Frontier’s decision to go fully digital and drop its customer service phone lines may, on the face of it, seem like a company moving with the times.

Phone channels have been the critical entry point to customer service for decades, but they are often a significant pain point for customers and brands alike, with lengthy wait times and high costs.

The evolution of technology and consumer expectations has made the notion of 9-5 customer service somewhat outdated, and digital strategies will play a key role in modernising a business’ approach to customer communication and improving the experience. With our Convers-AI-tional Nation report revealing that just 20% of travel companies provide 24-hour customer support and 48% are contactable during office hours, Frontier’s decision to focus on its digital infrastructure will help address these longstanding communication issues by reaching more customers in a broader range of online platforms.

That said, Frontier should be wary that customers have reasonable expectations regarding the ease with which they can find basic information from a brand and speak to a human agent where required. Being responsive to these expectations should not involve reducing the number of communication channels offered to customers. Instead, integrating existing entry points and using conversational AI tools to help fix the day-to-day problems customers encounter will be a strategy that drives a better and more positive experience.

Implementing a fully digital strategy is becoming more common for businesses, especially in the face of rapid digitalisation. Whilst it is crucial for airlines to create more digital entry points to meet modern consumers where they are, it is equally essential for airlines like Frontier to recognise that the appetite for traditional communication methods with customer service agents remains. Indeed, our research revealed that 67% of UK consumers prefer customer service via phone; eliminating such methods comes with the potential risk of alienating customers. This is something that brands must carefully consider to ensure that they are providing options to suit all consumers.

To respond to as many passengers as possible, Frontier should provide customers with various options by taking a flexible approach. In an ideal world, this will involve marrying support from human agents with technological solutions like chatbots and live chat. With just over a third (36%) of leading airlines currently using live chat to help field consumer queries and only 4% offering customer service support via WhatsApp, the gaps in communication and subsequent merits of a digital strategy are clear. To ensure that it meets passengers’ needs, Frontier should look to optimise a diverse range of communication channels to facilitate a smoother experience and bring internal cost reduction.

While the trend towards digitalisation is expected to continue, implementing a combination of automated and human-serviced channels will ultimately provide passengers with more entry points and afford airlines greater scope to respond. The efficacy of this joint approach is straightforward; although just one in three (32%) leading travel companies currently offer human and bot-serviced communications channels, our research found that these companies were able to provide faster or more effective answers in 59% of cases.

Ultimately, customers should always be able to reach a brand on the channel they choose – whether it’s an AI Chatbot, Facebook Messenger responses or a human agent, fast and effective responses to basic customer service questions should be guaranteed. As long as airlines continue to provide customers with the option of both automated customer service channels to provide information without delay and access to human agents to deal with more in-depth enquiries, the impact of removing the phone line will be minimal. For others, integration, as opposed to channel elimination, is a more effective strategy for improving customer experience and enabling business growth.

About the Author

James Matthews is Country Manager UK & Ireland at CM.com.

In the final blog of the Customer Service Week series, Samantha Saunders hands over to Rob Stefanovic, Senior Commercial Manager at OmniServ, to share an example of how cooperation between partners can help build trust and recognition.

Trust: Building brand reputation and trust by delivering on promises

When it comes to customer service, the most obvious area where trust comes into play is the relationship between the service provider and the consumer – or, in the case of the air travel industry, between airline and passenger.

But there are other trust-based relationships behind the scenes that come in to play first, such as when two companies are working together. If the partners can’t trust each other to deliver on their respective promises, then how are they ever going to build trust with the paying public?

OmniServ provides services to a large number of airlines and airports in the UK. In a small number of contracts, however, rather than supplying services as a contractor, we work in partnership with another company via a joint venture. The creation of Blue Handling, a joint venture between OmniServ and Ryanair, is a case in point.

Ryanair is Europe’s Number 1 airline, carrying over 138 million customers a year on more than 2,500 daily flights from 86 bases, connecting 224 destinations in 37 countries. In 2018, Ryanair identified an opportunity to improve its ground handling operations at its biggest airport hub, Stansted, and put the contract out to tender.

