Improving the Airport Customer Experience (2016)

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1 1.1 Introduction Perceptions of airports are changing, as is the way airport operators view their customers. Just a few years ago, if passengers were asked what they expect from their visit to the airport, more often than not their response would include long queues, obtrusive security measures, unhelpful staff, dingy restrooms, crowded gate areas, and little to smile about. The experience was often perceived to be more negative than positive. The good news is that there has been a significant change in how airports view their customers, and that shift in viewpoint is accelerating. Airports are no longer viewing the airlines as their pri- mary customers. Today’s airports have become sophisticated and creative in their commitment to customer service excellence, beginning with a shift of emphasizing service to customers rather than passengers. The shifting focus to customers also takes into account employees and those who are there to meet and greet others. Indeed, the research described in this guidebook shows that many airports have migrated from a focus on passengers as customers to the hospitality perspective of customers as guests, implying an even higher level of service and attention to needs and wants. A basic tenet of customer experience management is that when the customer’s experience exceeds the customer’s expectations, the customer is pleasantly surprised. Conversely, when the customer’s expectations exceed the customer’s experiences, the customer is disappointed. Unfortunately, customers’ expectations are a moving target and are influenced by all sorts of real and perceived stimuli. Change is constant—customers change, the industry changes, and regulations change. Technology is an enabler of rapid change. Therefore, to maximize customer satisfaction with the airport experience, airports are improving their performance and innovat- ing across the entire service delivery chain while providing customers with valuable information to help them manage their expectations and provide them with more control of their travel experience. A guidebook was needed to support airport management as it transitions from providing stereotypical, predictable airport experiences to what is known as the “WOW” experience— especially within the increasingly complex airport environment in which many entities are responsible for the delivery of services but where, ultimately, the airport operator is account- able. Customer satisfaction has become an important goal of most airport operators, regardless of the airport’s size or location. This guidebook (1) provides notable practices to enhance customer service and increase cus- tomer satisfaction while recognizing the different types of customers (e.g., passengers, meeters C H A P T E R 1 Introduction to the Guidebook

2 Improving the Airport Customer Experience and greeters, employees) and types and sizes of airports, and (2) identifies what airports can do to further improve the customer experience. This guidebook is written for the airport operator’s staff responsible for overseeing customer service delivery (e.g., the customer service manager) but should also be helpful to others in airport management looking to improve customer service in their functional areas. Much has been said and written about how U.S. airports compare to airports outside of the United States. In early 2014, Vice President Joe Biden compared New York LaGuardia Airport to one that would be found in a “third-world country” (Rawlings 2014). Other commentators glibly and unfavorably compare U.S. airports to well-known international hubs—comparisons that generally leave U.S. airports, (and most other world airports) lacking. While Seoul Incheon, Singapore Changi, and Munich airports, among others, offer a daz- zling and best-in-class array of concessions, cultural offerings, and customer services, they are also pursuing a type of passenger that is unavailable to U.S. airports—the international transit passenger, which produces (by a wide margin) the highest commercial revenue, high- est user fees, and highest airline fare revenues for these airports’ resident international hub carriers. Each of these non-U.S. international transit airports also has a high proportion of international origin–destination (O&D) and transit passengers, in some cases approaching 100% of total passenger traffic. Their terminals and customer service programs are geared to meet the needs of long-haul international passengers making layovers of several hours while in transit. The financial incentive to chase these international passengers is huge. Seoul Incheon earns more revenue from its duty-free concession alone than the total annual operating expenses and debt service of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, with enough left over to fund another large hub airport. In the United States, the international transit passenger is virtually non-existent. Passen- gers without U.S. passports or visas cannot connect in the United States, which makes using a U.S. airport as an international-to-international transit point difficult at best. U.S. airports are not designed for international transit passengers, and airline schedules are not planned to accommodate them. However, these international benchmark airports can serve as exemplary high-water marks for customer service. In reality, a more realistic benchmark for U.S. airports would be leading domestic airports in the United States or leading domestic terminals around the world. Using these standards, a number of U.S. airports compare well, and others are close. 1.2 Purpose of the Guidebook This guidebook was prepared to provide airport operators, specifically customer service man- agers and other members of airport staff responsible for managing and improving customer ser- vices, with a comprehensive resource on how to improve the overall customer experience. The guidebook summarizes the results of research into the approaches used by leading U.S. and non- U.S. airports with reputations for superior customer service in various aspects of airport opera- tions. The guidebook presents the drivers of customer satisfaction, the methods some airports use to engage their staff and other stakeholders in improving the customer experience, and how customer satisfaction can be measured and monitored, and it lays out a range of techniques and methods that can be used to implement an airport-wide strategy for improving customer satisfac- tion, including the use of rapidly evolving new technologies. The organization of the guidebook is summarized in Table 1-1.

