I have a new hero - Denny Flanagan. Denny is a pilot for United Airlines and was the focus of a a front page article in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal. You can read the article here.
Captain Denny does a variety of things for his passengers - and none of them are in the United employee handbook. Here are just a few examples:
- he takes pictures of people's pets in the cargo area and show them to passengers.
- when there are long delays he buys McDonald's hamburgers or fruit for all the passengers.
- he hand writes notes to passengers in first and business class, thanking them for choosing to fly United.
- he calls the parents of unaccompanied minors on his cell phone if there are delays.
The article states that the airline reimburses the pilot for his expenses for these unique services, and I'm sure they would do it for others as well.
Captain Flanagan is taking personal responsibility for his Customers. Captain Flanagan is leading, without a leadership title. He is making a difference for hundreds of passengers everyday.
And guess what?
Because of his proactive approach, I'm sure Captain Flanagan enjoys his work far more than most of his colleagues.
All of these things are a choices this pilot, who lives on a farm in Ohio, makes everyday. These are choices that are making a difference for his company, his co-workers, his customers and himself.
You don't have to be a leader to make a difference; Captain Denny Flanagan proves it.
And that is why Captain Flanagan is my hero.
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Captain Flanagan is in a class all of his own! In my travels, though relatively few, I have found that customer service in America is on a downward spiral. From the local supermarket to the Big Box stores all the way up to the airlines... especially the airlines. So hats off to Captain Flanagan, and to you Kevin for providing a place where we can learn.
ReplyDeleteTerrific blog, Kevin! I was flying out to Cali the other day for a conference and realized how important courtesy is during the flight experience, especially to people like me, who are nearly petrified of flying. The flight staff on all my routes seemed arrogant and rude, which didn't help my nerves at all. Simple acts of snootiness go a long way in affecting customer enjoyment... Anyway, thought I'd let you know about my latest podcast episode about etiquette. It's a look at the flipside of customer service: how customers should be considerate of the people they hire. Makes sense: if people want good service, they shouldn't treat the people they hire like dirt. Anyways, my point of this is: do you have any sage advice for me for the next episode? It's going to be about customer service providers, and how they need to take into account their customers need for respect. This is a well-trodden subject, and I thought you might have a good take on it.
ReplyDeleteWow, flying the friendly skies indeed! Talk about meet and exceed. Great motivational story for a customer service training program.
ReplyDeleteNow THAT is excellent customer service!
ReplyDeleteDave
Letterchamp.com
Captain Flanagan has shown how to care to customers without getting paid for that and it’s really appreciable if anyone does it. Even we used to do many services for which we are not getting paid for because if customer is happy then he will buy our services (client’s service) again.
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