I'm very sad to say, that I think, Reservations/Customer Service as we know it today is, very soon, going to be history.
Up until about 2 years ago our customer service in Res/Reissue was impeccable. I can't tell you how many times passengers complimented our dept. and stated how much more friendly, competent, knowledgeable, and efficient we were as opposed to the other "large" airlines. Many of us received commendation letters on a regular basis. Now, we top list of most complaints and the only agents that receive complimentary letters are the ones that have family and friends write one on their behalf.
When I first came on board it was tough to get into US. First, you had to know someone within to even get an application, then if you got one and were one of the chosen applicants you had to go to an information session and sit through hours of listening to the good and bad. Then each person had to stand up in front of the group and answer a question pulled out of a hat about a past work experience or problem and how you handled it. Afterwards you had to fill out another application and answer numerous "situation" questions and then wait to be called for another interview which was one on one. If you made it past that, another interview, then if you passed that one the big interview with a Res. sup and a proffessional interviewer hired by US which was about two hours long and very grueling. Just to note, business attire was required and expected at all interviews. Then if you were one of the chosen, a very extensive background check, drug test and reference check. If all checked out, hired and training. I was hired as a Reissue Agent so, I had six weeks of Gen Res training and five weeks Reissue training back to back which we had to pass with at least a 90%. Out of my class of twenty five, three dropped out and eight didn't pass, tree of us are still here. It wasn't easy!
That has all changed over the past 2-3 years. When they started hiring again about 3 years ago they just had the applicants come to the Res. building for a quick meeting and hired from that meeting. What we saw come into the initial meeting were mainly 18-25 year olds in jeans, cut-offs, tank tops and flip flops. The ones that took the job, not acquired it, had minimal training and then put on the phones. The last round of hiring and interviews were done strictly over the phone. Training is now a couple of weeks for Res. and TWO days of Reissue training. Most of these agents have no clue of how to do the job. How in the world can we give great customer service like this.
I was called into my supervisor's office right after 9/11 about my "talk time", which is the time that you are on the phone with each passenger. I came from a very intensive customer service oriented background with extensive CS training, so I gave each passenger the service that they required and deserved, but I quess it was too much because my "talk time" was too high. While I was defending myself to my Sup. he came right out and told me that US has no desire for good Customer Service. The only thing they are worried about are numbers. He said that their statistics showed that out of so many calls, (can't remember the exact number)no matter what the level of customer service, we would definately sell a certain number of tickets. So, my new mission was to stop servicing the passengers and just get them on the phone and off as quickly as possible. Needless to say my "talk time" is still the same. This example is just to show the mentality of the management at US. Customer Service is very important to any company and US just doesn't have it or care about it any longer!
The agents that have been loyal to this company for so many years deserve the pay and benefits that they have, not a penny less. The majority of us are extremely professional, efficient and knowledgeable in our field and given the right tools, leeway, and some respect can bring our customers back and keep them. We ARE an asset to this company whether anyone believes or not. We are the initial contact that passengers have with Us and we make the first impression. That has to be worth something. Get the 19 year olds in here with no work or CS experience, and only want the job to fly for free, and pay them $9.00 an hour and see how long US stays in business. It would be a revolving door. Our dept. is ruled with an "iron fist" and guaranteed not many are going to stick around long under those conditions for $9.00 hr. How many passenger will put up with an unprofessional, inefficient, inept company? It won't last for long. Again, you get what you pay for.
h34r:
