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Flying on United Airlines for the first time, from Boston to Chicago, there wasn’t a lot to look forward to in terms of the brand experience. I had not heard great things about United’s service – from my friends who fly domestic, as well as across the Pacific. Hence, I had lowered my expectations. Sometimes, though, I love to be proven wrong, and this time I was.
A pleasant in-flight experience
As the door was locked, the announcement for turning off electronic devices for quirky enough to draw some chuckles from the passengers. The flight attendant said something like this, “Please turn of your cellphones, pagers (if you still carry them), Blackberrys (or blueberries, strawberries or any other fruity sounding electronic device you might be carrying).”
As the flight took off, I was too sleepy early in the morning to patiently wait for the beverage service to come by, and snoozed off. I only woke up when the pilot made the announcement for turning on the seatbelt sign, as Chicago was approaching. But just then, I heard my stomach grumble, “No breakfast yet!”. I immediately walked to the back of the plane and explained to the flight attendant that I needed to eat something, as I had missed the food when I was sleeping.
Instead of drawing a cold-hard stare (which I have received before, on domestic US flights), I was pleasantly surprised to see a smiling face ask me what I’d prefer to have. I asked for tomato juice. She patiently looked through all the trolleys to finally find one for me, and offered me a glass with ice cubes as well. Right then, another flight attendant came by and she mentioned she had noticed me sleeping and didn’t want to wake me up when the beverages were served. She insisted that I try the cookies, which go well with tomato juice (and indeed, they were good). I went on the chat with them for another five minutes, about their schedule for the day, their weekend plans and what they like about their jobs. All this, when the seat-belt sign was turned on.
Why small things make a difference?
To someone who’s living in Asia, or even Europe, the above account may not come across as anything outstanding. But I’m sure a number of you who’re familiar with US domestic travel, and its current state, will appreciate the above. The flight attendant could have done things a little differently.
- She could have given me marching orders to go back to my seat as the seat-belt sign was just turned on
- She could have told me that they ran out of tomato juice, since she couldn’t find one after some trying
- She might not have cared to ask for a glass with ice and cookies
Most of the points above are just as likely to happen, as many flight crew swear by the rule book. But this flight attendant was resilient enough to respond to the situation and go out of her way to help a passenger. And it didn’t take her much time or effort to do so. And all with a smile.
Like icing on the cake, there was a Boston Celtics vs LA Lakers game going on at that time, and the pilot kept giving us updates of the latest scores on the PA system from time to time! He sure was a Celtics fan.
All this sure did leave a strong impression on me, and probably anyone else would have been just as impressed. It is the small things that enhance the brand experience, and going above and beyond often results in happy passengers. And as we know, Happy Passengers = Great Brand. And the good part is, that the best things on-board are free!
Ponder that!
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