As consumers, we’re bombarded with emails and push notifications from companies requesting feedback. Whether it’s a pizza order, an Uber ride, a flight, a hotel stay, or a phone call with a customer service representative, the requests for feedback are endless.
For the most part, I don’t fill out these surveys, simply because that could be a full time job, in and of itself. However, I make a point of filling our surveys that I receive from airlines when I think there’s value to it, so I’d like to talk about that a bit in this post. I’m also curious to hear how OMAAT readers approach this.
In this post:
Airlines care a lot about survey results
Big picture, the airline industry isn’t exactly known for exceptional customer service, or for investing hugely in customer experience (there are of course exceptions, but I’m painting with a broad brush here).
That being said, you’d be shocked by how much airline executives care about survey results and net promoter scores, and how much it impacts the direction that things go. I really can’t stress enough how important this is to airlines, and how individual department heads are held responsible for the results.
I’ve had my fair share of conversations with executives in the airline industry over the years, including both on the product and loyalty program side. Sometimes they’ll ask for feedback, and after I share my thoughts, they’ll act surprised and say “our survey scores in that area are really great.”
At that point my jaw usually drops, and I’m not sure what to say. Out of respect for the conversations I’ve had, I don’t want to get into too much detail, but suffice to say that you’d be shocked to know some of the areas where airline executives don’t see any flaws in their offerings (yes, it’s probably at exactly the airlines you’d expect).
It reminds me a bit of Gordon Ramsay’s old “Kitchen Nightmares” show, which I find to be amusing. He comes into a struggling restaurant, and they don’t understand why they don’t have customers. Gordon says the food is absolute garbage, and almost without exception, the chef or owner responds “everyone loves our food.”
Of course the difference is that airlines can get away with offering less, since fundamentally they’re in the transportation business, and price and schedule is what matters most to consumers.
Surveys aren’t a great performance metric
Now, before I talk about my approach to filling out surveys from airlines, let me state that I actually don’t think surveys are a great metric of performance, and that companies often weigh them too much. There are lots of reasons they aren’t necessarily representative of the majority opinion on a topic:
- Generally you either have to be really satisfied or really dissatisfied to fill out a survey, since it takes time to do, and you’re not being paid for it
- Often questions are phrased in a way that favors the company, and that doesn’t get at the core of some of the issues
- Companies will frequently throw out the most “extreme” responses, both positive and negative, which really eliminates much of the feedback
- Frequent customers of a company are often just used to the status quo, so don’t bother providing feedback; I guess if they’re still patronizing a business then that’s fine, but over time, people do switch their business to competitors
I’m not saying surveys are a worthless metric, but personally I think companies often come to the wrong conclusions based on the survey data they receive.
My approach to filling out airline surveys
I’ll be honest, I don’t fill out a survey after every flight, because that would be very time consuming. If I take a flight and it’s completely unmemorable and in line with my expectations, I usually don’t bother.
Instead, I like to provide feedback either when I have a fantastic experience, or when I have a negative experience. Generally if I have a great experience, I actually prefer to send an email to the airline to personally recognize the employee that went above and beyond, since I think that’s more likely to be beneficial to the employee.
However, when the experience is just negative overall, or when I think an airline has major room for improvement in an area, I’ll consistently fill out surveys, in hopes of that feedback eventually having some sort of an impact.
I realize my individual feedback won’t change anything in and of itself, but at scale, it can make a difference. Filling out a survey is a bit like voting in an election. You’re making your voice heard, and while it might not change the world, it’s the best you can do to get your point across.
Airlines love to make changes based on “customer feedback,” so if there are negative changes but you didn’t provide such feedback, then it’s harder to be annoyed.
Now, let me be clear, I try to be constructive with the topics on which I provide feedback. For example, intra-Europe business class is pretty sucky, but airlines aren’t going to change that, because that’s just totally the industry norm, so I don’t personally view that as something worth complaining about.
However, whether it’s bad inflight service, or inedible food, or a lack of power ports, or a subpar loyalty program, I think those are all things that are worth providing feedback on.
Bottom line
If you’re not filling out post-flight airline surveys, consider doing so, especially if you’re unhappy. All too often I hear airlines justify decisions based on customer feedback, and say that their “survey scores” in a particular area are good, even when it’s incomprehensible to me. Let the airlines know when you aren’t happy with the product they’re offering. The reality is that these survey results do matter, and can lead to change.
To balance that, I also recommend acknowledging great employees. Personally I prefer sending a dedicated email for that, but you can also fill out a survey.
