I’ve mentioned it before and I’ll mention it again – I really appreciate the recent migration of major companies towards giving users a seamless/preferred contact method to inquire about, make updates to, or generally assist with any existing orders (be it in a retail/sales environment, with your hotels/airlines, etc). My latest success story is another with Delta’s twitter @deltaassist.
In a few short minutes (as you can tell from the graphic – actually 9 minutes from first contact to be exact, of which 90% of my time was spent elsewhere multitasking as I awaited their response) I was able to have them add a traveling companion’s itinerary to mine and have them placed in the seat next to me. Traditionally, I would have either had to call in (and wait) or get to the airport early to check in (and wait). This removed all of the waiting and allowed me to quickly and painlessly manage the situation. I know this is a costly thing for these companies to build and manage, but the ultimate reward in customer experience/satisfaction is truly invaluable.
Cheers to you, Delta!
Til Next Time,
Michael