Customer Service Issues in Pakistan International Airlines - Research Paper Example

Running Head: Pakistan International Airlines, Research Paper Service Issues in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Section # of course> Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2 2. Purpose of Research 3 3. Research Question 4 4. Research Objectives 5 5. Literature Review 6 6. Research Survey 9 7. Sampling Strategy 11 8. Research Findings Analysis 12 9. Summary of Findings – Conclusion 15 10. Recommendations 16 11. References 17 12. Appendix 18 Introduction Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is the premier airline of Pakistan on which more than 200 million commuters rely for domestic and international travel needs. It was established in 1955 by a charter of the Government of Pakistan and has since expanded its operations from the once-domestic circuit to the international arena too (About PIA, 2009). PIA connects Pakistan to a wider network of cities than any other airline and is thus the choice of most international travelers to and from Pakistan. However, for quite a significant portion of this population, PIA is the selection due to lack of choice rather than by choice. This report aims to research the main reasons behind the customer service issues in PIA that have been a constant source of not satisfying customers properly. Having traveled by PIA more than once, I have myself been subject to a few customer service issues, the details of which will be presented later on in the paper. The research discusses some of the concepts in literature pertaining to customer service standards and links them to PIA’s existing standards; and analyses the areas where there is a gap between the two. Purpose of Research In the fast-paced world of today where technology is the dominant factor, it is essential for businesses to retain their customers in order to grow and expand. PIA, however, has not been emphasizing upon this idea until late. The attitude of PIA, at least on the forefront, leads its customers to think otherwise. The purpose of this research paper is to identify the customer service issues faced by PIA customers while traveling by the airline. It is important for the PIA management to realize and focus on the specific issues that have been a regular factor in causing negative perception of PIA in the minds of its consumers (Anthony, Steven & Quinn, 2009). It is necessary for PIA to identify these issues and establish ranks; and accordingly identify the most important issues that are the biggest contributors to negative customer satisfaction. Only then can PIA modify its operations in terms of better training and address the issues in order to generate higher positive reviews from customers. The research will focus entirely on the customer perspective and will seek to identify the root causes, according to them of the problems that they face when travelling by PIA. Research Question The research question for this paper should focus on the customer and their feelings regarding PIA service. Thus the research question is: “What are the most important issues causing the greatest disappointment amongst the international customers of Pakistan International Airlines?” The paper is focused on identifying the issues of international passengers since it is not possible to include the views of domestic passengers for the scope of this study. Furthermore, the airline industry has become highly symmetrical in that the domestic and international services do not have much of a difference. Issues identified in the international arena will also be present, to a certain extent, in the domestic travel. Thus, it is important to address international issues and identify the root causes of these issues so that they can be addressed. Marketing experts would advise a research question aimed at getting the most out of the customer regarding the root causes of the problems rather than the problems itself (Etzel, Walker, Walker & Stanton, 2000). Thus the research question will be accompanied with a survey aimed at finding out root causes of the customer service issues so abundant at PIA. Research Objectives The purpose of any research is to yield conclusions and recommendations pertaining to the actions taken by management for customer perception improvement and profitability. PIA has not been one of the financially strongest airlines in its region. In fact, the recent losses at PIA have done more damage to its operational structure than ever. In spite of all this, PIA should look forward and build a better customer perception (James, 1994). Thus, the objective of this research is to propose suitable steps that could be taken in order to address the problems identified through the research. The aim is to understand the issues faced by the customers and chalk out effective programs to effectively solve them. One of the most important reasons to carry out a research is to improve financial inflow. The research will assist PIA to identify the activities that cause a negative customer response so that these can be possibly re-designed in order to post a positive image in the eyes of the customers: essentially leading to more positive marketing yielding higher revenues and eventually good profitability (Huff, Fornell & Andersonm 1996). Literature Review Pakistan International Airlines was established I 1955 as the premium airline of Pakistan. Despite having serious competition from Bhoja