Between October 13-17 this year, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines-always striving to give their customers the best possible service-embarked on a fascinating campaign named “happy to help.”
The initiative saw KLM offering assistance to as many travellers as they could-even those not travelling with KLM-online and offline with any issues they may face, and of course flying is rarely ever without at least one small hitch. This was done so that KLM could demonstrate its fantastic customer service to all travellers, rather than just their own customers, meaning that everyone could get a small sample of the KLM experience.
At the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, KLM set up a 24/7 contact centre for the duration of the week as a point of contact for any passengers in need of help. Staff would also scan twitter constantly for travel related search words. For example searching “boarding pass” would bring up tweets by people bemoaning the fact they had misplaced their boarding pass and so KLM would come to their rescue. A lot of problems could simply be solved over twitter-for example people wanting to find out which gate number they needed to go to, while others required KLM to go that extra mile. The airline went as far as to hire a speed boat across the Hudson River in order to provide help to anyone who risked missing any flight due to being caught in traffic on the way to JFK airport. If anyone in Amsterdam forgot their passport, KLM would be on hand to arrange a driver to take them back to get it. There were motorbikes in Hong Kong to return forgotten items. One lucky passenger even received a wakeup call to ensure she was up for her early flight. They provided beds for passengers who found themselves stuck at the airport overnight. Another passenger couldn’t sleep, so he was treated to a lullaby. Anyone who had a couple of hours spare in Amsterdam could take a tour round the beautiful city. Those examples are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the amazing service KLM provide and not just during the week long campaign.
The campaign was a fantastic demonstration of the lengths KLM will go to satisfy their customers and ensure they have the most stress free holiday possible. Excellent customer service is one of the most important aspects of a successful business model and KLM have shown that they have it by the bucket load.