#Adventures in Adventuring: what brands can learn from bad customer service

Sep 19

Guess where I am nerds??? Um ... NOT IN LA!!!! Nope. I'm in Chicago … still traveling.

I was flying out west yesterday on a Southwest flight from DC to Chicago (then connecting to LA), and we had some light problem on the flight, and what they initially said was going to take 10 minutes took an hour and a half

Hold on, I'm getting a head of myself. Lemme break this all down for you.

So, there I be. Exhausted from traveling for the last THIRTY DAYS, laying my lazy bones down in my little seat, and after a few dozes in and out of consciousness I realized we were still sitting on the tarmac. Now, I am a frequent traveler (clearly) I can break that shit down and know when we are supposed to be moving and when we aren't. Something should have happened by this point!!!

I perk up a bit, notice others are getting restless ... then someone came on the loud speaker.
We're having a problem with one of the lights folks. It should only be about 10 minutes or so, sit tight - we'll make it up in the air.

<tangent> I've never gotten that concept of "making it up in the air" what does that MEAN!?! And if they could "make it up in the air" why don't they just go that fast in the first place so we'd all get there even faster? I know I know I'm sure it's like going 65 on the highway, and more economical as far as mpg are concerned (which for an airline I'm sure is a big deal), but that shit is just annoying. Flights are long enough to begin with. </tangent>

10 minutes quickly turn to 20, and by the time it hits 30, the dispatcher comes on the loud speaker again.

Hi all. Just wanted to let you all know the mechanic is almost done, just going over his check sheet - as long as we take off by 6:30 (it is now 6), all connections are fine.

All connections are fine? I hear. Fine - back to sleep.

I shut my eyes, and 45 minutes later we are still not moving.

The dispatcher comes back on - okay, now, I just wanted to let you all know that if you live here in Virginia you are more than welcome to get off the plane. Your connections are not going to be made tonight, and we are going to have to put you all up in a hotel in Chicago and on an early flight in the morning.

The words come out of the dispatchers mouth piercing my soul with mortal wounds.

NOOOOOO!!! I've been traveling for 30 daysssss!!! I just. want. my. own. bed.

Then reality starts to sink in - SHIT! I have my fancy pants meetings with the networks and studio in the morning. I have to, have to, have to get back to LA before 10 am. Shit shit shit shit shit.

My frustration rises and my anxiety shoots through the roof.

I. JUST. WANTED. TO. GO. HOME.

Alrite, next doable action - focus Friel. There's nothing you can do, it was merely the presence of an expectation partnered with the perception of control - be like water and go with the flow.

30 minutes later the plane takes off, after sitting for AN HOUR AND A HALF for supposedly a 10 minute problem.

Again, whatever - shit happens. They said we were getting a hotel room, and as long as I have a roof over my head, and chargers for my gear, I'm a pretty zen human being.

After we took off, I put on the BoDeans and watched the sunset.

See, my Daddio taught me growing up that no matter what - at the end of the day watch the sunset. Whatever stress you're experiencing, whatever problems you think you have - just watch the sunset. It will put everything in perspective for you.

(See video)

Amazing, right? And totally true.

So there I be, now in the air - watching the sunset.

A few minutes later I passed out, and woke up in the rainy city of Chicago.

I get off the plane and head over to the podium where we were instructed to talk to the attendant and get our voucher for the hotel, and re-book our flight for the morning.

I popped on southwest.com to see when their earliest flight was, and alas to my delight there was a 6am which would get me back in time for all of my meetings today.

I then waited in line to speak to the southwest agent.

And when I say waited, I mean any lingering strength that was present in my soul slowly got sucked away with each keystroke of the attendant's keyboard.

They didn't know we were coming in with problems.

They didn't know anything about a hotel room.

They didn't re-book us.

Wait ... whhhhaaaaaatttt?

You have an ENTIRE flight full of people walking off needing accommodations, and you haven't done anything??? Like ANYTHING????

