Anatomy of a Service Failure

« I just want to get the hell out of here! »

You could ‘hear’ everyone in the queue thinking this aloud, but sometimes their thoughts became words and angry exclamations and sometimes those dealing with those in the queue were equally vocal, and at one point I thought it might even end in a measure of physical violence as the atmosphere had become so volatile.

No, not a football crowd, but a queue of people who had paid £6.00 each to enter an airport security ‘Fast-Track’ service (because the queues in the ‘free’ security service were massive) only to discover (if everyone felt like me – which seemed to be the case) that it wasn’t fast and neither did it feel like anything resembling a service – let alone a service for which one had paid £6 to reduce waiting time and maybe have a wait in better conditions.

Introduction.

Processing – or rather ‘being processed’ – through airport security is at best just barely bearable but mostly more a case of a pretty petty series of annoyances heaped upon personal indignities that qualifies as well beyond the pale of most shades of acceptability.  However, this evening at a UK Airport, together with my wife, I witnessed ‘customer dis-service’ (might even, at times have amounted to ‘customer diss-service’ in modern vernacular) in all its rampant ingloriousness.

But before I start, I’d like to say that the root cause of this horrendous series of events can, in my opinion, be traced back not so much to individual frontline staff, but to systems and processes which placed both these individuals and the passengers they were trying to serve in an impossible « lose-lose » situation from which the accumulated angst on both sides was in some danger of creating a powderkeg needing little more than another misjudged comment from either side to set the situation to conflagration.

So…. ‘Let’s get down to the Nitty-Gritty’ as I believe one American President put it …

Context & Capacity Prediction.

The airport must know (at least it surely should know) that security processing is an hourglass ‘pinch-point’ – hundreds of flights per day each with a hundred or more passengers ALL of whom have to have passports and tickets checked and then have their bags and bodies X-rayed (coats off, belts off, shoes off, liquids in plastic bags, PCs and laptops out etc, etc).  That is going to take TIME. That is going to cause hassles and delays even if 95% of passengers are prepared (5% of people taking 10 airbus flights at around the same departure time => perhaps 50 unprepared people in a queue at any one time).  Processing delays mean worries for tired passengers anxious to get to the gate on time.  It means lengthening queues too: thus a vicious circle of events that the passenger cannot control and neither can he exit the situation: he is utterly powerless.

BUT the passenger numbers and flight clusters are known long in advance and the average processing time too:  therefore reasonably accurate predictions CAN be made by the airport. With this data, appropriate planning for systems and staff CAN be undertaken. No excuse for this not being done effectively and for not having sufficient staff to handle the processing.  Airlines have to do this and they do: they have staff on 25 minute ‘call-out’ (at Basel EasyJet for instance): so what reason can be given for airports being incapable of doing the same?

This UK Airport Response.

The response appears to have been to set up a (so-called) ‘Fast-Track’ system for times where queues are lengthening (at £6 per person)… a potential, pinch-point solution which offers
passengers choice and a time-saving option, helps at the pinch-points and perhaps pays for itself.

Looked at cynically (though the airport might feel ‘uncharitably’), one might observe that the airport has an interest in slowing down the free processing service as more people are then likely to be driven towards a paid service.  If it works, then OK and plaudits for a self-funding, capacity-management solution…    But what if it doesn’t?   What if it does not live up to its billing as: ‘fast’?  What if it is not worth the price?  What if it makes staff and passengers’ experience a misery?  What if it impacts negatively upon trading in the shops and restaurants/cafes?

The Experience.

Today the ‘Fast Track’ service didn’t work at any level in my view – worse still, it caused serious problems and showed just how close to breaking point a system can come without rupturing completely or revealed perhaps a major rupture-in-the-making.   This is not just my view.  My wife is far less ‘swift to chide’ and far more ‘quick to bless’ but even she (with the balance of a seasoned international traveller coupled with double nationality and possessed of the ability to stand back and reflect of a Senior Lecturer of long standing) found the whole service entirely mis-conceived and improperly delivered.

