Customer Care Department at the Airport - Essay Example

How the employees treat the s on Care department at the Airport Service) care department at the Airport care department is an important centre of contact for the passengers and customers at the airport. The duties and responsibilities of the customer care department include updating the passengers with information on the arrival and departure of flights. The enquiries of the customers and passengers at the airport are also dealt by the customer care department. All international and national airports that cater to the passengers day after day throughout the year have incorporated a customer care department for convenience of the passengers and resolution of their queries. The customer care department is single point resolution centre for the passengers who pass through their terminals. The customer care departments add value to the experience enjoyed by the customers while passing through the airport terminals. The valued experience provided to the customers brings them back to the same airports that have created relative preference during the journeys. All information related to the service for the customers and passengers at the airport is provided by the customer care department. Enquiries about lost baggage, availability of flights, update on flight timings, information on the basis utilities available at the airport, communication facilities from the airport and information on any other item related to the journey is provided by the customer care department. During the time of transit, the customer care department provides the right direction of the journey. In cases of discontent of the customers due to irrational behavior of any airport staff, the customer care department helps to resolve the issue. The functions of the customer care department at the airport are extremely important as they help in maintaining the smooth flow of journey by the passengers. This customer care department plays a vital role in ensuring that the passengers passing through the terminal enjoy a highly valued experience. At the same time, the customer care department at the airport plays a vital role in maintaining a peaceful and dedicated work environment which is beneficial to both the airport authority and their customers. Ways in which employees treat the customers as a customer service staff The ways in which the employees of the customer care departments at the airport treat their customers as a customer service staff determine the value of experience provided to the customers that pass through their terminals. In order to treat the customers at the airport with an aim of delighting them, the employees should undergo training on customer service. Several research studies on customer care at the airport and also the learning from past experience should be incorporated in the customer service training in order to equip them to deal with a wide range of customers at the airport. The customers at the airport would belong to different culture, language, demographic background, religion with needs of different types. The customers would invariably have different tastes and their behavior would be different from one another. The customer service staff should be well equipped to handle all sorts of behavior in a calm and efficient manner. The customer service staffs should have strong emotional quotient and should be highly professional in delivering customer service. The customer service staffs should be able to adapt to the changing needs of the customers which are likely to vary from person to person and from time to time. The employees of the customer service department should be able to take prompt decisions based on the situation. The customer service staff should be quick to understand the area of problem of the customers. In irate circumstance, the customer service staff should put earnest efforts of pacifying the customer by providing assurance of the solution to be delivered. The customer care should treat all their customers on equal grounds and apply effective management techniques to provide efficient and timely customer service. The high quality of customer service delivered to the customers at the airport help to fulfill the goals of increasing customer traffic in the long run (Ford and McNair 190). Ways of solving the customers’ problems and giving them the right assistance The customer service staff at the airport should be flexible, spontaneous and adaptable in order to solve the problems of the customers and to provide them the right assistance required by them. The delivery of appropriate solution resolves the queries and problems of the customers at the airport in quick time. The employees of the customer service at the airport should understand that every new customer would be passing through their terminals on each occasion. Thus every new individual would have varied requirements for which their queries would also be different. The customer service staff would, therefore, need to be knowledgeable in all areas of operation of the airports in order to quickly solve the problem of the customers. A sound knowledge and experience in customer care would enable the employees to address the queries of the customers. A right approach undertaken by the customer service employees is also important for solving customer queries. The right assistance given to the customers lead to fulfillment of needs and attainment of highest satisfaction level of the customers. The customer service staff should be patient and quick to understand the problem. Post understanding the problem, the employee should be quick to assess the quickest ways of solving the problem be leveraging on his knowledge and experience. In the mean time, the customer should be assured of the solution required by him. Finally, the customer service staff at the airport should guide the customer in the right direction in order to solve the problem. In cases where the customer care executive is unable to solve the customer’s problem, he should consult with his senior who would be a better person to guide him in showing the right direction to the customer. The customer service operations eventually help to improve the quality of service at the airport (Cook 16). Experience with Customer Care department and ways to improve the quality of service An experience with the customer service department helps to establish the significance of customer service in airport operations. The experience described below is on the customer service at the Doha International Airport. Doha International Airport is one of the international airports that have made a prominent mark in the international stage in a short span of time. The success of the Doha International Airport could largely be attributed be attributed to customer service offered to the passengers that passed through their terminals. The high quality of service has helped to increase the customer traffic at the airport as a result of which it is counted as one of the busiest airport in the world. The level of customer service offered could be explained from the feedbacks received against the questions given in the questionnaire as follows. Questionnaire Question 1 Excellent Very Good Bad   Votes % Votes % Votes % How would you rate the general level of Customer Care at Doha International Airport? 5 29.40% 11 64.70% 1 5.90% Question 2 Strongly Agree Agree Disagree   Votes % Votes % Votes % Problems are always dealt with quickly and effectively by airport staff 4 23.50% 10 58.80% 3 17.70% Question 3 Agree Disagree   Votes % Votes % Incase of something wrong happened from the staff, does compensation always get your satisfaction? 11 73.30% 4 26.70% Question 4 Excellent Very Good   Votes % Votes % The Value of the Customer care department compared to other departments 3 17.70% 14 82.30% A majority of 94.1% of the customers are satisfied with the general level of customer care at the airport. Out of this 94.1% of the customers, 29.4% felt that the general level of customer service at the airport is excellent. In terms of promptness with which the solution has been delivered to the customer queries, a majority of 82.3% of the customers are happy with the quickness of the solutions provided. Out of this, 23.5% felt that the speed of customer service delivery is excellent. In cases of something wrong happening from the end of the customer service staffs, receipt of compensation has been agreed by 73.3% of the customers. Almost all the customers agreed that the value of customer service department is very high as compared to other departments. The various ways of improving the quality of service at the airport includes the efficiency of the customer service department and integration of the customer care services with the security aspect of the airport. The customer service staff should be adequately trained in order to make them more equipped for dealing with real life situations. The level of competency of the customer service staff defines level of satisfaction of the customers passing through the airports. The level of competency includes excellent communication skills, interpersonal skills and management skills in order to understand the needs of the customers and providing them the right solution. In order to provide a high quality of service, the customer care executive need to be knowledgeable in all areas of operation and should also leverage on experience to provide the right solution. The solutions delivered may include information on flight schedules, assistance to recover lost baggage, resolution of complaints due to mismatch of expectations, etc. The promptness and correctness of the solution delivered determines the level of service quality. The performance of the customer service executives could be assessed in terms of the above mentioned parameters and appropriate feedback could be given to improve the quality of service. Works Cited Cook, Sarah. Customer Care Excellence: How to Create an Effective Customer Focus. India. Kogan Page Publishers, 2010. Print. Ford, Lisa and David, McNair. Exceptional Customer Service: Exceed Customer Expectations to Build Loyalty & Boost Profits. USA. Adams Media, 2009. Print. Read More