Turning Adversity Into Opportunity
- Kara Holm
- Mar 12, 2016
- 4 min read
Thursday night over dinner and drinks with some of the All-In group in Burlington, Ontario, we were talking about how few airlines actually show a proper understanding of what business travellers want. One person in our party, Steve, reported a recent experience with Air Canada, which led to a conversation about the importance of problem resolution to business success due to its influence on customer loyalty and brand. This was a topic I had been thinking about for the blog so I asked his permission to include his story.
Steve had purchased a "preferred" seat for a flight from Toronto to New York City. For those of you who do not fly all the time, "preferred" seats are an ingenious money-maker where airlines charge a fee for the seats that offer more legroom (but the same barebones service). It is a modest fee, to be a little more comfortable. Some larger planes feature special rows at the front of the economy cabin that are “preferred,” these offer the added benefit of allowing you to exit the plane first. In other instances, preferred seats are located in rows that naturally offer extra legroom such as the emergency exit rows and the first row of the economy cabin (the bulkhead). The latter offers no storage, which is not a plus in my opinion and the exit row comes with responsibility - in fact I would avoid these rows. In these instances the airlines have made a silk purse from a sow's ear by positioning the one benefit of otherwise inferior inventory.
Anyway, when Steve boarded his flight he discovered that his seat was in the vey last row of the plane, next to the toilet. He asked a flight attendant what happened. He was informed that a decision was made to change planes and his preferred seat was based on the original configuration. Steve is a good guy and goes with the flow so he did not make a fuss but he did want to know how he could be refunded the premium he paid, since his seat was not as promised. The flight attendant did not know so she asked the person on the bridge what he should do. They suggested he call the toll-free Air Canada number. Which Steve did. After several attempts, Steve was directed to a web page to complete a form. The link was broken. Anyway, long story short, after several attempts to complete forms and contact Air Canada (note to readers: the most effective way to get a response is to use Twitter – an idea that never occurred to me) Steve gave up. His time was worth more than the premium he had paid for the seat and he did not feel like he wanted to invest more time just on the principal. But he told a table of frequent travellers about his experience and now I’m telling you. He has decided to avoid using Air Canada in the future.
The issue was not that the problem came up. No doubt Air Canada changed planes for a good reason. The issue was that the airline did not resolve his problem and made it hard for him to solve it on his own.
On the other end of the spectrum, I had a positive experience with an online retailer last week. With no time to shop and an early spring on the horizon I took a chance and ordered a spring coat from a site I had never heard of before. Of course I saw other items I wanted to buy, so I ordered them too. The retailer exceeded my expectations by getting the parcel to me the very next day. However, I was disappointed to discover that they mistakenly sent the wrong style of one item I ordered. I emailed the company and received a phone call back almost immediately — seriously, within 5 minutes. The call provided an opportunity to learn more about their business, how they sized items on their site and the lines they carried. Without hesitation, they sent the correct item (again overnight) and provided a return slip with postage paid for me to send the unwanted item back. I have said it before and I will say it again: making mistakes is not a problem if you handle it well. Will I buy more from this company? The answer is a resounding yes.
It works in all sectors. One of my casino clients tracks problem resolution as a key business metric. There is a corporate commitment to responding to customer issues quickly and appropriately. This is a smart business strategy because people who are unhappy are far more likely to share their story (usually with like-minded souls they know through their personal and business channels). You want your customers to know you listen.
Here are a few tips:
Make sure your employees, especially customer-facing employees, know how to respond to clients with issues;
Listen first to understand the problem;
Empower your team to solve problems by providing them with training and authority to make things better – ideally solving the problem on the spot;
Talk about the importance of problem resolution with your teams and make sure they understand how important it is to your business;
Show your customers you care – don’t make it hard for them to correct your mistake!
When businesses get problem resolution right it really works to build customer satisfaction and loyalty. We all know it is impossible for things to operate smoothly 100% of the time. What matters is how your business responds to the issue and the customer. By being prepared to resolve problems businesses can turn adversity into opportunity.
See my blog on "Alchemy of Airlines" (August 22) for more discussion on how creatively airlines are generating revenue from charging for add on services and how this impacts the customer experience. Trevor’s blog “A Different Pair of Shoes” also addresses the problem resolution theme, approaching the issue from the brand perspective.
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