In this article I wanted to revisit the importance of the customers experience across all touchpoints, each stage of their interactions with your business.
From the moment you interact with a business, there are multiple touchpoints that occur. These touchpoints I refer to as ‘moments of truth’.
‘Moments of truth’ are the interactions that occur that leave a lasting positive or negative impression on a customer.
I’ve been doing a lot of flying over the last few weeks with different airlines including Emirates and I’m about to fly with them again.
If we look at my last experience with Emirates, the staff delivered 10/10 customer service within each touchpoint on the plane. They were very professional, the staff looked like they enjoy their jobs, they were very helpful and constantly checked in on me at appropriate times to ensure I had everything I needed to relax and simply enjoy the flight.
But what was interesting on my last trip, was the inconsistency between the on-plane experience and on the ground prior to my flight.
What staggered me was how unprofessional, bored, and disengaged the staff were on the ground.
On arrival at the airport, I was looking to find out where to check in as a Qantas frequent flyer. Initially, I was told by this woman who wasn’t very engaging, basically, to go to number 16.
When I got to number 16, they said, oh, no, you can check in at the first class counter, because you’re a platinum with Qantas.
So I asked, where’s the first class counter, which I could not see from where I was standing and she just pointed. She didn’t really make it really clear where to go. I had to ask twice to understand where to go, no smile it looked like I was a hassle. It was a very transactional experience.
It’s important to clarify that I don’t fly first class, however due to my platinum membership with Qantas, I get to check in at the first class counter. But those people who do are spending thousands and thousands of dollars, probably $20,000 or $30,000 to fly first class. When I approached the first class counter, I noticed this woman leaning in the back of a chair, looking bored whilst transacting first class customers. I couldn’t believe it and I’m thinking, these are the people who really make your money on a plane, these are the people that Emirates should want to look after and treat exceptionally well by delivering a 10/10 experience.
Yes, they receive special entry and go through security quicker etc, but there was absolutely no demonstration of best practice customer service. As I continued to observe her whilst waiting in line, her posture, demeanour and level of engagement with each customer did not change. The experience was average at best.
I just kept thinking, as this is the first face to face impression touchpoint, why would you have disengaged staff welcoming your highest value customers? I was genuinely unimpressed with the people on the ground.
When you map out the customer touchpoints for an airline company, as in the image below, a lot of your time is spent not on the plane. It’s booking fights and in the airport. For example: you arrive at the airport, check-in, go to the gate or lounge, use retail services, have your boarding pass scanned and walk to the plane.
Again, this experience reinforces, the fact that every touchpoint has got to meet the highest level of customer service, it must deliver a positive feeling.
Customer Journey Mapping
One of the key services we do with clients is map out their touchpoints – ‘moments of truth’.
When you look at an airline quite a few of those touch points might have no human interaction, like booking the ticket and checking in which can be done on the App, or a machine at the airport or you can have face to face interaction with a person at a desk.
Then there is showing your boarding pass at the gate, walking down the gateway to the plane door where your boarding pass is checked and then depending on what airline you fly there may be a lot or little human interaction until you depart the plane and hopefully avoid the long wait for luggage, especially in Australian airports!!
With face to face touchpoints, it’s important to have the right type of people doing those roles. I virtually fly every week and I’m often astounded at the lack of personality of the people at the gate who greet you or don’t particularly greet you and then greet you on the plane. Some just transact you e.g. they scan your boarding pass and that’s about it, others add feeling to those moments, they look at you, they smile, they greet with a positive tone of voice, they look like they enjoy their jobs and are genuinely happy that you chose this flight to go on. I train leaders to coach and one of the key skills of a coach, in my opinion, is to be able to evaluate. They can see where improvements are and the positive behaviours. In my 30 years of doing this I have found it’s a skill, something we test, and many leaders are quite shocked at how much they miss. Evaluation skills need practice.
Why am I telling you this? Because this is what I do, I watch staff serving I notice the behaviours that positively impact customers e.g. they smile and the customers smile back, when they greet with a positive tone the customers greet them back. I see this when they do the things I mentioned above, I notice very little customer interaction if the service is just transactional.
I invite all businesses to ensure they have the right people in the rights roles, what we call ‘Aces in the right places’. It also important to have identified the right behaviors that add to the feeling.
‘Leaders As Coaches’
Empowering your leaders to coach your team to deliver 10/10.
Through our award-winning two-day ‘Leaders as Coaches‘ program, your leaders will learn the techniques, behaviours and skills required to help their teams succeed in delivering service standards, ensuring your customers return and spend more.
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Warm Regards
Craig Cherry