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2011 Thanksgiving Travel Tips

Published November 23rd, 2011 in Community, Delta Assist, Planning & Booking | 1 Comment →

Most people think of the phrase “holiday travel” as being synonymous with “chaos”. Well, this doesn’t have to be the case thanks to a few simple tips to get you swiftly home just in time to fill yourselves with turkey, stuffing, and all the trimmings—yum!

First things first, before you leave for the airport, make sure you:

  • Measure your bag. Does it measure up to FAA guidelines? That’s 22″ x 14″ x 9″ with wheels and handles.
  • Review the checked bag requirements and pricing guidelines so there aren’t any surprises once you’re at the airport.
  • Put all of your 3 ounce liquid containers in a clear quart-size zip top bag in compliance with TSA rules. That way, you can breeze through the security checkpoint without being held up.
  • Check-in and submit any requests for special assistance (wheelchairs etc.) 24 hours in advance.

But remember, there’s only so much you can do to prepare during the holidays. The best thing you can give yourself is time! Be sure to be punctual for your flights—arrive at least 90 minutes before domestic flights and at least three hours before international flights. With ample time on your side, the stress and tension of getting through the airport will be a thing of the past.

We hope these simple and easy tips are helpful to you and your family this holiday season! Do you have any tips to add to the list? Be sure to drop a comment and share them!

From our Delta family to yours, Happy Holidays!

Laura M.

Delta Social Media

Delta Assist’s Newest Expansion: Español

Published September 29th, 2011 in Customer Care, Delta Assist, Social Media | 1 Comment →

Many of you are familiar with (and have used) Delta Assist, our program designed to help customers with real-time travel issues via our social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. And because of the success of Delta Assist in both Facebook and Twitter (and in the interest of supporting our customers around the world, of course), today we’re excited to introduce the next phase in social media customer service at Delta—@DeltaAssist_ES.

This Spanish language assistance channel will operate very similarly to our current @DeltaAssist channel when it was in its infancy. We’re launching this program as a pilot, operating a Monday through Friday schedule to help us gauge volume and demand, and test the waters a bit.

So what can you expect? As with @DeltaAssist, our @DeltaAssist_ES agents can:

  • Answer questions about Delta policy and procedures
  • Assist with lost baggage
  • Rebook a canceled flight
  • Help customers affected by general service failures

So check us out and tell your Spanish speaking friends about this new service. We’re eager to hear your feedback.

Jerry Fletcher

Manager – Delta Assist

——

Delta se expande en el mundo de las redes sociales con su nuevo lanzamiento de Delta Assist en Español.

Estamos seguros que muchos de ustedes ya conocen y han utilizado el  Delta Assist, nuestro programa diseñado  para dar asistencia inmediata a nuestros clientes en relación a asuntos de viaje y a través de las diferentes redes sociales como Twitter y Facebook. Es por este gran éxito obtenido, tanto en Twitter como en Facebook,  que hoy en Delta, nos enorgullece presentar la siguiente fase de nuestro servicio al cliente en redes sociales: @DeltaAssist_ES.

Este canal de ayuda en español funcionará de forma muy similar a nuestro  canal actual @DeltaAssist. En una primera etapa, esta iniciativa se lanzará como programa piloto, el cual  dará servicio al cliente de lunes a viernes. De esta manera iremos recorriendo el camino juntos en la medida en que vayamos creciendo.

¿En qué nos ayudará este servicio? Con @DeltaAssist y @DeltaAssist_ES, nuestros agentes  podrán:

  • Responder a las preguntas sobre políticas de Delta y procedimientos.
  • Ayudar  en caso de pérdida de equipaje.
  • Cambio de reserva de un vuelo cancelado.
  • Ayudar a los clientes afectados por fallas de servicios generales.

Le invitamos a que nos visite y a que pase la voz a sus amigos que hablan español. Dígales que también se animen y empiecen a utilizar estos nuevos servicios. Estamos deseosos de escuchar sus comentarios.

Jerry Fletcher

Gerente – Delta Assist

Japan, Our Hearts and Prayers Are With You

Published March 11th, 2011 in Community, Customer Care, Delta Assist, Operations | 10 Comments →

Update:

Thanks to your efforts more than 40 million SkyMiles have been donated to help relief efforts in Japan. Now, we’re working with Gogo Inflight Internet to provide complimentary access to the Red Cross Website so you can help donate money and miles next time you’re flying with us. Plus GoGo is matching your contributions up to $15,000 so this is a great time to give back.

We appreciate your continued support for Japan and those affected.

 ———–

First and foremost we want to share our deepest thoughts and prayers with everyone whose lives have been impacted as a result of today’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan. As you can imagine, this has been a major event for us given our 1,200 employees in Japan and the thousands of customers who count on us to travel to, from and through Tokyo every day. We know there are a lot of questions and concerns about how this event may affect you and your loved ones, and we’ll work to address some of your concerns here.

