No customer service, no problem. Or is it? Hawaii travel is fast-changing in unexpected ways.
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41 thoughts on “Hawaii Travel Customer Service Is Dead. Here’s What’s Next.”
No customer service, no problem. Or is it? Hawaii travel is fast-changing in unexpected ways.
So will we still need to pay exorbitant “resort fees” or “service fees” for things that don’t really exist?
More expensive, lower quality, fewer services – yep that sounds like post-Covid USA.
It seems to me that this approach to “customer service” is yet another piece of the degradation of society.
Human contact, eye to eye, an Aloha smile and a touch when appropriate are all ways of keeping us connected and trusting of one another. During Covid people died without loved ones at their bedside and we were all saddened. A FaceTime just wasn’t the same. Nor. in my opinion, is this lazy approach an answer to keeping this country afloat. While having the blessing of making Kauai our home for a number of years one of the things we miss most is the Aloha way of life. You can now choose to be a solution or another part of the problem to the tearing down of a beautiful way of life.
Aloha!
They will are crazy!!!
Perhaps destination resort economies need to think out of the box as relates to face to face human CS in the new world order. Why not look at the cruise business as a model for staffing? Hawaii could supplement domestic CS labor with foreign born. Temporary 18 month work permits for instance. I for one repeat vacation in Hawaii because I enjoy the aloha spirit and pampering of wonderful organic humans!
Aloha Rob and Jeff. Hope you are having a great summer and good travelling experiences.I totally agree with Julianna K’s comment. A real persons smile is way more satisfying than a tech solution. But I also appreciate the convenience of self check in and other amenities. I still am d school and print out my itinerary as a backup just in case. Easier to pull out of my wallet than scrolling through my phone to locate information. No pressure especially if lines are long. Printer ink has really gone up in price. Found out because it’s made from oil. Wow, never knew that!!! Mahalo for all your great info, as always.
Hi Debra.
Thanks for the enlightenment. Appreciate hearing from you again.
Aloha.
Aloha and thanks for the continued topics. We’ve stayed in a few of these automated hotels. It’s the future. No doubt about it. At one place we stayed in Virginia, you accessed the entrance, your room and other features via cellphone application. It worked just fine. There were real bodies to speak to in the event you needed a question answered via phone. No bots. No overseas assistant. I think that this is an important aspect of this new wave of customer service for now, at least. Being able to speak to a real person. A lot of us are not 30 anymore and don’t always accept new ways of moving forward. Take little steps. It will be easier and better received.
Mahalo foir your continued updates!!
Speaking to a real person makes a huge difference. I have always gotten better service w/a person than w/a bot!
They want more money for less services…. I don’t think so! This will drive tourists away in droves so if that is what they want, that is what they will get. Neither chatbots which I have found to be useless, or offshore customer service is an acceptable solution in my opinion. Good luck Outrigger and any other chain who decides to follow.
Is t it funny how technical advances eliminate people and cut service but they charge more? I thought it was supposed to decrease costs.
The e-services are great when they work and when your reserved services are correct. And, you don’t wait in line while someone argues with the desk person. Downside, I don’t the e-services handle issues where the consumer has gotten short-changed but understand the what they are entitled to.
Off-shore CS has been spotty for me. As United elite for years, one of the perks was your CS calls were routed to a mainland agent if available and where an empowered supervisor was available.
E-bot systems I’ve used generally end with call customer service. I had this AVIS where they said to call back in business hours.
I like kiosk service at the airport, when it works. Recently, multiple machine failed and an agent took us to her desk.
I for one have a decent understanding of this problem. First off, the employee is the enemy of who employs them. Next, all those out of country Call Centers have no real power to do anything and they are difficult to use. I will not use any business that does not have a real person on the phone that can truly help me. Those big outfits are only interested in one thing and that’s their bottom line period! That formula will eventually put them out of business.
Aloha
I get it that HI pays the bills with high volume tourism and that the locals have this fantasy that HI can move to only/mostly high-end visitors. The reality is that those customers want and can get elsewhere a full-service experience. Take get beach towels even in 5 start resorts guests have to get their own towels and in one case from a towel vending machine. In Bora the staff sets up your beach lounge chair including the umbrella table for your water for you, so you don’t have to do a thing. Clearly, if HI thinks that high-end guesses will be ok taking on the staff’s functions via phone apps then they have another thing coming.
As to offshore call centers the cost save bonus tactic of bad mangers just forget em custs have em