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How To Fail In Your Business

If you’re familiar with my Pinnacle Performance Training or have been reading my columns in Tire Review over the past few years than you know my focus is on success and creating the winning sales, customer service and workplace culture that differentiates and elevates businesses above and beyond its competitors.

In this article, I’m literally flipping that on its head and taking an opposing view of many of these proven success principles. Since 80% of all businesses are not performing at the level of the top 20%, its logical to assume that most businesses are closer to these positions than the minority that are succeeding at the highest level.

With that, here are six proven ways to lose customers and damage your business:

Don’t Prepare

When Ben Franklin said “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” he was clearly misinformed.  You’ve been getting by all these years without proper preparation so why start now? Sure, your sales and service people “wing it” in their customer interactions and you’re no doubt losing sales to well-prepared competitors but that’s okay. It’s the way we roll around here; we’re born to be wild!

Besides, all that ‘preparation’ stuff takes time and time is in short supply around here. We may not have the time to properly prepare and do it right at the moment, yet we always seem to find the time to fix it later.

Focus on sales, not service

Business is really all about the numbers. All this mumbo jumbo about customers and enhancing their experience to create sales and loyalty to the brand is just a fad. What your business needs is sales today, not customers tomorrow!

You’re  also going to want to spend that marketing budget on advertising to drive more traffic in. Why invest in your existing customers’ experiences (to build loyalty, generate referrals and reap long-term gains) when you can spend much more money on advertising to attract new customers and make a few sales today? 

It’s probably a good idea to have a sales meeting and yell at the team for poor production. “Close more deals!” That should help. Better yet, you should hire a consulting firm to train your sales team to be more aggressive and pushy to sell more prospects. After all, making sales today is more important than building customer relationships for tomorrow, plus all that pesky repeat business and new business referrals it can create.

Focus on price, not value

Focusing on value means delivering more for customers money than your competition does. Consumer research confirms that, when a customer perceives additional value, they are willing to pay more for a business’s products and/or services.

The primary driver of a customers’ perception of value is the quality of the service provided them. To lose customers and damage your business you should absolutely avoid improving the quality of service to increase perceived value altogether. Instead, focus on coupons and aggressive discounting. People love coupons and discounts! As long as sales are coming in, who needs profits?

Since most shoppers consider products and services a commodity, and often want the cheapest available, you’ll also want to make sure your sales staff doesn’t communicate the value of your offerings. And, by all means, do away with any value-added services you may be offering. That will only enhance the customers perception of value and drive more profitable sales. Yuck. To fail effectively,  your sales staff should avoid value selling. Instead, discount early and often.

Fail To Deliver

There are a number of ways to fail to deliver and each one is proven to lose customers and damage your business!

Let’s start with quality work. Service businesses build their reputations on quality work, so you’ll want to stop doing any of that straight away. Of course, you should never ever do anything less than honest, but there are other ways to dramatically reduce quality. As an example, skip those post-sale quality assurance initiatives and you’ll be well positioned to have disgruntled customers come back to you with problems you missed and how they’ll gladly take their business to a competitor next time.

Customers value service providers that are responsive and proactive to their needs so, presto. Just flip that around and be unresponsive and reactive. If your business has the customer waiting while you’re performing their service, don’t provide any progress updates. Let the customer get up and come to the counter. If they’re not in-house, let them call you – ideally several times – to check on their service status.

No doubt you’re familiar with the popular phrase “under-promise and over-deliver”. This is another easy role reversal to now “over-promise and under-deliver”.

Here’s a great little gem of an actual account from a tire business that did a masterful job at this:

A customer walks up to the counter and asks how long it’s going to be to have their new tires installed. The employee responds, “We’ll have you in and out in about a half hour.” Customer replies, “Great, I’ll wait then,” and goes and sits in waiting area.

A half hour later, her vehicle is still parked in the lot with absolutely no explanation from any store employee. Another customer walks in and the first customer overhears the same empty “we’ll have you in and out in about a half hour” pledge. As soon as the second customer sits down in the waiting area, the first customer says, “They’re lying; I’ve been here over a half hour already and they haven’t even taken my car in yet.”

Later, that same customer posts a negative review on the Internet making a case that the entire business is dishonest. Not only will she never come back, but now she also told all of her friends and co-workers not to do business there. One incident of failing to deliver as promised has now produced dozens of potential customers lost. 

