I can echo your encounter with countless experiences of my own, which always leaves me astonished at how easy it is to make a difference! My background is within the LCC sector and previously (while studying for my B.Sc Consumer Psychology) lead a customer experience project studying the customer and employee perceptions during the merger of two major EU LCC's. We covered the corridors at HQ, check-in, the gate, cabin and facilitated employee and customer focus groups in our 8 weeks research. In sum the findings established that the most significant “bang for the buck” for the consumer came from what should be the most natural and simplist of attributes a service should posses, service!

“Service” can of course mean different things and have different priorities for individual consumers, (e.g. OTP vs attentiveness), and cost to the consumer is not always financial (lower fare vs more convenient airport/schedule etc)however the perception of competent, professional and friendly encounters are definte differentiators when competing products/services become commodotized.

Call it classical conditioning if you like, a peripheral route to persuasion for some. To engage and appeal to a wider market you need to employ different approaches to tap into the “Hearts” of the many different consumers and what their self intrinsic value is with the product or service – and when the service delivers the functional in the same way that others can (e.g. OTP etc) then the consumer is only left to evaluate the Customer Experience between services.

Organisations need to ensure they have the right people in the right positions, first and foremost. I was on a flight a couple of months ago with my partner from CPT/LHR where we encountered a what I can only describe as disgusting behaviour by the gate staff who were clearly not competent at managing a boarding process and subsequently caused choas and panic amongst customers on a full 747 flight. Now I know from being in the industry that the gate staff were a GHA and not the airline company, (I have managed GHA's in ground ops) however in my mind it still reflected severely poorly on the airline and left me fuming. However once onboard and settled, the situation seemed to have been defused by the cabin staff, who, in complete contrast were trained and had emotional intelligence! Therefore personable people are the key, the brand ambassadors, it's personality. Not only for the initial delivery, the right people are the ones who claw back service recovery when things do go wrong! It's that simple, and we all know it! So, my advice to any company involved in service delivery, is invest in your people, take the time and spare the expense in ensuring you have the right PE fit etc, and don't pay lip Service to your customers.

Lets not forget, as humans we are not as rational as we like to think, but we never forget how something makes us feel!

I can echo your encounter with countless experiences of my own, which always leaves me astonished at how easy it is to make a difference! My background is within the LCC sector and previously (while studying for my B.Sc Consumer Psychology) lead a customer experience project studying the customer and employee perceptions during the merger of two major EU LCC's. We covered the corridors at HQ, check-in, the gate, cabin and facilitated employee and customer focus groups in our 8 weeks research. In sum the findings established that the most significant “bang for the buck” for the consumer came from what should be the most natural and simplist of attributes a service should posses, service!

“Service” can of course mean different things and have different priorities for individual consumers, (e.g. OTP vs attentiveness), and cost to the consumer is not always financial (lower fare vs more convenient airport/schedule etc)however the perception of competent, professional and friendly encounters are definte differentiators when competing products/services become commodotized.

Call it classical conditioning if you like, a peripheral route to persuasion for some. To engage and appeal to a wider market you need to employ different approaches to tap into the “Hearts” of the many different consumers and what their self intrinsic value is with the product or service – and when the service delivers the functional in the same way that others can (e.g. OTP etc) then the consumer is only left to evaluate the Customer Experience between services.

Organisations need to ensure they have the right people in the right positions, first and foremost. I was on a flight a couple of months ago with my partner from CPT/LHR where we encountered a what I can only describe as disgusting behaviour by the gate staff who were clearly not competent at managing a boarding process and subsequently caused choas and panic amongst customers on a full 747 flight. Now I know from being in the industry that the gate staff were a GHA and not the airline company, (I have managed GHA's in ground ops) however in my mind it still reflected severely poorly on the airline and left me fuming. However once onboard and settled, the situation seemed to have been defused by the cabin staff, who, in complete contrast were trained and had emotional intelligence! Therefore personable people are the key, the brand ambassadors, it's personality. Not only for the initial delivery, the right people are the ones who claw back service recovery when things do go wrong! It's that simple, and we all know it! So, my advice to any company involved in service delivery, is invest in your people, take the time and spare the expense in ensuring you have the right PE fit etc, and don't pay lip Service to your customers.

Lets not forget, as humans we are not as rational as we like to think, but we never forget how something makes us feel!

I can echo your encounter with countless experiences of my own, which always leaves me astonished at how easy it is to make a difference! My background is within the LCC sector and previously (while studying for my B.Sc Consumer Psychology) lead a customer experience project studying the customer and employee perceptions during the merger of two major EU LCC's. We covered the corridors at HQ, check-in, the gate, cabin and facilitated employee and customer focus groups in our 8 weeks research. In sum the findings established that the most significant “bang for the buck” for the consumer came from what should be the most natural and simplist of attributes a service should posses, service!

“Service” can of course mean different things and have different priorities for individual consumers, (e.g. OTP vs attentiveness), and cost to the consumer is not always financial (lower fare vs more convenient airport/schedule etc)however the perception of competent, professional and friendly encounters are definte differentiators when competing products/services become commodotized.

Call it classical conditioning if you like, a peripheral route to persuasion for some. To engage and appeal to a wider market you need to employ different approaches to tap into the “Hearts” of the many different consumers and what their self intrinsic value is with the product or service – and when the service delivers the functional in the same way that others can (e.g. OTP etc) then the consumer is only left to evaluate the Customer Experience between services.

Organisations need to ensure they have the right people in the right positions, first and foremost. I was on a flight a couple of months ago with my partner from CPT/LHR where we encountered a what I can only describe as disgusting behaviour by the gate staff who were clearly not competent at managing a boarding process and subsequently caused choas and panic amongst customers on a full 747 flight. Now I know from being in the industry that the gate staff were a GHA and not the airline company, (I have managed GHA's in ground ops) however in my mind it still reflected severely poorly on the airline and left me fuming. However once onboard and settled, the situation seemed to have been defused by the cabin staff, who, in complete contrast were trained and had emotional intelligence! Therefore personable people are the key, the brand ambassadors, it's personality. Not only for the initial delivery, the right people are the ones who claw back service recovery when things do go wrong! It's that simple, and we all know it! So, my advice to any company involved in service delivery, is invest in your people, take the time and spare the expense in ensuring you have the right PE fit etc, and don't pay lip Service to your customers.

Lets not forget, as humans we are not as rational as we like to think, but we never forget how something makes us feel!

Emotional bonding is what people will remember even as onlookers. They will talk about it to their family and friends and it is the best advertisement an airline can get. A cabin crew or a ground agent can be firm and still be courteous and friendly.