ADvice
Here's our two cents in marketing. Of course,
we write it in the hope that you'll find it more
valuable than that. Like 10 or even 20 dollars'
worth of good advice.
Positive Customer Experience has WCG Staffers Flying High
It’s safe to say that international coach flying can be a beating. With the endless check–ins and extensive pat–downs (at least buy me dinner first), it’s enough to make you want to either stay home or fashion your luggage into a flotation device and make a swim for it.
That is, unless a client requests a last–minute video shoot in London. Then…it’s go time.
Lucky for WCG’s Blair Keeley and Rachal Hansen, the duo booked back–to–back flights on Virgin Atlantic–and learned firsthand the difference between flying and flying high.
Inspired by his stellar flight experience, Blair creates a new superhero: The Masked Super Virgin.
“When a company like Virgin Atlantic improves its business practices in order to alter the unfavorable reputation of air travel, you can’t help but take notice,” said Blair. “And when it improves them from the first touch point to the last, you can’t help but take notes.”
Note #1: Be prepared. This one may seem like a gimme, but it’s surprising how many companies offer great products or services and are inept at delivering, sullying a reputation from the beginning. Virgin hit the ground running by creating a hassle–free boarding experience. Normally during the boarding process, it’s enter at your own risk. Stampedes break out, and old ladies with canes will not hesitate to deliver efficient elbows if it means making it to the front of the line. But Virgin Atlantic was prepared, with three separate lines to board according to seat location, and a 350–seat plane was ready to go in less than 20 minutes. That first impression set a nice tone for the rest of the flight.
Note #2: Be proactive.Customers won’t always send verbal signals that something’s wrong. Sometimes it’s just a look on their face. Anytime anyone on board the Virgin flight looked slightly uncomfortable, there was a flight attendant on the spot asking what he or she could do to help. And when the question was asked, it was always followed up with a “yes, ma’am” or “no, sir” and a smile.
Note #3: Be progressive. Every business can get a leg up on the competition by using technology to its advantage in creative ways. On the back of every seat, Virgin has installed TV screens that operate
A sea of TV screens and video game controllers were visible throughout the plane.
Note #4: Be polite. Sometimes it isn’t about the fanciest technology or the latest gadgets—it’s about good old–fashioned kindness and courtesy. When Blair noticed the Airbus A380 (the largest passenger airline in the world) sitting on the runway, he excitedly brought it to Rachal’s attention. Rachal couldn’t have been less interested, but the flight attendant who sat across from Blair struck up an instant conversation, talking about Virgin’s business and fleet–something Blair had an obvious interest in. Later, on the return flight when Blair and Rachal were checking in at the terminal, they were immediately swarmed by a sea of Virgin red coats, asking if they needed assistance–all made possible by a simple red tag Virgin put on its customers’ luggage to make them easily identifiable.
At every level, when Virgin Atlantic saw the opportunity to enhance customer experience, it did. In doing so, it provided an informative road map for heightened customer service, won business fans for life and made a chilly trans–Atlantic swim seem far less appealing.