I missed a flight last week. It was entirely my fault.
I ended up spending too much time at an earlier meeting; I underestimated my drive time to the airport; and I got waylaid with a telephone call en route.
I got to the check-in counter 40-minutes before my flight, and was told that the flight was closed. It was an awful inconvenience but because I was tardy and disorganised that day, I accepted it.
I want to describe two completely opposing experiences that ensued.
When I was told that I was too late for my flight, I immediately inquired when the next flight to Bangkok was. The check-in counter staff gave me the information, and I asked to be re-booked on this new flight, and I promptly handed over my credit card for any additional charges.
To give you some context, I was on a business class flight that day, so my expectation of the levels of service was commensurate to this.
The person handling me was polite, but absolutely ineffective. She was either badly trained or she was just not that interested. She simply pointed at some random direction, and told me that I would have to go to the ticketing counter to sort it out.
I trudged off in that direction, and eventually found the said ticketing counter. There were four counters open, and one had a customer.
As I approached one of the empty counters, I noticed that the airline operated a numbering system that meant I had to get a queue ticket before being called to one of the counters.
Of course there was no one advising customers, and to be frank, no one seemed to really care.
I noticed a kiosk on the opposite side of the counter and what seemed like a ticket-queue machine. Three airline employees were manning the information kiosk. One was attending to a customer while the other two were happily entertaining themselves on their mobile phones.
Eventually the customer in front of me finished his enquiry, and I was next up. I explained my situation. There was absolutely no response back from the staff. I was just given a queue ticket, and waved across to the ticketing counter.
At this point, I got a tad annoyed. It seemed to me, by the behaviour of the representatives of the airline which I have chosen to fly for the past 25-years, that a customer was more of an inconvenience rather the sole reason for their existence.
I decided to sort my problem out, differently. I quickly called my travel agent of the past 10-years, Shivananthan Kesavan of Gem Travel and Tours in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, miles away from KLIA.
After he heartily chuckled at me for missing my flight, he assured me that he would sort it out, and within 3 minutes he called back and confirmed that he had rebooked me on the next flight, at no additional charge.
It took him all of 3 minutes to do this!
I checked-in, cleared immigration, sat at the lounge for a coffee, and made my calls to rearrange my work. I then thought about what had happened earlier and the amount of business that I give this airline annually. After some reflection, I decided that perhaps it was time to move on, and take my loyalty to another airline that truly appreciates its customers.
Then I had my second experience of the day.
As I boarded the aircraft, I noticed that the inflight supervisor welcomed every single passenger with genuine friendliness.
Another member of the crew showed me to my seat, offered to make me comfortable, and got me the glass of water that I had asked for.
Upon take off, and after the customary announcements were made, the inflight supervisor went to every passenger in my cabin, shook their hands and thanked them for flying this airline. He was pleasant, convivial and had a quick chat with each passenger.
When it was my turn, he truly made my day. He welcomed me by my name, and told me that he read my column in the New Straits Times, every week. He also said that he followed my work on social media, and how he found it helpful with his job. I was so gratified by this.
He did not only extend this much warmth to me, but everyone was given the same experience.
What’s the difference between the airline employees at check-in and the ticketing counter, and inflight supervisor, Ruphus Paul?
In real terms, it is the difference between retaining a loyal customer and losing one!
Your company needs engaged, connected, and aligned team members like this inflight supervisor. These are traits that all customers respond to, yet so few organisations nurture such employees.
Get your team connected to why they do what they do. Create a culture through your leadership so that your team feels so compelled to get on board with your vision for excellence.
For this airline, more people like Ruphus Paul will ensure that true Malaysian hospitality shines through.
Shankar R. Santhiram is managing consultant and executive leadership coach at EQTD Consulting. He is also the author of the national bestseller “So, You Want To Get Promoted?”