Be Inconsistent

When customers can count on consistently great service each time they do business with you, their confidence increases and they are far less likely to shop around for their service needs. However, when the customer’s experience is inconsistent – exceptional one visit and so-so or poor the next – his or her confidence is compromised and (as influenced by the perceived risk) they are far more likely to consider competing alternatives.

A consistent customer experience builds consumer confidence and strengthens a company’s brand, but where’s the fun in that? Be spontaneous and mix it up a bit instead. All those successful service businesses, hotels, restaurant chains and franchises with their fancy systems and processes, boring! Be hit or miss and send a clear message to customers that they likely will not receive the same level of service in the future. That should do wonders when it comes to losing customers and damaging your business!

Be Unremarkable

Consumer research has shown that approximately seven out of 10 customers leave a business because of indifference. They feel like “just another transaction” and have no emotional engagement with the business.

As your potential customers shop around with very little to distinguish one business from the next, they naturally default to the cheapest price for the product or service they’re seeking. Losing on price or discounting is perhaps the single biggest consequence businesses suffer for being unremarkable.

Of course, in sticking with our “losing customers and damaging your business” theme, you’ll want to follow the crowd, play it safe, stick to the norm and deliver ordinary, unremarkable customer experiences. Any remarkable efforts will only foster customer engagement and rave referrals, creating loyal customers and even more business.

And who needs that?

Steve 🙂

Also on LinkedIn @ How To Fail In Your Business

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Le Petit Chef and the Positively Memorable Customer Experience

In the article, “Customer Satisfaction Doesn’t Count,” the Gallup Organization stated that “if you do not make an emotional connection with customers, then satisfaction is worthless.” Their research proved that customers do not buy strictly for rational reasons and that, from a results standpoint, it is much more important to engage customers on an emotional level. 

The fact is no one remembers an ordinary transaction and they certainly don’t share them with their family and friends. They do remember extraordinary interactions and experiences. In this sense, creating a positive memory is the ultimate emotional connection!

We’ve all been there..

You’re at a restaurant with your family and/or friends. You just finished dinner and order dessert and perhaps a coffee. Then you wait and, sure enough, 10 or so minutes later your dessert arrives. Nothing special or particularly memorable about that. Enter the fine folks at Skullmapping..

From their website: 

At Skullmapping we create projection mapping projects, VR experiences and holograms. Our passion is to develop stories and present them in a new way, in order to surprise our audience. We love to experiment with the latest technology, and push beyond what has been done before.

And so now you’re in a delightfully different restaurant waiting for dessert and this happens..

I bet you and your family and/or friends would remember that!

While you may not have the capability to utilize virtual reality in your business as spectacularly demonstrated here, the concept is the same. To stand out and above your competition, you must strive to create positively memorable experiences for your customers!

the-best-customer-experiences-are-positively-memorable 

Make a Great Day!

Steve 

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Want to create true emotional engagement and positively memorable experiences for your customers? I can absolutely help you! For details and contact info click-on > Sale Away LLC.

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The Five W’s of Customer Service

5-ws-of-service

Any sports coach worth his whistle will tell you that you must first learn, practice, and master the fundamentals if you’re going to be truly great in your sport.

That same philosophy is true of your business: your sales and service team needs to learn, practice, and master the fundamentals of customer service if you’re going to have a truly great service business.

Continuing the sports analogy, many businesses are playing without a good grasp of these fundamentals. They hope to win the game, but are not familiar with the playing field.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the fundamentals of customer service by answering the essential “Five W” questions.

Read the entire article here > The Five W’s of Customer Service

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Creating a Winning Workplace to Attract and Retain Top Talent

Attract and Employ Top Talent

Having difficulty finding talented employees? Have a look at the engagement of your existing employees first.

Spending the last 21+ years in business consulting, the past 10+ in my own practice, I have heard the plea “we can’t find good people” countless times from business owners and/or management personnel. In fact, if you’re a business owner or manager, there’s a very good chance you have said this yourself at one point or another.

Of course, every business wants to attract, hire and retain “good people” but only the best businesses seem to do that consistently well. Why is that?