OmniServ, the European arm of global airport and airline services supplier, ABM, was selected to work with it on delivering a bold new vision – a completely new company, which would give the airline much more input into the day-to-day running of some of the most crucial elements of its customer service delivery.

Trust would be core to the venture’s success. Trust between Ryanair and its new business partner, OmniServ, and trust between both management teams and the employees working for them.

The result was Blue Handling, a new ground handling solutions provider created by OmniServ just for Ryanair. In only three months, OmniServ worked seamlessly with the local Ryanair management team to develop this new company with nearly 1,000 workers. Just over half of the employee team came from the previous supplier under TUPE regulations, while OmniServ recruited another 450.

The new Blue Handling operation is now responsible for Ryanair’s above- and below-wing ground handling, which includes providing baggage agents, ramp agents, toilet and water services, de-icing, runway services, cargo handling and ticket desk personnel.

OmniServ also developed a new brand identity, logos and uniforms. Previously, there had been no single corporate identity for Ryanair’s Stansted ground handling operations.

Employees, both those from the previous contractor and the new hires, went through extensive training to unite them behind the new brand and instil them with a sense of mission: to provide the best possible service for Ryanair’s passengers.

At the same time, Ryanair invested significant sums in new equipment for Blue Handling, with workers being brought up to speed on the latest vehicles and technologies.

Employees had to feel part of the brand, and they had to trust the people they were working with and the people they were working for. The new company’s management knew that it was vital to create a strong sense of teamwork, passion and pride in their jobs. They had to win the hearts and minds of all employees, old and new, and they did that by delivering a thorough and strategic employee engagement programme.

The closeness of the partnership between Ryanair and OmniServ was a major factor in Blue Handling’s successful launch. It is truly a partnership, which has resulted in an industry-leading operation based on the triple ethos of partnership, trust and transparency.

Ryanair Operations Director Adrian Dunne said of the first few months: “Blue Handling has been a major success, and was up and running very quickly, delivering above and beyond what we would have expected.”

He highlighted how employees at all levels reacted during a recent severe weather disruption, when thunderstorms over the South East of England saw 14 cancelled Stansted departures, 14 cancelled arrivals and a number of aircraft and crews, usually based elsewhere, stuck in Stansted.

Dunne says: “I was delighted and very proud at how Blue Handling rose to this challenge, with 18 ticket desks opened to assist passengers, team members from all areas including the ramp and undercraft coming upstairs to help, and all bags delivered on time, despite huge difficulties. These efforts helped keep the level of cancellations to a minimum, with compliments from Stansted airport on how well Blue Handling had performed in such challenging circumstances.”

Working together, rather than in a classic contractor-client relationship, has allowed us to share information, manage expectations on both sides, create solutions to challenges and, above all, create trust, with the airport and with Ryanair’s passengers.

Blue Handling only officially launched in February 2019 and the new ground handling operation is already delivering outstanding service levels with a 90% improvement on performance and satisfaction levels compared with a year ago.

Other articles in this series:

• Delivering Quality Customer Service to Disabled Passengers
• Deliver Better Customer Service by Breaking Down Internal Barriers
• Recognizing Great Staff Performance Is Key to Improving Service Quality
• Company-Wide Commitment Is Needed to Lead Customer Service Innovation

About OmniServ

OmniServ Limited is the International Division of ABM Aviation, the aviation division of ABM Industries. ABM Aviation provides a comprehensive range of innovative and dependable solutions, including Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRM) Operations, to more than 100 airports globally. This includes the top 30 airports within the USA and 15 airports within the UK. Established in 2004, OmniServ employs over 5000 staff delivering ‘Legendary Service’ across a wide portfolio of aviation services.

Samantha Saunders, Head of Innovation & Regulatory Compliance at OmniServ shares the first of five special insights for Customer Service Week.

