Travelocity Recognized as Commitment To 'Customer Championship' Initiative Deepens; Fast Company and Budget Travel Honor Travelo
October 31 2005 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
Six months since the launch of Travelocity's groundbreaking
"Customer Championship" program, featuring the innovative
Travelocity Guarantee (www.travelocity.com/guarantee) and the
Customer Bill of Rights (www.travelocity.com/billofrights), the
company's team of employees worldwide continues to be at the
forefront of redefining travelers' expectations from their travel
provider. Approximately 39,000 team hours have been invested in
technology and training programs, resulting in more immediate and
proactive care for Travelocity customers in every aspect of the
trip, whether helping customers through a major weather disturbance
or simply advising them of an airline switching over to a new
airport terminal. And the travel industry and business community
have taken notice. Fast Company magazine recently named Travelocity
a recipient of a 2005 "Customers First Award" and in a ceremony at
New York City's Museum of Modern Art on Thursday Nov. 3,
Travelocity will be one of only ten "forward-thinking companies who
have demonstrated real innovation over the past 12 months," to
receive an "Extra Mile Award" from Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel
magazine. "Earlier this year we made a promise to our customers
that we would be revamping how we work with them, from shopping and
buying, through the experience of their trip, and even after they
return home," said Michelle Peluso, Travelocity president and CEO.
"To see that our work is resonating with customers, suppliers and
other industry insiders continues to motivate our team, but we
still feel like there's so much more to accomplish." Helping
Customers During Inclement Weather During the 2005 Atlantic
hurricane season, Travelocity has been unyielding in its commitment
to advise and inform travelers of their options and work with them
and suppliers to change travel plans when necessary, as quickly and
easily as possible. Since July, Travelocity's customer care team
has proactively called and e-mailed tens of thousands of customers
with travel plans to the U.S. Gulf Coast, the Florida Peninsula,
Mexico and the Caribbean when a tropical storm or hurricane has
loomed. Simultaneously, Travelocity has been in close contact with
airline, hotel, car rental and cruise line partners and provided
constant updates via the Travelocity homepage regarding the
policies each of these suppliers has put in place when a tropical
storm or hurricane has threatened. In some cases, a dedicated team
of Travelocity customer care representatives has continued to work
with customers whose travel plans were affected beyond the initial
impact of the storm. And as the hurricane season now gives way to
winter weather also prone to wreak havoc with travel plans,
Travelocity customers can book with confidence knowing that its
customer care team will continue to be by their side. 'Customer
Championship' Goes Beyond Inclement Weather While inclement weather
provides a top-of-mind example of how Travelocity's Customer
Championship initiatives are making a difference for Travelocity
customers, the broader reach of the program goes much deeper. For
instance, recently an airline advised the Travelocity team of a
terminal switch it was making at one of the airports it serves.
Rather than risking possible travel complications or confusion
among impacted customers, the Travelocity team, engrained in the
mindset of Customer Championship, saw this as an opportunity to
proactively inform customers and eliminate the possibility for any
confusion once they had embarked upon their trips. The impacted
passengers were identified and hundreds of messages were sent to
give them notice of the potentially confusing terminal change.
Additionally, Travelocity has contacted thousands of other
customers on situations such as hotels under construction, pool
closures, hotel name changes and cruise port changes. "For
Travelocity it's as mission-critical to work hard to keep our
customers in the know regarding the seemingly 'little things' as it
is for us to reach them regarding widely reported events," Peluso
continued. "You never know when a bit of information like an
airline operating out of a new terminal might be the difference
between a customer making or missing a flight or connection. As we
continue to grow and evolve our mindset of Customer Championship,
we know that nailing down details such as this is how we will truly
delight our customers and gain their ongoing loyalty and trust."
Helping Travelers on the Road More Quickly and Efficiently The
Travelocity team understands the inconvenience of a lengthy wait to
talk to a live customer service representative, especially once the
trip has begun and the traveler needs immediate assistance. To make
sure Travelocity's customers who are on the road receive the help
they need as soon as possible, Travelocity implemented Interactive
Voice Response (IVR) technology that routes travelers who are
mid-trip and need immediate assistance to the group of agents best
equipped to resolve their on-the-road problems. To date, more than
120,000 mid-trip calls have been handled since the launch of
Customer Championship, with more than 88 percent of these calls
answered within 60 seconds or less. Additionally, the independent
Customer Respect Group's "Third Quarter 2005 Online Customer
Respect Study," measuring corporate performance from an online
customer's perspective, ranked Travelocity highest among all
third-party travel sites and listed the company among only eight
other Web sites that achieved an "excellent" rating. "We realize
that unexpected problems can arise for travelers once they set out
on their journeys," Peluso said. "What we've become especially
passionate about is preventing these inconveniences from
mushrooming into situations that will mar the entire vacation for
our customers. There is simply no excuse for this and we remain
committed to ensuring that precious time spent on vacation is just
that. That is truly Customer Championship." About Travelocity
Travelocity is committed to being the traveler's champion --
before, during and after the trip and works hand-in-hand with the
world's most reputable travel providers so that everything about a
customer's booking will be right. And if it's not, Travelocity
guarantees that it will work with its partners to make it right,
right away. This customer-driven focus, backed by live 24/7 phone
support, great prices and powerful shopping technology has made
Travelocity the fifth largest travel agency in the U.S. -- booking
$4.9 billion in travel in 2004. Based in Southlake, Texas,
Travelocity also owns and operates Travelocity Business(SM), and
lastminute.com, a leader in European online travel. Travelocity is
owned by Sabre Holdings Corporation (NYSE:TSG), a world leader in
travel commerce.
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