Who’s to Blame?

September 15, 2009 by Yuval Brisker

TOA and Harris Interactive just conducted a nationwide survey to understand the ‘waiting problem’ better. To see what real effect it had on peoples lives…

One of the questions asked was: Who is to blame for keeping you waiting at home or for not arriving on time…is it the field employee (technician, driver, delivery person) or is it the company that is employing him. What was the overwhelming answer?

Very few people blamed the actual person delivering the good or the service. The majority cited the company as the chief culprit in late arrivals. Why?

“The Cog in the Machine Syndrome” strikes again.

The delivery person, the technician, the service person… if they are reasonably nice… they are humanized.

In fact, they are also a victims of your organization. They don’t make the rules, they don’t provide the technology and the tools. They are just the messenger. People aren’t stupid. They KNOW that. So why kill the messenger? It’s not his or her fault. It’s your fault. You the company executive that decides where to spend the money those very same customers provide you with every time they buy, every time they use your service. You have a chance to hear and heed the cry.

Remember: The revolution will not be televised.

You can get a free copy of the survey results here.

Chicken or Beef 2: …and the answer is…

July 1, 2009 by Yuval Brisker

Here  the moment you have all been waiting for…:

Did you guess?

Continental is the airline I fly most, being that they are the hub airline in two of the places that I live – New York (at Newark) and Cleveland. And maybe familiarity breeds contempt… but what can I say?…I have come to call that airline between you and me…

The Borg’!!!
Yes. The Borg. Efficient, mechanical but soulless. Especially the customer service and the attitude of Continental’s onboard staff.  I know this is a terrible indictment, and probably a superficial generalization but believe me, this is not an anecdotal observation. In flight after flight after flight, I have seen a consistent deterioration of the quality of what they serve (coach is my measure — not business or BusinessFirst)  and how they serve it.

For example, they used to carry a great Asian Vegetarian meal, that I ordered even when I wasn’t. Two months ago, I ordered one, and they rudely told me that not only was it gone… but they never had one!!!! And despite my protestations, a flight attendant told me that I didn’t know what I was talking about. So now they replaced that great vegetarian meal with a shameful veggie burger in box, not only reducing the meal size and type but also ridding it of any amenities that their meal on the tray used to have (desert, salad, as weak as they were, they were there…). So those ordering vegetarian are left with a box for dinner while everyone else has a tray, reduced to second class citizens.

Second big issue is what I would call: “The SMILE”…

Or lack of it.

How hard is it to tell your staff to be sunny and nice and SMILE. Make it a rule. Southwest did. And what a difference it is to get on a Southwest plane. You KNOW people are going to be nice to you. You KNOW that’s part of that company’s culture.

Contrast that with the cold, robotic attitude and frowning faces I see on almost every Continental flight, as the attendants unhappily unload the meals with disdain on to passenger’s tables – with not even a minimal attempt to be nice. It seems people are just not happy to work there…

The Borg!

And so… Lufthansa wins The Golden Chicken – my Best Customer Experience of the Week Award , this week. Why?
Because to paraphrase an old musical I love…the planes were beautiful, the people were beautiful, the service was beautiful… Really!

And I thought this German animal was cold! WRONG!

The attendants went out of their way to be gently smiling and thoughtful. They remembered every request, went out of their way to do something extra and the atmosphere was just perfect. German engineering done right.
For example, I ordered an Asian Vegetarian….yes Lufthansa still carries it!!! And they came and asked me if I did in fact order it. Just making sure that I knew it was on its way. Then when I saw that it didn’t have a salad, I asked for one and the attendant didn’t frown or forget…she said “I will bring you a whole extra tray with a salad and desert” and she said it with The SMILE.

How much did that cost Lufthansa? The proper meal not that much, the extra tray, not that much, the SMILE -nothing. The result-I will certainly look to spend my next $1000 expenditure on a flight to Europe and beyond here, not with The Borg,

And all it took was a smile.

Maoz: Time for a “reckoning”

May 5, 2009 by Yuval Brisker

In his blog entry from yesterday Michael Maoz from Gartner says that this is a time for a reckoning  that these times will definitely separate the ‘men’ from the ‘boys’ in all things that related to focusing on, and commitment to, the customer.

I agree. The knee jerk reaction to these times is surely cut cut cut… save save save.

Rushing to the corner, looking to hide.

But that is fear dictating the present, fear dictating the future. But is it really the best way to guarantee a brighter future?

Yesterday I spent the day with two large customers of mine. Both with billions dollars of revenue, both definitely seeing the effects of the recession on their businesses. Both bravely forging on.