Insight: Knowing your customer and how to deliver to them

At OmniServ, we deliver a wide range of services to a diverse group of customers in and around airports. But our biggest customer group – and the most important for a number of reasons – are people with mobility or other issues which affect their ability to move around or easily navigate the airport environment.

The industry, regulators and governments use the term ‘People with Reduced Mobility’ or PRM when talking about people with disabilities. PRM passengers are a growing segment of the travelling population. OmniServ provides assistance for around 1.8 million PRM passengers a year in the UK, 1.2 million of them at Heathrow alone. PRM doesn’t refer to just people in wheelchairs. The term also encompasses people with Autism, sight and hearing issues, and long-term medical issues such as the need for colostomy bags.

According to the UK’s Aviation Regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), growth in air travel across UK airports between 2010 and 2017 was 19%. However, the growth of passengers requesting assistance was 47%, meaning this is the biggest growing customer sector within aviation.

Globally, one billion people – that’s 15% of the world’s population – experience some form of disability, according to The World Bank Group. Between 110 million and 190 million experience significant difficulties.

With the increased need for special assistance services, airports face unique challenges. Flights have schedules and specific timings, they can be busy, fast-moving environments, but assistance provided to all passengers should respect their dignity and demonstrate genuine care.

Providing the right support for everyone is a challenge that requires collaboration. At OmniServ, we work closely with a wide range of organizations to ensure we understand the needs of our customer groups. Talking to our charity partners is vital. We currently work in partnership with Colostomy UK, Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation for Disabled People, and this week we are excited to announce our position as Founding Strategic Partner of the membership group #PurpleLightUp, a networking and professional development hub for disabled employees.

Employing people with disabilities is the right thing to do in an increasingly responsible, accessible and inclusive business world. But it’s more than just a moral imperative; it also is a logical move for us which strengthens our team. If we’re going to deliver the best possible experience we can for disabled passengers, then disabled employees can contribute particularly valuable skills and insights based on their personal experiences, including direct knowledge of travelling with a disability.

We’re also helped in our quest to provide the best possible customer service for PRM passengers by the many companies and organizations which are actively coming up with devices and technologies to solve issues affecting PRM passengers.

Some answers are ‘low tech’, but brilliant – like the ProMove sling, developed by a disabled doctor, which helps with issues around getting passengers from wheelchairs into aircraft seats and back again. Others are more tech-based, like the work we’re doing with SignCodeUK, which provides pre-recorded British Sign Language translations to help improve the customer experience These companies have dedicated time and funds in to developing specific products that address a facet of disability, so their insight always adds value to our understanding.

Most of us will experience the effect of disability in the course of our lives — whether we have a loved one with a disability, have our own disability or face one in the future. So, when we talk about PRM passengers, it’s important to realise that we are talking about people we know and love, or about ourselves in a few years’ time.

Other articles in this series:

• Deliver Better Customer Service by Breaking Down Internal Barriers
• Recognizing Great Staff Performance Is Key to Improving Service Quality
• Company-Wide Commitment Is Needed to Lead Customer Service Innovation
• Working in Partnership to Deliver Enhanced Customer Service

About OmniServ

OmniServ Limited is the International Division of ABM Aviation, the aviation division of ABM Industries. ABM Aviation provides a comprehensive range of innovative and dependable solutions, including Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRM) Operations, to more than 100 airports globally. This includes the top 30 airports within the USA and 15 airports within the UK. Established in 2004, OmniServ employs over 5000 staff delivering ‘Legendary Service’ across a wide portfolio of aviation services.

When I am traveling in the U.S., my favorite airline is Southwest Airlines. It is very obvious to me that they understand that customer service is more than just a public relations statement. For example, they give you the option of having a customer service phone representative call you back instead of waiting on hold for a long time

Just recently, I had two business trips that required me to seek out other airlines because Southwest did not provide flights to those cities. So I flew on two different airlines, and both failed—miserably.

