It’s incredible how some large, well-known companies are tarnishing their brands by forgetting about the importance of brand touch points (or points of customer interaction) to save money. This was evident from a recent experience with BA at Edinburgh Airport. As a cost saving exercise, BA is employing an agent to look after its ground handling and interests at the airport. The check-in procedure was fine but the customer experience at departure wasn’t what you’d normally associate with a legacy carrier such as BA.
One of the reasons for choosing BA, as opposed to a budget airline such as Ryan Air, is that you don’t want to experience the ‘Ryan Air stampede’ when it comes to boarding the aircraft. Unfortunately, the agent’s employees did not adhere to the normal BA procedure of boarding the aircraft in an orderly manner; in fact, it was a scrum! Travelling with a 13 month old child, we were expecting an announcement to allow the elderly or people travelling with small children to board first; furthermore, one would expect the staff to board the aircraft by row and seat number to avoid crowding at the gate. Anyway, none of this was forthcoming and BA’s representatives made the abrupt announcement: ‘flight ready to board now!’
By using non-BA staff, who are clearly not trained to the same standard as you’d expect, the company has tarnished its brand at a very important point of interaction. By charging a premium compared to budget carriers, expectations are high at all points of interaction with the airline. This move by BA to save money has jeopardised its brand promise to customers. Ironically, BA’s new CEO Keith Williams sent a letter in January to the airline’s staff, telling them they were at the heart of the BA brand. Will we fly with BA again? We’ll certainly think twice about it.
