Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

The results of the first eTravel Benchmark survey from online research firm eDigitalResearch are in. Evidently online travel industry as a whole "has some way to go in order to compete with 'best in breed' companies for Web site engagement and customer service." 

According to survey officials, that online travel sites "need to look beyond the 'wow' factor," and "work harder at improving the entire end to end Web site experience" if they are to build trusted, long-term relationships that encourage customers to buy from them time and time again.

The eTravel Benchmark survey uses eDigitalResearch's eMysteryShopper tool to measure the usability of 18 channel crossing, cruise and airline sites, comparing "seven key areas" ranging from first impressions to the search and booking process. 

Earlier this year, TMC's Brendan Read blogged about "some good news on the beleaguered U.S. domestic contact center front, courtesy of United Airlines," not the expected source of good news for anything except competing airlines: "The good news is that the air carrier will be opening 165 seats at its Chicago and Honolulu facilities... to handle written (e-mailed/letter mailed) customer commendations and complaints (CC&C): work that had been managed offshore in India."

United's spokesperson, Robin Urbanski, explained that the rise of Internet booking means it now makes sense to have reservation agents also handle after-flight calls from customers. She said the new arrangement would be "cost-neutral" versus having the calls answered in India.

"The recipe for a successful site is a simple one," the study's authors conclude. "What customers want is a clear step-by-step process. They want a site that is easy to purchase from but at the same time that has the inspirational 'wow' factor to keep them engaged. Add to that transparent pricing, great customer service, and of course a great trip and you've cracked it." 

The study also found that airlines advertising for business in Britain were "notably let down by poor first impressions and disappointing customer service." When measured on telephone customer service, just one airline, British Airways, made it into the top 10 rankings, rated seventh and just two airlines (Virgin Atlantic and British Airways) scored highly enough to make the top 10 for email customer service.

The study used a "net promoter score" to find which sites are most likely to be recommended through word of mouth. The sector as a whole achieved score of +5, whereas the same metric returned scores for retail at +27, finance at +18 and car manufacturing at +7.

Derek Eccleston, Head of Research at eDigitalResearch, said in a sector whose customers are "particularly promiscuous, switching brands for a better deal, looking for recommendations and picking the purchase channel that most suits them at that particular time, failing to perform well across the board is more than a missed opportunity, it is commercial suicide."