Not only did they not earn my interest to fly with them again, but they actually did things to effectively “turn me off”. The purpose of this article, however, is not to bash those two airlines, but rather to re-focus how certain missed opportunities could have turned into WOW moments, thus repeat business.

Let’s start with the first airline. Keep in mind that it may have been the second time that I’ve flown with them in the last six or seven years. I was on a flight from Baltimore to Chicago and just before the plane door closed, I noticed that over half of the seats were empty. I was in a row with one other passenger, so I decided to move to one of the several empty rows. That way, I could spread out and have ample space to write, read, use my laptop, etc.

As I was moving to the adjacent empty row, I heard someone, from a distance, say “No, no, no!” I looked up to see that it was a flight attendant who was speaking to me—plus she was waving her index finger from side to side for added effect. “You have to return to you seat sir!” So, of course, I returned to my seat a bit embarrassed, confused, and annoyed all at the same time. To her credit, she did come to me afterwards to explain why she turned me away from the empty seat.

“Those seats you were going to are premium seats. They have more legroom and there’s a charge to sit there.” Then she walked away. Ok. I’m sure that she didn’t make up that rule or create the flight seat inventory system that allocates “premium seats”, but the delivery of the message could have been done more respectfully versus the manner she chose.

On a deeper level, however, why couldn’t the airline simply empower their flight attendants to invite passengers to open seats once it has been determined that no more passengers are coming onboard. Hey, maybe I would have fallen in love with the extra leg room and told other people about the great seats that the airline has. Or better yet, before I even boarded the plane, the gate agents could have proactively moved passengers to the premium seats once it was clear that those seats would be available.

Imagine how impressed passengers would be if the gate agent told some of the fortunate passengers that they were being “upgraded” since there was more than enough room of the flight. Such a gesture would have been worth more than any television or newspaper ad. Customers can always tell when an organization is relationship-driven versus revenue-driven. It was clear that the airline was purely focused on revenue.

On the first leg of another flight, the entire staff seemed like they hated their jobs. Everyone, from the gate agents, to the flight attendants had no smile and barely gave customers any eye contact.

When traveling with my baby daughter, I usually check her stroller at the gate versus checking it in as luggage. Since the stroller bag is very large, it can easily be mistaken for checked luggage by the plane’s baggage handlers. So to avoid the potential confusion, I asked the gate attendant for two bag tags versus the customary one tag that is given. That way, the stroller bag could be easier to identify. The gate agent proceeded to roll her eyes at me, mumbled something under her breath and put the two tags on the desk for me to take. Wow.

That same episode could have been re-mixed to get a vastly different outcome. After explaining my situation and asking for the extra bag ticket, the attendant could have:

1. Listened attentively
2. Empathized with the situation (or at least pretended to do so)
3. Given me the tags (or even offered to put them on for me)
4. Wished me a great flight and stated that she hoped that there would be no confusion with my stroller bag during the trip

So there you have it. Two airlines—two missed opportunities to earn my loyalty. It really is a shame, because those airlines, like so many other companies, will look at their financial statements, then notice that revenue and profit are both down. Inevitably, the next steps will usually include a mixture of more advertising, raising prices, laying off staff and charging for things that were previously complimentary.

Instead, companies can win more business by simply re-focusing on the customers’ experience. Train and communicate to all staff that the team’s mission is to earn the customers’ loyalty every day at each touch point. Remove restrictions and empower your team to do everything possible to WOW their customers.

Get with your team and brainstorm various scenarios and how deposits could be made. In short, wow your customers, cherish your customers and honor them. They have a choice and you can’t take for granted or assume that they will choose you. Adopt an attitude of re-earning your customers’ loyalty everyday. Your team will be happier, your customers will be happier, and your company will be happier too.

About the Author

Dr. Bryan K. Williams is the Chief Service Officer of B. Williams Enterprise, LLC. He is a service expert, who has facilitated workshops and delivered keynotes all over the world for various companies. Bryan speaks on a variety of topics related to service excellence, employee engagement and organizational improvement. As a consultant he works closely with companies to design, develop, and implement sustainable service strategies.

