me share my reasoning and
what has helped shape why I my skepticism remains high regarding the EUA CV19
vaccine.
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