I called Westjet's enthusiastically named "Sales Super Center" to apply a credit from my last trip to Calgary for delayed luggage. They answered after 4 rings. I remember last month they picked up so quickly I was caught off guard, partially because I had been on hold on Rogers for half an hour just before.

So what about Air Canada? Out of curiosity, I called them as an experiment.
1) Immediately the automated voice asks to choose English or French. I'm assuming Westjet's people are all bilingual since they don't prompt.
2) You're reminded to check AirCanada.com for all your needs. (Already feeling like they don't want to talk to me)
3) Menu options! The third one is reservations, where they remind you again that they have a website.
4) I press 3 and hear "$25 may apply to these services". (They REALLY don't want to talk to anyone)
5) No ring, just "All our agents are presently busy". Add me to the queue please.

Every interaction is a marketing opportunity, and Air Canada fails every time.

Labels: airlines business