Giraffe Forum

Usually I agree wholeheartedly with Gerry McGovern. But this time I beg to differ. As a disabled person who frequently travels internationally on business and for holidays I am aware of several discrimination cases against Ryanair. Their commitment to custmers does not stretch to everyone. Disabled people must continually defend our right to travel by air as airlines create more and more barriers. We are customers too. Sadly many of us have horror stories to report about air travel and airports.

I think what is missing in this article is *expectation*. I think that consumers do expect value based on what they pay. When I go to the dollar store, I don’t expect 4 star service, but I certainly expected service when I was at Harrods (yes, they delivered). Too many companies mix up their messages when it comes to customer service. They believe that the customer is 100% right. Some companies believe that customer service means being subservient. Most companies react to customer service based on a complaining potential customer. This reaction may be in contradiction to their customer service, whether stated or unstated. What companies need to do is define THEIR customer service standards and be consistent with their policies. They should clearly communicate those service standards (and to post them so that people can read it themselves). In Ryanair’s case, they have stated that based on the price of their airline tickets, this is the service you can expect (the exception are people with disabilities which many companies have not integrated into their products or services). I think that the Internet really forces an organization to think about this new aspect, customer service and what it means to the organization (including how it can be integrated with its culture…are their products or services open or closed? That is, does the company encourage an open forum to share how they feel about their product or services with fellow customers? This openess is a result of the Internet and the ease of flow of information). It is about the expectations that the company puts forth to its customers, sharing those expectations with customers (having a dialogue), refining those expectations based on customer feedback (engaging with customers), and being consistent with those expectations (say what you mean and mean what you say). Any thing short of that causes customer service gaps.

And surprise surprise …. Ryanair still can’t provide all inclusive pricing - even after they re-launch their website. They are leading customers and the OFT in a merry dance. They have absolutely no intention of complying. Some customers are just not worth caring about eh? I presume in this case the customers are the OFT.

Read here …. Ryanair again blames ‘technical difficulties’ for failure to show inclusive pricing on website http://www.travelmole.com/stories/1126695.php

I hate to say I told you so but anyone could have seen this coming.

And I too take your point Gerry. If the bottom line is price (as for me and most other people it is) then what on earth are Ryanair doing not complying with the requirements of the OFT?

They are massively shooting themselves in the foot.

Simply put if they are so confident about their price proposition being so much better and lower than every other competitor out there then surely they should be first in line to provide up front, clear, unambiguous pricing to the consumer.

If I ran a business that clearly offered the same product as a number of other direct competitors but at a much lower price point then I’d be shouting from the rooftops about this and would clearly state in my up front pricing that consumers should have total confidence in my pricing as consumers would be able to compare “apples to apples” with my direct competitors.

Ryanair are not doing that - and that makes me deeply suspicious. As you say in the penultimate paragraph of your blog article above “The Web customer is more cynical, skeptical and impatient. They love to compare and are out for a good deal.”

And at the end of the day I’m just another one of those people as described that love a good deal.

Time will tell as to whether Ryanir wish to openly show us all how good a deal they are actually offering.

Enjoy your flight. As it happens I’m off to London with Ryanair on Saturday and my checked in snowboard (for an onward winter holiday) is costing more to travel there than I am as a passenger! - so I sure know how to find a good deal whether or not Ryanair provide me with clear unambiguous pricing in line with OFT requirements ;-)!

Hi Gerry,

I definitely agree with your article. Sometimes the luxuries of the modern world make us think we should be treated like kings and we love to complain about everything. The guys down in Africa are not complaining, they die in silence, we should learn a good lesson from them.

Ryanair offers us: the best punctuality in Europe, the fewest lost bags in Europe, the fewest cancellation in Europe, one of the cleanest safety records, with no major accident in it’s whole history, since 1985 when it was founded and the best price (with no doubt, because they have it guaranteed and I’ve flown more than 50 times with them to check it out).

Early this year I took one of their taxes-payed flights they offered, so actually I payed 2 Euros for the whole flight, and as I booked with a Visa Electron the total amount spent was exactly 2 Euros. Let’s be serious, is anyone out there expecting a smile for two Euros? Come on, I would even be pleased if they had a big guy to kick me to my destination instead of a plane!

So, jokes aside, 58 millions passengers can’t be wrong. If you fly Ryanair, just be true to yourself. Customer service in the way some people think of it is just another posh stuff we so much love in this century in developed nations.