Service Excellence and Pitfalls: A Tale of the Best and Worst Customer Experience Journeys with Baggage
Over the past two months, I've encountered three unique experiences that have shed light on how companies manage their services and approach customer retention. Here I'm sharing one of these experiences to emphasize both the positive aspects and the areas that need significant improvement.
The Good: During a Hawaiian Airlines return flight on from Honolulu to New York, one of my two full-sized Samsonite suitcases arrived at JFK with a missing wheel. I promptly engaged with the airline's baggage claim area and filled out a claim report. They assured me they would contact me with the next steps, and I had a receipt for the claim. So far, so good.
The Bad: However, I waited for a painstaking four weeks to hear back from anyone regarding the next steps. Finally, I had to hunt down an email address to inquire about my case. Two days later, I received a response apologizing for the delay and asking for information about the bag's value, proof of purchase, and instructing me to destroy the bag.
The Ugly: In the meantime, I contacted Samsonite to inquire about repairing the bag under their 10-year warranty. Samsonite promptly accepted my request and had me drop off the bag at a local store for repairs. In stark contrast, Hawaiian Airlines engaged in a frustrating email exchange, insisting that I physically destroy the bag by cutting it in half and send pictures of the destroyed bag. Destroying a hardcase Samsonite suitcase is far from easy without specialized equipment, making this process impractical and unreasonable. Despite clear evidence of the damage and their responsibility for it, the airline insisted on additional burdensome steps. This experience highlighted their poor customer service design.
Outcome: I received a fully repaired suitcase from Samsonite within one week at no cost, thanks to their no-fuss warranty process. Samsonite demonstrated a commitment to their reputation and went above and beyond to protect it. On the other hand, Hawaiian Airlines imposed bureaucratic procedures that punished the customer. This stark contrast exemplified excellent service from one and poor design and a cost-saving mentality from the other.
Lessons Learned
1. Customer-Centric Approach: Standing behind your product and service should mean making it easy for customers to achieve a positive outcome when things go wrong.
2. Transparency in Recovery: When a service provider makes a mistake, burying the problem in convoluted processes for resolution only further alienates the customer.
3. Closing the Feedback Loop: Neglecting to follow up with customers after soliciting their feedback confirms a gap in your processes and misses an opportunity to make amends.
What Outstanding Service Could Have Looked Like
1. Prompt Communication: Immediately following the filed report, a call or email outlining the next steps would have been triggered.
2. Fair Resolution: The airline would have researched the market value of the damaged suitcase and offered either to repair it at a reputable shop or issue a check or credit card payment for a new replacement.
3. Efficiency: Within a maximum of seven days, I would have either had a repaired suitcase in hand or received compensation for its value.
4. Acknowledgment and Commitment: A communication, either by email or physical mail, would be sent with an apology for the mishandling of the luggage and a commitment to enhance team training for future luggage handling.
In reality, I never received any communication from the airline after I explained my inability to destroy the bag with machinery. Opting for Samsonite's repair service was a reasonable alternative, but it left a negative impression and raised doubts about the airline's overall customer service operation and principles.
