Case Study: Travel and Hospitality

Driving conversions and enhanced CSAT for a travel and transit company

Providing award-winning passenger support and sales in multiple languages

Overview

Back in 2008, a travel, charter, and intercity transportation leader was looking to drive both cost savings and revenue while also increasing service options across the United States. The client also wanted to improve the customer experience for its wide range of clientele. HGS hired a team of agents in Colombia, gave them the skills and tools to close more sales and handle concerns quickly, and ensured the agents were measured and rewarded based on their abilities to provide warm, prompt, and friendly customer care. The operation grew from an initial, basic, 30-FTE Spanish customer service program to a sophisticated, 120-FTE operation that provides inbound, outbound, social, and back office support in three languages.

72%CSAT achieved (goal was 70%)

34%sales conversion for the premium bus line (goal was 30%)

1.9Mcustomers served courteously by HGS per year

Client background

The client is a travel and intercity transportation leader carrying passengers and cargo by bus to thousands of destinations across North America.

Business challenge

The client was looking to drive both cost savings and revenue while also expanding its physical presence and reach. The client wanted to reduce complaints and bolster customer service throughout the customer journey with high quality inbound, outbound, and social media support and cater to customers in multiple languages (English, French, and Spanish).

The solution

Initially, HGS was chosen as the preferred provider to customers requiring Spanish language support. On day one, HGS launched operations in Barranquilla, Colombia, with 30 FTEs.

Over a decade, the partnership has grown to include a much broader array of services — spanning fare and schedule inquiries, baggage claims, sales, and website support to complaints, case management, and specialized assistance for people with disabilities.

Today, 120 HGS agents serve more than 1.9 million B2B and B2C customers.

Revenue generation

HGS’s improved sales performance with training modifications comprising more sales-focused scripting (e.g., credit-card prompting). By listening for keywords and using their training, agents gauge the customer’s preference for simply having their issue addressed or their willingness to engage in a sales-oriented or actual booking conversation. Screen prompts enable agents to share price-change benefits for bulk/multi-ticket purchases.

Automation efficiencies

When HGS arrived on the scene, the client had a backlog of written complaints. HGS was tasked with faster turnaround of complaints for improved customer satisfaction. HGS took on back-office resolution with an autobot and workflow reengineering to reallocate files. With more comprehensive complaint information available on the agent desktop, HGS was able to shorten the brand’s response time to customer issues.

After automating the process to reallocate complaints and provide more complaint detail to agents, we were able to shorten the complaint turnaround time to 21 days (goal was 30 days).

CSAT excellence

HGS launched a new phone platform and introduced social media interaction capabilities. Overall, our “empathetic problem solver” agents combine a deft, warm service touch while also problem solving and driving sales increases, regardless of channel and language.

Results

72%CSAT achieved (goal was 70%)

34%sales conversion for the premium bus line (goal was 30%)

2%over the overarching sales conversion goal (goal was 8%, we achieved 10%)

30%over target for complaint resolution turnaround time (goal was 30 days, we did 21 days)

1.9Mcustomers served by HGS per year

3 languagescovered across multiple channels, lines of business, and countries

11 awardswon in 2018 alone

Global locations

USA • UK • Canada • UAE • India • Philippines • Jamaica