“Excuse me,” I said to the stewardess. “I would like to order the California Salad.” With a look of dismay and frustration she said, “I need to find out if we still have any salads left.” And with that, she stomped down the aisle way toward the back of the plane. Sure, the beverage cart had come by about 15 minutes earlier, but I was on a cross country flight and had fallen asleep during the initial cart service. The stewardess’ did however give me a menu which means that you don’t have to order exactly at the time they first come by. We still had 3 hours left in the air!
10 minutes later, I am still in my seat waiting for my salad. Curious about the status of my request, I flagged down another stewardess who happened to be passing by and politely told her that I had ordered a salad about ten minutes ago and wanted to check on the status of it. The only word she uttered to me was, “ok,” and then she went to the back of the plane…the same direction the first stewardess had gone. I remained calm thinking that my salad would be there any second. My stomach started to growl with anticipation and I was getting hungrier by the minute; just imagining that wonderful salad I was about to eat.
12 minutes goes by and still no salad! What is going on? I thought to myself. All I want is a salad. Either they have it or they don’t. I decided to ring the call button; but just as I was reaching up to push it, I heard the voice of a stewardess asking if people wanted coffee. My first thought was…they had all this time to make coffee, but can’t bring me a pre-made salad. At this point, I am beyond famished, and starting to get really upset. But as I normally do, I try and look at the bright side and turn a bad situation into a learning experience. What did I learn? Avoid flying on this airline.
A few minutes later, the stewardess that was passing out coffee, reached my seat and asked me if I wanted coffee. This was the second stewardess that I had flagged down earlier to ask about the status of my salad. It was almost as if she did not recognize me. I asked her again, “I ordered a salad nearly 30 minutes ago. Do you know where it is.? All she said was, “let me check.” And once she was out of coffee, she went back to the back of the plane. A couple of minutes later, she came up to me and said, “Sir, its coming.” Why she did not have it, I don’t know, but nevertheless, I almost jumped for joy with the idea of just eating this salad.
5 minutes later. I decided to look towards the back of the plane. I wish I had not done that, because what I saw nearly made me jump out the window. I saw the original stewardess I had ordered the California salad from, walking down the aisle with a snack tray in her hand, asking the passengers if they wanted cookies, or peanuts. I pinched myself to see if I was dreaming. It hurt, so I was not. She finally made her way to me. She asked me if I wanted cookies or peanuts. I looked around to see if I was on candid camera of MTVs Punked, but when Ashton Kucher did not come out, I knew this was reality.
I must have really mentally checked out for a second, because she asked me again, “Sir, do you want peanuts or cookies?” I said, “No, but I would like my California salad.” Then in a very nonchalant fashion she said, “OH, let me get it for you.” And with that, she went to the back of the plane. At that point, I said forget it, and decided to just go to sleep. I was awakened by a tap on my shoulder and a voice saying, “Sir, it will be $8.00.” as she placed the California salad on my lap. I gave her the money and she just walked away without uttering another word.
All I could think to myself as I ravaged thru my California salad was that this would never have happened on Southwest Airlines!
“What do you mean you can’t find my bag,” I said with obvious frustration coming from my voice. Due to a meeting that ran late in Arizona, I missed my flight to Oakland and found myself standing at the baggage counter. “Sir, our policy is that when a bag misses a flight, it is put on the next flight; so your bag should be here in an hour.” “An hour,” I said, but I am already running late for dinner with one of my customers. Sir, I’m sorry, but there is nothing we can do about it, you will just have to wait like everyone else,” the agent said with a sarcastic tone. Those were the last words I wanted to hear as Oakland was the 3rd city I had traveled to in three days. I wanted so bad to just go to the customer dinner, eat as quickly as possible and then get to my room for some much needed rest.
“I still can’t find my bag,” was what I told the same agent that had helped me the first time. The first flight after mine had come in and still no bag. “Sir, hopefully your bag will be on the next flight which should arrive in about an hour. Or, we can deliver it after 10:00 AM tomorrow.” Neither option was reasonable. I had an 8:00AM meeting the next morning, so delivering my bag after 10:00 AM simply would not work. Secondly, at that point, I had missed the dinner with the customer as the whole missing my original flight and missing bag ordeal had already made me 2 hours late. I said, “Can you please work with me? Can we have someone deliver my bag tonight? I need my clothes and business materials for my 8:00 AM appt. I don’t care what time tonight you deliver them as long as I get them by 7:00 AM tomorrow morning.” “Sir, you can either wait for your bag which will hopefully be on the next fight or we can deliver it after 10:00 AM tomorrow.”
