Aargh…frustrations with Air Canada reservations
I am trying to book a flight from Vancouver to Penticton. The Air Canada website is giving me all kinds of errors tonight and I have been ploughing away for about 45 minutes trying to secure a booking.
In an effort to just cut to the chase, I called the reservations centre. They normally have a $20 fee for booking over the phone, but I assume that they will waive that to get me a booking as the web site is clearly down.
To my faint surprise and astonishment, Kevin, the reservations agent, says he can’t do it. He suggests I call Air Canada tech support and get them to phone him to tell him that the web site is down so that he can waive the fee. That strikes me as not my job.
Here’s a better way to handle it, Air Canada. Trust your customers, especially your frequent fliers. Isn’t Aeroplan a “loyalty program?” Is loyalty one way? When we tell you there is a problem, believe us, make the booking and sort it out at your end. If I’m lying, you’re out $20 (but you have my fare), and you can put a note on my Aeroplan file saying I’m a scam artist. It would save you having a blog post written about you at 1:41 in the morning by a tired and irate customer. Also, trust your staff to make the call to waive the fee without someone in tech support okaying it.
If WestJet flew to Penticton, this would not even be an issue. They would have had my $472 in a flash and they don;t charge a fee for phone bookings. For want of a $20 fee, Air Canada sends me packing. When I told Kevin I would call Westjet (just out of sheer frustration) he said “Sorry we can’t help you.”
Yeah, well. I’m still stuck needing to take your airline to Penticton. Cold comfort.
[tags]air canada, customer service[/tags]
Don of conscious-living was highlighted in LIP (www.livinginpoetry.blogspot.com)
hope u can share ur thoughts on Don
Customer service was never part of thier business plan. You should speak with Dad about his recent mishap while travelling to Minnesota. it turns out that Mom and Dad were “flagged” as a security risk in Toronto because Air Canada neglected to assign thier names to thier seat resevation. Post 9/11 travel is FUN!!
It certainly feels that way Bro. I’ll have to connect with them on that experience.
And now today they announce that their Aeroplan program is changing to basically make it harder to redeem points. Everything that happens on Air Canada seems like it is designed to save money or charge you for taking anything other than the basic “sit in this tin and we’ll fly you there” option…seat selection, reservations, cancellations, Aeroplan stuff, food, bagage limits…it all costs. And that wouldn’t be much of a problem except, with the exception of a couple of the nice agents at the check in counters around BC – who routinely shake their heads at the surcharges – the airline doesn’t seem to think that the customer’s needs matter.
Hey – what if we as cross-Canada (and beyond) AoH practitioners were to find a way to put in an offer to AC to host them through a conversation to help them evolve to their next stage of customer service? I can’t tell you how many times I have had the same frustrations, with no or worse response, and so am only left to wonder if there is a way into the company for the art of hosting?? Lots of parallels can be drawn with their core business… and then KLM next??!
Okay Tatiana…you are on! What would that look like I wonder? The worse they could say is “no.”
Let’s Skype.
Quick easy cash advance….
Low cost cash advance. Scams on cash advance company. Cash advance….