Government legislation is essential in addressing many issues in society, from civil rights to highway safety. But should the government be involved in legislated customer service standards? It seems the answer has to do with the industry being regulated.

The U.S. government is proposing new rules regarding the airline industry. In effect, the new rules would set a minimum customer service standards for all airlines, domestic and foreign, that fly in and out of the United States.  Traveler advocate Christopher Elliott has written about his extensively on his blog Elliot.org. Elliott writes the following:

But what’s likely to cause airlines the most pain — and their customer the most pleasure — is a proposed rule that would set minimum customer service standards. Until now, the existing rule has had an enormous loophole: It wasn’t specific enough (DOT’s words, not mine) for a consumer to have realistic expectations of the types of services a carrier will provide under its plan, or that some carriers may not be living up to their customer service commitments.

Although most of us will benefit from this ruling as passengers, we need to wonder why this is being mandated from the government. It points to an industry where the customer has lost a battle, and the only way to regain footing was for the government to step in.  We have seen the rise of many non-customer-friendly fees and service cuts from the airlines. Of course, part of it is that airlines have been trying to protect their bottom line. But there would be no airline industry if there were no passengers, and many passengers have been increasingly getting fed up with the poor treatment they receive from airlines.  For instance, passengers are being asked to pay to have their baggage accompany them on a trip, yet if the airline loses said baggage, its liability is at a minimum.

What sets the airline industry apart from other industries is that there is a lot fewer choices available for the customer. If you are shopping for a product, and you receive poor customer service, you simply shop elsewhere. However, if you must get to Tulsa for a funeral, and driving would take too long, you are at the mercy of one or two airlines servicing that airport. You have fewer choices and less control.

The take away from the new government legislation of airlines is that customer service is important–in effect it validates the importance of customer service.