MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
Does
anyone know the name of the person who programmes the computer that allocates
the seats on Air New Zealand? I’m sitting on a 747 flying to Brisbane.
It is 6:30 in the morning and although the plane is only half full, I
find myself jammed into a row of three with two other passengers while
the row behind me has only one fellow sitting in it. The row behind that
has only one person too, and the row behind that is empty. Now I understand
that the weight must be evenly distributed so that the plane’s load must
be balanced, and admittedly I am rather big, however it would take a
lot to convince me that I would endanger all our lives if I sat one row
back. Of course, as soon as the plane took off, I moved to the seat behind
me but the question is, why should I have to do that? And, the answer
is because no one thought of the customer when they programmed the computer.
Unfortunately forgetting about the customer is a common occurrence. Most
companies, although they claim to be customer focused, actually spend
more time worrying about internal issues instead of customer issues.
But the story gets even more interesting because from my cramped seat in
the crowded row I can see a business class section that is totally empty.
Twenty-eight premium seats are lying idle. Twenty-eight opportunities to
add value to premium customers are being wasted, because once the plane
takes off, those seats have no value whatsoever to anyone - especially
the airline. I would imagine that the plane is carrying several passengers,
who like me are Silver, Gold or Platinum customers, passengers the airline
could have rewarded by simply inviting them to move to an empty Business
Class seat. They wouldn’t have to serve Business Class food. The room and
the personal entertainment system would be enough to delight the lucky
escapee from Economy Class.
But the chance to reward frequent purchasers is not the only opportunity
that has gone begging here. The airline has lost an opportunity to increase
its revenue. Airlines and travel agents do not appear to understand the
concept of up-selling. All management would have to do is instruct counter
staff to offer the vacant Business Class seats to customers, especially
premium customers, for a small sum - let’s say $100. It wouldn’t be that
hard to do and if all 28 seats had been filled, the airline would have
picked up $2800 with no extra cost, and they would have delighted 28 customers
in the process. Are you missing opportunities to increase your revenue
and delight your customers? I am pleased to say that my own story has a
happy ending. Shortly after take off I talked to the In-Flight Service
Director about the seating situation. I wasn’t complaining, just chatting
about the business opportunities that were being lost. To his credit, he
immediately offered me a seat in the empty business class section. Air
New Zealand should be proud of this man. He showed initiative, took ownership
of the problem and, most importantly, saw the need to look after the customer. “We’re
a business just like any other business,” he told me. “It is important
that our customers want to keep doing business with us.” Now, that’s what
every business needs, staff who think like businesspeople not employees.
How would your staff handle a similar situation? Now, who did you say programmed
that computer?
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