Why is Delta call time so long?

  • Jul 26, 2024
Why is Delta call time so long?

The Long Call Wait Time at Delta: What Could Be the Reason?

Many people experience much difficulty when they have to call Delta Airlines as of now. It has become normal for many customers to be put on hold for 60 minutes or more each time they attempt to seek the assistance of Delta customer service. Why does it take hours for passengers to get service at Delta and what measures has the company taken to resolve on the problem? Here's a closer look.

A Cocktail of Difficult Circumstances There are some reasons why the average hold time of Delta callers has increased in the past couple of years. Firstly, the situation in the airline industry was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, that caused declines in air transportation. Similar to the other large airlines, Delta also reduced staff and discontinued many routes to minimize expenditures when demand drastically dropped.

While air travel has recovered in 2022, Delta has faced difficulty with staffing its call center adequately, ramping up the staff to handle the increasing call volume. They are currently advertising thousands of vacancies of customer service agents that they are so desperate to fill. This scarcity has consequently stretched the current hold times.

Secondly, Delta recently acquired Northwest Airlines in 2008, and it is still in the process of integrating its reservation systems into the company. These technical interrelations are complicated and have led to such problems that others beginning to experience the need to call for help.

Lastly, there has been a surge in severe weather conditions that cause cancellations or delays of flights, which in turn has increased call flow because people who have been affected seek assistance in rescheduling their tickets or a refund. It is worth noting that, from storms to wildfires and everything in between, the unpredictable nature of the current climate has not done any favor to airlines.

Steps Delta is Taking Delta is fully cognizant of the problems in the call center that affect customers and has committed more than $100 million to address the issue. What they are doing is hiring multiple thousands of extra customer support agents, which will expand the team, a team that has been decreasing wait times over the past couple of months. However, talent competition remains a problem for enterprises as the world economy recovers from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The airline has also implemented an automated callback service where one can elect to receive a call back instead of waiting on the phone line. It was also noted that over 70% of callers are now using this option to avoid the wait.

pre-merger systems that the companies adopted are quite old, and technologists are still busy blending the new systems to make them more comprehensive and customer-friendly. Delta believes that such big-scale technical incorporations are positive to customers, most likely due to easier, quicker booking and scheduling.

Delta is extending the possibilities for having customer service agents work from home in many places aside from call centers. This should increase and extend its talent search efforts to other areas to fill positions that remain open to applicants.

A few suggestions meant to cut your wait Not only may you help to lower your waiting time by listening to your patient, but there are plenty of other things you can do to speed things up. Although Delta wants to grow its customer base right away, it is still crucial to keep in mind that at the moment the company's customer service staff is insufficient; thus, when phoning the number, the travelers should be ready for the possibility of being put on hold for some time. These suggestions help to lessen the suffering of waiting:

Here are some pointers to help you ease the waiting experience:

  • It would be useful to call early in the morning or late at night because this is when people are less likely to be calling in and taking up time on the line.
  • The Delta website or app should be your first source for anything you need, and try to avoid calling them as much as possible.
  • Confirm your mobile number to track your flight for cancellation or delay with the help of a text message alert.
  • As much as possible, avoid dialing to make simple changes to your reservation that you can do online instead
  • Click the callback button with Delta Airlines so that they can call you when there is another agent available.
  • When regarding the cancellation of the flight, inquire if there are other options with other flights within the same company or other affiliated companies.
  • Finally, politely approach your agent; these people do not make decisions on their own and are working diligently.

If long times to get connected with a live Delta representative are frustrating, it appears that the airline has been trying to address issues in call center customer service rather intensively. From the current information, it seems as though hiring rates are on the rise and technology implementations too persist in being unveiled successively as well. Crossing our fingers for the next couple of months, it should sense that the majority of resources and process enhancements will considerably decrease the hold times that have frustrated Delta callers.

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