by Jim Hinshaw

 

On a recent flight from Denver, had a great experience on Delta. As I came into the cabin, the flight attendant made a positive impression. Stephen Chung was alert, greeting each of us individually, had an engaging smile, and you could see in his eyes he really enjoyed his job. I complimented him on his positive attitude, it was easy to notice, since most people today act like they would rather be somewhere else.

 

He told me he really enjoys what he does, and even after 25 years it has not gotten old.  He rolled out the usual juice and pretzels, noticed my tv screen in the seat back was not working. Asked if I wanted to watch movies or live channels, I said yes, but the screen remained dark. He told me he would reset the system, would take 5 minutes. He did, but still no tv. So then he asked me for my Delta miles account number. Wow. Gave him my info, he set up a credit for some extra miles to be added to my account.

 

What is interesting is that I fly almost every week. Have had dozens on those tv screens that remained dark, most attendants don’t notice, or if they do, take a note to pass on to maintenance. Stephen did more, and I realize those miles were not actually coming from him, and it was not enough for a round trip to anywhere, but it was an act that made me feel important, like a valued customer.

 

He raised the bar for flight attendants all across the nation, I now have a new level of job commitment to measure future airline employees with.

 

What is really amazing is that this was the same trip that had a horrible beginning, same airline had three flight delays trying to get me out of Phoenix, finally had to change airlines to get to Denver. Frustrating. What is amazing is that one flight attendant changed my impression of the airline, brought me back to a raving fan. Which is exactly what you want as a business person, not a satisfied customer, you want raving fans!

 

So what are you doing to make the customer experience amazing, instead of just another day at the office? A smile, pleasant greeting, actually helping the customer when things don’t go as planned, taking action instead of taking notes, doing something in your power to improve the experience, these are the kind of things that make a customer go “wow”.  What happens when a customer is unhappy with your service, products or installation?  Equip your team to do what is necessary to help them move from unhappy to where they will actually come back to do business again.

 

Studies have shown that when a complaining customer gets fast response and some sort of solution to their problem, they return to buy more goods and services from your company.  Back in the day we said a happy customer will tell 5 people, unhappy will tell 20.  That is so dated, today the unhappy customer will tell 20,000.  They can go to Yelp, Google, Facebook, your website, all kinds of places to vent.  On the other hand, I will quote a famous restaurant owner in New York.  The phrase we have all heard is “the customer is always right”.  He says: “they are not always right, but they are always the customer”.  In some cases you need them to buy from someone else.  So have a plan for abusive customers.  Know when to disconnect.  Let your team know they can always count on you to have their back.  Goes a long way to keeping good employees.

 

These days I have a phone problem.  Specifically, Siri quit working on my iPhone.  I know, first world problem.  Have done all the usual things, gone to the forums, called the tech support, rebooted (three times), backed up from the iCloud, nothing has restored her.  In one of my calls to Apple support, got through to a supervisor (how do I know he is a supervisor, cause they said, I will turn you over to my supervisor!) named Alex.  He has done exactly what he said he could do, called me back three times at the appointed time, gone to engineering, and has not been able to fix Siri on my phone.  But what he has been able to do is confirm that it is not hardware, not my phone, it is a software issue.  The tech team is working on it, there are thousands with my same problem out there.  So I feel better knowing that someone is working on it, even if I have not seen a resolution on my phone.  Every Friday he calls, around 3 my time.  Even asked me what part of the country I will be in, if it is East coast, he calls for that time zone.  So he is helping in every way he can.

 

Another key point, he has been honest with me all along.  Told me he will help as much as he can, when he realized it is something he cannot fix, told me that as well.  So part of me wants to throw that phone out the window, go to another brand, start all over.  But then I realize that Alex is truly doing all he can, I do have a positive relationship with him, let him do what he can to solve the problem.  Two things important to me.  He has been honest, and has kept his word.  Last Friday the call came and he said, I don’t have an answer.  He called anyway.  I would rather he call with no solution, than not call at all.  At least he is still working on my silly little problem.

 

Back to the original concept.  Put yourself in the customer’s shoes, they may have had a long day, kids were sort of fussy, car needs brakes (or car needs to be replaced), and you show up and let the customer know they need a new something they had not planned on. A something that may be thousands of dollars.  Make sure your front-line team is doing all they can to be engaged with a customer going through a tough time.  Do all you can to respond fast, no one has spare time today.  I want to wait 4 days for the tech to come to my house just to see why my furnace is not working, said no one ever.  Then when they trust you to do that something, it goes wrong.  Know your limits, but do all you can to stay engaged, help them through the incident that no one planned for.  In many cases, they will not only tell their friends, they will say: even though they had a problem, they never forgot about me!

 

Thanks for listening, we’ll talk later.