Introduction to the Guidebook 3 1.3 Overview of the Guidebook The guidebook is organized as follows. Chapter 1 is this Introduction to the Guidebook. Chapter 2 presents an overview of the evolution of approaches to customer service at airports worldwide, presenting airports on a continuum ranging from meeting regulatory minimums to being profitable customer-centric businesses. Chapter 3: Improving the Customer Experience—A Research-Based Primer presents back- ground information on customer service management at airports, including strategic approaches; building the airport brand; stakeholder collaboration; airport-wide performance management, including measuring customer satisfaction; and the importance of communications. The chap- ter also looks at the key drivers of customer satisfaction, the role of service standards, and dif- ferentiating the airport from others. Finally, the chapter provides an outline for developing a customer service plan that can be adapted to individual airports. Chapter 4 presents a basic overview of customer service needs and expectations by customer type. Considering the different needs and expectations of passenger segments is important because each airport must take into account the characteristics of its customers as well as the underlying demographics of its core customer constituencies if it is to design a customer service program that meets the varying needs of its customers. Chapter 5 presents an overview of customer service at leading world airports, including Amster- dam Schiphol, Munich, Seoul Incheon, Singapore Changi, and Vancouver International airports. Skytrax World Airport Rankings, a global benchmarking survey discussed in Section 3.2.2, rated four of the five as “5-star” airports in 2015 and named Vancouver the best airport in North Amer- ica for 2015. Detailed summaries of the broad range of customer service enhancements at each airport are included in Appendix A. Chapter 6 looks at the commonalities as well as the differences in the approaches to airport- wide customer service management identified in the research conducted for this guidebook and Introduction Developments and Trends in Customer Service Implementation Chapter 1: Introduction to the Guidebook Chapter 5: Customer Experience Management Approaches and Customer Service Programs at Leading Non-U.S. International Airports Chapter 11: Improving the Customer Experience – Summary and Implementation Chapter 2: Evolution of Approaches to Customer Service at Airports Chapter 6: Airport-Wide Customer Experience Management Approaches at Leading U.S. Airports Chapter 12: A Template for Implementing a Customer Satisfaction Improvement Program Chapter 3: Improving the Customer Experience – A Research-Based Primer Chapter 7: Customer Service Trends in Terminal Design Chapter 4: Customer Service Needs and Expectations by Customer Type Chapter 8: Improving the Customer Experience – Services and Amenities Chapter 9: Improving the Customer Experience – People Chapter 10: Improving the Customer Experience – New and Innovative Technologies Table 1-1. Organization of the guidebook.

4 Improving the Airport Customer Experience how a number of leading U.S. airports approach the challenge of improving their customer ser- vice. The research showed that although many airports have been improving customer service, the top performers tend to use a strategic, airport-wide approach usually driven from the top of the airport operator’s organization, which maximizes their results. However, other airports have made strides in improving the airport experience through the implementation of priority customer service programs or major initiatives that often involve technological enablers. Chapter 7: Customer Service Trends in Terminal Design is based on interviews with leading airport terminal architects to gather their insights on what makes a successful passenger terminal and how their own recent projects are shaping the terminals of the future. New terminal projects and major terminal redevelopments present rare opportunities to make major customer service enhancements that for most airports may otherwise be unaffordable. Chapter 8: Improving the Customer Experience—Services and Amenities presents an over- view of current and emerging customer service offerings, initiatives, and developments that are important to passengers and other visitors to the airport. Chapter 9: Improving the Customer Experience—People focuses on the importance of staff development and customer service training airport-wide in providing a quality customer expe- rience. This is a challenge at many airports because most customer contact is with the staff of airlines, concessionaires, service and ground transportation providers, the TSA, and others who are not directly under the management of the airport itself. Chapter 10: Improving the Customer Experience—New and Innovative Technologies pre- sents an overview of how technology is being used to provide critical information, new services, operational efficiencies, and two-way communication tools to passengers while giving passen- gers unprecedented control over their experience at the airport. The smart phone, in particular, offers great potential to help the passenger customize the airport experience while at the same time reducing the stress associated with airports and travel. Chapter 11: Improving the Customer Experience—Summary and Implementation discusses notable as well as emerging practices that airports might consider as circumstances allow, such as technological innovations and management tools with the potential to improve the customer experience in the years ahead. Chapter 12 presents a template for implementing customer satisfaction improvement pro- grams, including the organizational, stakeholder, communications, budget, and staffing consid- erations that each airport may consider. Organization, the form of airport ownership, the scale of activity of airport, terminal configuration, and cultural and legacy considerations make the challenges different and often unique from one airport to another. This chapter presents check- lists that may be used by the customer service manager. There are two appendices to this guidebook: Appendix A—Customer Service Offerings of Airports Profiled in Chapter 5, and Appendix B—Bibliography and Collateral Material List. 1.4 Definitions Throughout the guidebook, the following definitions are used: • Airport customer experience: The net impression of all of the experiences a customer has in an airport, as judged by customers based on their individual standards, expectations, and perceptions.

