Qatar sounds like an exotic and wealthy destination, a country where everything is possible. What are your thoughts on this topic? What has been your brand awareness exposure?
Qatar is heading major development targeting international commitments like Fifa World Cup 2020 and bidding on the Olympic games. The country is working towards their National 2030 Goal - a National effort to position Qatar as a developed nation in front of the world. There are several major players providing Qatar an international uplift and modern image, including #Qatarairways, the national airline carrier. Qatarairways is the most visible brand exposure for Qatar on global basis. Qatarairways major visibility is based in two strategic lines.
The first strategic line is through major sponsorships such as the Barcelona soccer team, #Barça. The Barça sponsorship brings, by brand association, the coolest upbeat and hip destination, #Barcelona, to Qatar while at the same time securing broad global exposure complementing the airline's international expansion with service to 133 destinations and delivery of an additional 239 aircraft to the current fleet.
The second strategic line comes from Qatarairways heavy advertising campaigns.The airline launched several broad international advertising campaigns to all destinations where it has a presence. The media mix is heavy on television commercials, and outdoors in premium location such as airports and online banners. The 2009 company slogan "World's 5-star airline" was a clear positioning statement that aligned with Qatar's positioning as a destination with "state of the art luxury” and world-class, high quality experiences. The current campaign integrates the soccer team sponsored by the carrier with all Barsa celebrities and is aired all over the world. The message on the slogan
"A team that unites the world" is also an extension on Qatar positioning.
However, my personal experience doesn't match at all what the tagline promises. One month ago I tried a very simple thing: I needed to change my return ticket date on a business ticket. My first attempt, over the phone, was unsuccessful and I was directed to stop by a Doha sales ticket center. --ok...seems that my time is not important-- I went to the center and I had the unpleasant wait of more than 2 hours for a simple change of date! During the waiting time nobody even offered me a glass of water which would had been the minimum and basic hospitality effort that anyone with common sense would have offered. I actually don't even wonder anymore why it happened. Simply, it was a chain of unfortunate steps, badly managed by the airline staff on ground. I officially complained about my experience and received the same cold treatment. I officially complained using social media channels a NOONE replied! which is remarkably worrisome after the negative impact that some social media complaints of clients have hit Twitter and Facebook. Recall United Breaks Guitar case case that generated over 150,000 views on youtube in one week and currently is over 13.7 Million.
Anyone who has ever been involved with luxury services knows how hospitality is critical to excel and position the service. Moreover, it is most likely what will differentiate your product and service to your competitors. Previously, I was professionally involved with think tanks where we looked for the personal touch that could elevate guest interaction and consequently positive on and off WOM plus brand loyalty, something that is clearly disconnected at Qatarairways and its final service delivery. The client feels betrayed on the brand promise since the brand awareness differs totally of the quality of the service. The underwhelming and dislocated experience continues when first time visitors to Qatar expect a state of art airport (which is not yet open) and are met with a regional-size airport which processes gigantic volumes of departures and arrivals -- picture what this means: the opposite of the XXIst century experience, that the brand promises.
I was and remain very disappointed with the entire Qatarairways experience and I will not fly nor will I recommend the airline. The airline is FAR AWAY from delivering its brand promise and the management’s attitude totally misses the point of common sense. There is a clear disconnection between the brand promise and the brand behavior.
As a counter example to my #Qatarairways experience, I will call out and suggest readers take a look how #Deltaairlines is working hard to deliver a better customer experience. Delta Airlines not only has a superior and on point customer telephone response but also is capable to provide the appropriate customer service response, something that clearly was lacking at Qatarairways. Just this week, I was positively surprised by Delta Airlines, when I needed to change/rebook my flight due to weather conditions across the Northeastern United States. Specifically, I was able to make the change over the phone in 10 minutes and received proper advice. Additionally, when the Delta call center is too busy or call times to lengthy, the caller/passenger is given the option of having the Delta telephone system call you back when your turn in the queue is next -- instead of having to stop everything and wait patiently for the next available representative. The customer culture in the United States is very high and by extension of my customer service experience with Delta Airlines, I believe I will experience better customer service when dealing with US based organizations.
I look forward to receiving feedback from Qatarairways but chances are low. I hope next post could be a positive post about my dealings with Qatarairways, but I doubt it. I want to believe that what Qatarairways promises me from A to B in this video and I hope it becomes true.
