Observation number one: the US airline experience is still rubbish.
Why do some flight attendants insist on making your experience on board miserable? I fly US Airways often and generally I have a great experience. They treat me like the Platinum Preferred that I am given I fly about 150 times a year, and they go out of their way to make my life easier with complimentary upgrades, use of their business lounge and the fast track line (when available). Everything is good until you board the plane. On my last 20 flights I decided to keep track of the flight attendant for my area and it was hit and miss. 10 out of 20 times they were sweet, pleasant and genuinely enjoy what they do. But 10 out of 20 times they were rude, short tempered and just plane daft. Why?
My initial thought was to dismiss this as simply a case of good employee, bad employee. But my wonderful travel companion Kristina explained that this was in fact due to whether the flight attendant was at beginning or end of their travel schedule. Turns out these folks leave for multiple days at a time and when its time to go home they are the grumpiest of flight attendants, quick tempered and quick to play the "I'll have you removed from this flight" card which I actually have heard them say...to paying customers. Unacceptable.
Observation number 2: Unemployment is the issue of the day, yet those who have a job sometimes don't merit them. Nothing rattles my cage more than a person who "chooses" to be in the service industry but neglects to provide you with quality service. In the last two days I have had several such experiences.
Me: Can I please have some sugar with my coffee?
Coffee Girl: Sure. 10 minutes later no sugar, cold coffee.
Why do some flight attendants insist on making your experience on board miserable? I fly US Airways often and generally I have a great experience. They treat me like the Platinum Preferred that I am given I fly about 150 times a year, and they go out of their way to make my life easier with complimentary upgrades, use of their business lounge and the fast track line (when available). Everything is good until you board the plane. On my last 20 flights I decided to keep track of the flight attendant for my area and it was hit and miss. 10 out of 20 times they were sweet, pleasant and genuinely enjoy what they do. But 10 out of 20 times they were rude, short tempered and just plane daft. Why?
My initial thought was to dismiss this as simply a case of good employee, bad employee. But my wonderful travel companion Kristina explained that this was in fact due to whether the flight attendant was at beginning or end of their travel schedule. Turns out these folks leave for multiple days at a time and when its time to go home they are the grumpiest of flight attendants, quick tempered and quick to play the "I'll have you removed from this flight" card which I actually have heard them say...to paying customers. Unacceptable.
Observation number 2: Unemployment is the issue of the day, yet those who have a job sometimes don't merit them. Nothing rattles my cage more than a person who "chooses" to be in the service industry but neglects to provide you with quality service. In the last two days I have had several such experiences.
Me: Can I please have some sugar with my coffee?
Coffee Girl: Sure. 10 minutes later no sugar, cold coffee.
Me: I'm looking for an authentic seafood restaurant, can you recommend one?
Hotel Concierge (with big smile): Our restaurant is really good!
Me: I'm sure it is, but I'm looking for something authentic, with atmosphere, not the same place I had breakfast.
Hotel Concierge (still big smile): I'm not sure, I'll have to ask. I know there are lots of restaurants in the North End.
Me (irritated): No sh*t, Urban Spoon lists over 200, but which one do you, as a professional concierge, recommend?
Hotel Concierge (no more smile): Um, I don't know, sir. Let me check (proceeds to Google).
Me (silence): Thats ok, I can Google too.
And the best was a recent business dinner in Vegas. A former client was in town and invited me out for a steak dinner. We went to an upscale place at one of the big name hotels. Food was great but the waitress made the experience awful. There were four of us at the table, and you figure with wine, coffee and dessert we spent over $100 per head...in the middle of a recession in the city that is hit the hardest with unemployment. This woman didn't smile once until she put the check in front of my former colleague. We had to ask for our water to be topped off through out the meal and she couldn't keep up with the service - meals arrived before previous plates were cleared etc., all the time no smile, no service, she was just miserable. And she only had three tables to serve. I observed but didn't say anything, neither did my companions...until the bill came.
Hotel Concierge (with big smile): Our restaurant is really good!
Me: I'm sure it is, but I'm looking for something authentic, with atmosphere, not the same place I had breakfast.
Hotel Concierge (still big smile): I'm not sure, I'll have to ask. I know there are lots of restaurants in the North End.
Me (irritated): No sh*t, Urban Spoon lists over 200, but which one do you, as a professional concierge, recommend?
Hotel Concierge (no more smile): Um, I don't know, sir. Let me check (proceeds to Google).
Me (silence): Thats ok, I can Google too.