Introduction to the Guidebook 5 • Airport customer experience management: A systematic approach to managing the net impres- sion (emotional and rational) produced by the airport experience. It includes the strategies and processes employed by airport management to plan, engineer, implement, and sustain satisfying customer experiences from the customer’s perspective across the entire service delivery chain. • Airport service delivery chain: A description of the connection that encompasses all of the orga- nizations and companies doing business at the airport that are interconnected and co-dependent in serving the same airport customer either directly or indirectly. Many entities are responsi- ble for the delivery of services at an airport, but the airport operator is often held accountable regardless of which link in the service delivery chain succeeds or fails. Similar to maintaining safe, secure, and efficient airside operations, outstanding service in terminal and landside opera- tions is best achieved through collaborative partnerships, airport service standards, employee engagement, and open lines of communication. • Airport community: The companies and government agencies that provide services as part of the airport service delivery chain and specialize in the services provided to airport customers; often referred to as the airport’s business partners or stakeholders. The airport operator, its stakeholders, and all the employees working within and around the airport, taken as a whole, are important members of the airport community. • Best practices/notable practices: A best practice is a service, amenity, use of technology, product, process, procedure, or technique that is believed to be more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other service, amenity, use of technology, product, process, procedure, or tech- nique when applied to a particular condition or circumstance. For purposes of this guidebook, best practices are in reality notable practices since no definitive test using absolute measures has been applied to determine which practices are actually the best, and there is only the presumption that they hold some advantage to the significant number of airports currently using them. Notable practices identified in this guidebook offer insight into solutions that may or may not work for a given situation or airport. • Customer-centric: Refers to putting the customer at the center of the design of the expe- rience and implementing processes, procedures, terminal designs, services, amenities, and communications that are engineered from the customer’s perspective, thereby delivering greater value and higher satisfaction to the customer, whose perspective is the basis by which the ultimate value of the experience is determined. • Customer expectations: The preconceived unconscious notions, perceptions, emotional needs, and perceptions of value that customers have of anticipated products, services, and experiences. • Customer satisfaction: A measure of how products, services, or experiences supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectations. The customer’s needs, wants, preconceived notions, and perceptions of any anticipated product, service, or experience influence customer expectations. The more the experience exceeds the customer’s expectations, the more satisfied or wowed the customer becomes. Conversely, the more an experience falls below the customer’s expectations, the more dissatisfied or disappointed the customer is. • Customer satisfaction gap: The difference between the customer’s perceived experience and his or her expectation. Customer satisfaction gap = Customer’s perception of performance – Customer expectation of performance If airports manage performance to achieve consistent service excellence as well as manage customer expectations to be realistic, customer satisfaction is likely to be maximized. • Customer touch points: Customer touch points are each of the interactions that a customer has with an airport. These interactions can be experienced before, during, or after the actual visit to the airport and may be: – Physical. Physical touch points relate to the aspects of the airport environment that can be experienced through any of the five human senses. The design and architectural treatment of