After 15 minutes waiting in line (and over an hour and a half waiting on the tarmac), customers begin getting restless.

The attendant speaks to the line, well, we can certainly rebook you all in the morning, but we are not responsible for your accommodations tonight.

People in the line start SSSCCRREEAMMMMINNNGGG!!!

Oh no, that's not what they said!!! They said we would be staying in a hotel with a voucher for the evening!!!

Another guy chimes in - I've already paid for a reservation tonight that I'm not using. I am NOT paying for two!!!

To my surprise, the customer service agent actually started yelling back.

Now that my friends, is a big. big. big. HUUGGEEEE no. no.

I've worked a gajillion jobs in customer service. You do not ever, and I mean NNEEEVVVEERR EVVVEERRRRR raise your voice, or yell back to a customer.

Your job is to provide a service and negate any negativity through staying centered. What do you do when someone is yelling at you? You apologize. Say reaffirming statements like, I am listening. I hear you, and I am working to assist. You don't equal back in volume and potentially even raise your voice louder than the rest.

Big big big customer service no no.

I turned to everyone in line and said rather than get angry, do something about it. Start tweeting Southwest Air on twitter.

See, big companies/ brands in social media hire someone called an "online reputation manager" to listen in and counteract any bad publicity they have incurred in social media. It's a pretty rad job - I've done it in the past.

Your number one objective is to make sure the end user is happy and satisfied to all appropriate levels. Obviously if Southwest started to get inundated with messages from everyone the odds were at least in our favor that we would be heard, and maybe an apology or something would be issued.

Again, this isn't the princess syndrome of - oh woe is me I've been inconvenienced - it's an airline, shit will happen. It's more the fact that a 10 minute problem became an hour and a half, and the entire time we had a play by play on how close we all were to STILL being able to make our connections - only to find out, nope, we're all fucked.

THENNNNN, upon arrival they were not prepared for us, no vouchers were initially going to be issued, and then the customer service rep totally raises her voice to the people in line.
This is just like epic levels of bad. Epic epic epic levels.

It's the service industry. You provide a service, we leave with a smile. Boom! When said service isn't provided however, just hear us out. We're going to vent, want to yell, scream bloody obscenities - just hear us out, we're all just big kids. Ever watch a 2 year old throw a tantrum?? That reaction is at our biological core - it's going to happen.

After tweeting @SouthwestAir, I did hear something back - but they just offered to speak to a customer service rep, and then failed to provide a number.

Dudes, I didn't want to start shit, but at least just ask, how were the hotel arrangements? Did you make it in okay to get a good night sleep for the morning?

They publicly replied to me to cover their own bum, without actually handling the issue. But again, we can learn from this.

1. Dude, brands - don't be douchey. Think of me as your sister or friend. What would you ask them? Are you okay? Do you need help with arrangements? 99.999999999% of the time they're not going to take you up on it, however they will feel taken care of which is all the service industry is about and boom - just like that, you became the good guy without really even having to do much.

2. Be conscious of conversations started in social media. This wasn't just a "bad customer service problem" this is now a conversation ongoing within the TNTML community. And I travel all the time - literally, I make a life from it, and previously had used Southwest almost exclusively for my travel arrangements. DUDES! I flew cross country with Billy Gibbons on Southwest …

3. Don't publicly respond to something without managing it. That was super douchey hearing back from them, and then not have them actually handle the situation. Yeah they looked like the good guy - but in actuality they became even douchier in my eyes. It was kind of a back handed slap. It was, yep! We hear you - now sit yo' ass back down cause we don't care beyotch!

I was dropped off at the airport in Virginia 14 hours ago, and I'm still traveling - which I've been doing for 30 days. I have one of the biggest days of my life with super super super important meetings all morning, and now I am going on 3 hours of sleep into said meetings.

Whatever, at the end of the day - thanks Southwest. You just made me that much more hardcore.