The Initial Decision. We found the queues at the main processing area to be well over one hour – some people were saying an hour and a half (not that there was any official information panel to tell the passenger). Being ‘of a certain age’ we decided to pay the £6 each and go ‘Fast Track’ even though we weren’t actually racing for the gate.  We then paid at a machine then waited 15 minutes to even enter the Fast Track area.  There were two processing stations. Only one was staffed (4 staff). The queue to the conveyor felt like another 25 minutes… and therefore not ‘fast’ at all … but that would be to miss a lot. …

As Things Evolved.

• No-one checked our Fast Track tickets going in – anyone could have got in without paying … probably many did!

• Some passengers were panicking that even with the fast track they had paid for to save time they wouldn’t make it to the gate before their flights were closed.  That much was evident with stuff piled high on the conveyor belt and going nowhere.

• There was no system of ‘triage’  – some passengers with soon-to-leave flights asked nicely to pass in front, others shouted to staff and others pushed on through. Staff were oblivious. No one was managing the queue.  That our £6 was worthless was evident by now to all….

• The frontline staff member in the vanguard at the conveyor was clearly tired, increasingly rattled and frustrated with passengers who had not followed instructions to the letter and were causing pile-ups on the conveyor. She tried some ill-judged humour (which didn’t go down well at all) and some remonstrations at high volume and with (it appeared to us) not just a little haranguing which drew some raised voices in the queue.  Some of her colleagues came to her defence. (I for one felt sorry for her: under intolerable pressure towards the end of a long, pressurised shift and perhaps lacking the training and the support from her employer to handle the situation). In the queue some were railing against her and others trying to express the view that she was doing her job in difficult circumstances.  Opposing views in the queue; between the queue and the staff… it all felt increasingly uncomfortable to put it mildly.

• Of all things, footwear removal became an issue. The instruction on the PA system told us to remove only shoes or boots that covered the ankle and above – but on arrival at the conveyor one was told to remove ALL footwear. More annoyance and delays as the PA and staff instructions were different.

• Passengers had different levels of ability to handle these pressures.  Same for staff. Increasingly, as the ‘temperature’ rose like a barometer in a heatwave, angry passengers began to come up against certain staff who were themselves overstressed and finding it difficult to contain their feelings. For example, one passenger ahead of us all but threw an oversized shampoo bottle at a member of staff when he was told he couldn’t take it …. being told he had to remove a medical leg brace when he was clearly injured didn’t seem to help either (even if one can understand why he was asked).

• The visible and audible problems ahead in the queue disquieted everyone waiting and one could hear more and more voices being raised behind us.

• THE key member of staff watching the scanner screen felt the situation was so bad that while we were there he had to stop the conveyor twice, come to the conveyor loading point to try to cool matters down – but it seemed to be of little or no effect other than to serve stop the flow of baggage-checking entirely and to up the ‘temperature’ of the discontent in the queue.

• A young woman perhaps 6 or 7 months’ pregnant, behind us in the queue (who had apparently told staff upon entering that she would like to be considered of ‘Special Needs’), became so stressed in the queue that she was hyperventilating, in floods of tears to the extent to which we feared she might well pass out or have a malaise.  Staff didn’t react at all.  A passenger tried to intercede with the staff on her behalf.  No reaction bar defense of the service.  My wife (first-aid trained) held this lady, sat her down and tried to calm her breathing and watch for her tray coming out of the X ray machine.   This situation should not have been allowed to happen.  I am certain the area was under camera surveillance – but we saw no-one come to assist or to intervene.

• My wife spoke to a staff member at the end of the processing section (who appeared to be the senior staff member present – but how would we know?) asking why on earth the second conveyor was not open with a second staff team to ease the pressure.  We were told it was a matter of poor planning and lack of funding and that, as a result, a second processing system couldn’t be opened up ‘just like that’ (surprisingly, he volunteered – if we understood correctly – that there was a second security team ‘on-call‘ at home waiting but he did not have the power to call them in!).  We were told that this was not in any way an isolated case and he implored (not just asked us) to complain as customers as the staff were not being listened to and that passengers’ views carried more weight.