During my last trip to Monterrey I had the chance to confirm first-hand the big difference between hearing and listening to customers, and the power of the latter to create positive service experiences.

Due to schedule reasons, I had to flight out and back in different airlines, which we shall call “Listening Airlines” and “Hearing Airlines”.

I took off early in the morning and soon after a flight attendant from “Listening Airlines” approached me offering something to drink.

I asked for black coffee with no sugar, as usual. About 30 minutes later, he came over again: “would you like more coffee?”

The fact that he had remembered my beverage amazed me, especially because he was serving at least other 40 passengers. I accepted and then he replied: “black, no sugar, right?” What a surprise! I couldn’t believe he could remember the very details of my preference.

My experience was truly pleasant and far different from what one is used to when travelling by plane. The ability of this employee contributed to improve the image I had of this airline and set it apart from the rest, something that became apparent to me on my flight back in “Hearing Airlines” that same afternoon.

During the trip, a flight attendant came to my seat and asked if I wanted something to drink. “An apple soda with no ice, please”, I replied stressing on the words “with no”. Immediately after, the employee handed me a glass with my apple beverage with ice!!! It was beyond belief, but this person had forgotten my request in a split second …evidently, she hadn’t listened to me. Upset about the situation, I chose to remain silent.

Two clear points can be made out of this story:

1. When it comes to service, people make the difference
2. Hearing is not the same as listening; in other words, receiving sounds is not the same as paying attention to them.

In the case of “Listening Airlines”, the flight attendant showed a genuine interest in offering an excellent service to make me feel special. He listened, remembered my words and acted using that knowledge in my favor. On the other hand, the employee from “Hearing Airlines” did just the bare minimum to comply with her job, behaving mechanically and triggering negative feelings in me by showing she wasn’t interested in serving me.

Life can be ironic, because while “Listening Airlines” promotes rates or new destinations in its advertising, the focus of “Hearing Airlines” communication is no more and no less than …quality service!!!

In the world of service, listening is far more important than talking. Listening carefully yields both rational-tangible and emotional-intangible benefits.

From a rational–tangible perspective, listening is the key to get to know customers better, understand their needs and get to the core of their problems. Listening helps us provide a better service by allowing us to focus on effective actions that generate the results the customer expects.

But emotional-intangible benefits are perhaps more important. Listening shows respect and humbleness. Listening is a way of telling the customer we care about him. Listening produces empathy and a feeling of acknowledgment …Listening delights customers!!!

A study conducted in the United States and published in the book “Customer Loyalty: How to Earn It, How to Keep It” (Jill Griffin, Jossey-Bass, 2002) reported that 87% of customers feel that the companies they have contact with don’t listen to them good enough.

It seems hard to believe, but something as simple as listening is very hard to find in organizations nowadays. Most employees behave like the flight attendant from “Hearing Airlines”, acting like robots and forgetting about their main responsibility: efficiently serving customers requirements and achieving total satisfaction.

For this reason, here we provide some simple tips that will significantly improve your ability to listen to your internal and external customers.

12 Ways to Listen to Your Customers

1. Acknowledge the enormous power and benefits that stem from carefully listening to others.
2. When the customer talks, stop doing whatever you are doing.
3. Stay 100% focused on the customer. Do not allow yourself to be distracted.
4. If you face the customer in person, establish frequent eye-contact, but without making him feel uncomfortable.
5. If you deal with the customer over the phone, close your eyes or focus them on a fixed spot.
6. While the customer is talking, write down key words in a sheet of paper. This will help you retain the main ideas.
7. Never interrupt a customer! Be cautious and let him finish talking.
8. Keep your emotions in check. Sometimes we don’t like what we are told, but if you get carried away, your focus will shift from what’s most important: the customer’s feelings.
9. Don’t jump to conclusions until you have listened to everything the customer had to say.
10. Read the customer’s body language and tone of voice. Sometimes they speak louder than words.
11. If something is not well understood, ask the customer to repeat it.
12. Rephrase and double check with the customer.