Read the entire article here > Creating a Winning Workplace to Attract and Retain Top Talent

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Your Single Biggest Advantage

Recently I came across this cartoon…

Who Wants Change

I’m not sure who the artist is but the depiction bears an uncanny resemblance to a speaking engagement I had a few years back. I was speaking at an automotive industry conference at the beautiful Baltimore Marriott Waterfront. There were about 1500 people in the audience. I was on stage with a movie theater size screen behind me. About 5 minutes into my presentation, I put this slide up on the screen..

DO YOU WANT TO WIN

The sheer amount of people and the rally environment of the conference made this the loudest response I’ve ever heard in the many times I’ve used this slide as they seemingly all cheered loudly, many raising their arms/fists to demonstrate their support. After all, who doesn’t want to win?

Then, I said “Great! What are you doing about it?” Like someone pulled the fun plug, the cheers faded away, the arms went down, and the place fell nearly silent as I switched to this quote from Coach Paul Bear Bryant..

The Will To Prepare To Win

Having trained thousands of folks in dozens of businesses, I’m convinced most people want to be better. They want to win. However, few people turn that desire into action and make the necessary changes to succeed at at a higher level. I believe this is your single biggest advantage for success.

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When I talk with clients, and people in general, about achieving higher levels of success (“Pinnacle Performance”) they all want it. But, when we address the changes it’s going to take then I often receive halfhearted commitments or excuses. Finally, I discover who I’m really dealing with in the actions they take or, most often, do not take.

Ever heard of a New Year resolution? The research studies all conclude the same findings, approximately 80% of people that make a New Year resolution do not keep it. There are a number of reasons for this but they are all driven by self-discipline and a commitment to change.   

Now this ‘change’ principle is certainly not the latest in professional development advice. In fact, English literary James Allen published this famous quote in one of the most popular self-help books of all time, As a Man Thinketh, way back in 1902:

“Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound.” — James Allen

Improvement, by design, is change. When you effectively apply this change principle to a organizations culture, where everyone is committed to continuous improvement, it is a very strong competitive advantage.

From 2007-2012 I conducted my “Strong Selling In A Weak Economy” seminar to dozens of organizations and associations. A popular program at the time, I would hear from many business owners on how they were trying to “weather the storm” and assuming a “bunker mentality” trying to make it through until the economy improved. I would ask how this was working for them and their business. It was not.

They all wanted to be better, yet they weren’t really doing anything about it other than trying to survive.  I would ask, “now that the economy has changed, what have you changed?” In most cases, nothing. I would point out how Einstein called this the definition of insanity; “doing the same thing and hoping for a different result”.

jim-rohn-change quote

So if positive change creates positive results then why don’t most people change? Here’s my top 3 reasons:

1) Change Is Hard?

There is no glitch in the Matrix.. That curious question mark at the end of this common statement is on purpose. The reality is change is only hard when you don’t know what and how to change. If you’ve been winging it, as a example, then “yes” change is hard. If you’re following a proven path then change is not easy, it’s just less hard, much less.

For instance, if you do not play the piano but were committed to playing really well, you wouldn’t buy a piano and just wing it. You would take lessons from a professional piano teacher who would help you change, with patience and practice, from an amateur to a professional yourself. 

You would recognize that in the beginning of your piano playing, like anything new, you would not be good and, very likely, would just plain stink. You would understand that this phase is a part of the learning curve on your way to mastering your skill.

If you understood all that and did persevere, you would be in the minority as the majority that try new things don’t succeed at them, much less master them. For them change is too hard. It’s much easier to retreat back to the comfort zone, so that’s where they end up. 

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do. – Eleanor Roosevelt

2) Your Environment

If you’re looking to lose weight then it only makes sense that you would not want to frequent the local ice cream parlor or pizza pad. If you want to succeed in your role, you need to take the same approach. Build a supporting cast by surrounding yourself with folks that are committed to the same change (or changes) you’re trying to make. Distance yourself from the naysayers and surround yourself with winners.

HANG OUT WITH EAGLES

For businesses, this is a culture issue. If a company is looking to achieve higher levels of success (a change) but their people are looking to stay the same (no change) then, ultimately, the company will not achieve its goal.  

Leaders must continually communicate the case for positive change and how it is ‘good for business’. They must create a culture that embraces change and strategically replace those on the team that are stuck in their ways and refuse to change.

