The Wall Street Journal ran a story about a United Airlines pilot who revels in delighting his customers. The Middle Seat on August 28, 2007, begins with
Capt. Denny Flanagan is a rare bird in today’s frustration-filled air-travel world — a pilot who goes out of his way to make flying fun for passengers.
It is both sad and wonderful that Capt. Flanagan is newsworthy. Sad because there are so few like him. Wonderful because there still are a few. Many of us have spent the last few decades bemoaning the death of customer service. Though the patient may be critically ill, mourning seems premature.
A few days ago, I wrote about how Netflix is getting it right by dumping email encouraging customers to call a toll-free phone number 24 hours a day. For all the brouhaha about how deep discount, big box stores like Wal-Mart, Costco, Sam’s Club, etc. would drive all of the little stores out of business; it simply has not happened. Why not? Because you cannot get service in the aisle of any of those stores like you can at a small, family-owned business.
Returning to the WSJ article for a moment, it also says,
United, which ranked in the middle of the airline pack in on-time arrivals and mishandled baggage in the first half of this year and next-to-worst in consumer complaints, has supported Capt. Flanagan’s efforts. The airline supplies the airplane trading-cards he hands out as passengers board, plus books, wine and discount coupons he has flight attendants give away. He goes through about 700 business cards a month, and the company reimburses him for the food he buys during prolonged delays.
If United really supported Flanagan’s efforts, what he does would be standard practice for all United employees. It is abundantly clear that we have one human being doing the right thing; despite the indifference and impersonality of a large corporation.
So what can we do about this? Gripe and complain, certainly. That’s always good for boosting your blood pressure before a particularly dull meeting at work. Boiling blood can keep you awake when the agenda fails to do so. But after the meeting…
Give exceptional customer service whenever you can. Smile. Thank people. Address them by name. Cheerfully offer to give them or do for them what they want.
When you are a consumer, frequent the businesses which treat you like royalty. You deserve to be pampered, you know. Reward those places with your business. And remember to tell your friends where you shop.