Airlines, Shaheen International Airlines and Aero Asia in the past, PIA has always emerged to be the prime airline for Pakistanis traveling within Pakistan and abroad. Air Blue was launched approximately five years ago with the intent of outperforming PIA in the domestic region. Since the inception of Air Blue, PIA has lost almost 25% of its domestic flight revenues. These figures are quite astounding and suggest that the market for PIA in the international arena could also be seriously eroded in the long run. The comparison of PIA to Ryan Air in the international sector has also vouched concerns for the management of PIA (Ryan Air sucks, 2008). The constant degradation of service and quality at PIA over the past three decades has brought about a lot of criticism from home and abroad. Pakistanis traveling from international locations have no choice than to travel by PIA. Since the security situation of Pakistan has deteriorated in the post-9/11 scenario, several alternative airlines have closed down their operations in Pakistan. Thus, this has resulted in an excessive demand for PIA – instead of this being looked upon as a positive opportunity, PIA has made the worst mess of the situation that could have been possible. Apart from considering the demand as a positive factor, the outlook of PIA management and customer service has always been cold. The welcome factor for a PIA traveler has never existed. The flight attendants greet and treat customers very coldly as they believe that the customer is traveling by PIA because of no alternatives and thus there’s no point in greeting them. Some of the customer service representatives have been reported to believe that a customer of PIA is a customer forever because of the lack of alternatives on most flights of PIA. The lack of attitude on part of the representatives, as reported by frequent travelers and published researches, vouches a concern that is very serious in the airline industry. This industry is supposed t be one of the most customer hospitable industries – PIA has not embraced this attitude wholly. Changes in the organizational structure and charge handling at PIA has marred any development and training processes for in-flight attendants and customer service representatives. It is important to note that PIA does not suffer from a lack of demand from consumers – it lacks on a lack of positive customer service experience (PIA – SWOT and PESTEL Analysis, 2009). The financial crisis across the globe has hit the automobile sector the hardest and then the airlines sector. The belief that PIA is suffering from the effects of the recession is not completely true. Companies like Ford, GM and Chrysler have been hit the hardest due to the economic downturn (Nick, 2009). In spite of this, these companies have not let their customer service issues prop up as easily as PIA. The focus of PIA on its customers has only recently been changed. The last CEO, Tariq Kirmani, an ex-Pakistan State Oil chief executive brought about several changes in the structure and working of PIA that have actually not only benefited PIA in terms of its image, but also in the rehabilitation of customer trust in PIA (Andrew, 2008). The information system efficiency at PIA has been aimed to minimize the interaction of the customer with a representative in order to provide them real-time service in a better environment and reducing the possibilities of negative customer service experience (Beynon-Davies, 2002). At the same time, enrolment of employees in training programs has been the key at PIA in turning its employees into more civil, cultured and understanding personalities aimed at understanding the customer’s issues and solving them rather than adding to them. Previous research reports on the customer service experiences of PIA customers conducted by PIA management has not been available for public perusal. However, independent researchers have pointed out that the general customer experience at PIA is not negative. The only reason why negative reviews are more widely available regarding PIA is the strong “negative marketing concept” (Marketing Wars, 1996). This means that customers generate more action and word of mouth instances of their negative experiences since they have met with a bad experience. The other customers need not make a hue and cry if their experience has been good. This is a natural human tendency and is dependent upon human behavior in situations like these. Marketing research reports on PIA suggest that the marketing program of PIA was largely targeted towards a niche that did not exist in the market. Most of the customers of PIA were not attracted to the airline because of its marketing program. Though there are no official statistics published upon this topic, there are however, researchers commenting on the fact that the marketing program of PIA was very ineffective. The recent changes in PIA’s marketing and training programs has made it evolve into an organization that takes pride in caring about its customers (PIA Training and Marketing, 2009). Previously, this desire was not present nor vouched for. The managerial innovations in this regard have led to the establishment of PIA’s training programs as regular and mandatory for its employees. Thus, it is observed nowadays that the emphasis of customer service representatives of PIA has become more focused on the issue of the customer rather than other secondary aspects pertaining to the issue (PIA, 2009). The latter was a case previously when customer service representatives chose to get involved in other things with the customer thus avoiding the real problem. However, attitudes have changed and PIA’s focus has become mature. However, it is necessary to gauge the customer viewpoint in this regard before reaching any conclusions. Research Survey Name: Gender: Profession: Organization (optional): Age (optional): 1. How often do you travel by air? a. Less than one month b. Three to four months c. Five to six months d. Once a year e. Or ______ 2. How often have you travelled by PIA? a. 1-3 times b. 3-4 times c. 5-6 times d. More 3. Any Particular reason why you choose PIA? a. Price b. Service c. If other, please specify ________________________ 4. How did the service you received at PIA compare to your expectations? a. Excellent b. Very Good c. Fair d. Poor e. Very Poor 5. How well did PIA value for the price paid compared to your expectations? a. Excellent b. Very Good c. Fair d. Poor e. Very Poor 6. Whenever you have problems with flight arrangements, PIA takes sincere interests in solving them? a. Yes b. No c. Never had to face such an experience 7. How will you rate PIA for the following attributes (1- excellent, 2- very good, 3-fair, 4-poor, 5-very poor) Attributes Rate Destinations Food Quality Hospitality/ Customer Service Corporate Image Punctuality Economical 8. What are the positive experiences that you have had with PIA? 9. Suggest the areas for improvement for PIA’s service. 10. Some important aspects that you would like to recommend? Sampling Strategy The questionnaire prepared was given out to those air travellers who have had the experience of travelling by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). In this connection, a sample had to be chosen who filled out the questionnaires. Random Sampling technique was selected from among the university students as a certain portion of students come from Pakistan and hence tend to travel by PIA. All the students were either came from Pakistan or for some reason travelled to Pakistan were identified and from within them a random sample was chosen. A total of 157 such students were identified from whom a sample of ninety was selected randomly (Crosby, 1979). Apart from the students, Pakistani communities in Athens were also targeted as they seemed like a potential customer market for PIA. For the selection of the Pakistani community, cluster sampling was more or less applied with random sampling occurring within the clusters. For this, first all Pakistani communities in Athens were identified which seem to be quite dispersed in some respects but do contain a sufficient number of Pakistanis in each community. The total numbers of communities identified were seven from which four were selected using cluster sampling. In totality, the total number of questionnaires filled out was 150. These comprised of ninety students from within the university and sixty from within other Pakistani communities in Athens. Research Findings Analysis The questionnaires were filled by respondents and then were taken for analysis and interpretation. Apart from questionnaires, interviews with few respondents were also conducted so that more information on a personal basis could be retrieved. From the research analysis and findings, a lot of conclusions can be drawn. Various aspects that were previously unknown or hidden came to the forefront. The findings revealed that people tend to select PIA over other international airlines in Pakistan and such market for PIA goes for more than 60%. More than 75% of the respondents had travelled by PIA between three to four times. The major reason why people choose PIA is for reasons of economy which is its low price. 50% of the people choose PIA for its pricing, 30% for its services and 20% for the other services provided by PIA (Travel Reviews – PIA, 2009). About 50% of the people responded that the value they receive from PIA is very good as compared to their expectations. However, 30% rated their value judgment as fair while the rest of 20% were for poor and very poor. As for the question if people are received with interest in case of problems with their flight arrangements, 30% have never experienced such as problem while 40% said they were helped sincerely while the rest of 30% said they did not receive the treatment they expect. Customers generally rated high on economical, corporate image and destinations attributes. They believe that price is in line with the value they receive from PIA services. However, moderate responses of ‘fair’ were received for food quality and hospitality. It is seen that people often complain about impolite airhostesses, unfriendly workers and PIA officers. Respondents rated punctuality as their least satisfying attribute as they rated it ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ (Travel Reviews – PIA, 2009). Customers revealed that both the business class and economy classes were quite satisfying and what made them even more attractive were certain international facilities and offers that prompted people to try PIA even more. Such offers included for example, the 10% discount for students on international routes, buy one ticket and get the other ticket for 50% discount for your companion or buy three tickets and get one free for the business class. Other PIA services are also very useful and convenient and hence raise the attractiveness of this