There is no one for whom good communication is more critical than airline pilots. They must be able to clearly hear and understand the transmissions
they receive. But what I've learned is that it doesn't stop there. There is another step that is equally as important in their communication model. Read More
It was one of those travel days that didn't start out particularly well. Facing very little sleep, and three flights to get to the middle of the country for my next speaking engagement, I left my house before the sun came up. When I finally got to the airport, I was running late and desperately trying to find a parking spot… that wasn’t in the adjacent town.
When I approached the security checkpoint inside the terminal I realized that my Delta app was not working on my phone. With a deep sigh, I dragged my suitcase back downstairs to the check-in counter to get a paper ticket. After much ado, I stumbled my way back upstairs, got through security (after a “random” TSA check) and made my way to my gate. I boarded the plane and fell into my seat, clinging to my Starbucks coffee for dear life.
No sooner did I settle in than a flight attendant approached me sporting a huge smile. I was immediately intrigued. Her smile was…dare I say it….contagious.
Here’s exactly how the conversation went:
Flight attendant: "Hi! Good wonderful morning! Welcome aboard!"
Me: "Oh my gosh. Thank you for that amazing smile!"
Flight attendant: "Thank you for your great attitude!"
Me: "Um no. You get the credit on this one. You inspired this great attitude. I'll bet you have LOTS of customers with
great attitudes "
Flight Attendant: (paused and thought for a moment) "Now that you mention it, I do!"
Me: "I rest my case."
Here’s the moral of the story. I was NOT a happy customer. I was, in fact, the kind of customer that makes you cringe when you see them heading toward you. And in seconds, she converted me from someone who could have been quite challenging to deal with into one who was actually happy and ended up complimenting her.
She brought a huge, authentic, warm and welcoming smile into our first interaction. Her warmth, that wonderful smile and the happy tone of her voice, changed me. For the better.
And who benefited from this encounter?
I did. Clearly.
But who else benefited from this? She did. She went from having to deal with a difficult, cantankerous, grumpy customer to being able to enjoy a rather happy, pleasant one. This made her job a lot easier
And finally, the company, Delta Airlines, benefited from the way she interacted with me. It was one more check in the column labeled “Why I will always be loyal to Delta and scream their praises to anyone who will listen.”
And here’s what’s really cool. It cost her NOTHING to do this. Zip. Zero. Nada. She apparently had just decided that, no matter what, she was going to greet everyone who came on board as if she was really, really, really happy to see them. And it worked.
Why not try this? Why not take responsibility for influencing your customers’ moods - for the better. Create the win-win-win for everyone involved.
Tiny investment. HUGE payoff.
Read More
As a motivational speaker who talks a lot about what makes people happy and successful,
it is CRYSTAL clear to me exactly what needs to happen in order for the world to run smoothly: Read More
I was mortified. Literally, I could not speak. (Which, for a professional motivational speaker,
is not a good thing.) Read More
As a motivational speaker on customer service, I'm always looking for examples of great, and
not-so-great customer service. And I didn't have to look far last week. Read More
As a motivational speaker, one of my biggest messages to my audiences is to boldly step up and ask for what you want. And probably because I talk about it so often, I actually remember to do it most of the time. This morning was one of those times - and it had a big payoff. Read More
You've seen it, right? When accused of something like, "You're so messy (lazy, self-centered, disorganized....whatever) the person responds with, "Yes, well. That's just the way I am." As if somehow, that makes it okay. Read More
I recently read a blog post by funny motivational speaker Tim Richardson about his Bucket List and it made me stop and think. While I don't have an actual bucket list, I did create something that I love a LOT that I would like to share with you. Read More
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