Adrie Reinders

KLM

There is a lot of discussion these days about Customer Service, since particularly at the moment it is crucial  to keep your customers loyal to you. Acquisition costs for new customers is much higher then investing in keeping your existing ones. I was travelling to Germany yesterday – on the D Pier at Schiphol Airport I thought I would use the KLM lounge. Some years ago, KLM awarded me the highest status of their frequent flyer’s program – For Life. This because I have spent a lot of time and money flying with KLM around the world over the past 25 years. I have always considered their appreciation in the shape of this permanent high status as a great way to stimulate customer loyalty. On the D Pier however, at the lounge, I was confronted with a “hostess” who would have done better being a public servant in the government – inflexible, rigid and belittling. I have not had people speak to me like that since kindergarten. When we were kind of laughing a little after we finally sat down – she actually came over to tell us she did not like us laughing!?? It is clear that KLM needs to either change their training programs or use a different selection process for its staff if they want to keep their current customers.