airline. This includes PIA Speedex which delivers documents and parcels at people’s doorsteps at remarkable speeds. The services of PIA Web ticketing also provide customers with the convenience of buying tickets online and hence raising their satisfaction levels. Even more recent is the facility of PIA SMS ticketing which is further adding to the convenience and value of people. PIA’s Pick and Drop service is again another feature that raises customers’ value. Qualitative Stage The survey included numerous qualitative aspects and the entire research was primarily based on qualitative factors. It is the qualitative aspects that truly define where inadequacies exist in the system and how they can be improved. We used the qualitative attributes of destinations, food quality, hospitality, corporate image and punctuality in our research. Even though qualitative aspects cannot be rightly measured and quantified, they are significant means of assessing respondents’ views and opinions. However, this is not to say that satisfaction levels of customers can be accurately found out by the questionnaires entirely. Qualitative attributes and factors however, do contribute to the understanding of how a service can be improved because people tend to naturally talk ‘qualitatively’ and hence focus on PIA’s service in quality terms. There were various other qualitative aspects that customers are very happy with such as PIA’s Web and SMS ticketing, PIA’s pick and drop service, Speedex and other offers that tend to enhance the quality of PIA’s service to its customers (PIA – SWOT and PESTEL Analysis, 2009). Quantitative Stage Quantitative data, analysis, figures and numbers have been inherently present in this research. Since defining the sample size to developing the questionnaire and analyzing the results, quantitative workings have been done. All the results of the research were presented in the form of percentages. From the overall analysis and research findings, it becomes quite apparent that nearly 60% of customers choose PIA with a major 50% choosing it for reasons of economy while 30% choose it for the services it provides and the rest 20% for other reasons. The results from the survey may not be entirely correct but they are true to 95% confidence interval. There were also some quantitative elements that customer’s very much approved of and felt attracted by. These include the discount packages for students and business class as well as the pricing of PIA as delivering to the customers the value for up to the price they pay for. Summary of Findings – Conclusion Credibility of Research Even though the results do not have the element of 100% certainty and truly define the viewpoints of all of PIA’s customers, it is estimated to be true to 95% confidence interval. Since exact results cannot be obtained from any research, this may in a certain way prove to be disadvantageous to PIA in case if the results are just representative of the small number of respondents who were interviewed. However, since sample size was chosen after lots of time-spending and research, it can be known that it is rightly representative of the PIA customer base. Access and Resource Implication As mentioned before, preciseness of research findings may be hard to define. Despite thorough findings for right sample and research analysis, the results may be very representative of just the sample and not the entire PIA’s customer base. If this happens, then it can be very disadvantageous to PIA as they may implement incorrect strategies and plans which negatively affect its standards and dissatisfy the customers. This is also put the company’s market share and profitability on stake. PIA can conduct other researches as well to supplement this research and get to even more accurate results (PIA National issues call for awards nominations, 2008). Ethical Implementation All the services, enhancements and improvements that PIA conducts should be in line with ethical standards and consideration. PIA should train their employees to be more ethically responsible, be just and fair to all customers, give them the treatment they deserve, be polite and courteous to them and recognize them as an asset that will build the corporate image of PIA. The ethical framework should be adjusted and consider all employees’ views and opinions as well. Recommendations The research proved to be a fruitful one which uncovered various aspects that were previously unknown. Some of the recommendations that should be incorporated into the upcoming strategies and plans of PIA are: Undertake training programs for PIA’s employees for ingraining in them the ethical values that should be taken care of in dealing with customers Revise the ethical framework or plan in PIA Improve on the aspect of punctuality of flights as this is one of the major reasons of dissatisfaction for customers Food quality and hospitality levels also need to be brought up Come up with newer discount programs and offers as these appeal the most to customers Customer are looking for convenience and hence more aspects need to be discovered that provide convenient to customers Authoritative environment of PIA should be reduced and more responsibility should be delegated to employees and officers Employee appraisals should be conducted on a regular basis with results being incorporated to truly enhance PIA’s operations. References About PIA. (2009). 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