• In leaving the processing zones (the fast track and the normal ‘free’ areas) there were many people running at full pelt towing cases and dodging other passengers and DutyFree staff.  It’s a miracle we didn’t get flattened – but someone will unless the airport does something about it.   We did have some time and we stopped in Duty Free to see the staff confused, shocked and appalled at people charging, full-tilt through the shop without stopping to look, let alone buy.  Certainly the shop was empty of purchasors: it contained only high-speed passenger ‘traffic’ in a frantic rush to the gate.   You could see it in the staff’s eyes – they were worried people might be trying to get away from some terrorist event.

• In the end we left duty-free and headed to the gate shocked and exhausted by the whole experience.  For the first time we had chosen to pay extra for what we believed would be a better service worthy of the title ‘Fast-Track‘ and what we got was the worst airport security experience we have ever had by a LONG way.   [What we didn’t know was that ahead lay a 90 minute take-off delay – which we used to write complaint reports to the airport – and a subsequent very-last-second aborted landing in high-gusting crosswinds – all of which was brilliantly handled by the pilot and airline company staff by the way].

Chronological Evaluation

It is such a pity.  The airport experience is comprised of any number of services but they need to be ‘joined-up‘:

• Car rental return system: brilliant.  Seen instantly upon arrival by [Alamo] car hire staff.  Efficient and pleasant staff who asked us for our feedback on our entire car-hiring experience and were very happy to receive it .  100% Superb. Couldn’t have wanted for more.
• Transfer from Car Hire Returns to Airport Departures: brilliant.  We got to wait in the warm inside the new car hire centre with just 2 minutes’ wait; polite driver, plenty of capacity for passengers and cases. Dropped off 5m from the Departures entrance.  100% Superb. Couldn’t have wanted for more.
• Arrival at Security Service: utterly confusing.  The normal Security Service was heaving with people – the queue snaking out of the area and into the concourse.  We joined another queue above a sign ‘Fast-Track‘…. then relised that one had to buy a ticket to join the queue from machines well behind us.  We paid our £12 and went back to the end of the queue. There were no signs to explain when and why to use it and no staff in hailing distance to ask.  10% very poor indeed – but at least there appeared to be a choice – even at a price.  
• Fast-Track Security (£6) Service.  Totally defective (see my detailed comments above).  The only positive is that our bags passed and we were processed in time for our plane… but that is more down to me being habitually VERY early rather than the system’s efficiency. We really suffered in the hands of this ‘service‘.  0%. I’m complaining (constructively) and asking for my money back. For me it was a minus score and I feel like demanding compensation.
• Duty Free.  Potential success but practical failure at the point of visit. Staff couldn’t concentrate at all seeing passengers hurtle through the shop at high speed. They didn’t know what was going on at all. No-one was pausing to buy – people were actually sprinting through.  The shop couldn’t sell because people didn’t have the time to pause to buy!  Defeats the object altogether of allowing passengers time to browse and purchase.  10%
• Café and shop area.  Not bad (beautifully set out and lots of choice and seats)… BUT mostly devoid of passengers as most were still dashing to the Gates as they were late out of security.  Those in the area seemed mostly to be those with delayed flights judging by the numbers that followed us when we finally got a gate. 20% – no queues – not even in Starbucks!! If it carries on like this it won’t be long before the concessionnaires start complaining given rental space prices.
• Gate.  Great.  Courteous and efficient staff and sufficient seats to enable all passengers to sit down.  Nice design and atmosphere.  100%
• Flight (easyJet). Great.  Good staff team.  Great pilot who had to abort a landing at the very last second because of gusting crosswinds and go round again: lots of simple explanations oozing confidence.  100% (yes, despite the delay).

It is about time that airports came to appreciate that despite the demarcation lines between different suppliers at all stages of the process between airport arrival and flight departure, the passenger is having one overall experience and weaknesses in any part of the chain can significantly weaken the overall passenger experience…. and react accordingly, taking the consumer’s perspective.

