Customer Service and JetBlue

The internet is buzzing with stories about the new “hero” flight attendant Steven Slater who made a statement swooshing down his plane’s inflatable slide while holding on to a  can of beer and his carry-on when quitting his job in the middle of debarkation.

Unusual, yes, but many say they dream about making a statement when they leave their “nightmare job”. Hundreds of flight attendants have already spoken up in defense of Steven and are talking about the rude passengers they are forced to content with and customer service representatives of many industries have joined in, too.  Some express that today’s customers don’t want service; they want servantry.  I think all of us have seen our share of jerks and the way they put their own interest and demands in an irrational way above everyone else’s.  On the other hand, we, the consumers, have our own experiences with subpar customer service and rude or un-attentative service representatives. 

So who is right? I guess it depends on the situation we are in. When we work with companies and their customer service teams the main issue is improving their professionalism. Independent of the business they are in we always need to consider the following three issues:

·         The main goal of every business is to serve its customers

Without customers, there is no business.

·         The customer is not always right but he always has the right to be treated with respect.

Yes customers make unreasonable requests, have sometimes unreasonable expectations and may even stretch the truth. And “NO” we cannot always give them what they want. However, they always deserve to be treated with respect and they deserve to receive maximum effort on our part.

·         Customer service is not about technical skills or intimate knowledge of your company’s products and services. How to deal with unsatisfied customers and handling emergency situations well, is the key skill needed.

Looking at Steven, we can clearly distinguish the two:

o   Everybody can walk down the aisle checking seat backs and pour drinks and collect trash;  a minimum wage job

o   Handling emergencies, domestic disputes, turbulences, panic attacks and difficult passengers is what justifies the remuneration

Looking at your business … anyone can pick up the phone, the customer experience starts with what is said first and how it is said.

The good news is that listening, showing empathy, dealing with difficult, obnoxious, aggressive or hostile customers and problem solving, are all skills. And the good news is that skills can be learned and the more we enforce and train these professional service skills the better one becomes at using them efficiently. Not surprising that this has a direct impact on customer retention and the bottom line. 

So when was the last time your employees who handle customer requests had some hands-on training?  Give us a call; we have several training modules ready to use or to customize to fit your specific needs.