Delta Says: Please Take This Survey, Even Though We Won’t Read It

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Sunday morning I flew Delta from Minneapolis to Atlanta for a conference.

Delta cares enough about my opinion of their airplanes that on Tuesday afternoon–over two days after I stepped off the flight–they e-mailed me an invitation to take a survey. Delta’s invitation read, in part:

Your feedback on this experience is important to us. We thank you in advance for your input.

Followed with:

THIS IS A CUSTOMER OPINION SURVEY DESIGNED TO HELP US BETTER SERVE YOU IN THE FUTURE. IT IS NOT A FORM FOR SUBMITTING QUESTIONS OR COMPLAINTS. IF YOU WOULD LIKE A RESPONSE TO ANY COMMENTS OR CONCERNS, PLEASE CONTACT US ON DELTA.COM OR BY CALLING +1-404-773-0305.

In other words, if you want someone to actually read what you write and take some action, it’s not going to happen here.

I give Delta credit for a certain level of honesty with its customers, but I really have to wonder:

  • Why would a customer do a survey which the company acknowledges up front (in all caps no less) won’t result in any response?
  • Why would a company spend the money (however small) to perform a survey which they can’t respond to?

The survey itself is even weirder. There were ten questions plus a comment area, and all the questions were about the cleanliness of different parts of the airplane. I was asked to rate the condition of the carpet, walls, reading lights, lavatory, etc., etc., but there is not a single question about customer service, the boarding process, or even how I feel about Delta overall.

I’m truly at a loss as to what Delta hopes to get out of this. The only theory I have so far (and it’s a bit farfetched) is that Delta cut back on cleaning its airplanes, and some executive wants to know how filthy they are. Rather than doing the obvious, like asking the cabin crews, they decided to send customers an e-mail two days after the flight.

So Delta, here’s my feedback, even though I know you’re not really paying attention: The cabin of the plane was fine, or at least not so disgusting that I would remember it two days later. But my wife will tell you I’m not always the best person to ask about cleanliness, and anyway, I generally try to suppress my memories of commercial air travel. As for the rest of the experience, nobody was actively rude to me. On the other hand, nobody did anything to mitigate the general unpleasantness of waking up before dawn on a Sunday just to spend two hours locked in a pressurized aluminum tube, unable to move more than an inch in any direction. So let me know when you’ve got your priorities straightened out, and maybe I’ll stop trying to avoid flying Delta.

Republished with author's permission from original post.

Peter Leppik
Peter U. Leppik is president and CEO of Vocalabs. He founded Vocal Laboratories Inc. in 2001 to apply scientific principles of data collection and analysis to the problem of improving customer service. Leppik has led efforts to measure, compare and publish customer service quality through third party, independent research. At Vocalabs, Leppik has assembled a team of professionals with deep expertise in survey methodology, data communications and data visualization to provide clients with best-in-class tools for improving customer service through real-time customer feedback.

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