Travel call centres set standards for other industries

Travel call centres provide a similar or better level of service than other call
centres in other industries, according to a survey by Amadeus.

The GDS polled more than 300 retailers and industry professionals on the issue and 75 per cent favoured call centres in the travel business.

However, of the 25 per cent who felt travel call centres offered a worse service
than those found in industries such as banking and insurance, many blamed poor
training for their findings.

“The products are relatively complex and the training is woefully inadequate,
along with too high levels of staff turnover,” said one agent.

Another retailer commented: “Queries to travel industry call centres may not be
as straightforward as routine queries made to financial call centres, such as
banks. This has implications for staff training and the creation of
knowledgeable databases.”

Amadeus also quizzed agents and industry professionals about the competence of
staff in call centres compared with those in high street agents. Most felt they
offered a similar level of service.

Many retailers said consumers would increasingly make straightforward
transactions on the Internet.

“I think more and more clients will use online for simple flights and holidays,”
said one agent. “If it is more complicated then they will come to the high
street agent to have a face-to-face conversation. Call centre business will
probably increase for business travel, as more and more airlines are changing to
e-ticketing, so branch location is not an issue.”

Reflecting on the poll results, Amadeus UK communications manager Rob Colledge
said: “Travel industry call centres are frequently in the news and not always
for the right reasons. However it is reassuring to see that the majority of
agents felt that travel call centres do not fare badly compared to other
industry call centres.

“The polls shows that it can be a challenge for call centre staff to paint a
picture and present complex travel options in an easy to understand manner. High
street agents have glossy brochures while online agencies maximise the visual
impact of multimedia to help clinch the sale – imagery that is missing when
using the telephone.

“Both traditional high street and online agents need to look at how to maximise
the convenience that call centres offer without diluting their customer
service.”

Report by Jeremy Skidmore