An end to "abrupt culture" ?

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ryanair-pledges-end-abrupt-culture-103355977.html

Extracts :

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair has promised to transform its "abrupt culture" in a bid to win customers from costlier rivals, admitting for the first time that it had a significant problem with customer service.

"We should try to eliminate things that unnecessarily piss people off," Chief Executive Michael O'Leary told the company's annual general meeting after several shareholders complained about the impact of customer service on sales.

He said the company would overhaul its web site, set up a new team to respond to emails and stop fining customers whose carry-on baggage exceeds minimum sizes by a matter of millimeters.

"A lot of those customer services elements don't cost a lot of money ... It's something we are committed to addressing over the coming year," O'Leary said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-20/ryanair-chief-pledges-gentler-touch-as-macho-culture-backfires.html

Extracts :

Michael O’Leary said Europe’s biggest discount carrier must boost service standards to help lure travelers put off by the Irish company’s notoriously abrasive approach to its own clientele.

“I’m conscious that we need to eliminate a lot of minor things that irritate,” O’Leary told investors at their annual meeting in Dublin today. “We do need to soften the image when things go wrong. We need to be quicker and more responsive.”

The chief executive officer, who has cultivated a take-no-prisoners outspokenness, said he may need to moderate his own comments to help win over more middle-class flyers in Britain and Germany who view his company as too down-market.

“I’m happy to take the blame if we have an overly macho culture,” he said. “There is a large slug of potential customers who we need to attract to try Ryanair.”

The CEO made the comments after announcing an overhaul of its website that’s also aimed at becoming more customer-friendly and closing the gap to what he says is a superior booking process at EasyJet Plc. (EZJ)
A redesign of the website’s booking system due to go live in December aims to make it easier to navigate and quicker to locate price quotes.

O’Leary says he’s also prepared to sell tickets via agents rather than solely through Ryanair’s own mechanisms, targeting another area where EasyJet has made the running by linking with corporate buyers to add business fliers.

Ryanair would profit from a more sympathetic image, that is for sure; Michael O'Leary seems to have understood it, at last : there is hope for the future of Ryanair - and brighter times ahead for the RYR fans !  

http://www.cityam.com/article/1380067551/brand-index-ryanair-charm-offensive-may-heal-its-brand-reputation

Extract :

RYANAIR, the discount airline that people love to hate, has promised to transform its “macho and abrupt culture” and turn over a new leaf as a more friendly and customer-focused business.
The change in direction comes amid shareholder concerns that the company’s reputation for shabby service is limiting its capacity for growth. But how hard will it be for Ryanair to get consumers to view it more positively?
While many consumers across Europe have a pretty dim view of Ryanair, that does not put them off taking advantage of its low prices.
Our research suggests that if the company were to succeed in improving its customer service (and therefore how consumers regard the brand), it could build upon its market position and take its already formidable success to new heights. But in the meantime, it has a lot of work to do.

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/sectors/let-s-face-it-sometimes-only-the-direct-approach-will-do-1.1544102

Extracts :

Earlier this month Ryanair decided that being horrid to customers was not a great business strategy and declared it would be a bit nicer. This was pretty remarkable and has, indeed, been much remarked upon.

Yet even more remarkable was what caused chief executive Michael O’Leary to make this U-turn. It was not market research. It was not social networks. It certainly was not anything to do with management consultants, whom O’Leary once said he would shoot if they ever darkened his doorstep. Nor was it due to pressure from the board.

Instead, the trigger was people who periodically accost him in McDonald’s to moan about his airline while he sits trying to enjoy a meal with his kids. As he said to shareholders at last week’s annual meeting, he is sick and tired of it.

When you could get flights for 1p as I did a few years ago, then you would put up with anything Ryanair chucked your way: the long queues for check-in, the fraught-ridden booking process, fighting for your place on the plane and rather stern service from the cabin crew. However, as prices have crept up over the years, the differential between Ryanair and the other airlines has started to diminish. Don't forget, if you have a family and each of them has a suitcase, you're paying anything from £30 to £70 more per person to check in baggage. Maybe that's why Ryanair's sales have started to level out. I don't find it 'cheap as chips' anymore, and, even though I am a seasoned Ryanair traveller, there are times when I yearn for the civility and calm of a British Airways flight.

I see your point .. still I have booked a couple of flights for weekends away Manchester to Reus and Girona(October 2013  ).. £Lowest flights were on sale for less than £30 return per person ..ok that was only with carry on baggage 10kg (no charge) families wanting a short break can still do it for next to nothing.. I cannot ever see BA offering me this offer.

I guess its a matter of - you get what you pay for -don't expect complimentary breakfasts and to be honest most schedule/charter carriers do not offer for free anymore anyway (all want your money)... 99% of my RYR flights have been very civil.

Ryanair are now recruiting
1. Director – Sales & Marketing
Reporting to the CEO, the successful candidate will take responsibility for all our Sales & Marketing activity, including communications and will become the main spokesperson for Ryanair in all markets. He/She will be responsible for devising and implementing all sales, promotions, advertising, brand development and communication strategy in order to promote Ryanair’s safety, customer service and low fare messages.

Although reporting to the CEO, it seems that this new "Director - Sales & Marketing" will take over the role Michal O'Leary has filled until now : that of the main spokesperson - in order to end the "abrupt culture" ?