Do you fill out post-flight airline surveys? Under what circumstances?
Which airlines would you specifically provide the surveys for and what about hotels?
In the minimum at least they are asking. So many companies don't care what you think.
As mentioned in a previous post, CEO's and upper management should be using their own products as consumers, even under cover so they have a real experience.
I do not usually get one from delta!!
Sometimes do and sometimes don't. Usually, I don't BECAUSE instead of asking for what you want to say, positive or negative, you are forced to answer a large number of questions that, at least to me, are irrelevant. If you don't answer ALL these questions, you are unable to submit the survey.
I I want to write something positive about someone who did a great job, I also (like Lucky) send an email to...
Sometimes do and sometimes don't. Usually, I don't BECAUSE instead of asking for what you want to say, positive or negative, you are forced to answer a large number of questions that, at least to me, are irrelevant. If you don't answer ALL these questions, you are unable to submit the survey.
I I want to write something positive about someone who did a great job, I also (like Lucky) send an email to the airline if possible (on UA, there is a certain email to use, which the going-to-be-praised employee will gladly give you.)
Lucky, maybe you could provide a list of airline emails that we could use to send in positive remarks?
I had an outstanding Alaska flight a couple months ago in PE and wrote a praising note naming the names of my SFO based crew. To my delight and surprise I had 2 of the same crew a week ago and they remembered my note and I was upgraded to F after the door closed. How cool is THAT ???
For a year, I filled out the Delta surveys almost exclusively with one message – when an airplane's wifi is inoperable, passengers should be made aware ahead of time so they can plan accordingly (let their bosses know they'll be offline, end conversations they may expect to continue in the air, etc.). Then, one day, they started doing exactly this. Probably a coincidence, but...maybe not?
I always fill out the ones from AA, because I want them to know how much they suck and that despite living in Dallas and being lifetime Platinum, unless I can pay with miles I look for any other competitor to fly.
I keep them brief, and mostly positive (thanking individuals). The surveys are never random and can ultimately be sourced back to you, especially if sent to your email, using your frequent flyer account, etc. So, if a conflict ever got bad, what you say can and will be used against you.
My standard are pretty high. I pay an enormous amount of money for air travel. I expect a clean airplane and a reasonable experience. To me, those are all solid average or 3 on a scale of 1 - 5.
Broken IFE, non-functioning wifi, a half-eaten sandwich in the seat pocket or an awful crew is a 1. Pretty hard in US domestic travel to get above a 3 on my scale.
You should always complain about anything good in these surveys.
That way airlines don't need to lie when they take away benefits based on customer feedbacks.
The dilemma: sometimes I want to tell an airline that I had a mediocre or negative experience but I don't want to get some poor schmo in trouble. Like, even if an FA was kinda rude I don't want to get them called on the carpet. And that's what happen with NPS. If you don't report an absolute five star experience, it's treated as a disaster.
"Companies will frequently throw out the most “extreme” responses, both positive and negative, which really eliminates much of the feedback"
Removing outliers (especially big ones) is commonly (almost always) done for statistical reasons, because they tend to skew the results.
The hard-copy surveys I've gotten have been exclusively on board long-haul first class flights, and I've received them on Lufthansa, United, and Singapore. They are pretty substantial and quite long, and can take up to...
"Companies will frequently throw out the most “extreme” responses, both positive and negative, which really eliminates much of the feedback"
Removing outliers (especially big ones) is commonly (almost always) done for statistical reasons, because they tend to skew the results.
The hard-copy surveys I've gotten have been exclusively on board long-haul first class flights, and I've received them on Lufthansa, United, and Singapore. They are pretty substantial and quite long, and can take up to 30 minutes to fill out. Because the lead f/a is the one who distributes these, they have a lot of discretion as to whom receives them, and I suspect that they're given to those pax who appear to have appreciated the inflight service the most, but I can't prove it.
LH especially has emphasized to me the importance of customer feedback with these surveys.
I never skip these surveys. If a U.S. carrier asks for feedback, I take the opportunity to lay out exactly how disappointing and substandard their flight attendant service is.
Strangely I've never gotten one of those (and I get a fair number) when things turned into a self induced airline cluster. Also at least for AA there are useless questions like did the "gate agent smile?" I certainly can't remember so I just mark yes.
Recently on a regional Qatar flight, I've seen how a flight attendant came by and gave surveys only to the twelve people in the extra legroom seats. No wonder Qatar Airways is the #1 airline in Economy :)