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Customer service lagging in online travel sector
Monday, 01 Apr, 2010
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Many online travel companies are falling short of consumer expectations for customer service, new research shows.
Premier Inn, Virgin Holidays, Monarch and Eurotunnel all performed well.
But low cost airlines were amongst the poorest by running only basic booking sites supported by minimal human contact, according to the study of 45 leading travel websites.
Cruise lines and cross channel ferry companies scored highly for customer service with consumer queries dealt with quickly and efficiently, the digital market research company eDigital Research found.
But the online travel sector still has some way to go to catch retail which is the best cross-sector performer, the company said.
The Benchmark study used online mystery shoppers to evaluate the “end to end” customer experience,
The survey ranked budget hotel chain Premier Inn as the highest overall travel performer with a rating of more than 80%. But this still lagged seven per cent M&S which was the highest scoring online retail brand.
The Premier Inn site scored highly for first impressions, an easy and precise search function and overall booking process.
But it was weaker at initial research and telephone contact with customers preferring more information and a quicker human response.
Virgin Holidays came second overall due to a good balance between informative content and inspirational imagery, backed up by a good customer star rating system, the research found.
Monarch was described as having made major improvements to its customer service with its telephone and email services rated 25% higher than a previous study in November.
Large improvements were noted fro first impression and initial research on the Eurotunnel site following more front-end investment, eDigital Research said.
The company’s associate director Lloyd Viney said: “Customer expectations are increasing all the time and given the increasing choice available online, consumers are now guiding and influencing the purchasing behaviour of others.
“The leading retailers are capturing and using consumer opinion to their advantage via online communities and product reviews.
“This is where online travel brands can gain ground, as this will dictate where further investment is needed.”
He added: "With holidays being the single biggest annual purchase for many people, having confidence in a company’s ability to help them through the booking process is critical in instilling trust and confidence.
“With online competition becoming more intense, those that will succeed will differentiate their service not necessarily on price, but on value, by providing quality customer support.
“Results of our study indicate that online travel organisations need to better engage with their customers in order to improve and match the performance of other sectors like the retail sector.”
The link to the report is:
by Phil Davies
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