We all know companies sometimes drop the ball. They provide poor communication and take little action to make a bad situation better. Sometimes this is just human error. Other times it’s company policy.
Over the years I have flown Air Canada many times. Living in Canada, it is often the most convenient option. However, I have come to understand, from my own experiences and those others have shared with me, that this airline has zero interest in customer service. In fact, their response to enquiries and claims is so dismissive, it has become a lesson in what not to do.
On a recent trip to Hawaii, the plane left late resulting in my family and I missing our connecting flight and being stuck in Vancouver for a day (which is not necessarily a bad thing). As such, we incurred additional costs such as meals and transportation. Air Canada staff at the airport told us there would be no problem being reimbursed. All we had to do was hold on to our receipts and submit them at the end of our trip. (The airline staff immediately comp’ed our hotel stay.)
After the trip I completed the online form and uploaded all the related documents.
The response from Air Canada was that under the circumstances, I am not eligible for reimbursement.
As this seems to be their standard response, I thought I would share some of the strategies I have seen Air Canada employ to avoid helping dissatisfied customers. Perhaps you can ensure your company is not accidently using them, or perhaps you can recognize when other companies are.
✅ Make it difficult to submit a claim. Confusing procedures, online forms that don’t work, hidden web pages – the trick is to make sure the process is complicated enough that most people get it wrong. That way you can dismiss the claim immediately.
✅ Always reply with a NO. Regardless of the claim or the reason, always decline. Most customers will give up and move on.
✅ Provide vague reasons. For those customers that respond with questions or challenge your decision, provide reasons that are ambiguous or make no sense at all.
✅ Change the reasons as needed. Should the customer persist, come up with different reasons. Refer to obscure legislation or industry policies. The more official things sound the more the customer will back away. Even if the references are incorrect.
✅ Provide no additional contact information. Does the customer want to speak to management? Too bad! There is no management. No email. No phone number. No transfer from another department. Make sure your customer relations team is inaccessible beyond email.
My one final takeaway is to make sure you remember which companies welcome your business and which ones welcome your money. There is a difference. And Air Canada will realize that next time I book a flight with another airline.
