Delta Reservations Premium Sales and Service Teams Recognized by J.D. Power for Customer Service Excellence

Airline's Customer Engagement Centers receive contact center certification for second consecutive year

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Oct 08, 2015, 09:21 ET

ATLANTA, Oct. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines' (NYSE: DAL) Reservations Premium Sales and Service teams have been recognized for customer service excellence by the J.D. Power Certified Contact Center Program^SM for the second year in a row.

The certification signifies that Delta's Premium Sales and Service teams, which provide assistance to customers including SkyMiles Diamond, Platinum and Gold Medallion members, have attained the high benchmark established by J.D. Power for contact center customer service and operational performance.

"I would like to thank our Premium Sales and Service colleagues, along with all of our Reservation Sales and Customer Care employees, for their hard work and commitment to our customers," said Ed Bastian, Delta's President. "Earning this recognition for the second consecutive year is important validation that Delta people continue to deliver exceptional customer experiences."

The certification process conducted by J.D. Power, the global marketing information services company, took months to complete and required Delta to pass an audit of best practices for contact centers. This included comprehensive customer satisfaction surveys randomly conducted by J.D. Power, as well as site visits to Delta's centers in Chisholm, Minn.; Cincinnati; Minneapolis/St. Paul; and Salt Lake City, whose teams assist with Premium Sales and Service calls.

"We are honored to once again achieve this respected distinction from J.D. Power based on the high level of customer service provided by our Premium Sales and Service specialists," said Charisse Evans, Delta's Vice President – Reservation Sales and Customer Care. "I am extremely proud of our dedicated colleagues who, along with the support of nearly 80,000 Delta employees worldwide, continue to raise the bar by exceeding our customers' expectations."

To earn J.D. Power certification, centers must perform within the top 20 percent of customer service scores based on criteria that include a specialist's courtesy, job knowledge and concern for the customer; promptness in answering customer calls; and a timely resolution of the customer's request or problem. J.D. Power also evaluates the customer's ease in navigating a company's interactive voice response system; the clarity of information provided by the system; and the ease of understanding the phone menu instructions.

J.D. Power said its research indicated, "Customers calling the Delta Premium Sales and Service team rated them particularly well on the automated phone system, as well as on their representatives' courtesy, knowledge and concern; timeliness of resolution; and promptness in speaking to the representative."

For additional information on the J.D. Power Certified Contact Center Program, visit www.jdpower.com.

About Delta

Delta Air Lines serves more than 170 million customers each year. Delta was named to FORTUNE magazine's top 50 World's Most Admired Companies in addition to being named the most admired airline for the fourth time in five years. Additionally, Delta has ranked No.1 in the Business Travel News Annual Airline survey for four consecutive years, a first for any airline. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 318 destinations in 58 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia as well as a joint venture with Virgin Atlantic. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with key hubs and markets including Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Tokyo-Narita. Delta has invested billions of dollars in airport facilities, global products and services, and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional information is available on the Delta News Hub, as well as delta.com, Twitter @DeltaNewsHub, Google.com/+Delta, Facebook.com/delta and Delta's blog takingoff.delta.com.

About J.D. Power

J.D. Power is a global marketing information services company providing performance improvement, social media and customer satisfaction insights and solutions. The company's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power has offices in North/South America, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com.
J.D. Power is a business unit of McGraw Hill Financial.

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SOURCE Delta Air Lines