During my years as part of the management team of a major airline’s customer relations office, I always taught my staff what I called the “brussels sprouts” theory. It goes something like this:
Mad customers are like brussels sprouts: If you eat them when they are hot and the butter is still melted, they will go down easier. But if you wait until they are cold, and the butter has congealed, they will be nasty and bitter. The same goes for customers. The longer they wait for help and stew, the nastier they get and the more difficult their problem becomes to resolve.
But other than my cutesy reference to that much-maligned vegetable (I happen to be one of the few who loves brussels sprouts), how does a company instill principles of good customer service?
The Ritz-Carlton hotel company is an example of one that has got that down pat. Every employee carries with him or her a laminated, pocket-sized card emblazoned with the company’s Credo:
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel is a place where the genuine care and comfort of our guests is our highest mission.
We pledge to provide the highest personal service and facilities for our guests who will always enjoy a warm, relaxed yet refined ambiance.
The Ritz-Carlton experience enlivens the senses, instills well-being, and fulfills even the unexpressed wishes and needs of our guests.
What’s more, in large, bold type, is the company’s motto: “We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.” Additional information includes three essential steps of service (greeting, anticipation of needs, fond farewell) and a summary of their 20 basics of good service.
I’ll stop for a minute before dissecting some of these basics to point out the fact that, although some aspects of the Ritz-Carlton experience are costly (Donald Trump proved with his Trump Shuttle that marble bathrooms at 35,000 feet are not part of a successful airline’s business model), the essence of the company’s motto is virtually cost-neutral.
Airlines are foaming at the mouth about the price of fuel and the need to slash costs, cut services that for decades have been complimentary, raise fares to compensate for the cost of doing business, lower frequent flier benefits, remove in-flight amenities (a three-cent bag of pretzels can hardly be considered an amenity), jam in more seats, and so on.
Treating customers and each other like ladies and gentlemen is free.
Here are just a few highlights of the service basics (numbered according to Ritz-Carlton) for us to consider and, more importantly, for any airline manager or bigwig out there who might read this to think long and hard about, because in most cases, they simply aren’t getting it right.
1. “The Credo is the principal belief of our company. It must be known, owned and energized by all.”
Not should. Must. Enough said there.
At my former airline, we had no idea what the mission statement was, other than to make money. I worked in a management capacity for nearly 20 years and considered myself up-to-date on everything the corporate communications department provided for us to read. I still had no clue. Sad, huh?
2. “… We treat our guests and each other with respect and dignity.”
Treating the customer respectfully starts with treating each other as human beings. Countless times, during the course of assisting an angry customer, I found it necessary to contact a support department or a back office at an airport for information. It was often difficult to return to my already-challenged “happy place” after encountering a cranky, less-than-cooperative co-worker who was reluctant to help get the information necessary to solve the problem, or treated me like an annoyance. “Hey, bud, your department caused the mistake in the first place,” I’d want to say. Trial and error proved saying that didn’t get me very far.
3. “Each employee is empowered … You should break away from your regular duties to address and resolve the issue.”
How many times have you been frustrated by the front-line employee brick wall? For instance, the reservations agent who tells you the seat map is “completely full,” when you know darn good and well that isn’t the case because you’re a Platinum-level flier who knows first-hand that seats are held for these sorts of situations, and you’re trying to obtain an aisle seat for your elderly grandmother so she will not be so apprehensive about her upcoming trip.
Then there’s the telephone agent who says “there isn’t a supervisor for you to speak with,” or my favorite, “there’s nobody here for you to talk to.” Bull. I worked in a call center for my entire airline career. I can’t tell you about any other company than my former employer, but I can tell you with 100 percent certainty there was at least one supervisor on duty at all times. He or she might have been on the telephone with someone else, but to suggest there isn’t one around is poppycock.
And lastly, my other airline favorite is the gate agent who simply barks “go to special services,” thus shuffling the customer from one huge line to another even longer line and putting the monkey on somebody’s back other than his.
4. “Uncompromising levels of cleanliness are the responsibility of every employee.”
Have you ever stopped for a minute and looked around an airport gate area? Some of them are downright nasty, the floors constantly strewn with trash. How inviting.
Part of that could be blamed on customer behavior. (I can hear my mother saying, “get your feet off of the seat and pick up after yourself, son”). We were taught, as employees, if we saw trash, to pick it up and throw it way, regardless if it was our job, or our trash, or not. Did it happen? No. People got in their silos too much: airport employees thought it was the city’s job to clean up. Flight attendants thought it was the cleaner’s job at the next station. And I won’t even start on a discussion about the condition of most employee break rooms, except to say they are disgraceful. See #2 above.
5. “Take pride in and care of your personal appearance.”
They say we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but we’re all human and we do anyway. Who is going to have better rapport with his customer?
A. The agent with the wrinkled shirt that is partially untucked, the top button opened, the hem falling out of his right pants leg, and a partial case of bed head, or
B. The agent with the ironed shirt, pressed pants, combed hair and a neatly cinched tie?
My guess is agent B.
The folks at Ritz-Carlton are pretty savvy. The way I interpret their service basics, 15 of the 20 don’t cost them a dime and could easily be adopted by any service business in the world. If you’ve ever stayed in one of their hotels, I’m sure you’ve noticed them at work. Just walking in the front door causes instant relaxation. That’s hardly the feeling I get in an airport.
They offer training seminars to other companies as part of their Leadership Center. Every time the subject of customer service training presented itself, I pressed for this sort of thing; it was always deemed too expensive.
I do recall one time when my company paid for a training package (not Ritz-Carlton’s) intended to create a service culture shift. On the surface, it seemed to be supported fully by those in the executive suite, but it never made its way to the front line. By the time it was filtered through upper-middle and then middle management — still firmly entrenched in the old ways of doing business for fear of failing the necessary evil quantitative goal litmus test — the message was lost.
Imagine what airline travel would be like if only employees did the five simple things I mentioned here and they were supported by their managers.
And if everyone ate their brussels sprouts while they were still hot and buttery.
