PASSENGER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE
An advertisement for a major airline featured the picture of a smiling woman dressed in an official airline uniform saying: "I spend all day in the airport so our passengers won't have to." Her job, like that of other passenger service representatives, is to help people.
As passengers stream into a busy terminal they may become confused at the number of people crowded about the ticket counter. A skilled passenger service representative can quickly resolve the problem by seeing to it that people form lines in front of the various agents on duty and that as additional passengers arrive they are taken to the shortest line. Or perhaps in the throng there is a passenger who has little time to make a flight and begins to panic. The alert passenger service representative perceives something is wrong and immediately offers assistance. In no time the passenger is ticketed and on the way to the departure gate.
You will find passenger service representatives wherever there are large numbers of passengers, be it at a ticket counter, reservations office, terminal check-in desk, departure lounge, or sometimes even at the baggage claim area. These individuals are responsible for seeing that everything is functioning smoothly, and that passengers' needs are cared for promptly. They are the company representatives to whom all questions and problems may be referred. In most airlines these employees wear distinctive uniforms or jackets so that they are easily identified.
Passenger service representatives have probably had prior experience working as reservations and/or ticket agents or perhaps as flight attendants. This gives them the necessary background for dealing with most of the problems that arise.
Mention should also be made of the attendants at the airport who work in the departure lounge, the area where passengers wait prior to stepping aboard their flight. The employees, who are stationed here to check tickets, assign seats, and prepare boarding passes, may be called flight service representatives or attendants, or they may be passenger service representatives. Whatever their titles, they have responsibilities similar to passenger service representatives except that they work in a more limited area with a group of passengers, all of whom are boarding the same aircraft. Their duties may include helping the flight attendants if there is confusion about a seat assignment or the validity of a boarding pass, and they may have other duties relating to the airplane's departure. This can be one of the more hectic and stressful work areas in an airline. This is especially true if the airplane is not available for boarding a flight time, or if the flight is overbooked and some passengers cannot claim their reservations.
Some airlines assign seats and give passengers their boarding passes when they pick up their tickets. A few have tried eliminating tickets altogether, permitting passengers to merely identify themselves upon arrival in the departure lounge.
RESERVATIONS AGENT Passenger Reservations
Picture yourself seated at a desk in a small cubicle in front of a computer terminal that looks like a typewriter keyboard. You are wearing a featherweight telephone headset, which leaves both hands free. As customers dial your airline's reservation number, the calls are automatically switched to an agent whose phone is not busy. When all phones are in use a recording tells callers that they will be connected to the first available agent. One measure of good service is the average length of time it takes to answer an incoming call. Airlines are eager to have each call answered just as quickly as possible but naturally do not want to over-staff the reservations office. Hence it is certain that as a reservations agent you will be talking with customers practically all of the time. If you are seeking variety in a desk job, this is it. Probably no two people will make the same requests. Your first caller may want a reservation from Chicago to Detroit and it will take but a minute to handle the call. The next may want you to set up a complicated trip from Chicago to New Orleans and on to Phoenix, Los Angeles, Spokane, and back to Chicago. This involves several airlines, various fares, dates, and connections. It may take you ten minutes or more to work out the itinerary, or you may offer to call the customer back after you have the routing all set.
A survey of all major airlines revealed that the average time for each reservation varied from a low of one minute to a maximum of six, statistics that tell you that a reservations agent handles a lot of calls within an hour. This demands an alert mind and a temperament that can stand dealing with a never-ending succession of phone calls, each requiring individualized treatment and service.
Airlines have installed a variety of reservations systems that use computers of one kind or another. The computers have powerful memories that permit them to perform incredible feats. It is possible to program the computer to keep track of all seats for each flight on every day of the month for months in advance. Thus when an agent has a request for a seat all he or she does is "ask" the computer if one is available and it answers immediately.
At one time airlines maintained a reservations office in each city to handle the business for that area. With the advent of more sophisticated telephone equipment and the expansion of long distance lines, it is now possible to centralize reservations functions so that one office may service all reservations calls coming into a dozen or so cities. This means that you, as a reservations agent, are talking with people from a wide geographical area and the job is made that much more interesting-and complex.
Assume for a moment that you are a "Res Agent" as the job is known in the business. The light on the wall blinks and you flip a switch to answer the incoming call.
"Suburban Airlines, Agent Perez speaking: May I help you?"
"Yes, I want to make two reservations to Washington, DC, next Tuesday."
"Which airport is most convenient to you and what time would you prefer to leave?"
"Bradley Airport, in Hartford-let's see-sometime in the afternoon."
You make a note on your pad as your fingers summon schedule information on your computer screen.
"We have flights leaving at two o'clock and four-thirty. Which would you prefer?"
"The two o'clock, please," your customer replies, and immediately you "ask" the computer for two seats by typing your request and giving the date, and airline codes for Hartford and Washington. Thus you might type: HTF-DCA 5/15 Fit 95 2PM 2 sets. You barely finish typing and a green light flashes to indicate the space is available.
"I can confirm the reservation. May I have your name and telephone number, please?"
As the caller dictates the information you type it and thus place the data in the computer. The telephone number is requested in case it is necessary to reach the passenger should the flight be canceled.
You find the fare printed next to the schedule. "The fare will be seventy-five dollars and sixty cents, and you may pick up your tickets any time before the fifteenth. May I make a return reservation?"
"No, thank you, I don't know when we'll be returning."
"Fine, may I suggest you just call our ticket office in Washington when you know your plans. Thank you for calling Suburban and have a good trip."
That call took just two minutes-and now your light is blinking again.
