[Anonymous]

[BigDog.]

The airline even failed to cut and paste…..

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/11005505/Dear-CUSTOMER-NAME-the-worlds-least-sincere-apology.html

More bean-counter initiatives totally missing the point that there are customers with problems which require a personal response. Instead hand out platitudes and avios points and it will go away.

[BusinessBabble]

Can’t see what this one has got to do with bean counters.

The issue in this case is a poor Customer Care Department handling process, but from what I understand from my US friends United has all sorts off issues post merger of United & Continental as they attempt to successfully integrate.

[BigDog.]

Bean counters promoting standard letters probably with targets to get x responses out in y minutes. Form over substance. Failing to take time to understand a problem let alone resolve it.

If you have time BusinessBabble take a look here. IMO United is not untypical especially within the industry. It is the culture inculcated by bean-counters.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2013/04/11/united-this-is-not-any-way-to-run-an-airline/

[BusinessBabble]

Any business that has 140,000,000 customers per year is going to have standard processes, templates and targets to manage customer complaints.

In this case looks like someone hit send prematurely.

[BigDog.]

Any half decent system would have prevented it occurring – but that requires not just investment but also a desire to do the right thing (and things right), not merely address/respond but resolve and then actively prevent future recurrence if reasonably possible.

[fatbear]

I agree with BusinessBabble that this does look like anything to do with bean counters.

More like management consultants !

[LuganoPirate]

Who remembers the “Bed Bug Letter”?

For those who don’t.

http://service-ability.com/?p=632

[canucklad]

Thanks LP…..interesting reading and great points that I’m going to share back at the ranch.

I agree BigDog , any decent system shouldn’t allow a letter to be sent without completing the inserts. Our system certainly does that.

Sadly template letters exist because our education system is now so poor, and in the laziness of social media society , a workforce has evolved that has neither literary skills or intellectual ability to construct bespoke replies.

Only last week I decided to attend a quality meeting to find out how our recently launched web chat service was going …… Most of the engagement is free hand typing … .frightening !!!

[LuganoPirate]

“Sadly template letters exist because our education system is now so poor, and in the laziness of social media society , a workforce has evolved that has neither literary skills or intellectual ability to construct bespoke replies.”

How very true Canucklad. This all seems to be a part of the general dumbing down of western society by our educational system, one in which pupils who don’t do well can’t “fail” less it hurt their feelings and infringes their human rights.

[HongKongLady]

As an educator, ouch !

[canucklad]

Hi HongKongLady & LP

I’m assuming you’re based in Hong Kong? Anyway thought you might like the following story..
Your “ouch” has just tickled me ….. Just finished a meeting were I’ve been interrupted by some of my younger colleagues who needed me to explain what the following words meant…..

Comprehend, Reticent, Penultimate, Contextualize, Dividend, and then to top it all of Apex.

Not even going to bother about the looks I got when I said “Let’s not Exacerbate the situation, lets accomplish a swift resolution.

The HR lady rebuked me afterwards, and suggested using big words, was a form of bullying, because I’ve made them feel inadequate. ….She suggested that rather than use penultimate, I could have said “The one before the last” .

And apparently, we as business need to prepare for the intake of “Generation Z” … clever with computers but this makes them socially backward and even less capable of forming independent thought.

[BigDog.]

Awesome Canucklad 😉

[NameRemoved-18/12/14]

I used to be an avid reader until I bought a smartphone 2 years ago. Big mistake!

[Author]

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