Booking.com opens 4th Asia-Pacific customer service centre in Bangkok

The centre’s bilingual staff will support customers and 1.1 million accommodation partners in English, Thai and other Asian languages. 
More than 1.2 million bookings are made through the website every 24 hours.
With customer satisfaction scores consistently close to 90 per cent, a strong emphasis on quality, around-the-clock in-house customer service is a key element of Booking.com’s core values, it says. 
Customer service, available around the world in 43 languages, is the company’s largest department, with about half of its 13,000 employees worldwide.
Demand has increased for more Thai-language support for customers and partners, Oliver Hua, Booking.com’s managing director for Asia-Pacific, said yesterday. “At Booking.com, customer service is more than a department. It’s an inherent focus of the entire company. 
“Keeping the customer at the centre of everything we do is one of our core company values, and by opening our fourth Asia-Pacific-based in-house customer service contact centre, we are well positioned to offer stronger support to our customers, as well as our partners, in the region.”
With 15 customer service centres around the world, including in Singapore, Tokyo and Shanghai, Booking.com says it has a strong focus on first-contact resolution for customers. Staff are trained to resolve customer issues during the first call or e-mail.
FM Mok, director of customer service for Asia-Pacific, said the teams were empowered to understand every situation. 
“We don’t use scripts and we don’t use checklists, as we don’t want to restrict each conversation. 
“Our employees are trained to listen to the customer or partner, ask the right questions and understand what’s important to the customer and how best to solve the problem. 
“We deliver the service that the customers of Booking.com deserve, which is world-class, quick resolution, and all in the language of their choice.”
The Bangkok centre, which is in the new central business area, has been designed to enhance the quality of employees’ work life, boost performance and stimulate creativity and collaboration, the company says. 
Like all Booking.com offices around the globe, employee performance, comfort and convenience have been considered in the design and location of the office, it says. 
Customer service staff are provided continuous learning and development opportunities and go through a four-week training before they independently handle contacts with customers and partners.“Our primary aim is to personally connect with our customers and provide them with a smooth, transparent and enjoyable booking experience, and we know that happy and fulfilled employees are the most important asset we have to achieve this goal,” he said.