Try to implement as many of these tips as possible in your everyday life, as they will help you provide a better service, make your communication with others more effective, and afford a better understanding of what customers expect from your, making them feel more satisfied and content.

About the Author

Fernando Krasovitzky is the Managing Director of Leventer Group.

Clarity and Commitment

SIA’s focus on service is completely clear. The mission statement and core values establish without question that quality service to customers is a fundamental objective and aspiration of the airline.

Every major issue, question or decision can be considered through the prism of this commitment to providing world-class customer service.

Continuous Training

Training is not a “one time affair.” SIA understands that daily customer contact can be draining, and that customer expectations are on the rise.

To meet this challenge, four training centers within the company (Cabin Crew, Flight Operations, Commercial and Management Development) offer a wide range of inspiring and demanding educational programs.

Whether in the classroom, on the job, or through full scale simulations, SIA staff members are continually motivated to upgrade and improve their performance.

Training is not just conducted during robust economic times. Even during the downturns, SIA’s investment in training goes on. This gives the airline a two-fold advantage.

First, it allows SIA to surge ahead in service quality when other carriers may be cutting back. Second, it demonstrates to all staff that continuous learning and improvement are essential principles for success, not just “nice to have” additions.

Career Development

SIA staff are regularly appraised for performance, and potential. High-flyers are identified early and given every opportunity to learn and grow. Senior managers are uniquely well developed with frequent rotations amongst top positions in the company.

This leads to a management team with great breadth and depth, with a shared understanding of “the big picture,” with a commitment to do what’s best for the customers and the business, not just for one or another department.

Internal Communications

SIA is a large organisation, with more than 28,000 staff located in cities and subsidiaries throughout the world. People from different cultures must work together to produce a seamless and positive customer experience. In the pilot pool alone more than twenty-five countries are represented!

To keep everyone on the same wavelength, SIA publishes a variety of department newsletters and a monthly company-wide magazine. Regular dialogue sessions between management and staff keep communications flowing. A “Staff Ideas in Action” scheme ensures that new suggestions are constantly put forward for improvement.

Semi-annual business meetings provide the forum for evaluation of hard results in sales, markets, yields and customer satisfaction levels.

Consistent External Communications

Whether the advertisement is about new destinations, new airplanes, new cuisine on board or brand new seats and video services, the legendary “SIA Girl” is always featured in the advertising layouts and copy. Why? Because the bottom line for SIA is not the plane, the seat, the video or the destination.

The bottom line is delivering quality service, and the “SIA Girl” is the brand identity – the public personification of that service.

Of course everyone knows it takes the entire SIA team to deliver excellent service, but showing a picture of a smiling engineer, a competent pilot or a friendly telephone reservations agent would not carry the same consistency in external communications.

The “SIA Girl” represents impeccable quality service. In the airline’s external communications, she is always there.

Connection with Customers

SIA makes a concerted effort to stay in touch with customers through in-flight surveys, customer focus groups and rapid reply to every compliment or complaint they receive. SIA consolidates this input with other key figures to create a quarterly “Service Performance Index” that is closely watched throughout the airline.

Frequent flyers are especially well connected with special messages, offers and publications sent regularly to members of the priority passenger “PPS Club”. Very frequent flyers achieve an elite “Solitaire” status, with a wide range of valuable privileges, including most convenient check-in, additional baggage allowance, priority seating and waitlist and more.

Benchmarking

The airline industry is intensely competitive with every carrier seeking new ways to “get ahead of the pack.” SIA introduces new innovations, and tracks competitor’s progress closely.

Even outside the industry, SIA keeps an open eye for new ways to improve and grow. When hotels, banks, restaurants, retail outlets and other service industries take a step forward in their amenities, convenience or comfort, SIA watches closely to see what can be adopted or adapted for the airline industry.

