I know that at some point you all are going to get sick of our airplane stories. But in my opinion, for as long as there is a lesson we can learn from the airlines we should continue to share these experiences. That being said, listen up!
Like Bruce, I seem to travel quite a bit. Monthly, I fly from Denver, Colorado to Dayton, Ohio. Sometimes I afford the direct flight, and others, it is just a good decision (read: economic responsibility) to connect in Chicago.
This week, I boarded my flight from Denver bound for Chicago, O'Hare, on my way to Dayton. I sat next to a mom who was traveling with her two children, on their way to visit grandparents in Northern Michigan. Being from Michigan myself, I was excited to talk about old home with my new friend and her kids. Ryan, her 4 year-old son, had broken his femur bone and was in a hip to toe cast...and a VERY good sport about it. Abby, her roughly 18-month old daughter was as cute as any toddler I have ever seen.
Somewhere around "flight attendants please be seated for take off" Abby started to SCREAM...and that is in all caps because Abby was in a full-fledged, red-faced, no-tears, award winning temper tantrum. About 20 minutes into the flight, the people in first class are starting to turn around and glare at us...mostly me, because I had the luxury of sitting on the aisle.
Now, I felt bad for the mom, who had apologized to everyone around us and even tried Benadryl for Abby...but Abby had an ear infection, so I am sure you know how badly her ears must have hurt.
After 45 minutes of the constant SCREAMING in my ear, I realized that I had two choices. I could 1.) go completely insane and take everyone with me, or 2.) start laughing.
Any of you who know me well know that I teeter on the edge of crazy anyway, and that I love to laugh. So, obviously, I chose to laugh...and laugh hard. Which apparently was the right decision because everyone around me started to laugh too. Is it possible that the giggles are contagious? Apparently so.
Finally, it was our turn for beverages. The beverage cart had trapped me between itself and screaming Abby. The giggling stopped, but the smile lingered...and that's when it happened. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The flight attendant looked at me and said, "You have a beautiful smile. All smiles are beautiful when they are shared, but yours is really pretty."
That was the nicest thing anyone had said to me in a really long time. It was almost as though Abby had quit screaming and the turbulence had settled. But neither had. I was just happy and didn't really care what else happened that day...it was a GREAT day.
So, how does this relate to our version of customer service? Very closely.
This compliment may not have been enough to fly United faithfully for the rest of my life, but it was enough to make me want to seek out that women's flights so she could be my flight attendant every time, I would do it in a heartbeat.
So, when was the last time you said something unexpected and complimentary to one of your customers? I am guessing it has been a while. If your tellers could make it part of daily routine to find the good in every one of your customers...imagine how your customers would feel and what they would say to their friends and family. I will even go so far as to say that when you begin to find the good in others, you will also begin to see the good in yourself.
A smile isn't too much to ask. And when you smile, everyone around you will too. Share the wealth!
Jenna
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