RHetoric

You may not remember, but back in February I wrote a blog posting titled,”I’m Stuck in the Middle Seat in the Back of the Plane and Still Think Continental is Fantastic.” That posting was about how attention to key details in customer service can make all the difference, even for airlines.

Well, it has been 6 months and Doug Lipp just proved to me how small the Internet really is. Last week I received a voice mail from Doug telling me about a new book he just wrote, “Stuck in the Middle Seat: Why Traveling Can Really Suck!” and that he was going to send me a copy. Pretty cool considering if you do a Google search for “I’m Stuck in the Middle Seat” my posting comes up as the second hit on the second page.

But one of the great coincidences of this chain is that according to his web site, Doug is a customer service consultant, though his book has nothing to do with that (from what I have seen so far).

The coincidence is fun, but not the point. The key lesson here for me is two-fold:

1. The Internet (especially Google) has a memory and relevance that can be found months or years later
2. Finding a connection and sending me a copy of his book was a smart idea. Doug used the Internet and Web 2.0 to its fullest. His reminding me of my previous post resulted in a new post that focused on his book and provided two links to his site.

Marketing on the Internet can be challenging, but as Doug demonstrated, the shortest path to success is finding individuals’ natural affinities and leveraging them.

To say I am a frequent flyer is a bit of an understatement. Last year I logged over 80,000 domestic miles on Continental, flying between DC and Austin and Seattle.

I have both the luck, and misfortune, of living very close to DC’s Reagan National Airport. The luck is apparent when I can leave the house as late as maybe 5:15 a.m. for a 6:00 a.m. flight. The misfortune is apparent because DCA is a small airport without many long-distance, direct flights.

A couple of years ago, I began to view that connection requirement as an opportunity. It became a chance to select my preferred domestic carrier based on quality, not location. I tried them all: United, US Air, Delta, Northwest, and Continental.

A couple of things about Continental stood out for me:

• 1) Very competitive prices out of DCA — usually +/- $20 off the best fares
• 2) New planes
• 3) Meals at mealtime
• 4) Adjustable wings on the headrests, making for much easier red-eyes
• 5) In-flight movies

In my search, I found Continental to be the only airline that offered all of these options. Add to that service delivery, geographically dispersed hubs like Newark and Houston (allowing weather issues to be circumvented), and I had found my airline.

Over the years, I’ve had my ups and downs with Continental. As with most airlines, there are now fewer flights between my preferred cities, and the flights are almost always at capacity. Once upon a time, I could count on a free upgrade on 50% of my flights. Now, even with my top frequent-flyer status, I might get upgraded on 20% of my flights.

So why do I still think Continental is fantastic — even while I type this, crunched in the middle seat, in the back of the bus? Simple. They called me at 4:00 a.m. to tell me there was a delay in my flight from Baltimore to Newark and asked if I wanted to re-route. And before you think 4:00 a.m. is really early, note that this was for a 6:20 a.m. flight. They said there was a flight from DCA at 6:00 a.m., and they could change my return flight to DCA so the car wouldn’t be an issue. Within two minutes the change was made, with me still mostly asleep.

They saw a problem, were proactive about solving it, and got me to my destination on time for my afternoon meetings. That is real customer service. It is easy for an airline to provide good service when everything is status quo, but to anticipate issues and call customers before a problem arises is truly remarkable.

This courtesy, and my response to it, have reinforced my approach to service. Throughout my career, I have always aimed to become a trusted member of my clients’ teams. My approach is to provide both great, consistent service and to do the small extras that make a real difference to my clients. It often takes little extra time, and as my experience with Continental has demonstrated, it can make a world of difference… transforming a loyal customer into an evangelist for your service.