3) Procrastination

Statistically speaking, there will be a great number of folks that read this and insist it’s not really about them. They are the ones that want change. They’ve just been so busy managing their current affairs that they haven’t really had the time to focus on all this change stuff.

Now, for some of these folks, it’s just not that important. They’re simply not that committed. Their goals are really just wishes. If they happen, great! If they don’t, that’s okay.

For those people, good enough is good enough. 

For the others that say, “Heck no, it’s really important”, it’s often a matter of procrastination.

You can find my whole article on that here > Top 3 Reasons Champions Don’t Have Time To Procrastinate

I hope this article has changed you, even if just a little, to be better than before you read it!

Steve 🙂

This article is also published on LinkedIn here > Your Single Biggest Advantage

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Steve Ferrante is the Grand PooBah & Trainer of Champions of Sale Away LLC.  Through Pinnacle Performance Sales, Customer Service and Winning Team Culture training, speaking and professional development services, Steve creates positive change for success-driven businesses throughout North America. For detailed information visit Sale Away. Steve can be reached directly at 866-721-6086 ext. 701 or via email at steve@saleawayllc.com

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Jaromir Jagr’s Success Formula

some-people-dream-of-success-while-others-wake-up-and-work-hard-at-it-22

It goes without saying that being a professional athlete in any sport is not something that is easily achieved. Sure, some people are born with genetic gifts that made them tall or especially strong but, as I wrote about in The Truth About “Born Salesman”, they must still apply themselves and continually work on their game to master their craft and truly achieve greatness. 

And, as referenced in the video below with regard to hockey, once the average athlete does achieve professional status, their tenure at that level is usually short-lived. All that makes the story of hockey great Jaromir Jagr all that more remarkable. 

Have a look and listen to this brief ESPN Spotlight video:

 

As I often say in my training and speaking engagements, success has a formula. Jaromir’s success is certainly no accident. He does indeed have, and more importantly, adheres to a formula.

Let’s breakdown a few key points Jaromir made in the video that speak directly to achieving and sustaining success:

Constantly Adjust

Good yesterday doesn’t equal good today. You have to adjust. – Jaromir Jagr

One of the biggest threats to progress and ultimate success is complacency. While high-achievers like Jaromir are constantly striving for higher levels of performance, average folks get to a point and settle for good enough. As I referenced in the previous post.. If good enough if good enough for you, then you’ll never achieve greatness. To avoid complacency and keep moving forward you must constantly adjust. 

Consistent Practice Equals Consistent Results

The body is like a computer, I believe you can program it.  – Jaromir Jagr

One of the biggest problems I see that stifles growth with many businesses, and consequently the employees in them, is that they are inconsistent with their training efforts. As I wrote about in 4 Seldom Considered Reasons Sales/Customer Service Training Fails, training works with consistent exposure to the training. 

As Jaromir pointed out, you have to keep practicing to program your body and be best prepared to perform at a high level. That type of programming also applies to sales and customer service training. When folks do not consistently practice they gradually deprogram themselves and are not best prepared to capitalize on sales opportunities or provide the highest quality of customer service.

I wish I didn’t have to do anything and be good but it doesn’t work like that, it would be too easy and everyone could do it. – Jaromir Jagr

You Can Have Your Muffins but…

Like Jaromir, I also like muffins. There’s nothing quite like the savory deliciousness of a warm blueberry muffin with a little pat of butter. No great lesson here.. just an intriguing food fact.

Seriously, if you’re gonna cheat with the sweets then you better offset it with regular workouts. Unless, of course, you’re not really concerned with peak performance. Then diet, and just about everything else, doesn’t really matter. 

Be 100% In It

Whatever I love I have to be 100% in it. – Jaromir Jagr

This speaks directly to commitment and passion for your job. As I wrote about in Passion Powers Performance, most folks don’t have it.

You will never achieve the level of success you’re capable of achieving if you’re not 100% invested in your work. Put another way, you’ll never achieve the level of success you would have achieved in something you were 100% invested in.

Like Jagr, in order to be a great you need to be 100% in it .

