25% business growth. Lost & found Delivering service innovation in the airline support industry

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1 Lost & found Delivering service innovation in the airline support industry 25% business growth Transcom s agents have exceptional service skills, specialist airline knowledge and highly developed problem solving skills Caroline Patterson, Director, Menzies Client Solutions Ltd

2 Lost & found Delivering service innovation in the airline support industry When an airline loses your luggage, you need action. Fast. A unique partnership between airline support service provider, Menzies Client Solutions Ltd (trading as MCS) and Transcom, makes sure you get a rapid response. Transcom s agents are handling some of the most high stress customer calls in the industry and turning them into shining examples of service recovery. 2

3 As a traveler, there are few situations more stressful than arriving at your destination airport to discover that your luggage isn t there to meet you. Many of the world s best airlines rely on MCS a Menzies Aviation Company and its contact partner, Transcom to ensure that, if this happens, bags and travelers are re-united fast. This complex global game of hide-and-seek is played at high speed and for high stakes. After all, MCS and Transcom both understand that, when bags go missing, an airline s reputation is at risk, and customer relationships depend on their recovery. Flying under the radar If you ve flown from the UK any time since 1993, you and your bags may have been taken care of by Menzies Aviation, and in turn, MCS. Menzies Aviation works under the radar for over 500 airlines at more than 100 airports in 27 countries. Baggage recovery is only one part of its passenger and cargo service portfolio, but it s one that sets it apart from other airline support companies, and has proven to be a business winner with airlines across the world. The baggage recovery service Transcom supports sets MCS apart from other airline support companies and has proven to be a business winner with airlines across the world. Breaking the mould MCS created an entirely new approach to this explosive scenario and offered its airline clients a mould breaking outsourced baggage recovery service. When passengers bags go missing, they re given a dedicated telephone number to enquire about the whereabouts of their luggage. Their file is then carefully monitored by a contact center agent, who uses advanced global technology to locate the lost luggage and then arranges for it to be re-delivered. Throughout that process the agent stays in regular contact with the passenger, providing timely updates, helping out with queries and finally telling them exactly when and how their bags will be returned. The service is delivered by Transcom s contact center team in Vilnius, Lithuania. Between the hours of 8am and 10pm every day, they re handling some of the most high-stress customer calls in the industry and turning them into shining examples of service recovery, explains Transcom s service manager, Aurimas Klimavicius. Delivery which may also be coordinated by us happens quickly afterwards, and at the passenger s convenience. At the outset there were many in the airline industry who said such a service could never work, and that no contact center agent, working at such a distance, could have the expertise and skills or the intimate knowledge of airline schedules and what might go wrong with them to undertake the task. 3

4 Transcom s agents have exceptional service skills, specialist airline knowledge and highly developed problem solving skills. Caroline Patterson, Director, MCS Increasingly airlines rely on top-quality customer service to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. They trust us and we trust Transcom to protect that reputation when it is most seriously at risk. Caroline Patterson, Director, MCS Exceptional agents Transcom s agents use a global system, called WorldTracer, which is shared by the world s airlines. It matches descriptions of missing bags to descriptions of bags that have turned up at airports without their owners, explains Caroline. But there s only so much the technology can do. Agents need detailed knowledge and the instincts of a bloodhound to spot the most likely match among dozens of descriptions of, say, black unlabelled rolling suitcases. They have to ask themselves: if the bag didn t get to its planned destination, where might it have gone? And then, once it s located, what s the fastest way to reunite the bag with its owner? But, despite early skepticism, the service has experienced high success rates from the outset and has continually improved on that performance. Typically, 95% of all mishandled bags are found within the first five days of a report being filed. The remaining 5% are traditionally deemed irretrievable and untraceable. However, for one of Europe s largest low-cost airlines, Transcom agents succeeded in locating 7.98% of those irretrievable bags in 2007, 9.4% in 2008 and 9.8% in Transcom s agents who are supported by the MCS Call Center Manager in Vilnius receive extensive training from joint Transcom and specialized MCS teams. It goes without saying that they need exceptional service skills to deal with this high stress environment, says Caroline. But, more than that, they need to understand the way airlines and airports work. The technology helps, but they also need to acquire specialist airline knowledge and highly developed problem solving skills. MCS is able to give them this training in an intensive three week induction course, which is regularly refreshed with ongoing coaching from Transcom and our own on-site manager. The partnership approach to training is also mirrored in the way customer experience quality is judged. If the airline s reputation is to be protected, then we have to do far more than find the bag and return it. We have to manage the situation proactively and with empathy, in order to restore the customer s confidence in the airline and regain his good will, says Aurimas. Transcom and MCS have worked together to develop a quality management program that measures, not just the speed at which calls are answered and cases resolved, but the agent s skill at retrieving luggage and rebuilding customer relationships. Since 2007 the operation s quality scores have gradually climbed from 89% to 98%. The agent s task doesn t end with the phone call. Transcom s agents liaise with passengers to confirm where they would like the bag to be returned to them. This information is then relayed to the airline s appointed delivery company so that they are able to deliver the bag to the passenger when and where they want it. Finding agents with this level of skill in a low cost environment such as Lithuania has made it possible for us to provide this service to our airline customers, says Caroline. And it s been a big contributor to our ability to win business. In the five years since the service was introduced, MCS has grown its total passenger baggage handling services by 25%, based on its ability to provide a one-stop-shop service that includes mishandled baggage recovery. 4

5 MCS relies on Transcom to manage a complex logistical exercise, searching for bags across the globe, then liaising with airlines and their appointed delivery companies to organize their return. They do it all while managing the emotions and expectations of the traveler, and balancing the varied service commitments of the airlines we represent. Caroline Patterson, Director, MCS Flex and fit Outsourcing the contact center operation to Transcom also gives MCS the flexibility to manage the seasonal peaks and troughs that are an inevitable part of the travel industry. During the peak travel months of April, July, August and December the Transcom team doubles in size. We first chose to outsource this operation because we simply didn t have contact center facilities inhouse, explains Caroline. We could have acquired those facilities and skills, of course; however we could never have acquired the ability to flex the operation so cost effectively. Tales of the unexpected Transcom has helped MCS deal with unexpected as well as seasonal peaks. In summer 2007 one of the company s clients, a large scheduled carrier, was exposed to critical volumes of lost baggage on its Sydney route, due to major problems in the UK. They turned to MCS for help, and MCS, in turn, enlisted Transcom s assistance. Over a three month period the team handled over 2,700 additional calls.in August 2006, the additional security checks introduced by airport authorities in the wake of the Heathrow bombings created an upsurge in the incidence of lost baggage reported to MCS. Transcom extended its team strength by 20% and, handled an increase in calls from 7,458 in July 2006, to 30,043 and 22,834 in August and September respectively. About MCS When baggage goes astray or airline customers have cause to complain, a fast response time is crucial not just because there is a statutory 28 days to respond, but because an unhappy customer can be a customer lost forever. MCS Express provides a range of global solutions to a vast number of national flag carriers, low cost carriers and charter carriers. However, the join is seamless and as far as the passenger is concerned, he or she is dealing directly with the airline

6 Results summary Transcom supports: n Recovery of irretrievable bags up from 7.98% to 9.8% n Quality scores 98% n Supporting 25% growth in MCS total baggage handling services Key facts n Support for mould-breaking service innovation n Near shore service delivery Vilnius, Lithuania n Service recovery plus coordination of baggage delivery n Flexibility for seasonal and incident related peaks 6

7 Find out how working with Transcom could transform your customer and credit management performance.