Customers can't give meaningful answers to meaningless questions.

You need to ask the right questions.

When interviewing for a waitress, your not going to need to know their IQ.

When auditioning for a dancer, you don't need to know about their high school math results.

Stock brokers aren't evaluated on their fitness levels.

So why do big companies continually evaluate service on the wrong metrics?

When you book an airline flight online, you probably want a good price and an easy to navigate website.  The website, price and brand 'are' the product.

Service is important when it comes to the checkin and flight, but not while your negotiating the website.  So why would an airline like Qantas ask the following question after making an online booking?

"How likely are you to recommend booking and managing your Qantas travel directly with Qantas to friends and collegues based on your recent experience?" Scale 1-10.

It's a ridiculous question because the booking process is such a small part of the service experience.  Can you imagine using an airline website and being so blown away that you would say the following?

"Hey Bill, next time you travel overseas you should book on Qantas.  Their website blew me away.  It so awesome" ....... What rubbish.

Companies continue to use Net Promoter Scores (like Qantas) in the wrong situations, because it's a) inexpensive, and b) not intrusive for the customer (hey it's only one question right?). Wrong.

If you want to limit survey to one question, perhaps ask a more pertnent questions; and rotate the questions.  Maybe ask something like these questions.

• Rank how easy it was to make your booking online?
• Based on your experience today, for a similar booking, how likely is it that you would book again online?
• Do you feel you got a better deal booking with Qantas direct online?
• Did you also get a quote from another website or travel agent for this booking?
• Do you feel added security by booking on Qantas directly?

Customer Feedback measurement should be based on appropriate questions. The Qantas questionnaire got even less relevant when they asked a follow-up question:

"Why did you give the above score?"

How can a customer give a meaningful 'why' to a meaningless question?  Either the data collected will be unuseble and wasteful, or it will be used as the basis of bad decisions (even worse).

Are you asking useless questions of your customers?

See also: Should you use Net Promoter Scores?

Serving through the cloud of ash

-FLIGHT CANCELLED DUE TO ASH CLOUD. CALL 180012345678-

This was the SMS message which confronted many thousands of travellers in Australia this week – including me.

Some industries, like the airline industry are in the business of “Transactional Service”.  Transactional Service is easy and inexpensive when things go right, but the brand service reputation is determined by how they react when things go wrong.

When you take a flight or catch a train, the service is almost invisible.  You can go through the whole experience without speaking to an employee - just auto check-in, takeoff, and land.  But service remains critical, especially when things go wrong.

When an event such as an ash cloud disrupts services (or you simply lose baggage), the brand will be defined, for better or worse.

The approach by most Australian airlines during the recent crisis was to send an SMS message, like the one I received above, and then NO other communication.

Being in the centre of the storm, I  felt the frustrations first hand.

• We were told about the initial cancellation.
• We had to listen to the news to get updates (third person).
• We were told to call a toll free number, but getting through was impossible.
• We were told to check the airline website which only had generic information, and is not accessible to everyone (especially when driving in the country).
• We were not told how to re-book once the cloud lifted.
• We were told to go to the airport, but it was chaos.
• Passengers were left feeling out of control.

What could have been done better.

1. Send SMS messages and emails to passengers frequently advising the generic ash cloud update.
2. Send SMS messages and emails advising the re-booking process (e.g. go to airport).
3. Post the same information on the website.
4. Advise the order of re-booking (eg frequent flyers, aged, with children or whatever)
5. Send same updates to all travel agents.

It’s simple, but it would free up the toll free number for people who didn’t receive the communications, and those in urgent need.

Things go wrong in every business.  How could you communicate better to customers when things don’t go wrong?

I ended up driving 900 kilometres to get home.  It was quicker and I controlled my own destiny.

How Revenue can be killed by efficiency

So what do Qantas and Elvis have in common? 

The answer is in the economic Supply and Demand curve, which does not always work as it should.

The theory is that as supply decreases, then prices increase.  If you are the only person selling Elvis memorabilia on eBay, you can fetch a high prices.

Some airlines such as Qantas are using the same philosophy.  When executives are rewarded on efficiency of stock price and resources, then crazy things can happen.

Using Qantas as an example.  From Sydney Australia, they used to fly all over Europe to places like Rome, Paris, London and Frankfurt.   Like all airlines, in order to be efficient, they have codeshare deals with other airlines.  All flights now go to Frankfurt or London for connections.

So to fly to Istanbul, Turkey you fly over Istanbul to Frankfurt, then connect to Turkish airlines for a 3-4 hour flight back.  Oh and instead of paying $2,500.00 you get to pay an extra $1,000.00 for the privilege.

Loyal frequent flyers who are prisoners of their programs are paying more money, for a more torturous flight, for worse in flight service, and get to pay an extra 40% for the privilege.  And the flights are packed – in fact a last minute booking through London (not that anyone would want to) is impossible.

Sounds like good business.  What’s the problem?  Flights are full and they are charging a premium.  The executives would be thrilled because they are meeting KPI’s.  However, there is a big problem.

Eventually whole groups of loyal customers (I am on the second highest tier) stop flying.  Eventually it gets to be too much.  Last year a similar situation caused me to fly Singapore airlines (wow!) and in two weeks I am taking Emirates.

My (forced) loyalty has been broken.  Eventually you cannot take anymore.  An the drop in business comes suddenly, without warning.  A point is reached when you have the most efficient business in the world, but you are doing the least business.

Higher price does not mean higher service.  Sometimes higher price is just… higher price.  When value is lost, the business follows.