Good way to handle a bad customer experience

Photo by Sven Piper on Unsplash

If you've traveled by air in the last few years, you undoubtedly know how much "fun" and it can be. Like many things, it seems the pandemic has had a lasting impact on the airlines' ability to deliver consistent, quality service. Earlier this month, I experienced and an issue that demonstrated the problems facing the industry, while also producing a good example of how to handle a difficult situation.

The Bad Experience

My wife and I decided to take a brief end of summer vacation. We picked our destination, and our airline. We've had great prior experiences with Delta Airlines, and we booked our flights without hesitation. The flights to our destination were perfect, but the return, not so much.

The problems started with delays from our destination for over an hour. We eventually arrived in Atlanta (ATL) to catch our connecting flight to Providence (PVD), scheduled to arrive just after midnight. This flight was also delayed, but this time the gate agent announced that the delay was due to the flight crew had yet to arrive in ATL. We were told they were "near by" and expected soon, and soon thereafter, they started the boarding process. We board the plane with no flight crew.

Fully boarded, we wait some 30 to 40 minutes, and finally the flight attendant informs us that the flight crew has arrived but have "fatigued out" and are no longer able to fly this evening. We are instructed to deplane and return to the same gate in the morning for an 8am departure. They inform us that Delta will provide vouchers for food and hotel, and we should go to the service desk for assistance, or watch for a text message with details. If you've ever been in this situation, you know this is the moment when the real "fun" begins.

The line at the service desk is long, as it turns out our flight was not the only one that was cancelled (shocking!). As we wait, a text arrives from Delta with a link to book a hotel using a voucher. In seconds, we book a room at a Radisson 2 miles from ATL. We Uber to the hotel, to find dozens of other travellers waiting to check in by the 2 overwhelmed front desk employees. It's now around 12:40am. Then, one of the Radisson employees announces that they have only 8 rooms left! Everyone starts hollering "we have vouchers and a confirmation". They tell the tired crowd that they can accept any paid reservation, but only 8 more "voucher" rooms. They suggest we try the Holiday Inn Express down the road.

A few of us deep in line head for the Holiday Inn, walking down an unlit street at 12:45am. We eventually find it, check in without issue, confirm the airport shuttle runs on the half-hour in the morning, and head to bed. I double-check the Delta app to confirm the 8am departure as per the flight attendant, and it now shows a 7:30am departure. The head hits the pillow at 1am.

The 5am alarm goes off, and we head down to the shuttle, where we find dozens of other weary travellers waiting. Everyone is asking each other if the shuttle has been here yet, and if it will hold all of us. Someone says that it has, it is small, and we're not all going to fit. Someone else says 2 women already missed it twice as other travellers got on before they could, and we should let them on next regardless. I decide another Uber is the right option, which arrives in only 5 minutes. We tell the crowd we're Ubering to the airport and have room for the 2 women (and another person), who are very appreciative of the lift. We get to the airport, and make our flight home.

Owning the Problem

My experience is not uncommon, and most of us have likely experienced something similar. What is uncommon in my experience, is Delta's handling of the problem.

There is no way to recover the lost hours experienced, the loss of half our Saturday on a gorgeous summer day spent in the air instead of the beach, or undo the frustration of a situation like that. However, the next morning I received an email from Delta. Importantly, their email was not in response to any survey or feedback I gave them. They knew they caused a problem, and they proactively took ownership of it. I believe their email speaks for itself.

Being in the business of helping companies learn how to deliver great customer experiences, Delta, yet again, demonstrated to at least this traveller that they 'get it'. They handled a bad customer experience as well as they could, and their quick follow-through made us feel a little better about the situation, and reinforced our positive view about flying with Delta Airlines.

In the end, we all know unexpected problems do arise, and situations like this do occur. But, as Delta demonstrated, treating people with dignity, empathy, and honesty is always the winning formula both in life and in business.

Scoring the Experience