The Small Things that Mean the World
Photo Credits: Mike Miley
Every once in a while we have the opportunity to make a big and positive impact on someone’s life with only a little extra effort. It is these opportunities, when we choose to take them, that remind us of the importance of going just a bit further to provide assistance.
You hear stories like this all the time. The one I most recently read was about a man who was rushing from California to Texas to reach his mother before she passed. The terrible news was delivered to him the morning of January 24, at which point he immediately booked his flights. But as happens with so many flights, his first flight was delayed and he was worried he would miss his connection, the last flight of the day, and his chance to say goodbye to his mother.
However, something remarkable happened.
Upon hearing about his situation, the flight crew on his first flight took extra care to ensure they were doing everything they could to get him on the connecting flight. The captain radioed ahead to hold the connecting fight from taking off, and baggage ground crews worked to get his luggage onto the proper flight.
Airline employees are often evaluated on their ability to keep flights on time. This team decided to risk falling short of the standard in order to help a passenger with a much more important need. They made the right call.
Consider your business. Do you take these types of risks for your customers who are (are what? Missing a word here?)? Is your team willing to go out of their way to assist a customer in a comparable situation? You may be thinking, of course we are. Which is probably true. But also consider what it took for the crew to become aware of the situation. The members of the crew recognized that something was wrong and they asked what it was and how they could help. Then they acted on it.
If no one had asked why he was upset, they would never have realized the situation and it would have been an unmemorable day for the airline employees. Are you connected to your customers enough to see when there is an opportunity to go the extra mile and assist one of them?
When has a company gone out of their way to help you with a difficult situation? Tell me in the comments!