And the best was a recent business dinner in Vegas. A former client was in town and invited me out for a steak dinner. We went to an upscale place at one of the big name hotels. Food was great but the waitress made the experience awful. There were four of us at the table, and you figure with wine, coffee and dessert we spent over $100 per head...in the middle of a recession in the city that is hit the hardest with unemployment. This woman didn't smile once until she put the check in front of my former colleague. We had to ask for our water to be topped off through out the meal and she couldn't keep up with the service - meals arrived before previous plates were cleared etc., all the time no smile, no service, she was just miserable. And she only had three tables to serve. I observed but didn't say anything, neither did my companions...until the bill came.
If you ever sit down for a meal with professional purchasing people you are in for a treat. They don't forgive poor quality of food or service. As this young lady put the bill down with a massive manufactured smile that was a clear statement of "Thanks for the Tip", my former client asked to speak to the manager:
Server Girl (smile disappeared): Is there a problem, sir?
Client: No, please get your Manager.
Few minutes later...
Server Guy: Sir, is there a problem?
Client: Are you the Manager?
Server Guy (with Server Girl behind him): No sir. What is the problem?
Client: Please get your Manager. In fact is the owner here?
Server Guy (getting smaller): Let me get the Manager.
Client: Thats what I asked your colleague.
Few minutes goes by...
Manager (with smile and concern): Hello sir, how was your meal?
Client: The food was great, compliments to the Chef. Are you the manager?
Manager: Glad to hear it. Yes sir, I am the Manager.
Client: Do you train your staff?
Manager: We do. Is there a problem?
Client: Yes. My bill is almost $500 and we are in the middle of a recession. Yet your server has given us the worst service I have ever had so I wanted you to know that I am sadly not going to leave her tip. There are hundreds of people unemployed in this town who would gladly do her job a lot better than she has tonight. A 20% tip would be approximately $100 but your colleague has not earned it. Do you understand me?
Manager: Yes of course. (Picking up the bill) I am going to take your appetizers and desserts off the bill, I know this doesn't make it right but I truly appreciate your feedback and business. In fact, if you could explain what we could do better next time that would be great.
Client: Let me propose this - please do not take anything of the bill and please do not fire your colleague (who looked like a ghost at this point). Instead please explain to her why she is getting no tip tonight and ensure she understands she is not entitled to a tip unless she works for it. Can you do that?
Manager: Yes sir, of course. You are very kind. Thank you. May I offer you gentlemen an after dinner drink?
Client: Yes thank you. I'll have a Scotch.
Classy. We discussed this at length that evening and agreed that its not about smacking down the person or getting a reduction in our bill, its about demanding higher standards from people and businesses. There is a wave of entitlement in the US right now and if you are paying for something then you need to demand better service. I personally would have been horrified to know that a paying customer had received such terrible service in my establishment. Clients are King and we have to always work hard to exceed expectations. I am not sure if that server will truly understand why she didn't make any money off our table that night, she was just horrible at her job. But that doesn't mean that you, as a client, should let her off the hook. And too many people do.
Observation number 3: no matter what your business is its all about people. This is perhaps the most basic rule of any business yet so many business owners and managers neglect this. Case in point: one of the start-ups I am involved with was looking for an order fulfillment supplier this summer. I recommended a well known online service that some friends have raved about. They are a fully automated online service start-up and I had heard good things. But when all was said and done the company opted to go with another much smaller company. Reason: they just wanted their business more. While everything was processed online this company followed up with phone calls and e-mails to ensure it could meet their needs. No one even responded for the other more well known company. Someone did a nice job providing attention and detail. People make a difference.
Another example of this happened last night. I'm heading to Brussels for Christmas and New Year's and I'm planning to spend a few days in Paris beginning of next year. There is a gem of a hotel in Paris called Pavillon de la Reine.
I went online to check their rates and tried to book on their system. The only thing available was Junior Suites at a rate of EUR 550 a night - too rich for me. However when you changed the number of guests from 1 to 2 the rate dropped to EUR 50 a night. I knew this had to be an error but I went ahead and booked the room on my card. This morning there was a note from the hotel saying this was a technical glitch and rates were in fact EUR 550. After a few e-mails back and forth they offered me a room at EUR 200 a night. An exceptional deal for a 5 star room in that city. This is people at work. Whoever said the French treat customers like dirt? People make the difference.
You can have the best business in the world but it really comes down to the experience you provide to your customers. Fifteen years ago the consulting firm I worked for was hired to manage an annual customer satisfaction program at Tenneco Automotive. I didn't realize at the time just how important this was. Here is a company who sells shock absorbers and exhaust systems through thousands of installers, jobbers and distributors around the world. They believed it was important enough to spend a lot of money tracking customer satisfaction globally. The management team in Chicago used this program to measure results and executives were held accountable. It was genius in retrospect. If a company like Tenneco is doing this then its inexcusable for a restaurant, an airline or an online order fulfillment company to provide poor service.
I could go on with similar experiences, good and bad. If you understand this then you too can build a better, stronger and healthier business no matter what you do. Customers must hold businesses accountable if we want to improve. Nothing should be taken for granted.