6 Improving the Airport Customer Experience the terminal space, the furniture and other finishes, airport announcements, and restroom odors are examples of physical touch points. – Subliminal. Subliminal touch points are subconscious. Experiences occur through various levels of consciousness. Airport ambience or atmospherics describe the mood or feelings evoked by the elements of an experience and are an example of a subliminal touch point. – Human. Human touch points are the numerous interpersonal interactions between airport staff and airport customers, whether in person or on the phone. – Procedural. Procedural touch points include interactions between customers and airport systems, policies, and procedures. Automated telephone systems, airport lost and found procedures, and airline baggage fee policies are examples of procedural touch points. – Communication related. Communication touch points include interactions influenced by communications between the airport and the customer. Airport websites, brochures, and responses to customer complaints are examples of communication touch points. • Innovation: An innovation is the process of introducing something new by translating an idea or invention into a good or service that creates value or for which customers will pay. Evo- lutionary innovations are brought about by many incremental advances in technologies or processes, while revolutionary innovations are often disruptive and new. Many of the notable practices that are identified in this guidebook were innovations that became trends as a result of having been implemented by many airports. • Moments of truth: Moments of truth represent critical opportunities to make a difference in either a positive or negative sense in the customer’s impression of an experience. In spite of all efforts to create positive customer experiences, sometimes customer touch points fail (such as through lost luggage, missed flights, or a rude airport employee), and customers become frustrated, agitated, and stressed. These hopefully rare occurrences are referred to as “moments of truth.” Superior handling of moments of truth differentiates airports that aspire to be customer service leaders from those that truly are leading edge and requires a response from frontline (also referred to as customer-facing) employees that puts the customer’s real and emotional needs first. • Service recovery: The airport’s response when customer service breaks down is called service recovery. All frontline staff, supported by the airport’s policies and procedures, are the first responders. Effective service recovery can transform irate, stressed, and sometimes aggressive customers into calm, cooperative, and appreciative travelers. • Trend: A trend is the general direction in which something tends to move. It can also be some- thing that is in vogue or in style and that may fall into or out of favor. Many of the notable practices that are identified in the guidebook were innovations that became trends as a result of having been implemented by many airports. 1.5 Methodology and Data Collection Data to support the findings and suggested practices in this guidebook were collected through a comprehensive literature review and surveys of airport management staff. The research included: 1. A literature survey. A survey was conducted of available articles and publications on the subject of customer service, both in general terms and as being considered and implemented at airports. The literature search included general-circulation publications, airport industry publications, and business publications. Documents in the research team’s files and libraries were also added to the preliminary search results. ACRP publications were reviewed that could have included information that would be relevant to the guidebook and are referred to in the guidebook as in-depth resources, where appropriate. In addition, searches were conducted using the ACRP search program. Airports Council International (ACI) publications were also

Introduction to the Guidebook 7 searched for relevance, as were the Skytrax world airport rankings. Appendix B includes the complete bibliography. 2. Airport management interviews. Nearly 40 structured telephone surveys with airport man- agement staff were conducted with staff responsible for measuring, monitoring, and manag- ing customer service initiatives at leading airports. The airports selected were based on their rankings in the ACI Airport Service Quality (ASQ) program or in the Skytrax annual surveys of airport users. (The ACI-ASQ program and the Skytrax annual airport rankings are dis- cussed in Section 3.2.2.) Follow-up interviews were conducted with airport staff familiar with areas of specific interest. 3. Terminal architect interviews. Interviews were conducted with leading architects who have planned and designed new terminals during the past few years to gain their insights into the physical aspects of terminals, the approaches used to improve customer service in new terminals, and the methodologies and approaches they used to work with airport clients on creating terminal facilities that balanced the needs of all stakeholders, including customers. In many cases, the drivers of an exemplary customer experience often require investment in new terminal facilities that can often only be implemented over the long term. 1.6 Intended Benefits of the Guidebook This guidebook reflects notable practices in the airport industry, both in the United States and abroad. It is intended that the guidebook will provide a number of benefits: 1. That it will help airport customer service managers understand the differences among air- ports and their diverse customers and how these differences affect their customers’ needs and levels of satisfaction as well as key drivers of customer satisfaction. 2. That it will help airport customer service managers understand what is meant by customer service, customer experience, customer satisfaction, customer expectations, and customer experience management. 3. That it will help airport customer service managers understand the strategic importance of managing the airport’s customer service programs, as well as understand the different strate- gic approaches that airports use to achieve results. 4. That it will provide airport customer service managers with tools and techniques for man- aging and collaborating with the many stakeholders and business partners that collectively shape the customer experience at an airport, including collaborating with federal agencies, where airport managers seldom have significant direct control. 5. That it will provide airport customer service managers meaningful benchmarks for under- standing the range of customer service at peer airports that might be considered for improv- ing the customer experience, and will provide a template for evaluating and implementing customer service improvements at their respective airports.