Hong Kong travel agencies are failing to offer desired customer service across multiple channels to capitalize on the booming travel market, according to the study revealed by the customer service specialist Talisma Corporation. In a…
Hong Kong travel agencies are failing to offer desired customer service across multiple channels to capitalize on the booming travel market, according to the study revealed by the customer service specialist Talisma Corporation. In a mystery shopper exercise, as many as 50% of travel agencies ignored enquiry emails, with only 40% of those answered providing accurate and complete information; none answered phone calls with personalized content; and 95% did not give staff a unified customer interaction history across multiple channels.
The study was performed to examine customer service level across various channels in the Hong Kong travel industry. Talisma contacted 20 leading Hong Kong travel agencies to ask the following questions: can I make a booking online? And what are the travel packages that you offer? The experience was assessed based on a range of customer service criteria, and each travel agency awarded a score out of 100.
Talisma’s audit revealed the following key results:
- Speed of response – one in every two enquiry emails was ignored by travel agencies.
- Accuracy of information provided – only 40% of the emails that were answered actually provided accurate and complete information.
- Personalisation of customer service – none of the travel agencies personalized telephone calls by addressing the caller by name or salutation and presenting the identity of the staff handling the response. Only 40% of the emails that were answered provided personalized content.
- Access to a full range of service channels – None of the travel agencies provided online chat facilities. 95% had no searchable Web self-help service to help prospective tourists make an informed decision.
- Unified customer interaction history – 95% of the travel agencies did not give staff a unified view of customer interactions across different channels. Only 5% could track emails once they had been received.
James Dwyer, Director, East Asia, Talisma said, The findings indicate that there is a huge opportunity to dramatically improve services and sales in the Hong Kong travel industry. Visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in the first six months of 2007 have grown to more than 13 million1 and the upward trend is set to continue. It is believed that customer interactions will become more challenging as volume of enquiries increase and communications take place in different channels. Poor management of customer interactions will have a negative impact on customer confidence, particularly in Hong Kong which sees serious competition from neighbouring counterparts such as Macau.
In today’s highly competitive travel market, the key to customer conversion and retention is through delivering customer service excellence across multiple channels. Travel agencies need to go beyond the basics and embrace more dynamic channels that can offer customer convenience and operational efficiency. Introducing online assistance, web self-service and VoIP as well as with integrating customer data from across the business is the most effective way to provide a cohesive customer service experience. For example, Korean Air who implemented Talisma CIM solution last year captured an additional 50% of customers’ bookings which were originally lost by using only traditional channels.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