Server Girl (smile disappeared): Is there a problem, sir?
Client: No, please get your Manager.
Few minutes later...
Server Guy: Sir, is there a problem?
Client: Are you the Manager?
Server Guy (with Server Girl behind him): No sir. What is the problem?
Client: Please get your Manager. In fact is the owner here?
Server Guy (getting smaller): Let me get the Manager.
Client: Thats what I asked your colleague.
Few minutes goes by...
Manager (with smile and concern): Hello sir, how was your meal?
Client: The food was great, compliments to the Chef. Are you the manager?
Manager: Glad to hear it. Yes sir, I am the Manager.
Client: Do you train your staff?
Manager: We do. Is there a problem?
Client: Yes. My bill is almost $500 and we are in the middle of a recession. Yet your server has given us the worst service I have ever had so I wanted you to know that I am sadly not going to leave her tip. There are hundreds of people unemployed in this town who would gladly do her job a lot better than she has tonight. A 20% tip would be approximately $100 but your colleague has not earned it. Do you understand me?
Manager: Yes of course. (Picking up the bill) I am going to take your appetizers and desserts off the bill, I know this doesn't make it right but I truly appreciate your feedback and business. In fact, if you could explain what we could do better next time that would be great.
Client: Let me propose this - please do not take anything of the bill and please do not fire your colleague (who looked like a ghost at this point). Instead please explain to her why she is getting no tip tonight and ensure she understands she is not entitled to a tip unless she works for it. Can you do that?
Manager: Yes sir, of course. You are very kind. Thank you. May I offer you gentlemen an after dinner drink?
Client: Yes thank you. I'll have a Scotch.
Classy. We discussed this at length that evening and agreed that its not about smacking down the person or getting a reduction in our bill, its about demanding higher standards from people and businesses. There is a wave of entitlement in the US right now and if you are paying for something then you need to demand better service. I personally would have been horrified to know that a paying customer had received such terrible service in my establishment. Clients are King and we have to always work hard to exceed expectations. I am not sure if that server will truly understand why she didn't make any money off our table that night, she was just horrible at her job. But that doesn't mean that you, as a client, should let her off the hook. And too many people do.
Observation number 3: no matter what your business is its all about people. This is perhaps the most basic rule of any business yet so many business owners and managers neglect this. Case in point: one of the start-ups I am involved with was looking for an order fulfillment supplier this summer. I recommended a well known online service that some friends have raved about. They are a fully automated online service start-up and I had heard good things. But when all was said and done the company opted to go with another much smaller company. Reason: they just wanted their business more. While everything was processed online this company followed up with phone calls and e-mails to ensure it could meet their needs. No one even responded for the other more well known company. Someone did a nice job providing attention and detail. People make a difference.
Another example of this happened last night. I'm heading to Brussels for Christmas and New Year's and I'm planning to spend a few days in Paris beginning of next year. There is a gem of a hotel in Paris called Pavillon de la Reine.
I went online to check their rates and tried to book on their system. The only thing available was Junior Suites at a rate of EUR 550 a night - too rich for me. However when you changed the number of guests from 1 to 2 the rate dropped to EUR 50 a night. I knew this had to be an error but I went ahead and booked the room on my card. This morning there was a note from the hotel saying this was a technical glitch and rates were in fact EUR 550. After a few e-mails back and forth they offered me a room at EUR 200 a night. An exceptional deal for a 5 star room in that city. This is people at work. Whoever said the French treat customers like dirt? People make the difference.
You can have the best business in the world but it really comes down to the experience you provide to your customers. Fifteen years ago the consulting firm I worked for was hired to manage an annual customer satisfaction program at Tenneco Automotive. I didn't realize at the time just how important this was. Here is a company who sells shock absorbers and exhaust systems through thousands of installers, jobbers and distributors around the world. They believed it was important enough to spend a lot of money tracking customer satisfaction globally. The management team in Chicago used this program to measure results and executives were held accountable. It was genius in retrospect. If a company like Tenneco is doing this then its inexcusable for a restaurant, an airline or an online order fulfillment company to provide poor service.
I could go on with similar experiences, good and bad. If you understand this then you too can build a better, stronger and healthier business no matter what you do. Customers must hold businesses accountable if we want to improve. Nothing should be taken for granted.
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ReplyDeleteWhen I was a summer MBA intern at P&G in Cincinnati, 1981, I became aware that the CEO and several people just below him would listen for hours to consumers to recorded consumer comment calls on an 800 number. Even the biggest business can do it.
ReplyDeleteShahriar, there is surely a cycle to everything, but all I see around me is very negative social and cultural trends - our grandparents' generation had far more sense than our kids generation, taken as a whole (plenty of exceptions of course).