Interpretation New Zealand

Naumai

Recently I travelled on the Kaitaki en route from Wellington to Picton.

A lounge is available for travellers that want something different from the standard Interislander fare. The marketing blurb describes Kaitaki Plus (the lounge) as offering “the most comfortable and luxurious way to travel between the North and South Islands of New Zealand.”

Your Kaitaki Plus ticket will give you access to an exclusive, premium, on-board lounge, providing: ….Free internet access……Complimentary food and beverages etc.

First impressions were good: good welcome by staff, light and airy, good seating, plenty of space. Food offering was average but certainly not up to say Koru lounge standard.

Two customer experiences that clearly need resolving are the internet and availability of coffee.One of the attractions of the lounge was the opportunity to access and work on the internet.Unfortunately the connections kept dropping out and in the end the laptop was put away due to sheer exasperation! Having worked on cruises ships for the last six years I acknowledge internet connections can be difficult but surely that shouldn’t be while crossing Cook Strait, and certainly not if identified as a selling feature.  The coffee machine became  a point of contention for another customer about 30 minutes out of Picton. A few minutes before the staff had hung up the “sorry this machine is not available” sign. She was clearly disappointed when she started to make coffee and was told that was not possible without (any real explanation) by a staff member. Sure coffee machines need cleaning but couldn’t that wait until after the ship was in port – it is after all not a big job.

These may be small features but should be easily fixed and for a premium lounge one would expect them to be. I guess it’s about putting the customer first and not the operational requirements of the organization.

The promotion of the lounge states that Kaitaki Plus will make you wish the trip was longer. I’m not convinced the experience delivered made me wish that…..and at $ 45 it is not a customer experience I would be recommending.

Ka kite ano

Malcolm

Does the customer experience equal $ 45?