A contact center, or at minimum contact center functionality, is now a necessity for any size business in any industry anywhere in the world. In fact, just one contact center might just not be enough.
According to a post yesterday on eTurboNews’ website, a news service for the global travel and tourism industry, AEtihad Airways, the flag carrier airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has just opened a new contact center. In fact, as noted in the posting, “[the airline] has completed the final phase in the development of its Al Ain contact center facility, with the opening of a second contact center, bringing to three the number of centers within the UAE, and a total of four worldwide.”
Etihad Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer, Peter Baumgartner, said the airline is pleased to expand its Al Ain contact center as it can enhance the customer experience through more highly trained, multilingual contact center agents.
As for the new facility, it will provide full time employment for 140 contact center agents from a diverse mix of nationalities. Baumgartner adds that the center will operate 24/7, providing bilingual Arabic and English assistance to the airline’s clients.
Etihad Airways has already been standing out when compared to other airlines in the region for its attention to customer care and providing differentiated value based on its ability to give customers compelling experiences when they interact with the airline. In fact, the company’s Al Ain contact center continues to receive credit for client appreciativeness. It was recently recognized as the ‘Best Large Call Centre’ at the Insights Middle East Call Centre of the Year Awards at a special gala ceremony in Dubai. This was the eighth consecutive year Etihad Airways has been so honored.
In the hotly contested airline industry where customers can have multiple travel options, it is clear that investing in how the customer experiences the brand on the ground as well as in the air can make a difference in their choice of carrier.