Each year, RDU celebrates National Customer Service Week, which is held the first week of October. This year, the airport held events to recognize customers and employees. The highlight of the week was a customer service fair held on Friday, October 5, in the parking garage atrium.

Airlines, retail stores, restaurants and the Airport Authority set up booths to educate and entertain travelers much like a neighborhood street festival. There was free food, music and merriment. Sports mascots and Hello Kitty strolled the atrium. Airlines held contests for free tickets and many stores gave away prizes from t-shirts to coloring books. With approximately 700 people in attendance, the event was considered a great success.

The week-long celebration was sponsored by RDU’s Customer Service Council (CSC). The CSC was started to help promote a standard of excellence in customer service for the RDU community. The group’s slogan, exceptional is our standard, epitomizes the expectations held for all who work at the airport.

From mid-April through early May 2007, a total of 524 RDU customers were interviewed and surveyed by Confero Inc. of Cary. The Authority contracted with Confero, which conducts RDU’s Mystery Shopping program, to determine customer satisfaction within all levels of service at the airport.

From road signage and parking facilities to courtesy of airline and security staff to timeliness of baggage services, customers rated RDU on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being very satisfied.

Of the 524 respondents, 68% traveled via Terminal A and 32% through Terminal C. Approximately 84% had used RDU prior to being surveyed with 70% having taken 2 or more round trips through RDU in the last 12 months.

Business travelers rated their overall satisfaction at 4.06, while leisure travelers rated their satisfaction at 4.09. Overall satisfaction ratings in 9 main categories were: Check-in Process 4.39; Security Process 4.28; Terminal Facilities 4.16; Parking 4.05; Ground Transportation 4.04; Waiting Area/Gate Comfort 3.99; Baggage Claim Process 3.90; Retail Services 3.79; and Food/Beverage Services 3.71.

“We have a wealth of data collected through the survey, which gives us a strong indication of how our frequent customers feel about their experiences at RDU,” said Teresa Damiano, director of the Marketing, Customer Service and Organizational Support Division. “While we have assessed various services in the past, this is our first broad-based customer satisfaction survey.”