You're as Good as Your Weakest Link
I
flew to Fiji from Singapore via Australia, requesting
vegetarian meals throughout. But not a single vegetarian
dish was provided.
What’s unusual is that I checked and rechecked
every step of the way: by telephone before departure,
at check-in in Singapore, at the First Class Lounge
in Sydney, aboard the airplane to Fiji, with airline
staff on the ground in Fiji, during check-in at the
Fiji airport, and once again in the Lounge in Sydney
on the way home.
Every step of the way my special meals were ‘confirmed’.
I even received boarding passes issued from the airlines
with ‘VGML’ (for ‘vegetarian meal’)
printed in bold.
The strangest experience was the last. As I boarded
for the flight from Sydney back to Singapore, I asked
the steward about my special meal. He confirmed before
take-off, ‘Yes, Mr. Kaufman. Vegetarian. It’s
in the record.’
But during the meal service hours later he came back
and said, ‘We thought we had the meal on board,
but it is not here. Would you mind the chicken or fish?’
(I ate the fruit.)
This whole experience was more entertaining than upsetting,
but it certainly got me thinking. The travel agent,
telephone reservations staff, check-in agent and cabin
crew are not ‘responsible’ for catering
on the aircraft. But they do rely upon their partners
to deliver.
Key Learning Point
When a customer
assesses your business, you are only as good as your weakest
link.
Action Steps
Which is the weakest
service link in your organization? You may think
it's not in your department, hence not your problem. Think
again.
Next Article in Customer Service Perception Points >>
Customers..NO!
First Article in Customer Service Recovery >>
What to do When Your Customer is About to Explode
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Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed customer service training educator for quality service.
He is author of the bestselling series "UP Your Service!" and founder of
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