By Curt C. Anderson, Alternate Director, PAR, Ltd.
Another business trip. Another flight. You arrive at the airport on time, breeze through security, check in with a friendly airline crew and board the plane. The weather is wonderful -- no turbulence, clear skies. You land a few minutes ahead of schedule and head to baggage claim.
But there’s a problem. Your luggage never arrives. You’ll be attending at least the first day of meetings in the same wrinkled shirt and pants you have on now.
The friendly service and on-time arrival no longer matter. Your trip moves from the successful column to the not-so-great column. The airline that lost your luggage lost customer points with you as well.
Fast forward to the end of the week. Your luggage was eventually delivered to the hotel and you’re now looking forward to heading home. Your daughter’s recital is tonight, and you’ll have plenty of time to make it -- or at least that was the plan. You see, the airline overbooked your return flight and you’ve been bumped to the next available one -- in two hours. There goes the recital.
Lost Customer Loyalty
So now, the airline that previously lost your luggage has now lost your customer loyalty altogether. Next trip you’ll be booking with another carrier.
You see, although the airline completed its most important assignment -- getting you to and from your destination safely -- and also performed most of its other functions correctly (or eventually righted all of its wrongs), it still lost you as a customer.
It can be the same with your clients. You may never create the equivalent of a plane crash -- an E&O claim -- but any missed steps on your part could still place the account in jeopardy. That’s the beauty of PAR’s Quality Management advice; not only can it protect you from disastrous E&O claims, but it can help you deliver consistent service that keeps your clients safe and secure for years to come.
