My Airline Lost Me – A Lesson in the Definition of Service

If you know me, you know that I travel quite a bit. But something just happened to me that has never happened before; my airline lost me.

First, a quick back story: Recently, I flew out of Phoenix to Burbank, and had quite an enjoyable flight experience (I was upgraded to first class!) – it was a short, smooth, comfortable flight on a nice early autumn day. My flight back, however, was a different story. When it was time to check in for my return flight at the end of the week my reservation was no longer active. I called the customer support line, and the customer service rep said, “according to our system you were a no-show for the flight out of Phoenix, therefore the reservation was canceled.”

I replied that no, I was on that flight. And the rep responded (seriously), “Are you sure?” So I said, hold on, let me check:

  • Yep, I’m in Burbank
  • Yep here is my key badge for the hotel in Burbank,
  • Yep I am driving a rental car that I picked up at the Burbank airport,
  • And I distinctly remember being on the plane …. Yes I am sure.

She asked if I had some proof, so I told her what seat I was in and described the 2 flight attendants, but neither was proof enough, and I’m not sure what other proof I’d have unless I had checked a piece of luggage, which I didn’t.

After she explained to me the situation there was a pause, she did not offer a solution. I pointedly asked her, “What are you going to do for me? How are you going to get me home because clearly this is not my fault,” to which she responded, “You were not on that flight.” But she took care of the immediate situation by re-booking me on the return flight, but at the cost of a new ticket. Customer Service 101: don’t make your customer pay a second time for your mistake.

Later, my travel coordinator, as she always does, followed-up on this issue and she stated that the airline insisted that I was not on that flight. They had record of me having checked in electronically, but that my name was not on the manifest. Think about that for a minute – that’s a scary proposition.

But insisting I was not on the flight, meaning insisting that I am a liar or trying somehow to cheat the airline. But think about lying in this situation; I’ll book a round trip flight, I’ll not get on the first leg of the flight, but I’ll somehow get to Burbank (drive, another airline, hitch-hike, Uber?) and then I’ll try to get home on the return flight. Really? Customer Service 102: don’t call a loyal customer a liar.

As I was speaking with the airline customer service rep I had already created a contingency plan had I not been able to fly home. My next gig was maybe 100 miles away and I was scheduled to fly there a couple of days later, so I could have simply driven there and spent the weekend, though that would mean another 2 nights away from home. But what if I was a customer who doesn’t travel much or didn’t have the proper expense backing, I may not have been able to conceive a backup plan. So, Customer Service 103: don’t leave your customer without any assistance and don’t put the burden on them to figure it out.

I think of the definition of Service – providing value by enabling the outcome that customers want to achieve without the ownership of specific costs and risks. Well, my outcome was achieved, I got to Burbank and back home safely. However, I had to take extra action because of an issue with the service provider, and I had to pay extra to ensure the complete outcome. So, if you want to truly provide a good service that is truly valued by your customer, pay close attention to the second part of definition of a service.

As always, I invite your thoughts and comments. And if you travel, take care on the road and check to make sure your airline does not lose you. But if you do get stuck in Burbank let me know – I know a few nice places for dinner.

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