The travel and hospitality industry seem to be the perfect place to find excellent examples of good (and bad) business practices and examples of customer service.
On a recent business trip I saw a flight attendant use her creativity to take care of a simple passenger request. During the beverage service of the flight a passenger asked if there was iced tea. Sometimes there are cans of iced tea, just like there are cans of soda. This time there wasn’t.
The flight attendant responded to the passenger’s request by saying, “Usually they have cans of tea, but for some reason they don’t today. Isn’t iced tea just hot tea poured over ice? If you can wait a few minutes, I would be happy to brew some hot tea and bring a cup of ice to go with it.” Hence, iced tea!
The passenger was delighted!
The lesson here is simple and again it is about being a problem solver. Sometimes we have to think out of the box – or in this case the can – to come up with solutions. The best people know how to look for opportunities to show how good they are!
Shep Hyken, CSP is a professional speaker and author who works with companies who want to develop loyal relationships with their customers and employees. For more information on Shep's speaking programs, books, tapes and learning programs please contact (314) 692- 2200. Email: shep@hyken.com Web: www.hyken.com