In utter frustration, I said, “Please get me your manager.” He said, “Sir, it won’t make a difference, I have already told you your options.” “I understand that, I said, but can you please get me your manager.” “OK, he said, but it will not make a difference.” And with that, he pranced off through a door behind the counter. About 10 minutes later, he came walking out with a lady that I assumed to be his manager. I prepared myself for the scene that was about to go down, because it was so predictable. I knew that he had already told her that he explained their policies to me and that I was being unreasonable. In other words, “Boss, I have already done my job.”
Just as I suspected, she said, “Sir, John has already explained your situation to me. I understand your situation, but you only have two options at this point; wait for the next flight or have us deliver your bags after 10:00 AM tomorrow. That is the best we can do.” The only thing that kept me from blowing up was the fact that she had a pleasant demeanor about her. There was no sarcasm in her voice, unlike the original agent that helped me. Controlling my emotions, I said, “With all due respect, you do not understand my situation.” Yes, I did miss my original flight which was my fault. However, my bag should have been on the next flight which it was not. I missed a very important dinner with a customer of mine as a result. In addition, if my bag is not on the next flight, I don’t know what I am going to do because my meeting materials, clothes and everything else I need is in my bag. It is already 10:30 PM and there are no stores open for me to buy clothes for tomorrow. In addition, my meeting starts before any stores open tomorrow so I will not be able to buy clothes in the morning. On top of all that, I forgot my cell phone charger at home so my battery is dead. Because of that, I was not able to call my customer and tell him that I would not be able to meet him for dinner; so he thinks that I stood him up. I am beyond tired because I have been traveling every week and this is my third city this week. I was hoping to get in, have dinner and get some much needed sleep tonight. Instead, here I am at the airport at 10:30 at night waiting for my bag to arrive. Do you still think you understand my situation?” What transpired next completely surprised me.
She said, “Mr. Brown, thank-you for telling me your full story. If I were in your shoes, I would be feeling the same way that you do right now. I am so sorry that we have been so focused on what we can’t do as opposed to what we can do for you. I am supposed to get off work in 15 minutes, but I will stay until the last two flights come in…and when you bag arrives, I will personally deliver them to your hotel since our baggage courier may not be available. I want you to go to your hotel and get some rest for your meeting tomorrow morning. I will personally take care of your bags.” Then she gave me a travel voucher for my inconvenience and even offered to call my client the next morning and explain that it was Southwest’s fault that I missed the dinner.” I looked her straight in the eye and said, “Thank-you for listening to me and understanding my situation. I know that my options are limited, but it just feels good to know that you are working with me on solutions as opposed to what you can’t do.” We both decided to wait for the next flight to come in and then make a decision on exactly how my bag would get to my hotel if it were no on that flight.
Over the next 30 minutes as I waited for that flight, she kept communicating with me. Instead of going back to her office, she spent the majority of her time talking to me; continuing to offer her support and assistance. In addition, we engaged in a discussion about the work that I do and our families and backgrounds. Then she excused herself to make a phone call. Five minutes later, she was back standing next to me. She said that she had to call her husband and kids to let them know that she was going to be late. Understanding her situation, I said, “If you need to go home to be with your family, I can just wait for my bags.” She replied, “Mr. Brown, I appreciate that but, it is not just my job but my pleasure to help customers. I am committed to helping you and enjoy doing so. So I am not going to rest until we resolve your issue.”
The next flight came in and we were very happy to find out that my bag was on that flight. It was kind of weird but she actually gave me a hug and was genuinely as happy as I was to see my bags on the carousel. As I was in the taxi cab driving to my hotel, I thought about my experience that evening. First, I was reminded of all of the good experiences I have had with Southwest airlines and secondly, it reminded me of our role as sales and service professionals. At the end of the day, we all react to and form our perspectives and mindsets based on the experiences that we have and not so much the products we use. We use certain products because of the emotional experience and feelings they give us. For example, I can fly any airline that I want, but I tend to go with SW airlines because the vast majority of my experiences have been positive. When I think of SW airlines, my emotions are positive and because we all want to avoid pain and seek pleasure- I go with the option that I feel will be the most pleasurable and least painful.
This is no different for your customers, clients and prospects. Remember, they all have numerous choices as to where and who they buy from. The difference comes down to whom they have had or feel they will have the best experience with. Sell the experience your customer will have with you! You want them, just as I am doing, to rave about the interaction they had with you…and they will keep coming back to you and tell others about!