They came together for a fascinating day of sharing. They spent a day exchanging ideas on how to ensure their businesses emerge triumphant.

Yes. Cutting inefficiencies is no doubt a good thing at any time. But going beyond this essential focus on efficiency is what marks a great organization from those that are merely wannabes. And they were definitely focused on that.

So what were they talking about more than anything? How to delight the customer. How to make sure that the customers will always feel like they are getting more not less. That they will never have a reason to consider a competitor’s offer and head for the door. My customers got together physically, even though they are separated by thousands of miles and an ocean to think together what they need to do so that the majority of their good customers will stay their good customers for many years to come. They were looking beyond today’s woes to the fruits of their investment in superior customer care when others are just looking just to cut. What they actually said at this meeting is related specifically to their specific businesses. But what they did yesterday should inspire us all.

British Airways’ simple gestures create a memorable experience

April 21, 2009 by Yuval Brisker

It usually takes a completely unexpected event to wake you up to the realization of a truth, to remind you that even in the economic realities of the day, in the well oiled corporate machines of manufactured  “customer care” there can be moments of grace that separate the notion of perfunctorily ‘good’ customer care from a truly great and lasting experience.

And all it’s takes is a one person making the decision to treat another person with real common decency to elevate that moment to something unforgettable.

It’s that easy.

So last Tuesday I was flying back from London on British Airways (ba.com). I was on the last flight out from Heathrow to JFK, sitting in World Traveler (which is coach)  and I had forgotten to order my vegetarian meal. So when the carts came around with the Beef Lasagna or the Chicken, I said to the flight attendant, who was a purser, “I am going to pass  – I am a vegetarian and I forgot to order a special meal, and don’t worry about it, it’s no big deal” and I was sure that she was just going to acknowledge, nod and move on (as they likely would have done on Continental, American,  United or Delta), But instead she says to me “No it’s not a problem, let me see if we can fix something for you” and I said “Not a problem if you can’t” and she repeated “Don’t worry we will get something for you. You can’t fly these 7 hours without eating”.

So while they are fixing the meal in the back… I have to take a moment to say that in the last few years I had grown out of love with British Airways. In the 90s I thought they were innovative, their planes were new(er) and overall they were the ones leading the way. But something had gone stale and the times I had flown with them in the past few years, they seemed tired, the planes old and worn and basically nothing exciting at all. So with that I can say that my expectations were low:  I thought to myself, they will probably go back and compile a few unused salads and bring them back to me on a tray. Meanwhile my fellow travelers were chomping through their meals, getting and finishing their drinks, and sitting back to watch the movie. About 10 minutes later, the purser came back and said, “we haven’t forgotten you, we are working on it”. Now that made me curious. What could they be “working on”… I soon found out.

About 5 minutes after that visit – an attendant dressed in white chef’s colors came in from the front carrying a tray and on it a spectacular PREPARED meal on china. He was the First Class attendant who in fact doubles as the First Class chef and he ceremoniously laid in front of me a freshly prepared meal consisting of a nice green salad and a freshly created crepe filled with assorted julienne vegetables (fresh asparagus, mushrooms, cauliflower, etc) all covered by a mushroom sauce on white china. And he says to me “We’ve prepared this wild mushroom crepe for you and it’s 100% vegetarian”. I was flabbergasted and thanked him profusely. And ate my First Class meal in Coach.

But that was not the end:  An hour later he was back  this time with a fresh fruit plate of berries, mangoes, pineapples and bananas drizzled with chocolate or as he put it as he laid it in front of me “I’ve spoiled it with a little chocolate ganache”. And if you think that we it then you’re wrong:  right before landing he was back again with a plate of petit fours – that he assured me were veggie.

I was blown away.  Amazed by the care, thought and attention that went into this and how on one hand it was just a simple decision made and on the other hand how it was absolutely out of the ordinary act of care. And boy was it impactful.

I couldn’t help thinking to myself that what companies do most of the time to win customers’ appreciation is usually process driven and mechanical. And customers can smell the mechanical nature of it – so that even if it IS sincere, it’s many times not perceived as such. And all it takes is to encourage your people to look for opportunities to reach out with simple human gestures recognizing a customer’s individuality and you will win over a customer for life like British Airways just won me. Does anyone doubt that the ‘next time my travel plans take me somewhere” …anywhere….I will  think “does British go there?”

Kudos to BA for teaching their people to think, to care and for the crew to exercise the right amount of wisdom and discretion to make a difference. One passenger at a time.