It's been a few years since I've flown Southwest Airlines, so I'd forgotten how terrific their customer service is. My recent holiday flight to Arizona reminded me. It also served as a lesson to all of us who want to avoid those awful situations when we have to deal with a customer having a meltdown.
It was a typical holiday flight, full of parents with young kids. Since I was in the "A" boarding group, I sat there and watched with some degree of anxiety as all the young children filed past me trying to find a seat. I thought to myself, "This could be a rough flight" and I wasn't thinking about turbulence.
About midway through our journey from Indianapolis to Phoenix, a young boy, probably about four or five years old, got up to go to the restroom. I didn't really take notice as I was absorbed in my music and a good book. A few moments later, though, everyone on the plane heard the commotion.
The child apparently couldn't figure out how to release the lock on the bathroom door and panicked. He began to scream and bang on the door. A nearby flight attendant calmly opened the door and led the tearful child back to his parents across the aisle from me.
The child was clearly shaken by the incident and was still sobbing when the flight attendant came back carrying a set of "Captain's wings" and a basket of peanuts.
He offered the wings and then asked the parents, "Would (child's name) like to help me pass out peanuts to the rest of the passengers?"
The boy's sobs instantly ceased and his eyes got as big as saucers. He happily followed the flight attendant up and down the aisle distributing peanuts.
That flight attendant took what could have been a couple of hours of misery for the boy, his parents, the rest of the passengers and the flight crew and turned it into something magical that I'm sure that family won't soon forget (and neither will I).
What can we learn from the Southwest flight attendant?
1. A lot of the time, customer meltdowns are a result of their own user error. That doesn't mean we can't compassionately help them down off the ledge and salvage a positive experience.
2. When customers are stuck in an emotional state, our best response is to re-orient them into something positive, something they can do to help solve the problem themselves. The boy didn't respond to the free gift of the wings. He responded when he was invited to participate.
3. We must remain customer-centered, even when they're causing us great problems. I'm sure the attendant's first reaction was, "Great, this whiny kid is going to be a problem." That was mine! But instead of avoiding that family or simply gushing apologies or "there there's," the attendant focused on the child and how he might be soothed.
4. Our ability to positively deal with problem customers has a cascading effect. It wasn't just the boy and his parents who benefitted from the attendant's outstanding service. The rest of the plane was grateful, too (as well as, I'm sure, his fellow flight attendants).
That's why Southwest Airlines is our Brand of the Month for December 2017.
You're going to have at least one problem customer in 2018. How you respond will not only determine whether he/she continues to do business with you, but could have an effect on other customers as well. And it will affect you.
Resolve this year to put your customers first, even when they're melting down. Delight them with your service, even in difficult circumstances, and you'll create a loyal customer.
Many of those meltdowns occur online and through social media. If you need help managing your digital customer service, give us a call at Knuckleball Digital We'll be happy to help you, even if you're melting down!