Ted Thornhill, Mailonline travel editor
00:01 11 July 2024, updated 07:55 11 July 2024
- EasyJet, BA, Vueling, Wizz Air, Ryanair, KLM, Tui and Jet2 were tested
- A Ryanair spokesman said: “We don’t answer which? fake news”
- Which airline do you think has the worst customer service? Vote in our poll…
- READ MORE: Britain’s best B&Bs for 2024 revealed by the AA
And which one? A mystery shopper investigation uncovered several airline “customer service failures” after testing eight carriers.
The consumer champion wanted to find out the “true state” of customer service culture at easyJet, BA, Vueling, Wizz Air, Ryanair, KLM, Tui and Jet2.
Result? “Bad bots and doom loops of useless messages [and] ripped off premium rate phone lines,” said Which?.
Who? explained that its researchers contacted the airlines through a variety of channels, including phone calls, online chats, emails (or alternatively an online inquiry form or WhatsApp if no email contact is available) and X (formerly Twitter).
The researchers made “simple demands” which? he explained, “such as correcting a spelling error in a booking or asking for advice on whether their passport is valid for EU travel”.
In each case, the airline was rated on accuracy, speed and how helpful the interactions were.
Who? revealed: ‘When it comes to using online chat services, researchers have found that coordination between bots and live agents is hit and miss.’
Wizz Air The chatbot promised to connect the researcher to a live agent to discuss passport expiration rules, but “the agents were too busy.”
Who? he said, “The robot advised.” [the] the researcher waited a minute before trying to connect to the live chat again, 12 times in 15 minutes before the researcher admitted defeat.
“The second attempt, this time to correct the name typo, was better and gave clear instructions on what to do. However, the robot could not make the change on the passenger’s behalf as a real customer service agent could.”
EasyJet has been more successful in demonstrating how a chatbot and live agents can work well together. Which? revealed, explaining: ‘When the researcher asked to correct a spelling mistake in the booking, the bot explained how this could be done via the website, but also offered to connect the researcher with a live agent to do it on their behalf.’
For non-urgent enquiries, email contact also “proved difficult in many cases”.
Who? explained: ‘Jet2 and Ryanairfor example, it didn’t offer email as an option, but those that did weren’t necessarily helpful. British Airways, Vueling and Wizz Air they either did not answer or did not provide useful information when they did answer. Compared, easyJet answered every time – generally helpful – and Tui’s online inquiry form a KLM alternative, WhatsApp, were both effective.”
The caller was told that the phone number they were calling from did not match the booking and the Ryanair system cut them off
How about phone contact? The researchers found that finding a phone number and then accessing help was “not always straightforward” and the phone contact for existing bookings was “immediately apparent to researchers on Tui and Vueling sites’.
First call Vueling it failed because the query was misheard and offered directory choices that did not suit the querying of the researcher, who was disconnected before he could decide which one to choose.
Overall, the study reveals that Vueling has hung up on Which? on three out of six attempts.
Ryanair the automated system also hung up on the researchers.
Who? said, “On the first occasion the caller was, which? [the system] cut them off. The second call was disconnected because the flight was not within 30 days. The researchers finally got it right when they tried it the day before the flight.”
KLMmeanwhile, he was “unable to help when asked for a gluten-free menu”.
Otherwise, Which? noted that instead of offering a simple solution to correct the spelling error, the airline required the passport image to be emailed – but when the researcher called back and got another agent, they were able to fix it there and then.
The study also highlighted that getting help can be expensive.
Who? revealed that the number is “most immediate” at Wizz Air own website and “charges a whopping £1.45 per minute” for Google searches.
The airline has the local rate number “buried on its site” – but one researcher gave up trying to find it “after 30 clicks”.
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Another finally found it in the “special help” section.
Contacting businesses via X (formerly Twitter) was “generally more successful” – researchers revealed they had “positive interactions with Vueling, B.A and Jet2‘.
However, which one? points out that the danger of fraud on social media makes it “the riskiest method of contact”. The researchers said they were sent “several accounts posing as airlines asking for personal information.”
Finally, Which? said: “Overall, the researchers experienced a number of inconsistent and sometimes deeply disappointing interactions with customer service—with similar Wizz Air, Ryanair, KLM and Vueling falls short of expectations.
“It is imperative that airlines take steps to make it easier for their customers to get timely and effective solutions to their problems. This current lack of effective customer service and contact methods by some airlines can have serious consequences when customers seek advice, refunds or rerouting assistance when flights are delayed or cancelled.”
Rocio Concha, which one? The Director of Policy and Advocacy said: “It is unacceptable that such haphazard customer service has become the norm in the travel industry and it is essential that airlines raise their standards and make it easier for passengers to get timely and effective solutions when they encounter a problem. problem.
“The Government must prioritize giving stronger powers to the Civil Aviation Authority, including direct powers to impose fines, so that it can properly hold airlines to account when they fail to comply with consumer protection laws.”
AND Wizz Air a spokesman said: “We do not accept these findings. Is this another cheeky attempt by the Who? misleading the public with misleading “research”.
“Again, which one? was not transparent in its methodology, only asked a handful of people to express their opinion and tried to disguise it as representative.
“The fact is, you can’t contact the customer service team just a few times and judge the performance of an airline with millions of customers on that basis alone. It’s simply not accurate or fair. Which as an organization that is supposed to be on the consumer side? they should have been giving customers accurate advice they can trust rather than trying to grab headlines. Our customer service teams deal with thousands of customers every day and provide them with the support and assistance they need.”
But is Wizz Air in denial? This statement not only contradicts the Who? studies but with ratings on huge review sites. Wizz Air scores a dismal 1.3 out of five for its customer service on Trustpilot out of 13,000 reviews and averages just 2.5 out of five on Tripadvisor for customer service out of 26,800 reviews.
AND Vueling a spokesperson said: “Occasional issues are not indicative of the overall quality of our service. We are constantly evaluating our processes to ensure the best customer service and take the areas for improvement identified by the survey very seriously.”
AND Ryanair a spokesman said: “We don’t answer which one? fake news or their equally fake and commonly inaccurate “surveys”.