Want More Efficient, Frontier Breaking Phone Service, Customers Chats Are Directed Via WA and Social Media

Frontier, directs customers to chat via WA and social media.

JAKARTA - Frontier, the low-cost carrier, which charges for everything from in-flight snacks to carry-on luggage, is looking to cut costs even more by eliminating its customer service phone lines. Customers who have questions about their reservations can now only contact Frontier agents via live chat on its website, via WhatsApp, or on social media.

In an emailed statement to The Verge, Frontier company spokeswoman Jennifer De La Cruz confirmed that Frontier's customer service has "fully transitioned to digital communications". The service is expected to help "ensure customers get the information they need as quickly and efficiently as possible."

When a customer tries to call a phone number that Frontier removed from its website but still appears on Google, they'll be greeted with this message before getting the option to chat online instead:

“At Frontier, we offer the lowest fares in the industry by operating our airlines as efficiently as possible. We also want our customers to be able to operate efficiently, which is why we make it easy to find what you need on FlyFrontier.com or in our mobile apps. We also have a chat service available 24/7,” reads the automated voice service on Frontier's phone number.

If the customer agrees to chat online, then Frontier will send the customer a link to the company's live chat on its website, where they must deal with chat bots before they can contact actual human employees.

According to De La Cruz, the transition will be rolled out in stages and came into effect last weekend. “We found that most customers prefer to communicate via digital channels,” added De La Cruz, quoted by The Verge.

It follows a presentation by the company's investors on November 15, which stated that one-to-one voice calling was "unscalable, inefficient, and expensive" and suggested implementing a three-to-one live chat that would see one agent serve three customers at once.

“Think about the most obscure questions a customer might ask that would take countless minutes to research and find answers to a call center agent,” said Jack Filene, Frontier's senior vice president of customer service during the presentation, quoted by CNBC. “Chatbots can answer them very quickly.”

Earlier this month, the Department of Transportation ordered Frontier Airlines to pay $222 million in customer refunds and a $2.2 million fine to compensate customers for flights that were canceled or significantly changed.

In 2020, Frontier Airlines was accused of providing vouchers instead of refunds to customers whose flights were changed or canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a practice deemed “unlawful” by the DOT.

Frontier is one of the largest airlines to disconnect customers from its phone lines. Even budget airline Spirit, which tried to acquire Frontier over the summer, still lets customers talk to agents over the phone.

While dealing with long wait times when calling customer service can be a pain, a phone line still seems like a necessity to have as an option, especially for people who aren't very tech-savvy.