Qatar is heading major development targeting international commitments like Fifa World Cup 2020 and bidding on the Olympic games. The country is working towards their National 2030 Goal - a National effort to position Qatar as a developed nation in front of the world. There are several major players providing Qatar an international uplift and modern image, including #Qatarairways, the national airline carrier. Qatarairways is the most visible brand exposure for Qatar on global basis. Qatarairways major visibility is based in two strategic lines.
The first strategic line is through major sponsorships such as the Barcelona soccer team, #Barça. The Barça sponsorship brings, by brand association, the coolest upbeat and hip destination, #Barcelona, to Qatar while at the same time securing broad global exposure complementing the airline's international expansion with service to 133 destinations and delivery of an additional 239 aircraft to the current fleet.
The second strategic line comes from Qatarairways heavy advertising campaigns.The airline launched several broad international advertising campaigns to all destinations where it has a presence. The media mix is heavy on television commercials, and outdoors in premium location such as airports and online banners. The 2009 company slogan "World's 5-star airline" was a clear positioning statement that aligned with Qatar's positioning as a destination with "state of the art luxury” and world-class, high quality experiences. The current campaign integrates the soccer team sponsored by the carrier with all Barsa celebrities and is aired all over the world. The message on the slogan
"A team that unites the world" is also an extension on Qatar positioning.
However, my personal experience doesn't match at all what the tagline promises. One month ago I tried a very simple thing: I needed to change my return ticket date on a business ticket. My first attempt, over the phone, was unsuccessful and I was directed to stop by a Doha sales ticket center. --ok...seems that my time is not important-- I went to the center and I had the unpleasant wait of more than 2 hours for a simple change of date! During the waiting time nobody even offered me a glass of water which would had been the minimum and basic hospitality effort that anyone with common sense would have offered. I actually don't even wonder anymore why it happened. Simply, it was a chain of unfortunate steps, badly managed by the airline staff on ground. I officially complained about my experience and received the same cold treatment. I officially complained using social media channels a NOONE replied! which is remarkably worrisome after the negative impact that some social media complaints of clients have hit Twitter and Facebook. Recall United Breaks Guitar case case that generated over 150,000 views on youtube in one week and currently is over 13.7 Million.
Anyone who has ever been involved with luxury services knows how hospitality is critical to excel and position the service. Moreover, it is most likely what will differentiate your product and service to your competitors. Previously, I was professionally involved with think tanks where we looked for the personal touch that could elevate guest interaction and consequently positive on and off WOM plus brand loyalty, something that is clearly disconnected at Qatarairways and its final service delivery. The client feels betrayed on the brand promise since the brand awareness differs totally of the quality of the service. The underwhelming and dislocated experience continues when first time visitors to Qatar expect a state of art airport (which is not yet open) and are met with a regional-size airport which processes gigantic volumes of departures and arrivals -- picture what this means: the opposite of the XXIst century experience, that the brand promises.
I was and remain very disappointed with the entire Qatarairways experience and I will not fly nor will I recommend the airline. The airline is FAR AWAY from delivering its brand promise and the management’s attitude totally misses the point of common sense. There is a clear disconnection between the brand promise and the brand behavior.
As a counter example to my #Qatarairways experience, I will call out and suggest readers take a look how #Deltaairlines is working hard to deliver a better customer experience. Delta Airlines not only has a superior and on point customer telephone response but also is capable to provide the appropriate customer service response, something that clearly was lacking at Qatarairways. Just this week, I was positively surprised by Delta Airlines, when I needed to change/rebook my flight due to weather conditions across the Northeastern United States. Specifically, I was able to make the change over the phone in 10 minutes and received proper advice. Additionally, when the Delta call center is too busy or call times to lengthy, the caller/passenger is given the option of having the Delta telephone system call you back when your turn in the queue is next -- instead of having to stop everything and wait patiently for the next available representative. The customer culture in the United States is very high and by extension of my customer service experience with Delta Airlines, I believe I will experience better customer service when dealing with US based organizations.
I look forward to receiving feedback from Qatarairways but chances are low. I hope next post could be a positive post about my dealings with Qatarairways, but I doubt it. I want to believe that what Qatarairways promises me from A to B in this video and I hope it becomes true.
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