FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Tom Ellis
June 19, 2006 Ellis Communications, Inc.
Phone: (417) 881-5635
Email: tom@elliscomm.com
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Telecoms looking for examples of employee relations
and customer service to emulate need look no further than two
well-known airlines.
JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines know how to properly treat
their people and their customers and they offer important lessons for
telecoms across the country, according to Measure-X, a Phoenix-based
company that specializes in helping telephone companies improve their
customer service and sales.
“JetBlue and Southwest understand what it takes to offer great
customer service,” says David Saxby, president of Measure-X.
“They know it all starts with their people and flows to the
customer.”
Saxby explains the JetBlue approach to employee and customer
relations as follows.
Make employees feel important. JetBlue CEO David Neeleman
wants the airline’s employees to feel that they’re on a mission
together to put humanity back into air travel, Saxby says. “He wants
them to think their JetBlue job is the best they’ve ever had,” Saxby
notes. “He understands that if they like coming to work, that feeling
gets passed on to customers.”
Hire new employees carefully. The airline is inundated with job
applicants and hires only a fraction of them each year, Saxby says.
“They’re highly selective,” Saxby explains. “Neeleman wants employees
who like people, not just certain people.”
Survey employees annually. JetBlue conducts an annual “Speak
Up Survey” of all employees in which they are asked how they feel
about the airline, what it’s like to work there and what they think
can be improved, according to Saxby. “It’s used as an accountability
tool, especially for people who come to work and act like a jerk,”
Saxby says. “If there’s a problem with an employee, the CEO finds out
about it.”
Train employees to succeed. “JetBlue expects its employees
to show up on time, have a good attitude and take care of each other
and the customers,” Saxby says. “Managers have a different set of
expectations. As leaders, they are expected to inspire greatness in
their employees.”
Southwest Airlines consistently exceeds customer expectations and
is at the top of the airline industry’s customer satisfaction scale,
Saxby says. “It follows a rule often ignored by other airlines – be
nice and smile a lot,” Saxby notes. Southwest’s secrets to great
customer service include the following, according to Saxby.
-- Hire people who have an ability to care
and
communicate.
-- Train everyone, including back-office staff, to be
nice.
-- Treat all customers the same.
-- Encourage and reward good customer service.
-- Give good performance, such as on-time departures,
in
addition to good service.
-- Offer a cost-effective product.
-- Empower employees to act in the customer’s best
interest.
“Empowering employees makes sense for staff who interact with
external customers, but Southwest applies the same standard to
internal employees such as accountants and technology personnel,”
Saxby says. “Their philosophy is if you have a grouchy boss who
doesn’t care about you, how are you going to give good customer
service?”
Telecoms can learn much about employee relations and customer
service from these two airlines, Saxby says. “What are you doing to
exceed your customers’ expectations? Have you identified those things
that you feel are the basis for good service? Every customer counts –
with every interaction.”
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Measure-X is a measurement, training and recognition company that specializes
in customer service and sales skills. For more information on Measure-X, call
888-644-5499 or visit its Web site at
www.measure-x.com.
