American Airlines + Failing Economy = Better Customer Service?

People tend to file the most customer service complaints against cable companies and airlines; it’s almost a proven fact.  But airlines have a way of frustrating us beyond belief with their inability to understand and process our requests.  Over the years, American Airlines has been one of the worst, reportedly even hanging up on customers who call to ask for help or file complaints.  It would be easier to say that American Airlines offers customer no-service.  However, the unhealthy economy may provide us all with a much-needed silver lining: improving customer service.

The phenomenon is beginning to appear in all corners as businesses struggle to attract, or re-attract in some cases, their consumers.  Consultants behind the make-up counters at Macy’s are standing at attention and offering to help customers rather than gossiping and ignoring potential purchasers; waiters in restaurants are serving up smiles and airlines are getting friendly with their passengers.  A new study released in May showed that passenger satisfaction is on the rise in 2009, the first increase in 6 years.  This, of course, happened due to the fact that the number of passengers and airlines offering full services both dropped.  So, the natural scientific reaction is when passengers and enplanements drop, customer service shoots up the scale.

So, what’s the best way to fly, concerning customer service?  Here are the findings: Southwest is the best, with a B- score of 81 out of the 0-100 scale.  Continental followed at 68, Delta at 64 and finally, American Air at 60.  Northwest, US Airways Group and United trailed behind in the 50s.  Apparently, though, American Airlines fell by 3.2 percent, even though everyone else is on the rise and AA remains in the middle.  The airline claims that they maintain a fleet of “customer experience teams” to ascertain how to improve their customer service, although others say that it is difficult to provide good customer service in this type of environment.  Well, what exactly does that mean?  And why is American Airlines still DROPPING in the ratings while most of the other airlines are rising in popularity and service?

Sorry, American Airlines, but you still have a long way to go before you’ll get my business or make me smile.

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Ashley Strickland is a senior at the University of Georgia. She is a summer intern for SocialYell and blogs about health, social equity, consumer advocacy, charity, sustainability and just about anything green.