A mystery shopper investigation by Which? has revealed multiple shortcomings in airline customer service after putting eight airlines to the test.
The consumer advocate wanted to uncover ‘the true state’ of customer service cultures at easyJet, BA, Vueling, Wizz Air, Ryanair, KLM, Tui and Jet2.
The result? ‘Malfunctioning bots and doomsday scenarios of useless messages’ [and] “High rate scammers,” said Which?.
Which? explained that researchers contacted the airlines via a variety of channels, including phone calls, online chats, emails (or, alternatively, an online enquiry form or WhatsApp if email contact is not available) and X (formerly Twitter).
The researchers made “simple requests”, Which? explains, “such as correcting a spelling mistake on a booking or asking for advice about the validity of their passport for travel to the EU”.
A Which? customer service survey found that the ‘most immediately obvious’ contact number on the Wizz Air website and when searching via Google ‘costs a staggering £1.45 per minute’
In each case, the airline was rated on accuracy, speed and how helpful the interactions were.
Which? revealed: ‘When it comes to the use of online chat services, researchers found that coordination between bots and live agents varied.’
Wizz Air’s chatbot promised to connect an investigator with a live agent to discuss passport expiry rules, but “agents were too busy.”
Which one? said: ‘The bot advised [the] The researcher had to wait a minute before attempting to connect to a live chat again, which he did 12 times in 15 minutes, after which the researcher admitted defeat.
‘A second attempt, this time to change a misspelled name, was better and gave clear instructions on what to do. However, the bot was unable to make the change on the passenger’s behalf, as a real customer service agent could have.’
EasyJet was more successful in demonstrating how chatbots and live agents can work well together, Which? revealed: ‘When a researcher asked to correct a spelling error on a booking, the bot explained how to do this via the website. It also offered to put the researcher in touch with a live agent who could do it on their behalf.’
EasyJet has successfully demonstrated how chatbots and live agents can work well together, Which? revealed.
Even for non-urgent questions, email contact proved to be ‘difficult in many cases’.
Which? explained: ‘For example, Jet2 and Ryanair didn’t offer email as an option, but those that did weren’t necessarily helpful. British Airways, Vueling and Wizz Air either didn’t respond, or didn’t provide useful information when they did. In contrast, easyJet responded every time – generally helpfully – and Tui’s online query form and KLM’s alternative, WhatsApp, were both effective.’
The caller to Which? was told that the phone number he was calling from did not match the booking reference and the Ryanair system disconnected the call.
What about telephone contact? The researchers found that finding a telephone number and then getting help was ‘not always straightforward’, and telephone contact for existing bookings was ‘only immediately apparent to the researchers on the Tui and Vueling sites’.
The first call to Vueling failed because the question was misunderstood. The researcher was given a choice from a phone book that did not match his question. Before he could decide which one to call, the connection was broken.
The research found that Vueling disconnected three out of six attempts at Which?
Ryanair’s automated system also crashed, according to the researchers.
Which? said: ‘On the first occasion, the caller to Which? was told that the telephone number they were calling from did not match the booking reference and [the system] they were cut off. A second call was disconnected because the flight wouldn’t be for 30 days. Investigators finally got through when they tried the day before the flight.’
KLM, on the other hand, could not help us when we asked about gluten-free menus.
In another case, Which? noted, the airline didn’t offer a simple solution to correct a spelling error, instead requesting a photo of the passport to be emailed. However, when the investigator called back and spoke to a different agent, they were able to correct the error straight away.
The research also found that seeking help can be expensive.
Which? revealed that the most immediately noticeable amount on Wizz Air’s own website and when searching via Google ‘costs a whopping £1.45 per minute’.
The airline has a local fare number “hidden on its site,” but a researcher gave it up “after 30 clicks.”
A Ryanair spokesperson said: ‘We do not comment on Which?’s fake news stories or its equally fake and routinely inaccurate ‘surveys’.’
Someone else eventually found it, under the heading ‘special assistance’.
Approaching companies via X (formerly Twitter) was ‘generally more successful’, with researchers reporting ‘positive interactions with Vueling, BA and Jet2’.
However, Which? points out that the risk of being scammed on social media makes it ‘the riskiest method of contact’. Researchers reported being spammed ‘by multiple accounts posing as the airlines and asking for personal information’.
Finally, Which? said: ‘Overall, researchers have encountered a series of inconsistent and sometimes very disappointing customer service interactions, with companies including Wizz Air, Ryanair, KLM and Vueling failing to meet expectations.
Which? Researchers found that Vueling’s customer service had its ups and downs
‘It is vital that airlines take action to make it easier for their customers to receive timely and effective solutions to their issues. This current lack of effective customer service and contact methods by some airlines could have serious consequences when customers try to get advice, refunds or assistance with rerouting when flights are delayed or cancelled.’
Rocio Concha, Which? 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 resolutions when they encounter a problem.
‘The government should prioritise giving the Civil Aviation Authority stronger powers, including the power to impose fines directly. This would allow the Civil Aviation Authority to hold airlines to account if they fail to comply with consumer protection laws.’
A Wizz Air spokesperson said: “We do not accept these findings. It is yet another blatant attempt by Which? to pull the wool over the public’s eyes with misleading ‘research’.
‘Once again, Which? has not been transparent about its methodology. Only a handful of people have been asked to give their views and the views are disguised as representative.
‘The fact is that you can’t contact a customer service team a few times and judge the performance of an airline with millions of customers on that alone. It’s simply not accurate or fair. As an organisation that is supposed to be on the side of the consumer, Which? should be giving customers accurate advice that they can trust, rather than trying to grab headlines. Our customer service teams deal with thousands of customers every day and provide the support and assistance they need.’
But does Wizz Air deny this? This statement not only contradicts the Which? study, but also the ratings on major review sites. Wizz air scores only 1.3 out of five for its customer service on Trustpilot from 13,000 reviews, and on Tripadvisor It scores an average of only 2.5 out of 5 for customer service based on 26,800 reviews.
A Vueling spokesperson said: ‘Occasional challenges are not indicative of our overall service quality. We continually review our procedures to ensure the best customer service and take the areas for improvement highlighted by the survey very seriously.’
A Ryanair spokesperson said: ‘We do not respond to fake news stories from Which? or to the similarly fake and routinely inaccurate ‘surveys’.’
