Great customer service comes in many forms
Finding great customer service on the road isn't as hard as it seems. Just pay attention to employees when no one else is looking.
What do the agents behind the counter do when you, their supervisors, and ahem, consumer advocates like me, aren't watching?
Do they go the extra mile even when there's nothing to be gained and without being asked? Or do they throw the book in your face?
It's worth asking, now that the travel industry's customer service report cards have been issued by the likes of the American Customer Service Index and JD Power.
The results were mixed. Some companies performed well, but many didn't. If you fly often, I don't have to tell you.
I receive lots of complaints from readers. But the stories that impress me the most are the ones about companies that do the right thing with little or no prompting. After a recent Viking river cruise, David and Veronica James arrived at the Prague airport to discover their flight home had been canceled. They tried to reschedule their flight, but couldn't.
"Not knowing what else to do, we called the program director of our cruise on the cell number he provided and explained the situation to him," they remember. Even though their cruise had already ended, the director helped get them to the right flight, and in real time. He didn't have to.
Great service means doing more, even when there's nothing in it for you. When a valet backed his BMW into a pillar, leaving him with a $14,000 repair bill, Christopher Kai rented a car from Enterprise. He says he was floored by the experience.
The agent "saw that I was having a really bad day so he upgraded my rental free of charge," remembers Kai, a business coach. "When I returned my rental car a month later, another employee drove me back to the collision center. He was also cordial and professional. It's always the simplest things that most matter in any conversation. Never thought I'd say this about a rental-car company, but from now on, I will only rent from Enterprise."
Perhaps the most impressive stories are the ones about unprompted, spontaneous help. The TSA and airlines, frequent objects of scorn by the readers of this column, showed my colleague Sally Black their compassionate side when she tried to hobble through Boston's screening area recently.
"I slipped on the escalator on the last day of a conference, hurt my leg and cracked two ribs," explained Black, who runs the website Vacationkids.com.
Two JetBlue pilots saw her struggling to get through the checkpoint, and even though they could have whizzed through the line by flashing their IDs, they stopped to help. A helpful TSA agent assisted, too. The pilots saw her to the gate, arranged for her to board early and carried her bag on the plane.
"I was so thankful," she says.
So as you travel this summer, pay attention to those employees who go the extra mile, and reward those companies with your business.
How to persuade a company to do the right thing
• Invoke its contract. Although they may not tell you about them, most travel companies have contracts that outline your rights. For example, your cruise line's ticket contract outlines your rights. Citing the contract is the fastest way to get what you want.
• Appeal to its customer service record. Even the companies with the worst customer service reputations are still in the hospitality business. A gentle reminder that they are in the business of serving people is often all it takes to get the service you deserve.
• Go up the chain. Ask to speak with a manager, and if that doesn't work, send an appeal to the company's corporate headquarters. Eventually, you might get a "yes." (And if you don't, email your complaint to travel@usatoday.com and we'll try to help.)
Christopher Elliott is a consumer advocate and editor at large for National Geographic Traveler. Contact him at chris@elliott.org or visit elliott.org.