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1
First-Class Service at 30,000 Feet and BelowCase
StudyCONTINENTAL AIRLINES
Andre HarrisDirector, Reservations Training and
Quality AssuranceContinental Airlinesaharris_at_coa
ir.com
2
Continental Profile
3
THE GO FORWARD PLAN
Make Reliabilitya Reality
Fly to Win
Fund the Future
Working Together

Product Revenue
No Cash, No Future
Operations
People
4
Contact Centers

• Three Domestic and 18 Intl Contact Centers
• 2,500 Agent Workstations
• 4,600 Reservations Agents
• 60 Million calls annually, including airline
  
• reservations, frequent flyer program and third
• party customers

5
Call Volume

• Annual Call Volume 55,000,000
• VRU / SRU 7,000,000
• Average Handle Time 280 Seconds
• Inbound Toll-Free Traffic 95
• Inbound Calls Handled by More
• than One Center 83

6
Call Functions

• Domestic
• Executive Desk
• Rates
• Customer Care
• Wholesale
• Hearing-Impaired
• Government
• FAA

• International
• OP Service Center
• Elite
• Rewards
• Foreign Language
• Grandeur
• Chairmans Circle
• Groups

• Support
• Spanish
• Electronic Service
• Partner
• Prepaids
• Military
• Oxygen
• MeetingWorks

7
Salt Lake City Reservations

• 885 Employees (600 FTEs)
• General Sales, International, OnePass Partners,
  ePass Support
• 6AM 12AM Local

8
Tampa Reservations

• 1153 Employees (794.5 FTEs)
• General Sales, International, Queues, Service
  Recovery Support
• 24 Hours

9
North Houston Center
North Houston Center

• 2,604 Employees (1,882 FTEs)
• General Sales, International, Groups,
  MeetingWorks,
• Support, Electronic Support Desk, Foreign
  Language, etc.
• 24 Hours

10
Technology Infrastructure - VOICE
11
Technology Infrastructure - DATA
12
Technology Infrastructure
13
Customer Service
14
Customer Service

• Measure Whats Important to the Customer
• Key Customer Drivers
• Train, Reinforce and Expect Superior Customer
  Service

15
Measure Whats Important to Customers

• Newsflash Customers dont care if we say,
  Thanks for Calling Continental.
• So we dont measure it!
• No More Absolutes.
• Results-Oriented and Big Picture Strategies.
• Honor Individual Styles that Achieve Positive
  Results.
• No Scripting.
• Promote Best Practices Success Secrets from
  Best Agents.

16
Ask Your Customers

• What do customers value? We asked them!
• Before we spent on our product or made changes
  to our quality and training programs, we asked
  our customers what they value
• Customer Focus Groups Interviews.
• Our definition of FIRST CLASS SERVICE is simple
  its the Customers!

17
Key Customer Drivers

• Customers want to speak with CSRs that will
• Provide Accurate Information
• Understand Needs
• Answer Promptly
• Provide Friendly and Courteous Service
• Provide Assistance with Finding The Best Deals
• Provide Efficient Service
• Be Responsive

18
Training _at_ Continental

• New-Hire Training Revamped to Include Key
  Customer Drivers
• Created New Training Programs, Sellebration and
  Exellence
• Recurrent Training 4 Hours per Agent, per Month

19
Measuring the Right Things
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What gets measured and rewarded, gets
done.-Gordon BethuneContinental Airlines
Chairman CEO
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Key Result Areas
Customer Service
Quality Rating / Customer Feedback
Sales
Bookings per Hour eTicket
Calls per Hour
Production
22
Agent Status Quality Monitoring Frequency

• Above Target 1 Coaching Session X 3 Calls/month
• On Target 1 Coaching Session X 5 Calls/month
• Below Target 2 Coaching Sessions X 5 Calls/month
• Probationary 2 Coaching Sessions X 5 Calls/month

23
The Evolution of Quality Monitoring

• 1990 65 Questions / Attributes
• A World of Absolutes Micromanaging
• 1995 34 Questions / Attributes
• Scripting, Robo-Res Mixed Messages
• 2000 - Present 14 Attributes
• Balance Customer Service, Sales Production
• Big Picture / Results-Oriented

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Customer Service Attributes

• Provides and Documents Accurate Information
• Provides Courteous Service
• Provides Appropriate Options or Solutions
• Uses Customer Care Guidelines to Resolve Problems
• Satisfies DOT CustomerFirst Commitments
• Customer Mishandling

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Example Accurate Information
Its all or nothing partial information or 99
of the information is not good enough. This
attribute replaced 16 questions on a previous
call evaluation form.

