Most people who know me know that I am a great fan of Singapore Airlines and I try to use them as often as possible. Here is another example of the difference their employees make in regard to their contribution to the reputation of their company:<\/p>\n
We landed in Frankurt after a most enjoyable trip from New York JFK returning from a fabulous week with members of the Million Dollar Consultant\u00ae Hall of Fame. I picked up our luggage from the conveyor belt to recognize that one of our bags was seriously damaged: One wheel of the bag was missing and zippers were missing, too.<\/p>\n
The lady of Singapore ground staff whom I showed the bag said immediately \u201cWe take care of that.\u201c Unfortunately \u201cWe\u201c was not only her, but also two ladies from Frankfurt Airport.<\/p>\n
The conversation that followed was mainly characterized by formal questions of the Frankfurt Airport ladies who were lead through a computerized process. Here are some of the questions they asked me:<\/p>\n
\u2022\t\u201cCan I have your boarding pass, please?\u201c \u2013 Me: \u201cOf course.\u201c
\n\u2022\t\u201cThe one of your wife as well, please.\u201c \u2013 Me: \u201cWhy? It is my bag that has been damaged.\u201c
\n\u2022\t \u201cWhich flight number was it?\u201c \u2013 Me: \u201cLook at the boarding pass!\u201c
\n\u2022\t \u201cWhat class did you fly?\u201c \u2013 \u201cWe flew First Class. Why don\u2019t you look at the boarding pass you just asked me for?\u201c
\n\u2022\t\u201cDo you have a baggage insurance?\u201d \u2013 \u201cI have no idea! Why do you need to know that?\u201c
\n\u2022\t\u201cHow old is the bag and what did it cost?\u201c \u2013 \u201cDo you want to fool me?\u201c<\/p>\n
The lady of Singapore ground staff of course recognized my being really unhappy and told their airport colleagues to just fill out the form in order to help us leaving the airport. Unfortunately she wasn\u2019t permitted to work herself on the computer.<\/p>\n
While the Frankfurt Airport ladies still were very busy with the computer, the Singapore Airlines employee said the following: \u201cYou have two options: Option one is that you go to the Airport Baggage Service in order to see if they can repair the bag here or\u2014what I recommend since I can imagine that you just want to get home now\u2014you can call us to pick up the bag at your home or your office and we repair it or we send you the money for a new one.\u201c She was empathetic and I was happy.<\/p>\n
This happened while the two other ladies were still fighting with their computer and with me, their customer.<\/p>\n
It makes a difference how you approach your customers and clients. If you really want your business to grow, you need employees in every single department at every single position who have your customer\u2019s best interest in mind.<\/p>\n
Is this difficult? Sure, it is. But it is possible and some companies\u2014like Singapore Airlines\u2014are very close to that. Some companies\u2014like Frankfurt Airport\u2014will probably never get even to the undergraduate level. Ever.<\/p>\n
Yours,
\nGuido Quelle<\/a><\/p>\n