Northwest Airlines had to shut down its Detroit operations due to a snowstorm, causing delays for thousands. American Airlines suffered a pilot work stoppage. Because the airline industry has failed to police itself, it may take government intervention to improve customer relations. Vice President Al Gore and the U.S. Congress have threatened to step in unless the situation improves. The airline industry has been able to fend off passenger rights legislation, but Congress may force them to change, Avila said.
Most airlines base part of their advertising campaigns on how well they treat customers.
Yet, thousands of American passengers regularly suffer from poor customer service without adequate compensation. Good customer service is the keystone to retaining and attracting consumers, and many companies are missing the point, said Avila, who has worked with companies on developing good customer relations departments over the last 20 years. Six outstanding events have to take place just to break even against one bad customer service experience. The service in this country is terrible and corporate America knows it. And, they refuse to do anything about it because it affects the bottom line negatively.