Last month I must have qualified for the "Frequent Flyer of the
Month" Award. I flew over twenty segments (separate flights) on
business. When I mention this to friends and associates, their
response is always, "It must be exhausting to work like that." The work is not tiring. I love what I do. I could stand up and
speak about business etiquette till the cows come home. The air
travel is the killer.
Out of the twenty flights, only two, went off without a hitch. The other eighteen were either cancelled or delayed. After a
while this begins to wear on anyone. There were moments when I
came close to losing my good humor and, to be honest, my good
manners. However, as someone who makes her living speaking and
writing about etiquette, I feel an obligation to practice what I
preach. Besides I don't like myself when I get grumpy.
The incident which I am about to describe took place on my last,
or what was meant to be my last, flight of the month and final
flight home. For reasons that I do not need to explain, the
airline shall remain nameless.
I was among fifty unsuspecting passengers who boarded a small
commuter plane bound for Cincinnati where many of us had
connecting flights. We had one of those infamous "on time"
departures. It was a sunny day without a cloud in the sky so who
would have suspected that we would sit on the tarmac for three
and a half hours in the broiling sun due to a weather delay.
Finally the decision was made to cancel the flight and return
this hot, sweaty, dehydrated group of people to the terminal.
Once inside we made our way to various agents to rebook our
flights. It was late enough in the day that there was no way I
could fly to Cincinnati or anywhere else and make a connecting
flight home. Finally it was my turn to approach the airline
agent sitting behind the "customer service" desk looking for all
the world like Attila the Hun on one of his worst days. She was
not in a good mood. With no eye contact and no greeting, she
stuck out her hand for my boarding pass. Still not looking at me
and scowling, she announced that I couldn't get out until the
next morning. When I asked where I was supposed to spend the
night, she shrugged and informed me that it is not the airline's
responsibility to accommodate passengers whose flights are
canceled by weather. I was on my own.
Having no choice, I selected a departure time for the following
morning. She keyed in who knows what on her computer and shoved
two boarding passes toward me. She hadn't asked me what seat
assignments I would prefer so I timidly inquired about my
seating. I have preferences. Still visually ignoring me, she
offered, "You have 3A to Atlanta and 21C to Savannah." "Wow!
3A-that's fist class," I said. (Did I mention that I had a coach
ticket so this was a pleasant surprise?) In the grouchiest tone
of voice imaginable, she said, "That's all I had." It was
obvious that she hated giving me the upgrade. What a customer
service opportunity missed!
This airline employee had a chance to win over an unhappy
customer, but she blew it. She could just as easily have looked
me in the eye, smiled and said, "Ms. Ramsey, this is the least
I can do for you after all you have been through today and to see
that you have a pleasant journey tomorrow."
How many customer service opportunities have you or your
employees missed? When the product is flawed, the service not
performed properly or the customer has a bad experience, what do
you do to make up for it? Do you go out of your way to win them
over? When opportunity falls into your lap, as it did with the
airline employee, do you use it to your advantage?
It is no secret that it costs more to gain new customers than it
does to keep current ones. What are you doing to insure that
every customer has a positive experience with you? What do you
do when the customer's expectations are not met to make sure they
remain loyal to you and do not leave you in favor of your
competition?
The chance to win over a discontented customer was handed to
this customer service rep on a silver platter and she chose to
ignore it. What an opportunity missed!
Lydia Ramsey is a business etiquette expert, professional
speaker, corporate trainer and author featured in the Wall Street
Journal and many other off-line and on-line publications. Lydia
shares her business etiquette tips in her monthly e-zine and on
Twitter. To register for these free services visit http://www.mannersthatsell.com today!
