Under pressure from the federal government to deal with lost luggage issues, airlines are responding with some unique customer service approaches–thanks to OM. For example, we noted in this blog a few months back that Alaska Airlines has set up new processes that guarantee bags will arrive within 20 minutes after the plane parks at the gate–or else customers get $20 or 2,000 points.
The Wall Street Journal (April 23-24,2011) just reported that Delta Airlines has started a new online service to let customers track the whereabouts of their checked bags. Launched a few weeks ago, passengers can follow their bags from scanning at check-in, to the flight they are loaded on, and then to arrival at baggage claim. Delta says, “Letting passengers see where their bags are can cut down on worries and calls when a bag doesn’t show up on the carousel on time”.
Tracking can be done on Delta’s website with a mobile phone or a laptop. And if a bag is lost, the passenger can now file a claim online at the same site. If you have ever had to wait for a bag that never arrived, then queued up for an hour to file a claim —and who hasn’t— this use of technology in service (see Ch.7) is a clever advancement.
The concept, of course, is not new. FedEx has been tracking packages for decades. United Airlines has for a year used FedEx to offer overnight delivery of golf bags, skis, and suitcases ($79-$99 each way), and allowed passengers to track their possessions online. And Ford used to offer buyers a chance to track their car through the production process.
Delta, by the way, is already well below the industry average for lost bags, and has improved 27% from last year’s 4.04 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers.
Discussion questions:
1. Is this really a critical new service? Or does it resemble the Ford marketing tool?
2. What are some other service technologies the airlines can employ?
3. Why do airlines have vastly different lost baggage rates?
I once had a lost luggage experience that went very badly, but I used an OM technique to minimize the damages. I was asked to be the keynote speaker at my 25th college reunion at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. At the time, I was living in Florida. My wife and I flew, with our two daughters, to Philadelphia, where my parents were going to watch the kids for a few days while we went to the reunion. Delta lost my bag in the Philly airport, so we filed a claim, and drove up to Ithaca. I was speaking the next morning.
Now, as you can imagine, being the speaker at your class reunion is a big deal, and you want to look like you are prospering! When we arrived in Ithaca, there was still no word about where the bag could be. So, we rushed to the only mall, which, unfortunately, was about to close down. I ended up buying a ghastly short-sleeved shirt, some cheap khaki pants, and a pair of tennis shoes.
Needless to say, everyone else looked nicer and more prosperous than I did at the presentation. Of course, I told them about the missing bags, but I don’t think they believed me.
The nightmare got worse, because they never did find the luggage during my weekend in Ithaca, and I had to buy more clothes, instead of spending time with my friends and relaxing. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money, because I kept thinking that Delta would find the luggage.
To compound the problem, I was planning on meeting my parents at the Philadelphia airport, putting my wife and kids on a flight to Florida, then traveling immediately from Philadelphia to Denver to speak at the national sales conference for the Hyatt Hotels. The salespeople at the Hyatt dress very formally. My short sleeve shirt and khakis were not going to cut it there.
What did I do? I phoned “Men’s Warehouse” in Miami, and asked them to fax my measurements to the Men’s Warehouse in Philadelphia. I had recently purchased a nice suit at the Miami store, so I knew my measurements were still up to date.
The Philadelphia store put together a very nice selection for me, including a blazer and slacks, shirts, ties etc. All were cut to my specifications. My father picked up the clothes at the store (Men’s Warehouse did all the tailoring in a few hours) and met me at the airport in Philadelphia. I had already purchased a new suitcase, so I loaded my clothes into the new luggage, jumped on the plane to Denver, and delivered my talk. I wasn’t wearing a suit, but I did look pretty good, and the Hyatt people enjoyed the story. It was a great example of service.
Of course, Delta never found my suitcase, and I didn’t get a lot of money in those days. For months afterwards, I would go looking for something and suddenly realize that it had been in that bag. My biggest loss was my pair of Sperry topsiders, which were all broken in and feeling comfortable. I also lost a favorite tie that I never managed to replace.
So, bad OM lost my bags, but great OM saved the day – at least for the Hyatt talk. I have never been asked to speak at Cornell again. On the good side, however, no one up there has asked me for money as an alumnus. I guess they figure that anyone that looked like me at my 25th reunion would be worth much!