Birmingham Airport invests in customer feedback system
Birmingham Airport has invested over £100k in a bespoke customer feedback system - dubbed the ‘Voice of the CustomerÂ’ - created for the airport by Realtimeknowledge.com, to be available in 80 different locations across the airport site.
Courtesy Birmingham Airport
Realtimeknowledge.com is a company which specialises in operational reporting and the system it has designed for Birmingham Airport is set to improve and advance the airport’s customer feedback process.
Through the Voice of the Customer system, in-depth feedback is processed in real-time, and is sent directly to the Customer Experience team who are able to process any passenger comments or concerns immediately.
Feedback can be submitted through three different mediums, including; 59 instant feedback touch screens, 10 QR codes which can be scanned with a mobile or tablet device, or written feedback which can be posted in any of the 10 designated post boxes. The written feedback is manually entered into a customer feedback system, enabling the customer experience team to detect any trends, or areas in need of immediate improvement.
Focusing on key passenger touchpoints, all three types of feedback are strategically located in areas such as check-in desks, security, departure gates, washrooms, lounges as well as on-site car parks.
In January, the airport received 47,000 pieces of feedback in comparison to around 250 per quarter with the previous customer feedback method of standalone traditional written surveys.
Stuart Haseley-Nejrup, Head of Customer Experience at Birmingham Airport said: “Over the past year or so, we’ve been focused more than ever on making improvements to the passenger journey. Ensuring our passengers have the best experience possible is a priority for us - we want passengers to remember Birmingham Airport for all of the right reasons. The Voice of the Customer system will help us to do just this, allowing us to delve much deeper into feedback, quicker than ever before.
“The uplift in feedback since implementing the system has given us invaluable information to create great experiences for our customers, as well as highlighting any friction points across the customer journey for us to make improvements to. What’s more, with the Voice of the Customer system being live, our Customer Experience team can react in the moment to offer service recovery if a certain area of the terminal falls below satisfaction levels set - something we haven’t been able to do until now.
“The data gathered from all 80 of the systems is currently being analysed to build a mid to long-term customer strategy, with the aim of creating a frictionless customer journey, which is easy and accessible for all.”
In addition to the Voice of the Customer system, the airport continuously works on improving its customer service through increased social media cover, a Customer Relations Management system which filters all customer feedback to ensure it is dealt with by the relevant team, as well as new and improved passenger facilities, including; a new prayer room, improved lifts across the terminal, new washrooms along with new family changing areas.
Improvements have resulted in Birmingham Airport receiving a score of 90% through the Civil Aviation Authority’s departing passenger survey, as well as a series of awards including Best UK Airport for airports above 10 million passengers per year by the Airport Operators Association, as well as Best UK Airport above 10 million passengers per year by the British Travel Awards.