You are in a restaurant with only a handful of other customers, yet there is a long wait to be seated and even longer to be served. Grocery and convenience stores’ self-checkouts — once optional — are now often the only option. Calling for customer service? Prepare, at best, to be asked for a call back number, and at worst to wait hours or to be disconnected. Excuses are through the stratosphere as to why we receive this terrible service.
Stellar customer service has long been a competitive edge for the business and general aviation industry. Now, with the steep, cliff-like decline of customer service, and consumer satisfaction being at its lowest in 15 years*, that edge just got sharper. Folks, we have an opportunity here to take advantage of this issue by driving our organizations and teams in the opposite direction.
If you’ve been out lately, you’ve undoubtedly experienced the impact that the shortage of personnel that has had on industries across the globe, whether by choice (i.e. downsizing) or the inability to recruit and hire appropriately. Restaurant wait times, hotels with reduced housekeeping and airline cancellations pose problems for our industry, but also provide us with the opportunity to shine.
The pandemic has brought many new consumers to the business and general aviation ecosystem. Long before vaccines became available opening the world back up, charter, fractional, jet cards and aircraft sales showed positive increases as people turned to the safe, hygienic, less crowded alternative with far fewer human contact points than airline travel. Now we must not let the “skimpflation” (skimping on customer service to save money) that we see in so many other industries cause us to lose customers — new or otherwise. Today, the opportunity to improve and enhance customer loyalty to our business aviation customers is exponential because service in general is awful.
Organizations in business and general aviation have resiliently adapted and pivoted as necessary to provide their services during and post-pandemic. Customers, however — especially ones who have not used our services recently — are basing their needs and expectations on their pre-pandemic experiences. A significant element of service excellence is managing your customers’ expectations. Are there services that you must limit such as access inside your hangar/shop due to new regulations or protocols? Are some self-service measures such as no valet parking for their own safety vs. your understaffing? Let your customers know of changes well in advance so you can manage expectations and avoid false assumptions and dissatisfaction.
Staff appropriately — even if it means increasing recruiting efforts and salary. There is a great demand for entry level candidates. Customer service and satisfaction are plummeting in large part due to the lack of personnel. Traditional, pre-pandemic recruiting methods may not be sufficient to acquire the human capital needed to be a first-class customer service organization. Consider recruiting in local colleges and trade schools and offering paid internships. Benchmark pay levels in your area and provide quality of life benefits to balance pay gaps.
Make time to train and develop your team(s). More than ever before, the new generation of employees are very much interested in how companies, organizations and teams treat them. The changes that necessarily took place — downsizing, new or reduced hours, new processes, etc. — require everyone to be on the same page to avoid costly mistakes and service issues. Now is the time for a defined customer service/teamwork program to refine, clarify and enhance your teams’ focus on customer service. Don’t let finding time in the schedule or money in the budget prevent this key element. Don’t let skimpflation make you lose customers. Make customer service your competitive edge by prioritizing and developing your people. It provides you with dual benefits. One, is that one-pageness will enhance your customer service. Two, as a secondary benefit, your teams will appreciate you investing in them.
Don’t miss this incredible opportunity!!
*2021 American Customer Satisfaction Index
