p36-37 frontline feature May1 28/4/09 19:13 Page 36
knowledge complaints
ttglive.com
Customer service skills
Take the flak to
win them back
No one likes receiving an
angry complaint, but
knowing how to placate
dissatisfied customers could
earn their loyalty, says
Phoebe Ferris-Rotman
Y
ou save for them, daydream
about them and always have
the next one planned. People
expect the most out of their
precious time off, but with expectations
so high, it’s not surprising that the
industry has one of the highest levels
of complaints. And as intermediaries,
agents must handle them well to ensure
customers keep coming back.
Recognising the importance of dealing
with complaints effectively, Abta runs
dedicated seminars on the issue every
three months (see right). Rochelle Turner,
head of research at Which?
Holiday, spoke at the most recent seminar.
“Agents are the human face of what’s
gone wrong so they need to try to diffuse
the situation and sort it out as much as
possible,” she says. “In retail you can
take something back to the shop, but
it doesn’t work like that in travel.
However, people still expect to be able
to go back to the shop where their
holiday was bought.”
Act swiftly
Turner says holiday complaints have a bad
track record because they are often not
dealt with properly and timely, and
36 01.05.2009
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