A recent Associated Press article described a new customer service initiative at American Airlines. Customers who sign up for the airline’s “Remember Me” program can call the airline from their registered number and now have a “speedier path to information about their upcoming flight.” They get faster service than callers who go through the normal call flow, which includes a speech recognition application with lots of menu options. What’s interesting is that this is not a technological innovation. Instead it’s a service improvement for customers that requires their participation in advance. Only customers who sign up for the service and then call American Airlines on their registered phone number will realize the benefits of speedier flight information.
This opens a new avenue of service enhancements for enterprises, particularly in the area of self-service. Many enterprises have invested millions of dollars in finding ways to improve their self-service applications. The hope is that, if the self-service environment is sufficiently enhanced, more customers will use the application and this will improve productivity and reduce operating expenses. (Often, these improvements also result in better service for customers, but this is usually not the primary driver for these self-service applications.)
American Airlines’ recently announced initiative changes the dynamics slightly and shifts some of the responsibility for service enhancement to customers. It establishes that even in large retail environments, like airlines, enterprises can “partner” with their customers and ask for their help in providing better service. This type of service also empowers customers, albeit in a very small way, to take an action that allows them to receive better service.
I hope other airlines will adopt similar solutions. I usually fly Continental Airlines out of Newark and I have to admit that I’d much prefer that Continental improve their on-time arrival rates rather than speeding up their IVR by seconds, as I’m sure most travelers would wish of their airlines. However, I welcome any form of service improvement in what is clearly an industry stretched to the limit to meet customer needs and demands.
The concept of having a customer take an active role in improving service quality by “partnering” with an enterprise or service provider, be it a doctor, hairdresser, bank, insurance company, etc., is somewhat unique. But I believe this concept would be very welcome, particularly in North America. It would reduce some customer frustration resulting from being totally at the mercy of an enterprise, giving some “control” back to the customer.
I encourage companies of all sizes and in all industries to introduce customer partnership programs, where customers are invited to receive improved service in exchange for taking an action or changing their behavior. This kind of “mass customized” service automation is commonplace online. For example, websites often allow customers to set up default parameters to speed up interactions, as do some ATMs.
It’s fine to start small, such as with an IVR, for example, to see if customers are willing to get involved. But over time, there will likely be some valuable opportunities to invite customers to “partner” with an enterprise that will require more significant action by the customer. (And, we do not think it’s appropriate to penalize customers who are not willing to change.) This isn’t a quick fix for bad service or for organizations that clearly do not care about their customers. The idea is for the enterprise and its customers to share the responsibility for creating mutually beneficial service options.
So, I applaud American Airlines and challenge them and their corporate peers to come up with new ways to “partner” with their customers.