• Quoted Minimum 2 Flight Schedules
• Advised Complete Fare Rules
• Documented Fare Rules
• Advised Correct Policies Procedures
• Documented Correct Ticket-Time-Limit
• Documented Correct Credit Card
• Documented Correct Billing Address
• Documented Correct Phone Number

• Recapped Itinerary
• Assigned Seats
• Documented Special Service Requests
• Booked / Rebooked Flights Correctly
• Advised Correct Travel Documents
• Documented Travel Documents
• Documented Citizenship
• Documented Correct OnePass Number

26
Example Accurate Information
Its all or nothing partial information or 99
of the information is not good enough. This
attribute replaced 16 questions on a previous
call evaluation form.

• Quoted Minimum 2 Flight Schedules
• Advised Complete Fare Rules
• Documented Fare Rules
• Advised Correct Policies Procedures
• Documented Correct Ticket-Time-Limit
• Documented Correct Credit Card
• Documented Correct Billing Address
• Documented Correct Phone Number

• Recapped Itinerary
• Assigned Seats
• Documented Special Service Requests
• Booked / Rebooked Flights Correctly
• Advised Correct Travel Documents
• Documented Travel Documents
• Documented Citizenship
• Documented Correct OnePass Number

27
Sales

• Asks for the Sale
• Offers eTicket
• Offers Alternatives to Overcome Objections
• Offers Special Promotions

28
(No Transcript)
29
Production

• Remains Focused on the Business Purpose of the
  Call
• Research Using Available Tools and Resources
  before contacting Customer Service Manager
• Best Possible Navigation of Computer System
• Identifies Customer Needs
• Guides the Call in a Logical Manner

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Results
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Results Rewards

• Happy Employees Happy Customers
• Results ROI
• Quality As A Qualifier
• Reward Excellent Customer Service

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Happy Employees Happy Customers!

• Fortunes 100 Best Companies to Work for 6
  consecutive years!
• Awarded Call Center of the Year 2003 by Call
  Center Magazine!
• Less than 5 Annual Turnover!

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Results ROI

• Sales
• Reservations Revenue increased 17 vs. 15 YOY
• 24 increase YOY in car transfers
• Named Avis Hertz Transfer Partner of Year 2002
• Quality Assurance
• 10 jump in average Quality Scores YOY
• 50 increase YOY in calls evaluated
• 29 increase YOY in Coaching time

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Results ROI

• 3.
• Productivity
• 1 to 32 Team Leader to Agent Ratio
• 4. Customer Service / Productivity
• Reduced Calls to Support Desk from 5.8 - 4.8
  YOY (2001 vs. 2002)
• Ended 2003 with 3.8
• 0 in DOT/CustomerFirst Fines in 2001-2003

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What is the number 1 KeyDriver from Our
Customers?

• Courteous Service
• Efficient Service
• Accurate Information

N 13
Cross-Tab Label
0 / 500
36
How many questions are on the current call
monitoring form?

• 14
• 18
• 22

N 25
Cross-Tab Label
0 / 500
37
How many calls are evaluated in a month for a
Below Target employee?

• 35
• 10
• 15

N 16
Cross-Tab Label
0 / 500
38
How many years has Continental been awarded a
Best Company to Work for?

• 4
• 5
• 6

N 28
Cross-Tab Label
0 / 500
39
What quality monitoring tool does Continental use?

• Tape Recorders
• Witness Systems
• Nice

N 28
Cross-Tab Label
0 / 500
40
Questions?