Our first priority is ensuring our customers and employees in Japan are safe.  As soon as the earthquake hit, our operations team immediately went to work ensuring that all our aircraft were safe.  While in many cases this meant diverting, delaying or cancelling from our original schedule, we are fortunate that no employees or customers were injured at any of our facilities or on any of our flights in Japan.

Our reservations experts are also reaching out to customers to notify them of the impact this has on their travel plans. If you are in need of immediate reservations assistance you can call make changes to your travel without fees at delta.com, call us at 1-800-221-1212 or reach out to our agents in Twitter at @DeltaAssist. You will continue to find the latest updates from us about the status of flights at delta.com at http://bit.ly/DL_updates.

Many of you have also asked how you can help, and we’re proud to say The Red Cross has long been a valued partner of Delta. If you want to help by donating to the relief efforts of the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami, go to the Redcross Website. You can also text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific.

Christina R.

Duty Manager – Customer Focus

Delta Operations Control Center

Delta Assist’s New Frontier: Facebook

Published March 3rd, 2011 in Community, Customer Care, Delta Assist | 1 Comment →

After listening to our customer’s feedback in many channels, we’re proud to announce the launch of Delta Assist in Facebook. I sat down with our Delta Assist manager, Jerry Fletcher, to learn more about this effort.

Liz: What is Delta Assist and how did it come to be?

Jerry: Our team knows that our customers look to social media to share feedback and seek out solutions. We recognize the need to be where our fliers are already talking and asking for help.  And so, we look to social media to provide the flexible, timely, personal support our customers value. 

We initially launched Delta Assist as a pilot in Twitter. @DeltaAssist operates as a fully funded social customer support product, alongside and in tight coordination with our sister accounts, @Delta and @DeltaNewsroom. Over the past few months we’ve really enjoyed getting to know the community. We’ve learned a great deal from our fliers and have heard the importance of customer support in social loud and clear. Based on that same community feedback we’ve already expanded our @DeltaAssist hours of operation to 24 hours a day/7 days a week and nearly doubled the size of our Assist team! 

Today we’re proud to announce that we’re the first airline in the world to offer a dedicated customer support product in Facebook with the launch our latest endeavor, Delta Assist in Facebook.

Liz: That sounds great Jerry. So why bring Delta Assist to Facebook?

Jerry: Our Facebook community is fantastic. We really love our fans and appreciate their participation and feedback on our page. We’ve been listening to their feedback on the wall and wanted to give our customers a safe and secure forum for sharing comments and getting the support they need.

Liz: Delta already participates in conversations on our Facebook Wall.  How should our fans use the Delta Assist Facebook tab?

Jerry: Many of our customers have feedback or support needs that require private, secure, one-to-one conversations. However, brands don’t have the Facebook message e-mail functionality that users enjoy. Delta Assist in Facebook gives our community the opportunity to share these private messages with confidence 24/7 without having to leave our Facebook page.

Liz: What should users expect when they send a message via Delta Assist in Facebook?

Jerry: When one of our community members sends us a message, they’ll receive an on screen notification that their message has been sent as well as an automated email confirmation with a ticket number for future reference. On our end, the Delta Assist team will receive that message and start working quickly to help get the customer the support they need.

Liz: How soon can users expect to receive a personal response to a message sent via Delta Assist in Facebook?

Jerry: Most users should receive a response within 24-72 hours. We’re working in close partnership with all of the appropriate teams across the Delta organization to circulate feedback with key stakeholders and provide the best possible solutions, and we’ll do our best to provide a timely response to all of the messages we receive. Customers should remember that if they need real-time support they should contact us on Twitter or by phone at (800) 221-1212.

Liz: Will Delta Assist in Facebook ask users to provide personal information?

Jerry: Customer privacy is something we take very seriously. Delta Assist has been built to provide as much privacy as possible within the limits of social media. We’ll never ask for anyone’s personal information in public. We will not share any of this information with anyone outside of the Delta organization or send customers any marketing messages they have not previously opted into.

Liz: How can people follow up on an issue they have submitted to Delta Assist in Facebook?

Jerry: All feedback and comments received via Delta Assist in Facebook will be assigned a ticket number, which will be shared in all email responses. To follow up, customers can send an additional message using the Delta Assist Facebook tab referencing their ticket number in the body of the message, or by using our existing customer service channels such as phone, email and @DeltaAssist on Twitter.

Liz: How can users share their feedback on the Delta Assist effort?

Jerry: We would love to hear everyone’s thoughts, ideas or feedback for Delta Assist in Facebook. We built this for our customers and we’re always looking to improve the Delta experience.  We encourage users to share their feedback on our Delta Assist Facebook effort by using the “other” topic on the form we’ve provided, or by leaving a comment on this blog post.

Liz: Thanks for your time Jerry. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Jerry: Thanks Liz. We’re really excited to expand Delta Assist into Facebook and look forward to the future of Delta Assist in all of our social media channels!