Improvement, Investment and Innovation

From the earliest days, SIA has built a reputation for taking the lead and doing things differently than the others. This includes free drinks and headsets, fax machines on board, individual video screens and telephones in every seat, leading edge gaming and in-flight entertainment, “book the cook” service for special meals in First and Business classes, phone, fax and e-mail check-in, innovative cargo facilities, the list goes on and on.

This commitment to continuous improvement is coupled with a cultural determination to try-it-out, make-it-work and see-it-through. Not every innovation succeeds, and some are eventually removed from service (the fax machines are long gone), but SIA makes every possible effort to find the key to success – or create it.

Rewards and Recognition

While excellent staff performance is rewarded with increased pay and position, the most prestigious award of all is reserved for extraordinary acts of truly superior service.

“The Deputy Chairman’s Award” is given yearly to teams or individuals who respond to unique customer situations with exceptionally positive, innovative or selfless acts of service.

This award carries no financial benefit, but it is the most revered accolade in the airline. Winners and their families are flown to Singapore for a special dinner celebration, the story of their unique efforts is published in the monthly “Outlook” magazine, and their personal status as a “Deputy Chairman’s Award Winner” remains a badge of distinction for life.

Professionalism, Pride and Profits.

The result of all these efforts is a staff culture vigorously committed to the airline, to customers and to continuous improvement.

Staff pride and sense of ownership are evident in the way they protect the airline’s reputation and participate in special programs like the “aircraft adoption scheme.”

And good profits are also achieved, but not as the end in themselves. Rather, SIA’s profits are “the applause we receive for providing consistent quality and service to our customers.”

Does all this mean that SIA is perfect? Of course not. Even SIA cannot satisfy every customer, every time. Bags go astray, telephone lines become congested, and meals at 39,000 feet are not always deluxe. There will always be room for improvement.

With a track record of success, SIA must work doubly hard to avoid becoming complacent. Managers must be open to change, not arrogant, high-handed or defensive. Staff must be proud of the airline yet remain eager for passenger suggestions, recommendations and constructive critique.

The definition of a truly loyal airline customer is someone who is pleased with the service, flies with the airline again and again, recommends the airline to others, and takes the time and effort to point out ways the airline can still improve.

I look forward to my flights on SIA, and I use the carrier two or three times each month. My speeches and training programs are peppered with positive stories from airline history and lore. And my outgoing mail to SIA includes plenty of ideas and suggestions to help the airline improve.

Singapore Airlines has earned my loyalty on the ground and in the skies.

It’s a great way to fly.

About the Author

Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed educator for quality service. He is author of the bestselling series “UP Your Service!” and founder of “UP Your Service College”.

Many organizations, when faced with a difficult customer situation may succumb to the tendency to “just let this one go,” allowing the customer to leave rather than make an exception to a rigid policy to accommodate the particular situation.

But this kind of short-sighted approach can have long-term implications on the sustainable viability of the company. For example, a single bad experience with an airline, compounded by their unwillingness to correct the situation, could very easily convince me to avoid travelling with that airline in the future.

Of course, this would be a bad move on the airline’s part, since I am a frequent flyer. A very frequent flyer. At the time of this writing, I am about 15,000 miles shy of two million total miles in the American Airlines’ Advantage program.

Do the math with me based on the following very conservative assumptions:

• My average ticket costs $500
• I fly twice a month
• I work ten months out of the year
• I will travel at this level for 20 years

This makes my lifetime value to an airline $500 x 2 x 10 x 20, or $200,000! And, as I said, this is a very conservative estimate. Over a twenty-year period, I’ll almost certainly spend at least twice that amount, and probably more.

The point is that when you are determining the value of the customer – whether in a difficult situation or simply for planning purposes – you must look not only at the value of the current transaction, but also at the long-term cumulative value of that relationship.

Keep this in mind as you look at your customer service policies, or in the future you might find your business grounded!

About the Author

Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed educator for quality service. He is author of the bestselling series “UP Your Service!” and founder of “UP Your Service College”.