The pilot cares the least
So, here’s a controversial statement, but keep in mind what I’m not saying*: Usually, your flight crew, including the pilot, is the least motivated people on the plane to get where you’re going, let alone on time.
This occurred to me last year when I went on a mileage run. The same crew that flew me from Denver to Los Angeles was flying me right back again about 45 minutes later on the exact same plane. Or at least, that was the plan.
After we landed at LAX, I took the chance to check out the airline’s lounge and have a drink. I was alerted via the app that my return flight was delayed ‘due to weather’ back in Denver. Hm, really? I’d just flown from there (and boy were my arms tired!). Not only was it beautiful when we left, but we hadn’t passed any weather on the way out. Conditions can change quickly, so I checked my weather app. It was clear as ever, a beautiful day back home.
Now, my point isn’t necessarily to call shenanigans on those making the decision about the weather, rather for some reason I immediately thought of the pilot. He surely didn’t have anything to do with it, but he likely didn’t pick up his phone and check his weather app to see if there really was weather like I and probably most passengers had, and neither did anybody else in the crew, I imagine. That’s because he doesn’t have to care about it in any meaningful way personally.
You see, when you think about it, pilots, flight attendants, and all those folks in the air with you are all simply doing their jobs. These jobs are important and, for the most part, they all do them well and admirably while also caring about their Customers. But… […]
When your numbers are more important than your Customers
I was flying home to Denver a few months back from a business trip. It was an evening flight, perhaps not the last flight on the route (it was hub-to-hub for the airline, so the route sees a lot of traffic), but close to it, and we were—of course—late getting in. It was a mechanical issue, not weather, so we were a flight that was alone in its circumstance. Sometimes when there’s weather impacting a city (whether departure or destination), there’s a feeling that, well, at least the whole place is a mess. There’s something more isolating when it’s only your flight that’s delayed.
Since I was coming home, I was a little perturbed, but not too concerned. I, of course, wanted to get home from my trip, but once the plane landed, other than the drive, my travels were basically over. As often happens, on approach the flight attendant came across the intercom and asked those of us who were terminating (I never liked that turn of phrase in this situation) in Denver to step aside and allow those trying to connect to deplane (another term I never liked) first. […]
Don’t call us
I received another one just this morning, and you may have also. It’s an email from a company that just loves its Customers, but implores them to not write back. So emphatic are they about how important their Customers are to them that they explicitly go out of their way to forestall communications.
Of course, I’m talking about the un-monitored email box.
“Do not reply to this message. Replies to this message are routed to an unmonitored mailbox.” That’s word-for-word the quote on an email from quite possibly one of the most celebrated Customer-centric brands you’ve ever heard of. Yep, that one. […]
It’s not your fault but it is your responsibility
I recently wrote about how important it is that brands not just be competent in delivering the products or services they provide to their Customers. From perusing your website, to making a selection there or in a physical location, to paying, to delivery, use, and re-purchase, Customers engage with your company along an entire journey filled with touchpoints not only directly related to what you build or do, but also in ways you might not even consider. If your Brand Promise is ease-of-use, you may make your product uncomplicated and simple. But if your ordering process or refund and exchange requirements are not simple, you’ve missed the mark in fulfilling that Brand Promise.
What’s tricky is that often, you actually have little direct control because you’re dealing with outside entities. Perhaps you contract or otherwise partner with another company to help you out, like last-mile delivery or sub-contracted service providers. But how closely do you monitor them, and how do you hold them to account for delivering your Brand Promise? Or do you even bother? […]
Adversity brings out true character
There’s a saying that you can really tell a lot about people’s character by seeing how they handle adversity. Sure, when things are going well, everybody’s got a great disposition, the idea goes. But it’s when we’re tested that our true selves show through.
I was thinking of that recently when we had an Internet outage here at home. Now, anybody who expects perfect 100% around-the-clock unfailing coverage of services such as Internet is being unreasonable. I’m not sure what planet those Customers call home, but it’s not the one of humans and systems that go down from time to time. So yes, failure, even if rare, is inevitable. And that’s the point that brings us around to that old saying: How well brands plan for the inevitable (and therefore totally foreseeable, if not specifically schedulable) failures of their systems—and this goes for those brands who sell products too, not just service providers—tells us a lot about their dedication to their Customers.
It’s pertinent because here’s what happened: […]
Excuses versus solutions
You’ve heard this before, right? “Due to current circumstances, we’re experiencing longer-than-usual wait times.” Those “circumstances” can vary. Over the past twenty months, of course, it has been Covid-19. Sometimes it’s the holidays. Sometimes brands stiff-arm you without even giving you the courtesy of telling you why. There’s even a brand that I call rarely…maybe once or twice a year…and they’ve been using the longer-than-usual wait times idiom as long as I can remember. Whenever was it ‘usual’?
Here’s the thing: Things are tough all over. […]
