Denise Shiffman’s Engage Daily Blog

Recently I booked a flight incorrectly on Expedia’s website. I requested flights from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Austin and although the page I arrived on stated clearly at the top DALLAS/FT. WORTH (DFW) to AUSTIN, the results on the page also had flights from Dallas/Love Field (Dal) - a different airport. I clicked on the wrong flight.

So, I called Expedia to have the flight cancelled and the charge reversed. Over 70 minutes on the phone with the “live” agent, I was frustrated and angry. She had no idea how to do her job. She kept putting me on hold for 5 minutes at a time, over and over again. I swore NEVER to use Expedia again.

Then I saw that Alaska is now using a virtual agent to respond to requests, and I decided to check it out. The service is designed and powered by NextIT. Alaska gave the virtual agent a name - Jenn, and show her picture on the site - more than I can say for Expedia. Jenn can answer most questions, and the nice thing is that when she points you to a link to get more information or submit data, the web page pops up in your browser. Very convenient. Jenn can’t do everything. For the problem I experienced on Expedia, Jenn would have sent me to customer service. But for other information she’s wicked fast. Significantly faster than live agents on chat.

Overall the experience is good. And Alaska has done as much as possible to make Jenn seem human. (She has cute responses to questions like, how old are you?) I’d like to see companies move to live agents with video cameras and profiles so we can see them, and know more about them and their experience level. That type of interaction really helps build relationships. Of course it would be great if support agents were actually trained well.

Popularity: 26% [?]

Tweet This