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I was recently on a six-hour flight, one of my least favorite things to do.
Our seats were next to the galley and exit door. Departure was at 11:30 a.m., which meant that we were
flying during lunch and into the dinner hour. You know the routine: pick up a sack lunch that was prepared
hours earlier, one three-inch diameter bun with some meat and cheese, condiments, a small bag of chips and
two cookies. Bon appetit! Our flight attendant, Chip, sat in the jump seat during take off, and he and I
started talking. I grumbled to him about how the airlines were missing the mark in trying to build customer
loyalty.
"Look at the quality of this food for a long flight as an example," I said. I
explained to him that as business seemed to go from bad to worse for the airlines, their strategy was to cut
back on customer service instead of stepping it up in an effort to attract more customers. During the next
few hours I watched Chip and how he did his job. I was so impressed with his approach to customer service
that I asked him to sit down and talk with me about his principles for "running his business." Following is
what I learned from this consummate professional.
Greet your customers with a smile. It helps Chip set the "tone"
for the entire flight. Treat people as if they are a guest in your own house. Leave your own problems at home. Your customers don't want to hear about
your troubles. Besides, concentrating on something else will help you forget about your own problems. It is better to be nice and have fun than to be angry, an emotion
that can spread quickly. When you have what he called "an angry camper," Chip suggested:
- Find out what is bugging them. Some people don't want the problem fixed,
they want to be angry, and you need to work around the problem.
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- Get down to their eye level, listen (and remember what they say). They often
want to get something off their chest. Don't ignore them if they want to wallow, but try to lift them up to
a higher level.
- Interact positively with people around the angry camper to involve the one who
is angry, thereby trying to change their attitude.
Remember that your average flier (customer) is in an unfamiliar
environment. Give them enough information to help them feel self-sufficient. Don't get stressed out. Keep a level head. Stop, think and try to fix
problems when they arise. Avoid snap decisions. Come to work with the idea that you will take the tools the company has
given you to work with and then have fun. For Chip, this means that he is "throwing a party at the
company's expense."
Harvard professor Frederick Reichheld found that a 5 percent increase in customer
retention over time can lead to double-digit increases in profitability. As a loyal employee of his company,
Chip understood what customer service meant to his airline.
Chip thinks that it's just common sense. With 300 people stuck in a confined space
for hours at a time, you don't have a lot of options. You either make the best of it, or you're all in for
a long flight. If his formula for successful customer service works at 35,000 feet, think what it might do for
you on terra firma.
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