Thoughts and Recommendations for the Airport.

1. You MUST read and digest this and act upon it.  Your ‘Fast Track’ paid service was a DIS-Service as I and many others experienced it.
2. Your base problem is that your ‘free’ security checking service is woefully inefficient – and/or insensitive to predictable capacity fluctuations!
3. Your solution (having a ‘Fast Track’ PAID service to cover the inefficiencies and lack of capacity of the ‘free’ service will only ‘work’ if it provides a value greater than its cost and lives up to its name and promise as being ‘Fast’).  It does not in ourview.
4. You have a massive quality assurance problem.  I am complaining, yes, but are you taking this as a signal of an opportunity to address a quality assurance problem?  I hope so.  I fear not.   You do not appear to have any sense of quality control either: are you actually monitoring what goes on?  Are you listening to your frontline staff who tell us they are sick of flagging the problem to you? You are an airport.  You exist because airlines choose to choose you as opposed to a competitor.  Airlines choose you because it is attractive to their passengers.  The moment passengers ‘vote with their feet’ and refuse to accept inefficient and insulting service from an airport, then airlines will listen and vote with theirs: against you and in favour of your competitors.
5. Travel and Tourism are first and foremost ‘experiences’ and experiences run deep and can cut both ways.  Our experience certainly does not ‘cut’ in your favour. As I said above, you need to consider the entire passenger experience and your impact upon it.

After all this free quality assurance feedback and an airport experience the like of which I have not had in 45 years of travelling, I would like my £12 back and maybe even some compensation.   But more than this, I would like to have found a listening ear and an intention to improve your service such that the next time I travel through this Airport I have a much more acceptable experience.  I do not want to feel a sense of impending dread as I approach the Security Services…. and I feel that with this detailed (FREE) feedback I have played my part and have a right to expect that things will be MUCH better next time!

A personal, subjective view, all this, I accept, but I am confident from the conversations in the queue that it is a perspective widely shared…. and why should queue management on this occasion be any different from any day of the week?  There has to be a wider (rather than one-off) problem and it deserves to be addressed in short order!

1. 

   Grace Jolley says:

   5 mars 2020 at 23 h 47 min

   I do agree with a lot of the points made here but it made me reflect upon how passionate we are about negativity. This of course is by no means a rant about the article as I can not agree more about how customer service is some what overlooked especially within the UK!

   But it made me think about a situation that myself and my mini family were in a couple of years ago. We were due to fly home 23rd December 2018. Myself, my partner Dean and my gorgeous step son, Leo.

   When we got the airport all seemed fine until we saw there was a delay message upon the dreaded screens. Being the stoic Brits that we are, we kept quiet and sat with the rest of the passengers waiting on the floor. It seemed like a lifetime. Then came the news that our gate had changed. Cue the many people around us « Oh for goodness sake, this is ridiculous » (mumble mumble grumble grumble).

   As I took a deep breath, I look down at the smiling face of 5 year Leo « Oh Grace, this is frustrating but it is like an adventure, » Making a number of people around us smile and take note of how our reactions are somewhat ‘moany’.

   Yes. We wanted to go home.
   Yes. We were frustrated.
   Yes. It was annoying waiting with our bags on the floor.

   But a five year old in the same situation saw nothing but an adventure. He continued to play, continued to smile and laugh.

   During this time, a pregnant woman was getting rather frustrated with the airline staff to absolute horror of her husband. Meanwhile, Leo was fast asleep on a pile of our coats on the floor.

   Several hours have passed and we were then told that the last flight had departed and they can not get us onto our flight. 00.00 in the morning, cold, hungry and frustrated and Leo just says « that is okay we have one more night here and Tony can pick us up, »

   After all the negative, I sometimes feel that taking a step back and looking at it from another perspective can really changed our perception and in turn the situation. Of course, this is not always the case but taking note from our youth is somewhat humbling.