Equipment or crisis?機器か危機か？

【ふと思った日記】

What is required of companies today?

A genuine commitment to addressing customer issues.

The way a company handles customer inquiries and concerns reveals its internal operations.

For example, consider requests made to major car manufacturers and airlines. The rise of pay-as-you-go services has once again reminded me of the importance of customer service.

From my own experience in the Customer Relations department, I believe it’s essential to listen to customer feedback and share it across the entire company.

So, what should companies do?

They should provide consistent service to all customers. This is key to building trust in the company.

We can analyze how a company responds to our requests to better understand its internal workings.

For example, today I contacted a large car manufacturer with a simple inquiry about their navigation system. The automated system instructed me to press 1 for navigation-related questions, and for all other inquiries, press x. This suggests that issues with the navigation system are among the most common customer concerns.

In my case,

the company’s failure to properly address my question showed that they had a lot of unresolved customer issues. This is a clear sign that many customers are likely facing similar problems.

Whether the call is free or paid, my main concern was to get a resolution for my issue.

Even when I emailed them my query, they called me back, but the issue remained unresolved. The person who called back didn’t provide an adequate response to my question, and my concerns were left unanswered.

This was an experience I had when I was in my twenties.

I used to visit the airline counter frequently for business, and once, I needed to use a paid service offered by the airline — home delivery at the counter. This is a service not many people probably use, but I found it very useful.

Interestingly, the courier delivering the service was always the same person, and the deliveries were typically made at the same time of day. It became routine, so much so that they started referring to it as "your usual baggage." :)

However, when I attempted to use the paid service again, I was told by two ground staff members that home delivery wasn’t available, as the courier was located on another floor. At that point, I was unsure how to proceed, so I simply asked them to keep my baggage with the status tag as usual.

The odd thing was, when I checked in earlier, I expected my baggage to be handled like usual, but it was just thrown into a plastic bag and sent straight to the cargo hold.

When we landed, it was raining heavily, and I was concerned about my baggage getting wet. I considered asking them to place it in a plastic bag for protection, but when I approached the counter, the staff seemed confused and unhelpful. In the end, I just boarded the plane without taking any further action.

Unhappy with the service, I spoke to the chief purser on board and asked if they could arrange for my baggage to be delivered at the arrival airport. The chief purser seemed unsure and didn’t provide a clear answer. When I checked the flight timetable, I asked the purser to confirm the information, but in the end, he apologised and explained that delivery wouldn’t be possible after boarding.

Once we arrived at the airport, it was still raining heavily. Despite the difficulties, I went to the arrival counter and asked again, but was told that the delivery service was unavailable. My baggage got soaked, and I had to go home without it being delivered.

Was it because I had been drinking champagne on board? Perhaps. I sent an email to the airline, still somewhat unconvinced, but was too busy with work to follow up. One day, when I remembered, I was surprised to find the airline had sent me an apology email.

In the email, the company said the incident was shared internally, but I later learned it had only been posted on bulletin boards in staff areas like the canteen. At the time, I thought, “How embarrassing that something like this was shared publicly,” but after taking charge of the customer service department, I understood how such situations are analyzed.

At that time, the CEO was Mr. Inamori.

I had provided the boarding date, flight details, and seat number in my email. I suspect that the company’s response was based on these details. I also believe the chief purser properly reported the situation.

It wasn't because I was a First-Class passenger that my case was addressed in detail. It may have been because I had written everything chronologically, which made it easier for customer service to follow up. The company’s customer service should be able to respond effectively to all passengers, whether they are First-Class or not.

Perhaps Mr. Inamori himself even read my email.

#BCP #Customer #JAL #Crisis Management #Total Sharing #DX #JAPAN #email #Telephone #web #HTML #carrier #CS #working style reform #Mr.Inamori #0800 #customer