In today’s “always on” world, companies have to be constantly committed to going above and beyond the needs of their customers.
When a company neglects to uphold that commitment or instills a culture that fails to prioritize customers, the effects can be disastrous. United Airlines is experiencing this first-hand as they deal with their most recent customer service flub: physically dragging a paying customer off one of their flights in front of other passengers. This egregious reaction to a very ordinary situation (the overbooking of a flight) could have been handled dramatically different had the company been instilled with a culture of customer care.
While the overbooking of a flight is a common practice in the airline industry, what United Airlines failed to take into account was the uniqueness of the scenario that was unfolding. The overbooked flight was preventing a United employee from reaching the plane’s destination in order to make her next working flight. Rather than exhausting every possible alternative, the company took the path of least resistance. At that point, all it took was another passenger to record the incident and post it online to set off a chain reaction that puts United Airlines’ future in question.
It takes total dedication from a company to foster a culture of customer care. Inktel has always prided itself as a company that takes world-class customer care seriously. Every employee is empowered with putting customers first. That is exactly what was missing from the situation with United Airlines. Customer care is about understanding the situation and providing the customer with a positive and memorable experience. Creating a culture that puts this at the forefront can lead to loyal customers, sustainable growth, and will help mitigate the risk of handling everyday situations incorrectly.