Gripe of the Week: United Airlines Still Hard to Reach?

By Dave Carroll
Founder, Gripevine.com


United Airlines has been promoting their new mobile communications as of late and deserve to be commended for giving attention to an area that requires it: the ability to give accurate information and listen better to their customers. Ironically this past week Gripevine received a gripe from a customer whose story suggests that UA's system needs some tweaking.

Link: http://gripevine.com/united-airlines-no-customer-phone-great-way-avoid-customers-united-airlines-gripe-20804091

In this example the customer was faced with the classic airline drama: delayed and canceled flights, missed meetings, being given contradictory or misleading information, lost luggage and, most of all, the frustration of speaking to customer service staff not empowered to answer questions or resolve problems on that first call.
While big operations like the airline industry are complex and operations can be fluid on any given day, what I'm sensing from this gripe is not so much anger from Rob that these events took place, but that UA's communications and their "response-ability" was left wanting. What's more, their customer has gone away feeling as though he was lied to and that the time he has invested trying to get answers and a resolution has been in vain and a further waste. As a result United now has a customer who was already upset but who is now determined to commiserate with like minded people on social media.

It would seem to me that the decision to cancel a flight is made by a person. Wouldn't it be possible for that person to put a note in the system as the definitive reason for the cancellation so that there is one message only? It goes without saying that being honest about the reason is key because of the tangled webs that always come back to visit deceivers, but a single source in a the computer system for delays or cancellations should be established and then employees should be trained on where to look for that information.

Avoiding at least part of the issue with gripes like these could be achieved in two ways:

1) In the age of social media, where we communicate in real time, front line agents and supervisors should be trained and equipped to better deliver first call resolution.
2) In the event that a supervisor cannot solve a problem when they refer customers somewhere else it should be to an acceptable channel for the customer. Rob wanted to speak to a real person but instead got sent to an online complaints department that, after days of waiting, has still to address his concerns.

When your service delivery is sub par but you're customers are paying full price you can expect complaints and must be prepared to answer them in timely manner. Ignoring an angry customer with justified gripes will only fan the flames of frustration and affect your reputation negatively.

I have no idea if United has any intention of refunding all or any of this passenger's fare but it sounds like nothing about this return trip was pleasant or as promised. Fulfilling your promise is the best way to avoid complaints but when problems do occur, and inevitably they will in every business, you have to apologize sincerely and make it right. In the customers eyes simply listening is the first step in that process but to stay profitable companies need access to tools that allow them to do that and process complaints effectively. It sounds as though United is starting down that path but has a way to go yet.



About Gripevine:
Gripevine connects customers and companies on a fair and level public playing field where they can come together to create win-win resolutions to common consumer complaints. Consumers can use Gripevine to leverage the power of social media to get their stories heard. Companies can use their Customer Satisfaction Index on Gripevine to show the world the quality of their customer service. By leveraging the power of social media, both groups of users can ultimately affect a company's Customer Satisfaction Index on Gripevine, which provides an effective scale for the quality of customer service.


About Dave Carroll:
Dave Carroll is an award winning singer-songwriter, professional speaker, author and social media innovator based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He began his music career with his brother Don in the band Sons of Maxwell and has been enjoying success as a solo artist for the last four years. Known as a master storyteller, Dave's incredible talent was introduced to millions when his 2009 YouTube music video 'United Breaks Guitars' became a worldwide sensation. Dave is now co-founder of the consumer resolution complaint platform, Gripevine.com. Most recently, Dave published his first book: "United Breaks Guitars: The Power of One Voice in the Age of Social Media" and released his second album, "Raincoat in Vegas."