Op-Ed: Providing Global Customer Service In A Chaotic Travel Environment

Let's admit it. Business travel is proving to be increasingly painful, and not just internationally, but domestically as well. Daily flight cancellations, bankrupt carriers and sold-out flights make it difficult to avoid a hassle-free business trip, especially when travel plans change abruptly.

With the challenges that continue to plague today's business travel experience, customer service often represents the last lifeline for road warriors and increasingly has become an important part of business traveler satisfaction. So how can you ensure that your or your travel management company's customer service team is up to the challenge?

Consider these factors:

Consistent agent training worldwide. Business travelers want reliable service wherever they travel, which is best achieved when every agent or travel consultant understands the same customer-service language, learns the appropriate business etiquette and follows the same procedures. Think about how Starbucks pours the same cup of coffee in Moscow, Idaho, and Moscow, Russia. Determine if your travel company keeps individual scorecards on the quality of service each agent provides.

It is also critical for all agents to operate with the same tools and technology. This allows for seamless access to data—which is especially important when on the road—and ensures that each time a traveler speaks with an agent they are experiencing the same booking processes and procedures. Consistent service equals predictability, which is reassuring to travelers.

An agent-engagement program. Agents are the linchpin between a travel management provider and its customers—the voice and face of the company. This program should emphasize listening skills so agents capture, understand and communicate customer feedback. An effective engagement program will help agents reinforce travel management company values.

The agent-engagement program also should underscore the importance of being sympathetic to a traveler's predicament, should the situation arise. A traveler should expect an agent to defuse his or her frustrations and attend to their needs, building trust in that person to empathize and help. A valuable global travel management partner also will encourage its clients to call them directly when, for example, hundreds of flights are cancelled at one location due to severe weather. That way, the travel management company can group impacted travelers by airline and work with the airline to deal with the issues all at once, leading to faster solutions for the traveler.

A focus on quality, not quantity. Does the travel management provider base agents' performance on how many clients they serve per hour or per day, or on the quality of their service? Companies that base agent performance on number of calls are focused on pushing as many travelers through the door as possible. Experienced corporate travel agents should work to meet traveler needs, whether for one minute or one hour.

Also consider agent proactivity and consultativeness. Ask a prospective travel management company what percentage of its clients would recommend it. It should be close to 90 percent.

Strong offline services for executives. Executive travel plans change more frequently than for the average business traveler. Executives who travel worldwide want precise information, such as how to identify their driver at the airport, or if their four-star hotel in Malta provides the same service as a four-star hotel in London. Executive travelers should have a team of VIP agents dedicated to them and their employers.

Travel managers also want to know where their executives are at any given moment. An exemplary travel management company should act as a global positioning satellite by providing precise information on a travelers' location very quickly when needed.

One global customer-satisfaction measurement. A major mistake U.S.-based travel service providers sometimes make is to impose U.S. methods in areas that follow other customs. A global measurement is critical.

It's critical today to have a global travel management company that delivers excellent customer service on a consistent basis, wherever in the world the traveler happens to be. Such uniformity guarantees dependable customer service for all travelers.