Jagr Stanley Cup

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Steve Ferrante is the Grand PooBah & Trainer of Champions of Sale Away LLC. As producer and host of Pinnacle Performance Training, Steve delivers sales, customer Service and winning team culture training, speaking and professional development services to success-driven organizations throughout North America. For detailed information visit Sale Away. Steve can be reached directly at 866-721-6086 ext. 701 or via email at steve@saleawayllc.com

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Marriott Gets Social To Deliver Great Service!

Bill Marriott if-you-take-care-of-your-employees

Marriott has long been known as a leader in the hospitality industry. Like the Ritz-Carlton, which Marriott International purchased in the mid-1990’s, Marriott understands it is the customer experience that drives customer satisfaction and, ultimately, loyalty to the brand.

Marriott also knows that the quality of the customer experience is only as good as the culture of the business and the employees that interact with guests. So, like the Ritz-Carlton, Marriott trains every employee — from concierge, front desk, housekeeping, to maintenance — to interact with guests with a focus on enhancing the customer experience. 

The remarkable success of the Marriott brand and their customer service culture is detailed in the highly recommended book by J. W. “Bill” Marriott, Jr., The Spirit to Serve

More recently, and as a tie in to my recent experience chronicled below, Bill Marriott spoke about the role of social media in the customer experience:

Today, social media makes it easy for organizations like ours to ‘listen’ and ask questions of our guests. Our guests and associates have lots of opportunity now to let us know what they’re thinking and how we’re doing as a company. – Bill Marriott

The important part of what Mr. Marriott said is ‘listen’. These days, most reputable companies have some sort of social media presence and the capability to listen to their customers. Of those companies, the impact on the customer experience is in how they turn that ‘listening’ into action. 

Case in point:

Two weeks ago I was back on the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii for another round of in-house training with a very-valued client of mine.  As was the case on my previous two visits, I stayed at the beautiful Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. 

While working on my laptop from my room balcony I tweeted this >

About a half-hour later I received this tweet back:

https://twitter.com/WaikoloaBeachMH/status/686675054311129089

Good Stuff! Someone there was certainly ‘listening’ and responding in a positive manner to enhance my customer experience!

The next morning I left for my client early, was out of the hotel all day, and returned to my room early that evening to find a fresh fruit plate, 6 slices of banana bread, 2 bottled waters and silverware on my desk:

Waikoloa Marriott Treat

As shown, it included a card from the Director of Sales & Marketing, John Dominguez, with a thoughtful message:

Aloha Steven, If you have to work on your lanai, we hope you will enjoy this small treat.

Waikoloa Marriott Card

WOW! Now that’s exceeding expectations! Impressed and delighted with John’s consideration, I tweeted again:

Seemingly immediately, Marriott ‘liked’ the tweet and, not long after that, I received an “ENJOY!” retweet response. I sure did!

This is a great example of harnessing the power of social media to engage and, along with taking action, personalize and provide a memorable customer experience.

Well Done Marriott!

Steve 🙂

This story is also on LinkedIn @ Marriott Gets Social To Deliver Great Service

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Amazon’s Customer Service and the Curious Case of the 1 Eared Giraffe

Back in May of 2013, I published this article on Amazon’s world-class customer service.

Since then, I’m happy to say I’ve continued putting their team to the test with a steady stream of purchases, and they’ve continued delivering the kind of high-quality care I preach and teach about in my training rooms.

Which brings us to the latest chapter in my Amazon adventures with this curious case of the one-eared giraffe…

Seemingly out of nowhere, my daughter Ava developed an urgent, life-or-death need for animal onesie pajamas. With Christmas around the corner, I tried to steer her toward the “put it under the tree” option. That suggestion was met with agonizing opposition. Evidently, waiting eight weeks for cozy animal sleepwear was a burden no child should be asked to bear.

After reviewing a parade of colorful critters, Ava chose the giraffe as her perfect bedtime companion. So I placed the order.

Here’s the picture from Amazon.com:

Giraffe Onesie PJ's

Most of our Amazon orders show up in two days thanks to Prime shipping, but this particular purchase was coming from a distributor in China, so Prime was out of the question.

Ava, however, was unfazed by logistics. Every day for two straight weeks she asked if “the package” had arrived with the optimism of a kid waiting for Santa. And then, on day fifteen, her long-awaited bundle finally landed on our doorstep.

