How to do (and not to do) Airport Customer Service on Social Media
Yesterday I picked up my suitcase after a short flight from Denmark (CPH) to London (LHR). I've done that trip at least 100 times without any issues, but this time my luck just ran out. To get your suitcase smashed once in a while is just the cost of doing business when you travel a lot. So that's also why I always use a Samsonite hardcases, because they tend to hold up even when they are being abused. But want I did find interesting was the different responses I got, when I asked the airlines on Twitter and Instagram. I was literally just venting and I didn't expect them to solve my problem. But their responses are very telling on how much their care about their consumers.
So this was my first tweet was this one, where I @'ed @HeathrowAirport and @CPHAirports.
Kudos to both airlines for getting back to me very quickly, but the responses were very different.
CPH was very forthcoming with this response:
I don't expect anyone at the social media team at CPH to actually solve my issue, but I do thank them a lot for actually showing an interest in me getting my suitcase messed up.
But then London Heathrow are apparently are not that concerned and they basically just want me to sod off:
The response from LHR might be technically correct, but also shows that they don't really give a shit about me as a traveller. The handling of the luggage is also done by the airport and not by the airline crew, so even though the airline is responsible, the I can't blame the pilots or stewardesses from Scandinavian Airlines for the bad fortune of my luggage. It is the ground crew.
I don't expect neither LHR or CPH to make it right and fix my luggage or their handling issues, but at least they could show a little bit of interest. Which is exactly what CPH does.
They do it by:
1. Use my first name and don't just copy paste a canned response
2. They have actually read the post and looked at the image and are able to see that this is a very legitimate complaint and therefore they lean in and care enough to actually want to help.
Again, I don't expect them to actually fix it or make the issue of damaged luggage go away. But if you are doing social media, then it's basically free to do the little things that just makes me feel like a customer you care about instead of someone who you think should basically just leave you alone.
And also very impressive that @SamsoniteUS jumped into the conversation!
By doing that they have definitely made sure that I will remain a loyal customer for the next many years. Heathrow Airport... less so. Unfortunately I live in London, so I will have to, but if you don't have a good response, then please just leave me alone.
