Case Studies
Follow the link to read the full case study details:
CUSTOMER SERVICE
- Improved Customer Service for a Market Leader
- Creating Airline Customer Service Excellence
- Improving Global Customer Relationships and Clarifying NPD Focus
DISTRIBUTION MODELLING & THIRD PARTY SOURCING
- Outsourced Distribution in the Chemical Industry
- Fast Savings for Fast Food Firm
- Hi Tech, Low Volume Sourcing from China
- Delivering a smart Logistics Solution for the NHS
E-SUPPLY CHAIN
- E-Fulfillment into a Pan European Automotive Manufacturer
- Factory Relocation to the Far East
- European Inventory Optimisation
- Lean and Mean in a Traditional Environment
- Creating Consistency for a Building Products Company
- Performance Improvement for a Global FMCG Business
- Reducing the Risks for an Insurance Company
- Creating the Standard for a Pop Star
- Cross Industry Benchmarking for a Leading Retailer
- Operational Turnaround at a Major Brewery
- Business Recovery in Food Services
FAR EAST OUTSOURCING
INVENTORY
LEAN MANUFACTURING
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
STRATEGY
Creating Airline Customer Service Excellence
The client
UK subsidiary of a European national carrier
Engaged in major service review
The challenge
The client was very conscious that their passengers:
- Spent more time with them on the ground at the airport than in the air to European destinations
- Received variable standards of service depending upon which airport they were flying from
- Were offered variable standards of care in the event of delays or cancellations
The solution
We studied training materials, operating manuals, instructions and any other company documentation. We carried out face to face interviews with airline staff to establish what training they had received, what on-going coaching was carried out and most importantly, what they thought that the company wanted them to do in providing customer service.
Secondly we carried out an intensive observation for two days at each of the airports chosen for the study. During this stage we also forced our luggage to be lost by booking on flights below the minimum connecting times, so that we could track the lost baggage procedures.
Finally we worked with a group of airline staff, chosen from the different airports and different functions in order to create a service improvement team.
We provided a range of team building exercises for representatives drawn from each airport within the study.
We initiated a series of 'quick wins' that provided immediate improvements in customer service, most particularly for Frequent Flyers, who had been receiving a slower service at check-in than ordinary passengers. We also implemented steps that would greatly improve the airline's record on collecting excess baggage charges, something that many check-in staff had been very reluctant to do.
Working with the team of airline managers we began not just the design of customer service delivery processes but also the process of managing through processes. We designed a pilot scheme for each airport that the relevant team took back, implemented, monitored and reported back on at regular team meetings.
Before rolling out the new processes and standards for delivering customer service on the ground, we worked with the team to capture and distil their various experiences of implementing the new processes at each airport.
Including a complete review of the airline's recruitment and training of its staff on the ground, a restructured customer service delivery regime was established and monitored. Both passenger satisfaction and staff satisfaction indices improved dramatically and remained higher then previously.
Benefits at a glance
As a result of our work with them the client gained the following benefits:
- Enhanced and sustainable passenger service 'on the ground'
- A thorough understanding of customer service delivery processes
- A team of managers with the ability to manage themselves, their staff and their suppliers through processes
- The ability to perform cause and effect analysis
- The ability to promulgate their skills and share their experience with their colleagues
- Increased revenue from excess baggage charges
