I know I'm not a typical traveler, but when it comes to interacting with travel technology, it looks like my experiences mirror those shared by the majority of travelers we survey.

Let's start with Web sites. One way I do differ from most travelers is that I'm comfortable using my credit card to buy travel online -- 80% of online travelers are not. Indeed, buying a multicity ticket for a recent business trip on United.com was easy. However, after buying the ticket, my plans changed. Consistent with most airline Web sites, United.com doesn't allow online changes or cancellations, so I had to call to make the changes. A similar incident occurred after making a reservation on Sheraton.com. While the Web site supports online cancellations, I had to extend my stay and had to call their toll-free number to do so.

Like nearly three in 10 business air travelers, I, too, have become a huge fan of self-service check-in kiosks. In 2003, 27% more business air travelers use kiosks to check in versus 2002. Self-service check-in saves me time and gives me control. It also saves airlines big bucks. We estimate that it costs an airline around $0.16 to check in a passenger via a kiosk, versus $3.68 for an agent. I've used kiosks for Alaska, American, Continental, Delta, United, and US Airways. As good as kiosks are, they're still very far from perfect. For example, some kiosks won't let you stand by for another flight. Others will tell you how many certificates you need to upgrade but can't sell you the coupons. Still others won't let families check in kids who are younger than 12.

While in New York, I wanted to visit the new concept store for Song, Delta's low-cost division, in SoHo (I was even wearing black, required attire for that hip New York neighborhood). I called Song's toll-free number to get the address, but sadly had a totally off-key experience. Why? Its IVR menu didn't offer a "general assistance" option, nor did it respond to numerous, and increasingly loud, requests for "agent" or "operator." No wonder just 12% of consumers say they're satisfied using an IVR for customer service. I still don't know how I managed to reach a live agent. Thankfully, she was both efficient and cheerful.

These shortcomings create an inconsistent experience, disappoint the customer, and unnecessarily increase customer service costs. Ideally, travel's self-service customer service technologies should be able to handle 95% of the tasks for 95% of travelers. When they can't do something -- which should be the exception, not the rule -- the handoff should be seamless. Here are a few tips on how your company can improve its customer service experience:

• Recognize that you don't have online customers and offline customers -- you just have customers. As use of the Net grows, particularly for complex and international travel, integrated online customer service will become even more important.

• Remember the three C's of the cross-channel experience: Choice, consistency, and continuity. A call center agent shouldn't have to ask a loyalty program member for her itinerary, and the ticket counter agent should know that the traveler coming from the kiosk line needs to buy upgrade coupons.

• Rethink Web site design around your travelers' goals, not inwardly focused objectives. Customers don't want to "increase their awareness of your locations" -- they want to find and book a hotel near the beach or find and print a receipt.

• Make your credit card security policy easy to find, especially in the booking path. Make your policy credible: A Forrester audit of 28 travel sites showed that just 10 use third-party verification services to authenticate their credit card security.

Research Referenced In This Issue If you printed this email, get links to the research featured in this week's issue by going to www.forrester.com/go and entering the five-digit number of the report you'd like to read. Barry Diller Tells (Almost) All (32856) CIOs Still Have A Cautious Outlook For 2004 IT Budgets (33092)    Four Technologies Deserving Hotel Execs' Attention (16940) How Much Security Is Enough? (16280)    In 2004, Fast Food Must Go High-Tech (33065) OEMs: Move Telematics Efforts To Telematics Valley (17074) Office Depot, OfficeMax, And Staples Face Off (33043) Origins Offers Best Practices For Multichannel Selling (33083) Phones Rule The Ownerless Customer Experience (33127) Practical Content Management For Sarbanes-Oxley (32798) Rebuilding Consumer Loyalty (32311) Retailers: Invest In Merchandise Optimization Now (33162) RIP: The Online Consumer, 1998 To 2003 (17225) Searching For Digital Marketing's Growth (16731) Simplifying Cross-Channel Design (16368)    The Rise Of Kiosks And Net Flight Check-Ins (33089) The Site Redesign Playbook (16402)    Travelers' Credit Card Fears Suppress Web Travel (33031) Which Travel Sites Provide Clear Payment Policies? (33051) Who's Online -- And How To Get The Rest (32773)

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