In what was likely the quickest turnaround of all-time, Ava disappeared momentarily then reappeared in our kitchen like this:

1 Ear Giraffe

Notice anything odd? We didn’t at first either. But a closer look revealed our new giraffe was missing a right ear. If you go back to the product photo, the girl is literally holding the giraffe by the ears. Apparently that quality-control step didn’t make it into the manufacturing process for ours.

Trying to prevent a full emotional collapse (which you probably would’ve heard from wherever you’re reading this), I assured Ava I’d reach out to Amazon and was confident they’d make things right quickly.

Below is the email exchange that followed between me and Amazon’s customer service team.

It all started with my return request:

 Item: Unisex Costume Animal Cosplay Onesie Adult Pajamas Anime Cartoon Sleepwear Medium, Giraffe
> Qty: 1
> Return reason: Defective/Does not work properly
> Customer comments: Arrived with only one ear and appears to have been created
  that way. My daughter is quite upset and doesn't want
  to wait several weeks again for a new one to be delivered

—

Reply received:

Dear customer, we have received your return request. We are so sorry you received
damaged item. You don't need to return the item, you can keep it. We will make a
full refund for you tomorrow. Could you please kindly send us the photo of the
one ear giraffe. We will send it to our QC. Thank you very much.
Please feel to contact us if you have any problem, thanks again.
 Have a nice day.

—

That’s great, I don’t even have to return the item, they’re just going to ‘take care of the customer’ and refund my purchase price. Still, Ava really wants a fully functional giraffe, so I sent the picture I posted above along with this reply:

Thank You for your prompt response and offer to keep item and refund amount paid.
I have attached a pic on the 1 ear giraffe. Will the much anticipated 2 ear version
be sent? My daughter prefers her giraffes to not be hearing impaired...
--

Not long after I received this reply:

Dear customer, thank you for your photo. We will send a new one to you tomorrow.
We will send you the new tracking number later. Thank you very much.
--

As I often say…

This is another great example of customer service recovery done right and why Amazon continues to earn my business and accolades.

Steve

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Customer Disservice Lesson from American Airlines Seat 36F

When Your Business Fails At Customer Service

I’m typing this latest case of customer disservice from seat 36F on American Airlines flight 226 from Boston’s Logan Airport to Dallas en route to Tulsa.

For those of you not familiar with this seat on AA 757 I can tell you first hand that this is the proverbial “back of the bus”, the very last seat in the very last row.

AA Back Row

Of course, on a full flight (like this one) someone needs to sit way back here in the corner but, given my situation, should that someone be me? You decide…

Let me start by saying I try and avoid American Airlines and usually fly one of my recommended “customer service champs” like Jet Blue, Southwest or Virgin Atlantic but, on this trip, none of those options were available.

Besides it’s been awhile since I’ve flown with American… maybe they’ve improved since the last time when my flight was delayed an hour and 45 minutes and no one seemed to care or even acknowledge that I then missed my connecting flight and spent about four extra hours at Chicago Midway waiting for the next flight.

Or maybe it’s just business as usual…

My saga began at the ticketing check-in kiosk when I attempted to print my boarding pass but instead received a slip that read “no seat assignment available”. Taking this slip to the ticket counter to check my garment bag, the agent informed, “they’ll assign your seat at the gate.. let them know you have a connecting flight and they’ll try and sit you close to the front”.

Shouldn’t they know (at the gate) that a customer with no seat (me) has a connecting flight and make the appropriate seating arrangement without that customer having to provide instructions?

In any event, I left the ticket counter feeling like I didn’t have a ticket to ride because, at this point, I didn’t. Instead of the sit down lunch I had envisioned I now made my way from security straight to the gate where I stood in line behind 10 or so other customers, presumably some also dealing with the same situation as me.

15 or so minutes later I was face-to-face with the gate agent explaining my presence there. The woman, let’s call her Mabel, told me in a very matter of fact way, “we’re overbooked.. still can’t assign you a seat.. I’ll call you before we board with something”.

Remembering my message, I responded “I have a connecting flight in Dallas to Tulsa.. the ticket agent told me to let you know so you could try and sit me close to the front”.

“I’ll do my best Mr. Ferrante”, Mabel said as she read my name off the slip.

So I left the gate counter still with no ticket to ride and thinking about what Mabel’s “best” would be as I stood in line to grab a Tuscan Pesto Chicken sandwich to take on board.

