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The Red Coats are coming! The Red Coats are coming!
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While I’m sure that Delta Air Lines (www.delta.com) didn’t make their decision based on my recent article about their airport color scheme being bland and too dark, I’m nonetheless thrilled that they announced last week the return of the Red Coats this fall. Delta’s reason to bring back the Red Coats is to improve customer service, and that’s a good thing. My reasoning was that you can’t tell the difference between a Delta employee and a business person in a blue suit when you’re at the airport. For both reasons I think this will be a good thing, especially here in Minneapolis/St. Paul, where the color red has been an airport staple for decades.
The Red Coats at Delta also go way back, starting in the 1960s. Their purpose then as it will be again, is to assist travelers on-the-spot with re-bookings and other customer service issues. The new Red Coats will be outfitted not only with easy to spot red sport coats, but also with handheld devices that can print meal vouchers, travel and boarding passes, and even Sky Club admission coupons.
A total of 600 Red Coats are planned, including those who have been operating in New York at Delta’s JFK international hub since 2007. These staff members are the cream of the crop when it comes to airport agents. They will have the authority to instantly resolve problems and are considered to have the very best customer-service skills. Given that Delta came in last during the first quarter of this year with the highest rate of consumer complaints, the company appears to be recognizing their service weaknesses and is attempting to do something about it.
In addition to JFK, the Red Coats are being resurrected in Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Cincinnati, Detroit and Memphis in the coming months. Red Coat agents earn an additional $275 monthly. The Red Coat program was dissolved in 2005 in a cost-cutting move.
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