As part of its brand relaunch, London’s Gatwick Airport is going all social media on us by integrating Twitter directly into its customer service strategy.
While not quite as bold as actually installing a giant Twitter wall in the airport itself – that would possibly induce riots – Gatwick’s management are to solicit feedback from travelers via their official Twitter account, including displaying physical prompts adjacent to check-in screens.
This “feedback”, constructive or otherwise, will then be monitored by airport staff in order to sharpen up its customer service. The desired result, apparently, is to create “a more human and personal experience than what they might expect from an airport that sees 33 million passengers flying out to over 200 destinations every year.”
Yeah, right.
I mean, it’s not like there weren’t already ways to make a complaint – and believe me, Gatwick isn’t exactly the best of class airport – or suggest a way to improve the service. That said, firing off a tweet can be quite a cathartic experience.
And, ultimately, perhaps that’s the whole point.
