Press Release

VocaLabs Awards Northwest Airlines Reservations Line With An "A" In Caller Satisfaction

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., March 27, 2003 - Vocal Laboratories, the pioneer of usability surveys for customer service, recently awarded Northwest Airlines Reservations line an "A" in caller satisfaction. Northwest Airlines telephone reservations line finished in the top 25% in overall customer satisfaction across all customer service operations that VocaLabs has surveyed.

The VocaLabs survey found that after the contact, callers were 92% more likely to have an overall favorable impression of Northwest Airlines and 40% more likely to be willing to pay a premium to fly Northwest instead of another airline. "I am more likely to book a flight with Northwest, even though I do not like to fly, because of the ease of booking a flight," said one VocaLabs Panelist. Another VocaLabs panelist commented, "The customer service was very quick and friendly. If this is an indication of how you are treated on board the flight I would be willing to pay more to fly with Northwest. Customer service was wonderful."

Said another participant, "I was surprised by the ease of getting through to an agent and talking over the possibilities. It makes it easier than trying to get the same ticket on the internet."

"This has been a troubling time for the airline business, and it is tempting to cut back on spending. This VocaLabs survey demonstrates that quality customer service can pay for itself very easily," commented Peter U. Leppik, CEO of VocaLabs. "Many companies view customer service as a cost center, and therefore a place to look for cuts when times are tight. This often drives customers away at just the time when businesses need to those customers most. Ironically, good customer service doesn't have to be more expensive, but it does require looking at things from the customer's point of view."

The Northwest survey was conducted with 490 VocaLabs panelists. Each panelist called Northwest Airlines to get a fare quote for a particular flight. Panelists were surveyed both before and after the call about their attitudes towards Northwest airlines, and asked to rate the quality of the service they received. This survey was conducted as part of an ongoing project to measure the quality of customer service across different airlines, and was not commissioned by Northwest Airlines.

"VocaLabs is committed to helping our clients deliver the highest-quality service and support for our customers," said Rick Rappe, VP of Sales, VocaLabs. "Customers want fast, friendly and effective service and support. Our industry-leading services help our clients make the customer experience much more convenient and cost effective."

Vocal Laboratories specializes in measuring the quality of companies' customer service, and enabling companies to provide the best, most cost-effective service possible. VocaLabs surveys rely on statistically meaningful measurements of changes in caller opinions as a direct result of the customer service interaction.

About Vocal Laboratories

Vocalabs provides feedback about telephone-based services to Fortune 1000 companies, telecommunications carriers, industry consultants, and equipment vendors. We use a panel of thousands of people we've recruited from all walks of life to quickly and cost-effectively evaluate the quality of call centers, voice-response systems, and speech-recognition applications.

The Vocalabs Survey process helps companies gain statistical intelligence on their customer service operations. This extensive data gathering process helps our clients ensure customer retention, increased revenues, market intelligence, and the highest level of customer satisfaction.

For VocaLabs news and information, please go to http://www.vocalabs.com.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Press Contact:
Jessica Ament
Vocal Laboratories, Inc.
952-941-6580 X 202
jament@vocalabs.com