It’s worth noting that this is not the first time this has happened to me and surely many frequent flyers (perhaps you) have experienced this “no seat” dilemma as well.

Not long ago, this happened on an Air Canada flight from Toronto back home to Boston. On that flight they upgraded me to Business Class and I enjoyed priority boarding, a complimentary cocktail and a moist warm hand towel. Quite a difference, eh? (purposeful Canadian reference). Indeed. Air Canada turned an inconvenience into a most pleasurable and rewarding experience.

I returned to the gate ( sandwich in tow) as they were calling out names with seating assignments. Sure enough, five or so names in they called me. Mabel handed me the boarding pass nonchalantly saying “36F”.

I took the ticket and the seat location didn’t fully register as I walked away. Then they started boarding… Priority seating, families with small children, first class, business, ruby, gold then Group 1, Group 2, people who love wind chimes, then me in Group 3.

Midway through Group 2 boarding they made an announcement that the flight was sold out and on board storage space was limited so folks with carry-ons (like me) should check them at the gate. So I stood back in line again… this time determined to ask Mabel about my curious seating assignment.

Maintaining professional composure, I questioned Mabel “You had told me that you would do your best to get a seat towards the front of the plane so I could get off quickly to catch my connecting flight… I think I’m at the back?”

No reply.. Mabel just stuck her hand out like she was receiving a summons to appear in court. Looking at the boarding pass she said, “this should be fine.. we’re only running about 9 minutes late”.

As we prepared for take-off the captain came on and announced, “we’re running about 20 minutes late”.

Sure enough, we touched down 22 minutes late. By the time I deboarded as the very last passenger I had to scurry through the terminal to make it to my connecting gate just as they were beginning to board. 

Does AA have to provide a first class experience for inconvenienced customers (in this case, me) to be happy? Not necessarily, but several options presented themselves during my flight.

They showed a movie on the flight and announced “as always our in-flight entertainment is free”. Moments later, they came down the aisle selling headsets for $6.00. Apparently, it’s the watching part that’s “free”, hearing is $6.00. Then there’s that “enjoy WiFi on this flight” announcement. They left out the $15.00 an hour part I discovered trying to connect.

This would be a great value-add for all but, to stay on point, what if they made exceptions and gave passes to folks that have, up to this point, had a less than a pleasurable experience?

How about a free cocktail or, better yet, a voucher for a discount towards a future flight?? Surely that would help alleviate the pain, something my non-reclining up-against-the-back-wall seat failed miserably at doing.

One thing is clear, American Airlines does not effectively train customer service or understand that the customer experience is not getting a passenger from point A to B. Any airline can do that. It’s what happens from point A to point B that matters most. Until they figure that out and make customer service/customer experience part of their culture, they will continue to alienate customers and lose business to the airlines that do. 

Steve

* On LinkedIn @ Customer Disservice Lesson from American Airlines Seat 36F

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Steve Ferrante is the CEO & Trainer of Champions of Sale Away LLC., providing Pinnacle Performance Sales, Customer Service and Winning Team Culture training, speaking and professional development services to success-driven businesses throughout North America. For more information on Steve and Pinnacle Performance services for your team visit saleawayllc.com

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Building Success Momentum

In my training and speaking engagements, I often talk about how success breeds success on both on a business and personal level.

In sales, as an example, high-achievers win more business more often. This success builds confidence, creates momentum and they continue to succeed. It’s no coincidence that so many salespeople are at their best and often succeed immediately after they’ve had a prior successful sales interaction.

On the other hand, failure breeds failure.  As salespeople face rejection on a regular basis, and typically lose far more often than they win, they can lose confidence and momentum, consequently becoming vulnerable to ‘falling in a rut’ and failing for an extended period. 

The same is true of success in any endeavor. 

People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed, and the more they find a way to succeed. Similarly, when someone is failing, the tendency is to get on a downward spiral that can even become a self-fulfilling prophecy. – Tony Robbins

I believe a key to sustained success is two-fold:

1) Learn from your mistakes and take swift action to correct your course.

2) Capitalize on your wins and maintain your positive momentum.

At the end of the day, success is like a snowball.. You have to get it going and the more you roll in the right direction the greater it gets!

Success is like a Snowball

Make a Great Day!

Steve 🙂

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Monday Motivation, Steve's Articles

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