Employee Emotions “Moment of Truth”
Jan Carlzon, who once ran SAS, Scandinavian Airlines,
liked to use the term “The moment of truth” a lot. He
used it to explain a touch point within a company
when there is a chance to make a lasting impression on a cus-
tomer. The goal is to create an emotional attachment with the
customer so that they will return, bring
in other customers, and become a promoter of the company. As airlines focus
on the customer experience, they must
commit to addressing what lies beneath
such superficial things as newly painted aircraft, web site design, self-service
kiosk capabilities, and elite frequent flier
perks. With the drastic changes taking
place, it has become even more important than ever to refocus on the crucial
human moments that define a brand.
The changes and adjustments taking place on an almost daily basis within our industry are causing increasing
customer frustration. We hear about it
on the news across all media constantly. People are tired of the delays, what
they perceive to be “
nickel-and-dim-ing,” and sometimes surly service from
the airlines. Although airline business
is not the only one having to change,
it seems that anything to do with this
business draws an inordinate amount of
media attention and makes it a trés chic,
guilty pleasure to bash the airlines over
cocktails. Without customers who’ve
become brand promoters to passionately defend the company, these conversations can pick up a lot of damaging,
negative steam. Of course, what always
seems to come up during these recounts
is a mention of a rude airline employee.
lic through this “mentality shift” and it
is taking its toll on their state of mind.
Considering that the average ticket
agent or flight attendant may deal with
hundreds of travelers per day who show
an outwardly negative response when
told that they must pay yet another fee;
it is no wonder they sometimes become
negative. For those in customer service
positions, the front-line has become a
battlefield. I have to remind myself of
this when I experience a lack of friendly
service when I travel. The truth is that
we all expect and deserve good service
when doing business anywhere and employees must receive the support they
need in order to provide this service.
I find that many companies see the
task of addressing the emotions of
their employees too daunting and instead choose to remain in a state of denial. They create customer experience
teams that make many positive changes in business processes, but fail to address the source of poor employee/cus-tomer interactions. Rather than trying
to eliminate as many employee contact
interactions as possible by using automation, companies should continually
focus on equipping their people with
the skills to make any interaction they
have with a customer one that creates
customer loyalty.
rise. Many employees have not received
service training for years to handle
these changes and have had no choice
but to rely on their own make-shift customer handling skills that sometimes
result in less than satisfactory customer
experiences. The companies that have
chosen to nix this sort of training to cut
costs are realizing an even higher price
on the back end as employees become
disconnected and customers disappear.
Each opportunity missed to teach employees how to interact effectively and
create an emotional bond with customers is costing airlines millions of loyal
customers each year. As airlines do anything and everything they can to save
money, they seem to be overlooking
the erosion that is taking place within
their established customer base because
they have been mishandled by an emotionally exhausted employee. Customers are getting fed up and are defecting
as they experience this deterioration in
service. Although these customers may
not find better service elsewhere, this
is not a chance any company can afford to take. Did you know that Gallup
reports approximately 67% of the consumers that defect from one company to
another do so because of a negative interaction with an employee? If anyone
ever doubted the power of an individual
Not in the Job Description
Many airlines have publicly stated that
the mentality of the consumer must
“shift” as they unbundle the services
they offer to passengers. Unfortunate-
ly, the front-line employees have been
dealt the extra task of guiding the pub-
Teach Someone to Fish...
Although it is the responsibility of each
individual who deals directly with cus-
tomers to display the utmost respect
and courtesy, circumstances are mak-
ing this extremely challenging as nerves
become frayed and levels of frustration
by Gailen David
