First-Class Treatment
December 22, 2009
People who don’t travel frequently as part of their jobs tend to think that air travel is somehow a glamorous experience. Those of us who do travel regularly know otherwise. But first-class treatment can make travel significantly more enjoyable.
Because of my frequent flyer status on American Airlines, I frequently get to upgrade to first class. I’ll admit that this makes air travel significantly more comfortable. But if you have images of caviar, linen tablecloths, and crystal salt and pepper shakers, let me assure you that this kind of domestic first-class travel hasn’t been the case for some time.
Tough economic times, September 11th, and the general state of the airline industry have reduced the benefits of first-class on all but the longest flights to a comfortable seat, an occasional meal, and a free drink.
But every so often, a really good flight attendant can make the experience special. On flights where a meal or snack is served, the flight attendant will ask each first-class passenger his or her meal preference. Using a sheet prepared with each of their names, the flight attendant will normally ask, “Mr. Smith? Would you prefer the chicken or the fish?” and proceed to dutifully write down each passenger’s selection, hoping that the selection of choices doesn’t run out.
But on one recent flight, it happened in a slightly different way. The flight attendant made her way down the aisle without a tray, paper, or pen, and said, “Mr. Koslowski, welcome aboard! Would you prefer the chicken or the fish? Fish? Wonderful. Thank You. Mr. Jackson? Fish or chicken for you this evening? Chicken? Great!”
And with great interest, I watched her as she did this with each of the 22 first-class passengers in our 757 aircraft, calling each passenger by name and making no notation whatsoever of the passengers’ orders.
Throughout the flight, she continued to call each passenger by name, and remembered what each person was drinking when she asked if they would like a refill.
Besides making us all feel very special, this extraordinary effort had an additional benefit for the flight attendant. American Airlines sends its frequent fliers SOS (Some One Special) coupons that they can use to recognize employees who provide outstanding service. These are particularly valuable to the employees; the last time I checked, they can get a confirmed first-class flight to Europe with just 14 of these!
I give out these SOS coupons regularly to flight attendants, pilots, and ticket, gate, and reservations agents who go out of their way to be helpful. So it was with a smile on my face as we were departing the flight that I watched as three other passengers handed the flight attendant SOS coupons before I had the opportunity to add my own to the stack.
If you figure that the flight attendant probably works three flights a day, you can see how these coupons can add up very quickly. Does the flight attendant make the effort because of the tickets, or is she just conscientious and the coupons are an extra bonus?
I’m not sure, but it doesn’t really matter – the passengers feel special, and an excellent employee is rewarded for her effort.
Look at your own reward and recognition systems and see if they are eliciting and rewarding the behaviors you want to see. Then all of your customers will feel like they’re receiving first-class service.
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